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Old  Questions  About  Cider 
AT  this  season  we  are  usually  overrun  with  ques¬ 
tions  about  cider  and  vinegar.  We  will  try 
to  anticipate  a  few  of  them  here. 
“What  is  the  best  way  to  clean  an  old  barrel,  so  as 
to  keep  cider  fairly  well?” 
Perhaps  the  best  method  is  thoroughly  to  scrub  the 
inside  of  the  barrel  with  a  solution  of  hot  lye.  Boil¬ 
ing  water  with  lye  dissolved  in  it  is  poured  into 
the  barrel  and  then  thoroughly  scrubbed  either  with 
a  broom  or  a  stiff  brush.  By  swabbing  and  scrub¬ 
bing  in  every  part  of  the  barrel  it  is  usually  possible 
to  get  it  clean.  Then,  after  scrubbing,  if  it  is 
possible  to  do  so,  put  the  barrel  over  a  live  jet  of 
steam  with  a  pipe  running  up  through  the  bung- 
hole  and  steam  it  thoroughly  for  half  an  hour.  This 
steaming  in  connection  with  the  scrubbing  with  lye 
will  clean  almost  any  barrel;  in  fact  some  of  our 
readers  say  that  they  have  used  this 
process  on  barrels  which  contained 
lime-sulphur  solution  and  then  used 
them  for  holding  the  cider.  We  can¬ 
not  recommend  such  a  plan,  but  some 
of  our  readers  say  they  have  worked 
it  out  successfully. 
Then,  we  are  constantly  asked  how 
cider  may  be  kept  sweet.  The  best 
way  we  know  is  to  pasteurize  the  cider 
as  soon  as  possible  after  it  comes  from 
the  press.  There  are  practical  machines 
for  doing  this  on  a  large  scale.  The 
theory  is  to  heat  the  cider  to  about 
15G  degrees  and  hold  it  at  that  heat 
for  about  half  an  hour.  Then  put  the 
hot  cider  into  bottles  or  similar  con¬ 
tainers  and  seal  them  airtight  while 
the  cider  is  hot.  It  is  very  much  the 
same  principle  as  canning  fruit  or 
vegetables,  only  a  lower  temperature  is 
used.  The  cider  handled  in  this  way 
will  not  ferment,  and  will  keep  most  of 
its  flavor  indefinitely.  Chemicals  are 
sometimes  used  for  preserving  the 
cider,  and  some  of  them  are  permitted 
by  the  health  authorities.  While  we 
do  not  like  to  advise  the  use  of  chemi¬ 
cals  the  following  process  is  suggested 
by  the  chemist:  Three  ounces  of  ben¬ 
zoate  of  soda,  and  one  ounce  of  sali¬ 
cylate  of  soda.  These  four  ounces  of 
chemicals  are  to  be  dissolved  in  a  lit¬ 
tle  warm  cider  and  then  poured  into 
40  gallons.  That  is  the  amount  needed 
for  a  40-gallon  barrel.  As  for  a  single 
gallon  you  will  have  to  divide  that  up 
pretty  small  in  order  to  get  just  the 
right  proportions,  and  you  would  have 
to  have  it  weighed  out  for  you  on  some 
drug  store  scales  in  order  to  get  just 
the  right  amount.  Cider  preserved  in 
this  way  will  keep  for  a  considerable 
time,  but  will  always  have  a  faint 
chemical  taste.  We  much  prefer  the 
plan  of  pasteurizing  whenever  that  is 
possible. 
Under  the  prohibition  law,  cider 
which  contains  more  than  one-half  of 
one  per  cent  of  alcohol  is  legally  an  intoxicating 
drink  and  cannot  legally  be  sold.  Many  of  our  read¬ 
ers  ask  how  they  are  to  know  when  cider  contains 
this  amount  of  alcohol.  There  is  no  simple  test  by 
which  a  farmer  can  be  sure  of  this  matter.  Some 
years  ago  Dr.  F.  D.  Crane,  conducted  some  experi¬ 
ments  for  The  It.  N.-Y.  in  regard  to  this  matter.  lie 
took  the  cider  as  it  ran  from  the  press,  kept  it  under 
ordinary  conditions  in  a  cellar,  and  sampled  it  day 
by  day.  The  following  table  shows  the  condition  of 
the  cider  each  day  for  two  weeks : 
Day 
%  Alcohol 
Day 
%  Alcohol 
1 . 
8 . 
. 0.44 
2 . 
O . 
. 0.61 
3 . 
10 . 
4 . 
. 0.08 
11 . 
. 1.00 
5 . 
. 0,08 
12 . 
. 130 
6 . 
. 0.12 
13 . 
. 1.50 
7 . 
14 . 
