CONSTRUCTION OF A GRANARY, OR CORN HOUSE. 
243 
*tead of placing the apple juice in a cool situation, 
where the temperature does not exceed 50° F., nor 
sink helow 47 p , it is frequently exposed to the full 
neat of autumn, in consequence of which, much 
©f the alcohol, formed by the decomposition of the 
sugar, is converted into vinegar, by the absorption 
of atmospheric oxygen, and thus the liquor acquires 
that peculiar and unwholesome acidity, commonly 
known by the name of " roughness." On the 
contrary, if the fermentation be conduced at the 
above-named temperature, ne.irly all the sugar con- 
tained in the juice is converted into alcohol, and 
this remains in the liquor instead of undergoing 
the process of fermentation. It may here be re- 
marked that, if left to itself, the cider would be 
subjected to three fermentations: 1st, the vinous, 
which is necessary to give it strength ; 2d, the 
acetous, which, if suffered to continue, would soon 
change the alcohol into vinegar,, and proceeds 
most rapidly at a temperature of 95° F., but at 
lower temperatures, the actions becomes slower 
until at about 47° no such change takes place; 3d, 
the putrefactive, by which it would become insipid 
and totally unfit for use. It is therefore quite evi- 
dent that if the saccharine juice of apples, or any 
other fruit,. be made to undergo the "vinous" fer- 
mentation, in a cool situation, less of the spirit, 
resulting from the transformation of the sugar, will 
he converted into acetic acid, and consequently more 
will be retained in an unaltered state in the liquor, 
and tend not only to improve its quality, but by 
its conservative and chemical action, to precipitate 
the nitrogenous substances, or exciters of future 
change. 
The cider maker should watch the height of the 
first fermentation, which is indicated by some of 
the impurities, contained in the liquor, issuing from 
the bung hole of the cask, or rising to the top, in 
the form of spume, or froth. The fermentation, 
let it be remembered, should be slow in being de- 
veloped, so that the juice set in October or Novem- 
ber may continue to " work" until March, April, or 
May. Until this time, the cider will be sweet, but 
then, will become pungent and vinous, and will be 
ready to be " racked" or drawn off for use. At this 
period, if the vinous- fermentation has not ceased, 
it may be stopped by adding to each barrel a gallon 
of sound, old cider, or by exposing the cask to a 
cooler air. 
Storing and Subsequent Management. — Cider 
should be stored in a cool place, of a temperature 
not varying far from 50° F.," and should not be dis- 
turbed before it becomes sufficiently mature. Each 
barrel should want from one to two gallons of be- 
ing full,, in- which state it should stand exposed to 
the open air,, with the bung put lightly over the 
hole, till the end of March, when the liquor should 
he racked off into clean casks, which should be 
completely filled, and the bung firmly driven. 
In performing this operation, the lees should be 
filtered through linen bags. 
The preservative properties of cider depend 
upon its natural strength. That of the best quali- 
ty contains about nine or ten per cent, of real 
alcohol, while the ordinary kinds will yield only 
from four to six. Common cider will rarely keep 
more than five or six years, and seldom improves 
after the second or third year ; but when brandy is 
added, to the amount of a gallon to each barrel, 
and it is carefully attended to, it will keep from 20 
to 30 years. 
Preparatory to bottling cider, which should not 
be done before it is one or two years old, it should 
be examined, to see whether it is clear and spark- 
ling. If not, it should again be racked, and care- 
fully kept another year. The night before it is 
intended to be put in bottles, the bung should be 
taken out of the cask, and so left until the next 
day after, as, if this is done at once, many of the 
bottles will burst by keeping. The best corks and . 
Champagne bottles should be used, and it is com- 
mon to wire and cover the corks with tinfoil, after 
the manner of Champagne. A few bottles may 
be kept in a warm place to ripen ; and two or 
three raisins, or a small piece of lump sugar, may 
be put into each bottle before corking, if the bever- 
age be wanted for immediate use, or for consump- 
tion during the cooler portion of the year ; but for 
warm weather, and for long keeping, this is inad- 
missible. The bottled stock should be stored in. a 
cool cellar, where the quality will be greatly im- 
proved by age. 
CONSTRUCTION OF A GRANARY, OR CORN HOUSE. 
Granary. — Fig. 55. 
Conversing with an intelligent farmer, a few 
weeks since, on the subject of agricultural build- 
ings, he remarked, that he considered a granary, or 
corn house, indispensable on every farm, especially 
on those where corn or grain is grown to any ex- 
tent; and, furthermore, he said that he believed, 
since he built one on his place, he had saved grain 
enough, yearly, to fatten a hog to a weight of 300 
pounds; and judging from the quantities I have 
seen carried off, and wasted by rats, I am inclined 
to his opinion. Most farmers have experienced 
more or less trouble from these mischievous ani- 
mals, by the loss of grain, eggs, young poultry, 
by the undermining of walls, and by various other 
tricks; consequently, I presume any specific to 
lessen their depredations, or numbers, would meet 
with favor by that class of our people. The first 
