178 
GARDENS AND ORCHARDS. 
Or, 2, from apples and and pears jointly} 
Or, 3, from the common wild crab, and the richer 
sweeter kinds of early pears; the two last species are 
used as family drink. 
The early pears are fit for the mill in September; 
amongst them the squash pear; the stire apple is ready 
from Michaelmas to the middle of October; and the other 
sorts as they ripen: as they are often shaken down by 
the wind before ripe, and sometimes beaten down in 
that state, they are laid together in large heaps in the 
open air, until the ripest are beginning to decay, and 
then taken to the mill. 
In grinding, it is necessary to good management, 
that the rind and the kernels, as well as the pulp, 
should be crushed or broken, as these are believed to 
give colour and flavour to the liquor: when ground, it 
is put into the press, which is worked by one man, who, 
with the girl or boy who drives the horse, and a man 
to put in fruit, and carry away the liquor as the reser¬ 
voir under the press fills, make a set; and three hogs¬ 
heads of perry, or two of cyder, is about their me¬ 
dium day’s work ; but working early and late five or 
six hogsheads are sometimes made in a day. The li¬ 
quor is put into the cask immediately from the press, 
and set in the fermenting room; but no ferment, or ad¬ 
ditional substance, is made use of. Having remained 
some days in the first vessel, the liquor is drawn off the 
lees, and put into fresh casks, which operation is termed 
racking, and this is sometimes repeated. 
The prices of orchard fruit and its produce are very 
fluctuating, varying /with the quantity produced and 
the stock in hand ; one night’s frost in the spring has 
been known to raise the price of fruit liquor threefold 
from the preceding day. 
In 
