190 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 8. 
time that the beer works briskly. Draw the tub with the 
first workings aside; allow them to remain in it; shift 
another tub in its place, and adopt this proceeding each 
time, while the working goes on with spirit; by so doing, 
tho barm will have time to settle, and the beer will run 
clear away from it when required. When the beer in the 
working-tub is exhausted, run that from the barm in the 
small tubs ; prevent the yeast escaping by placing a whisk 
at the edge of the tub,—a comparison for which, do not 
fancy that of our mother’s, which erst frowned with threat¬ 
ening aspect from the mantle-shelf, but rather our old 
school-master’s very best and substantial birch rod! our 
mothers machine though was mere moonshine; quite as 
little applied to the purpose for which it was intended, as 
one would now think of using such an apparatus for sepa¬ 
rating the beer from the barm. The froth and settling 
which remain in the first tub had better be thrown away; 
it is dark-coloured, intensely bitter, and if reserved to add 
to tho barm, it will not only serve to unite these disagree¬ 
able qualities, but everybody who may have the misfortune 
to bake with it will eat bitter bread. As you subsequently 
separate the beer from the barm into a small tub by itself, 
yeast is generally the perquisite of the brewer, do not sell it 
too thin, or the housewives will convene sundry palaverings 
detrimental to good fame. 
If, perchance, a deficiency of new beer should occur, draw 
some from the small beer cask you may have in tap to assist 
you; but if there remains a few gallons to spare, add it to 
the small beer, or otherwise preserve it in the small six- 
gallon cask. On the second day, fill up the last thing before 
going to bed, and tho first on the following morning; for 
our humble brewing this will not probably require repeating. 
When quite done working, remove the tin tube and drive 
a new cork in the place of it; pour some beer gently in at 
the bunghole to fill up the barrel sufficiently, adding, at the 
same time, the hops previously dried; then, with a pail of 
warm water and a flannel, clean the barm from off the cask, 
and wash the bung and piece of hop-bag; dry the latter, to 
be in readiness when their time comes ; leave the bunghole 
unclosed about ten days, then take out the vent-peg, place 
the hop-bag and bung, and drive it down with a mallet, so 
as to be perfectly air-tight, leave the venthole open a fort¬ 
night, then close it, and the thing is completed. 
Ale should not be broached before it is six months old, at 
least; and then, if the cork is a large one, it would be advis¬ 
able to tap it at tho centre cork first; the beer will be so 
much the more likely to draw off fine tiro further the tap is 
situated from the bottom. Apropos to fine beer; if re¬ 
quired for consumption soon after brewing, proceed, a week 
after it has ceased working, to rack it; force in the cork at 
the bottom of the cask, and allow the beer to escape into a 
cooler, tilt the vessel when it begins to run slow until grounds 
are perceived to escape, then untilt immediately, empty the 
grounds from the barrel into a pail, and strain them through 
a funnel-shaped flannel bag, rinse out the cask with cold 
water, drive in a tap to save a cork, and return the beer into 
it without loss of time; when the froth has subsided, add 
a handful of hops, bung it down, and in two or three days 
the beer is ready for use. 
Clean, scald, and dry the utensils, and thoroughly cleanse 
the cellar; should the latter be free from damp, the tubs, &c. 
may find a place there. If the contrary, stow them where it 
is most convenient; preserve and prevent their falling to 
pieces, by covering over with some old carpeting, or some¬ 
thing of that sort, to exclude the air from them. Of course, 
the utensils would be benefited by being painted on their 
outside. A cellar is always preferably situated underground, 
by reason of which, it is warm in winter and cool in summer. 
We cottagers cannot often command such a site, but, wher¬ 
ever it maybe, an even temperature is desirable; frosts and 
strong light should be avoided, and gleams of sun zealously 
excluded, as from a dairy. 
