CHAPTER XIX. 
Of the Fermentation of Cider newly pressed out—And of the Time cf 
Racking. 
It is not sufficient to abstain from mixing water in cider, to 
enable it to be of a good quality. It is true indeed, that the 
juice of very fragrant fruit, does not require the precautions 
which are indispensable to that which is pressed out from the 
common sort of fruit. It is, however, a safer and infinitely 
surer way, to rack it all indifferently before it has fermented, 
that it may be purified from its sediment, which would seldom 
fail to give it a vinegar taste. 
To render it nice and pleasant, the cask must be kept un¬ 
bunged, with two or three inches in it empty, that a greater 
part of the bulk of the liquor may be exposed to the action of 
the air, and because the revolution it is about to undergo will 
increase its size. When it is poured out in a small stream from 
one vessel into another, the air, by striking it in more of its 
parts, will produce, in this respect, more considerable effects. 
By only pouring out a part of the contents of a cask, the 
working of the cider remaining in it, will be delayed for some 
time. It is probable that this effect is derived from the same 
principle; namely, from the diminution of the liquor, which 
gives room to a new atmosphere to introduce itself. 
It js impossible to lay down any precise rules as to the 
number of rackings. This process, which makes the cider 
pleasant, is done at the expense of its strength. By repeating 
it for the last time about the end of February, and exposing it 
again in a vat to the action of the air for two or three days, it 
will render it of a better taste. 
It must be racked in the interval between the workings, as 
otherwise it would remain thick for a long time, and would 
become sour or vapid instead of throwing off its impurities. 
Many of the English growers will watch night and day with a 
5 view 