. 1.80 
This  shows  that  under  the  most  favorable  condi¬ 
tions  nine  days  Avas  the  limit.  That  is  to  say,  after 
that  time  the  cider  contained  more  than  one-lialf  of 
one  per  cent  of  alcohol.  This  cider  was  made  in  a 
clean  mill,  and  was  kept  under  good  conditions.  It 
would  probably  be  safe  to  say  that  an  ordinary 
sample  of  cider  cannot  be  kept  longer  than  10  days 
without  developing  more  than  the  legal  amount  of 
alcohol. 
Dr.  Crane  also  experimented  with  another  method 
The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
of  handling  cider.  We  Avere  told  by  several  of  our 
readers  that  if  fresh  cider  is  run  through  a  cream 
separator  and  then  promptly  put  into  a  jug  and 
corked  tight  it  will  keep  for  a  lon-g  time.  Dr. 
Crane  obtained  cider  fresh  from  the  press  and  had 
it  passed  through  a  separator  as  mentioned.  It  Avas 
then  put  into  sterilized  fruit  jars  and  sealed.  After 
two  Aveeks  this  cider  contained  0.38  per  cent  of 
alcohol.  That  means  that  the  cider  contained  about 
the  same  amount  of  alcohol  on  the  fourteenth  day 
that  the  unseparated  cider  contained  on  the 
eighth  day.  It  is  evident  that  running  the  cider 
through  the  separator  did  slow  down  the  fermenta¬ 
tion,  but  evidently  it  Avould  not  entirely  prevent  it. 
If  cider  is  run  through  a  separator  and  a  small 
amount  of  benzoate  of  soda  is  added  it  seems  evident 
that  such  cider  Avill  keep  sAveet  for  a  considerable 
time.  If  the  cider  is  treated  with  the  chemical, 
however,  that  fact  should  ahvays  be  stated  Avlien  the 
cider  is  sold. 
Some  Greenhouse  Problems 
1.  What  is  the  method  of  removing  lime  from  glass 
on  greenhouse,  put  on  in  Spring  rather  heavily?  2. 
Will  you  ghre  formula  for  making  liquid  putty?  3. 
What  is  the  best  and  cheapest  method  of  heating  green¬ 
house  made  of  sash  35x60,  excluding  steam,  hot  water, 
etc.,  as  requiring  too  big  an  outlay  of  money?  4.  Hoav 
are  eallas  handled  to  best  advantage?  N.  R. 
Delaware. 
NE  method  that  is  effective  is  to  add  muriatic 
acid  to  Avater,  sprinkle  over  the  surface  of  the 
glass,  and  remove  with  a  broom  or  a  coarse  cloth. 
The  acid  in  the  water  softens  the  lime,  or  any  other 
foreign  matter  on  the  glass.  The  quantity  of  acid 
necessary  is  not  very  large  and  can  be  determined 
by  experiment.  Add  a  small  amount  to  a  gallon  of 
water  and  if  that  is  not  sufficient  to  produce  results 
keep  on  adding  acid  until  the  desired  results  are 
produced. 
2.  Putty  of  any  desired  density  may  be  made  in 
the  following  manner:  Dissolve  caoutchouc  in  benzol 
to  the  solution  of  a  medium  syrup,  and  incorporate- 
this  mixture  Avith  Avhite  lead  and  linseed  oil  until 
the  putty  is  of  the  consistency  that  is  desired. 
3.  There  are  two  methods  that  may  be  employed 
in  heating  a  greenhouse  of  the  size  mentioned  ex¬ 
clusive  of  water  and  steam.  Either  will  be  much 
cheaper  than  the  tAVO  latter  systems,  although  pos¬ 
sibly  not  as  satisfactory.  One  method  Avould  be  to 
install  several  large  stoves  in  a  pit  three  or  four 
feet  beloAv  the  level  of  the  soil  of  the  greenhouse, 
and  enclose  these  stoves  with  a  casing  of  sheet  iron 
about  one  foot  away  from  the  stove  on  all  sides, 
and  one  foot  from  the  bottom.  These  casings  need 
not  extend  very  much  above  the  top  of  tire  stoves, 
and  Avill  add  very  materially  in  giving  the  heat 
rays  a  definite  circulation.  It  Avill  be  found  that 
the  heat  will  circulate  much  more  uniformly  through¬ 
out  the  house  if  these  shields  are  placed  around  the 
stoves  than  if  they  are  omitted.  Another  method 
would  be  to  erect  a  brick  fireplace  in  one  end  of 
the  house  and  extend  a  brick  flue  completely  around 
the  house,  and  if  the  latter  method  is  adopted  the 
fireplace  should  be  located  at  the  coldest  part  of 
the  house  if  possible.  It  should  be  low  enough  in 
the  ground  so  that  the  flue  in  the  start  Avould  have 
a  vertical  rise  from  IS  in.  to  2  ft,  and 
then  ascend  gradually  throughout  the 
entire  length  until  it  is  back  to  the 
starting  point.  The  stove  method 
Avould  undoubtedly  be  cheaper  and 
very  likely  more  successful  than  the 
flue  method.  It  would  also  have  the 
advantage  of  elasticity,  as  it  is  an 
easy  matter  to  add  another  unit  in  case 
at  any  time  you  would  find  the  heat  not 
sufficient.  Any  old  kind  of  a  stove 
partly  worn  out  would  do,  just  so  there 
is  no  danger  of  gas  escaping  into  the 
greenhouse. 
