34:0 
AMERICAN AGRIC ULTIJRIST. 
[September, 
It is an improvement upon tlie oicl-fasliioned 
heavy press, which is made from the trunk of 
'jlarge tree, and frequently required the trunk of 
toother large tree as a support for it, and which 
channel, two inches wide, and one inch deep, is 
made to the front, to carry off the juice as it 
flows. A piece of board is laid over this chan¬ 
nel, and the floor of the press is covered with 
Fig. 1.—CIDER MAKING—CRUSHING THE APPLES. 
Fig. 3.—boa. 
is weighted at the end with a clumsy screw, a 
foot in diameter, and a ton of stones in a huge 
box. If any person supposed all this huge weight 
saved labor, he was 
greatly mistaken, be¬ 
cause before a pound 
of pressure could 
be exerted upon the 
pomace, the whole 
weight of beam, 
screw, and stone 
must be raised. In this ancient machine the 
weight, wdiich causes the pressure, is raised, 
while in the one here illustrated the pressure 
is brought to bear directly. The immense 
■weight of the old press is, therefore, 
not only useless, but a hindrance. It is 
needless to give any description of what 
is so clearly shown in the engraving, 
further than to state that the material 
of the press is similar to that of the 
mill, and that the screw maybe of wood, 
preferably of beech, but is better, and in 
most cases cheaper, of iron. The screw 
should be lubricated with hard tal¬ 
low, ground up smoothly with 
black lead. As the apples are 
ground, the pomace should be 
put into the press immediately, 
if light colored cider or vinegar 
is desired. If a deeper color is 
wished for, it can be procured 
by exposing the pomace in 
the mill to the air, while one 
batch is pressing. A wooden 
scoop should be used to lift the 
pomace. No iron should touch the crush¬ 
ed fruit or juice during the process, if 
excellence is wished for. In building- 
up the “ cheese ” in the press, it is better 
to use a small square frame of boards 
in the center, by which an interior 
space is left in the mass of pomace, 
through which the juice is expressed more 
readily, than if the mass were solid. The use 
of this small frame will obviate the necessity of 
a second pressing. The frame, fig. 3, is placed 
in the center of the press. From this center a 
clean, straight rye-straw, leaving the ends pro¬ 
jecting at each side, which have to be turned 
over the first layer of the pomace. This pre¬ 
vents the pomace from being squeezed out 
when it is pressed. When the first layer is 
finished, and the straw is turned upon it, it ap¬ 
pears as in fig. 4. This process is repeated, un¬ 
til the press is full, when the pressure is ap¬ 
plied gradually, so as not to burst the cheese. 
The juice runs through a filter of cut straw in¬ 
to a vat, from which it may be dipped or 
pumped into the barrels. It is well to have a 
strainer of hair-cloth in the funnel, or across the 
mouth of the pail, as the barrels are filled. In all 
these processes the utmost cleanliness should be 
several excellent cider-mills manufactured by 
different parties East and West, which are con¬ 
venient for those who have but few apples, or 
who have enough to keep one hand-machine 
going. One of these, known as the 
Keystone Cider Mill, is an excellent one. 
We have made cider and vinegar of a 
very light color in one of these mills, 
as the pomace is exposed to the air 
only for a moment, as it falls from the 
grinders, and it is passed immediately 
under the press. No straw is needed 
in using a press of this kind. When 
the juice is safely in the barrels, it needs 
close watching during the fermentation. 
It is best to keep the bung-hole covered, 
to exclude insects and the air. For this 
purpose a perforated bung is useful, in 
which a glass tube, an inch in diameter, 
(fig. 5,) may be inserted. The tube, 12 
inches long, may be kept filled, which 
will prevent any access of air into 
the barrel. When the cider is to be 
kept for a length of time, this course 
is advisable. After fermentation has 
stopped, which maybe seen by observ¬ 
ing that gas no longer bubbles up and 
escapes through the glass tube, the cider 
should be carefully drawn off into fresh, 
sweet casks. The barrels should then 
be stored away in a place where the 
temperature is even, and the hung-lioles tight¬ 
ly closed. If it is intended for vinegar, empty 
vinegar-casks may be used. The bung-holes 
should be 
left open, and 
kept covered 
with a piece 
of fine wire 
gauze, so as to 
admit the air. 
After a time Fig. 4 .—the cheese. 
the vinegar 
will make, and should be again drawn off into 
clean casks, without disturbing the sediment. 
If the sediment should become disturbed, the 
Fig. 2.—CIDER MAKING—THE PRESS. 
observed, if a good product is wished for. For 
those who find it more convenient to use a manu¬ 
factured mill, that known as Schenck’s Apple 
and Grape Grinder, which is able to grind 200 
bushels per hour, may be desirable. There are 
vinegar is never perfectly clear afterward. To 
make vinegar from cider in the most rapid 
manner, the building must be heated to about 
70', and the liquid frequently exposed to the 
air, by drawing it from one cask to another. 
