415 
CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Of Old Cider—Of the Effects of Art — Mr. Bellamy's and Mr. Mallet's 
Letters — Conclusion. 
When cider has been kept in cask for five or six years, it 
loses its colour and sweetness, and gets heady ; notwithstand¬ 
ing which, it is most commonly prized by those who make it 
their ordinary drink. 
Some persons like the sweet, and others prefer the harsh; 
one cannot command peoples’ tastes; but in either case, it is 
' indispensable that it should be clear. 
Good cider may sometimes be obtained by a concurrence of 
fortunate circumstances; but sensible people will never aban¬ 
don the process to chance. Every art has its own rules, and 
whoever will not abide by them cannot long succeed. 
I was going to put under the press the last sheet of this 
work, when I was informed, that the strength of cider had 
been found to be in proportion to the specific weight of the 
apple, or in other words, that the apple, whose pulp was the 
most solid, yielded the most generous. This rule, which, if i 
understand it well, is equally applicable to all places and cli¬ 
mates, has only need to be further confirmed by nature to lead 
to the most important results. If it is really founded on that 
basis, the author of the discovery (Mr. Arthur Young) whose 
fortunate exertions seem to embrace every part of rural eco¬ 
nomy, will have a right to applaud himself for having so es¬ 
sentially served the public. This rule, seconded by a judi¬ 
cious process in making, will be able in all cases, as it secures 
the choice of fruit, to give cider henceforwards a degree of 
excellence, which, without the development of this secret, it 
would have never been generally capable of attaining. 
Tiiere are but few wines held in such high estimation as 
cider of the best quality. Mr. Marshall, in his work already 
quoted, entitled “ The Rural Economy of Gloucestershire,” 
(vol. ii. p. 2,53,) mentions, that Mr. Bellamy, of the Priory, 
near Ross, Herefordshire, makes some of an excellent nature 
from 