Finally, John Barleycorn, in a moral, social, and even 
fiscal point of view, I wish you w oil. This wreath that I 
havo woven for your honourable brow, is far, very far, from 
my wish to have you coupled with idle drunken sots, who 
disgrace you, and, both for town and country, are disgusting 
bad subjects, and a nuisance, though, to bo sure, I need 
hardly fear so base a connexion, for your pure decoction, 
such as I have pointed out, will, of course, never bo found at 
the “ Tom and Jerry” shops where such worthies associate; 
those sinks of iniquity, in the way of the farmer, of the 
clergyman, squire, and of every other man with his heart 
in its right place ; to the poor man a curse, and the 
cause of more distress for him than all the taxes, com¬ 
petition, and variableness of the weather enhancing and 
acting upon the price of provisions put together; sources 
of corrupt and illicit acquaintances, where crime of all 
kinds is propagated, and where every species of vice united 
to the category of evil abound, offering no other recom¬ 
mendation, that I can see, but for the brewer and occu¬ 
pier alone; for surely, an exchequer filled by encouraging 
such masses of crime can never be said to benefit the 
country. But the remedy lies with ourselves; sobriety and 
self-respect is the panacea, and may the day be fast ap¬ 
proaching, when the majority of my fellow-working men may 
be found exerting self-control sufficient to allow a barrel of 
home-brewed beer to remain upon their premises, with 
benefit for themselves, and comfort for their wives and 
families. 
DIGEST. 
ALE. 
Quantity to be brewed.50 gal. 
Ditto of water required.94 gal. 
Ditto of malt.4 bus. 
Ditto of hops, if beer is required for keeping 
over twelve months.4 lb. 
Ditto if required for keeping over 0 months . 3 lb. 
Ditto of barm for working . . . . 1 qt. 
Heat of water for first mash .... 170 deg. 
Ditto second ditto.180 deg. 
Time for water to stay on each mash . . 3 lirs. 
Ditto for boiling the beer each time . .21 hrs. 
Quantity of beer to begin working ... 5 gals. 
Proper heat to set beer to work . . 05 to 70 deg. 
Times for brewing, October and March. 
TABLE BEER. 
Quantity to be brewed.50 gals. 
Ditto of water required.85 gals. 
Ditto of malt.3 bush. 
Ditto of hops.2 lbs. 
Ditto of barm for working .... 3 pints 
Heat of water for first mash .... 170 deg. 
Ditto second ditto.180 deg. 
Time for water to stay on first mash . . 3 hrs. 
Ditto second ditto.2£ hrs. 
Ditto for boiling beer each time ... 2 hrs. 
Quantity of beer to begin the working . . 5 gals. 
Proper heat to set beer to work . . .80 deg. 
Times for brewing; when wanted. 
Upwards and Onwards. 
THE CARRIER PIGEON. 
( Continued, from page 132.) 
“ The original of these Pigeons came from Bazora, in 
Persia, being sometimes brought by shipping, and some¬ 
times in the caravans ; hence, by some ignorant people, they 
are called Buffories. 
“ This city is situate about two miles distant from a river 
called Xat Arab, which is formed by the meeting of the two 
great rivers, Tigris and Euphrates ; near this place is a 
small house, like a hermitage, dedicated to Iza ben Mariam, 
that is, Jesus, the son of Mary: in passing which place, 
the Mahometans themselves very devoutly offer up their 
prayers; there is likewise a considerable quantity of land 
whose revenues belong to this chapel. 
“We come now to give an account of the name which is 
given to this pigeon, and it is called a Carrier* because it is 
frequently made use of to carry a letter from one place to 
another. And such is the admirable cunning or sagacity of 
this bird, that though you carry them hoodwinked, twenty 
or thirty miles, nay, I have known them to be carried three¬ 
score or a hundred, and there turned loose, they will imme¬ 
diately hasten to the place where they were bred. The 
Dutch call this pigeon Bagadat, I suppose from a corruption 
of tho name of the city Bagdat, which was formerly old 
Babylon which Nimrod built, because they judge this pigeon 
in its way from Bazora to be brought through that city. 
