
                                                                                                                                                        129
No 29 
Hewes's or Virginia Crab.
Timothy Matlacks
No 2. Cider.

A very small round flat apple of a light green striped
with dull red, of an extremely astringent unpleasant taste.
it retains a large portion of acidity but yields
when fully ripe, a remarkably fine
scent.  The Cider is of the most superior quality and
commands the highest price at market -- Instances
occur of a hundred barrels made from
one orchard bringing ten dollars each by contrast, taken
from [illegible].  The tree is not very large, but
grows to a tolerable size in good ground, before
it begins to bear when its fruitfulness is generally
so great as to check the growth* The

[margin insert begins] *and does not
admit of its
bearing more
in general than
every other year [margin insert ends]

wood is uncommonly hard and wiry, the
leaves smaller than any other cultivated
apple. It grows particularly well in light
sandy grounds.  The unpalatable nature of this
apple renders it very valuable for orchards in
the neighborhood of Town, the small size of the
fruit prevents it from being blown down and
when fallen is often permitted to be untouched
by hogs and cattle from its extreme
acidity.  Mr. Timothy Matlack says the Cyder made
from this fruit surpasses every other he has tasted.  It
does not require so much fermentation as other kinds
of Cider.  It is therefore more under the command of the
manufacturer.  Mr Wynkoop says that the dryness and toughness of the
flesh resembling a sponge permits the juice to be separated
from the pulp by straining it at the press through a 
flannel bag.                                                   This apple appears to
be less liable                                                  to injury from moles
and ground mice than                                   other apple trees which
I am disposed to                                              ascribe to the uncommon
hardness of                [sketch of apple]         the wood and possibly
from its partaking                                             in some degree of the
harshness & acidity                                           of the fruit.  The
juice of [illegible] pressed                        in a Cage with a little straw 
[illegible] turned up at the edges            runs off from the first of the
pressing as clear as wine if not suffered to be long in the Pummice
12 bushels required for a bbl [barrel] of Cider. Should be housed at least
a fortnight before ground.
        