4.  Callus  are  grown  in  several  dif¬ 
ferent  ways:  planted  in  solid  beds  on 
the  ground,  in  soil  on  benches,  or  in 
pots.  The  first  method  is  not  desir¬ 
able,  though  cheap,  the  second  Avill 
give  a  larger  per  cent  of  midwinter 
stock  than  the  solid  bed  method.  How¬ 
ever  if  Winter  flowers  are  desired 
when  they  bring  the  highest  prices,  it 
is  almost  absolutely  necessary  to  groAv 
them  in  6-in.  pots.  Any  good  Avell-en- 
riclied  potting  soil  will  be  satisfactory. 
The  bulbs  should  have  a  good  long  rest 
until  the  tops  dry  off  them  before  pot¬ 
ting  up,  and  for  several  Aveeks  after 
potting  they  must  be  Avatered  sparingly, 
as  too  much  water  at  this  stage  will 
start  decay  in  the  bulb.  It  requires 
three  or  four  Aveeks  until  the  roots  be¬ 
gin  tO'  develop  properly,  and  during 
this  period  the  pots  may  be  under  the 
bench,  outside  or  in  the  cellar.  During 
this  time  the  plant  makes  very  little 
growth.  After  the  roots  are  Avell  de¬ 
veloped  the  plants  grow  very  rapidly, 
and  come  into  bloom  Avithin  10  or  12 
weeks.  A  bright  Avarm  house  is  a 
good  location  for  them,  and  liquid  fer¬ 
tilizer  may  be  applied.  If  tankage  is 
used  on  the  surface  of  the  pot,  be  very 
careful  to  apply  very  small  amounts 
at  intervals  of  several  weeks,  rather 
than  a  large  quantity  at  one  time.  I 
haA’e  seen  a  large  lot  of  calla  lilies  so 
badly  ruined  by  too  much  tankage  that 
the  whole  lot  had  to  be  discarded.  After  the  bloom¬ 
ing  period  the  pots  are  simply  stored  under  the 
bench  on  the  side,  so  that  no  more  water  gets  to 
the  bulb  until  it  is  thoroughly  dried  out,  and  after 
a  good  long  rest  they  are  ready  to  bring  back  into 
bloom  for  another  season.  elmer  j.  aveaver. 
The  Wheat  Situation 
HE  folloAving  advice  from  the  Kansas  Agricul¬ 
ture  College  will  apply  almost  everywhere  in 
Avheat  seeding: 
“When  you  start  the  wheat  drill  in  the  fields  this 
■Fall,  be  sure  that  you  are  making  no  mistake.  Don’t 
sow  wheat  on  ground  that  could  better  be  planted  to 
some  other  crop.  Don’t  sow  wheat  on  ground  that  has 
been  in  wheat  so  long  that  the  yield  will  be  low  and 
the  quality  poor.  Don’t  sow  wheat  on  ground  that  has 
not  been  properly  prepared  for  the  crop.  Don’t  sow 
more  wheat  than  can  be  harvested  in  good  condition. 
Don’t  plant  Avheat  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  crops. 
There  is  no  part  of  the  United  States  so  AA-ell  adapted 
to  wheat  that  a  farmer  can  afford  to  depend  upon  the 
one  crop  for  a  living.  We  should  plant  the  wheat  that 
Ave  need  to  maintain  a  satisfactory  crop  rotation  and 
a  proper  balance  of  crops  on  the  farm.  If  Ave  all  fol¬ 
low  this  plan.  Avheat  growing  will  be  more  profitable, 
and  there  will  not  be  a  burdensome  surplus  of  wheat 
produced  in  this  country.” 
And  now  they  tell  us  that  the  people  of  South  China 
are  using  cornmeal  as  food  in  place  of  rice.  They  also 
find  peanut  oil  a  necessity. 
Portable  Sheep  Yard.  See  parje  1200 
These  are  two  little  Vermont  youngsters — children  of  Mr.  L.  Ellison  aa'Iio  lives  at 
Tyson.  They  are  coming  farmers  Avith  plenty  of  milk  inside  and  water  outside. 
Every  farm  should  have  several  of  these  lively  ornaments.  They  make  the  best 
crop  that  ever  grew  out  of  the  land. 
