358 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER, 
October  8,  1888, 
able  to  those  unused  to  it.  There  was,  however,  a  fair  prospect  of 
reviving  the  industry,  for  the  soil  is  still  the  same.  Tne  orchards  are 
there,  and  even  though  many  of  the  trees  have  become  worthless,  there 
are  still  to  be  found  many  varieties  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of 
Cider. 
It  is,  however,  continued  the  essayist,  the  only  agricultural  industry 
capable  of  development  to  an  unlimited  degree,  as  it  is  one  that  is  not  to 
any  marked  extent  open  to  foreign  competition.  With  regard  to  demand, 
he  felt  sure  that  if  brought  into  more  general  use,  cider  and  perry  would 
take  the  place  of  many  of  the  artificial  beverages  now  so  common .  The 
agricultural  returns  showed  that  in  the  counties  of  Devon,  Hereford, 
Somerset,  Worcester,  and  Gloucester,  in  the  year  1894  an  acreage  of 
115,045  were  deroted  to  the  culture  of  fruit ;  whereas  in  1895  an  increase 
had  been  made  to  116,192.  The  authors  of  the  "  Hereford  Pomona  ”  set  the 
returns  in  beverage  to  be  about  200  gallons  per  acre,  valued  at  3d.  per 
gallon.  This,  however,  he  considered  to  be  a  very  low  average,  and  con¬ 
sidered  that  300’  gallons  per  acre,  at  5d.  per  gallon,  nearer  the  mark. 
With  respect  to  the  liquor,  and  the  process  of  making  it,  cider  was 
the  compressed  and  fermented  j  uice  of  the  Apple,  and  perry  the  com¬ 
pressed  and  fermented  juice  of  the  Pear.  It  is  not  all  Apples  whose 
juice  makes  good  cider,  but  those  of  a  harsh  and  tart  flavour,  and  a 
good  liquor  is  made  from  fruits  that  are  too  small  and  harsh  for  dessert. 
The  process  resembles  that  of  wine  making.  The  fruit  is  crushed  in 
mills  to  a  pulp,  and  then  the  fruit  is  passed  through  a  hair  sieve  to 
extract  the  juice.  For  home  manufacture,  the  old  fashioned  mill  is 
used  generally,  but  for  making  cider  on  a  large  scale  the  process  is  too 
slow,  and  machines  of  modern  invention  are  better  ;  when  the  juice  is 
extracted  it  should  be  fermented,  and  here  we  have  the  most  difficult 
stage  in  cider  making.  Those  who  are  experienced  know  how  to 
regulate  the  fermentation,  so  as  to  stop  it  at  the  right  time.  What,  how¬ 
ever,  is  wanted  is  instruction  on  the  scientific  principles  of  cider  manu¬ 
facture.  In  this  respect  great  credit  is  due  to  the  Bath  and  West  of 
England  Society,  which  has  endeavoured  to  encourage  the  industry. 
There  are  two  systems  adopted  in  the  making  of  cider,  in  the  first, 
fermentation  is  checked  before  the  natural  sugar  turns  into  alcohol. 
This  results  in  the  production  of  a  sweet  liquor  which  is  generally 
appreciated,  By  the  second  system  all  the  sugar  is  converted  into 
alcohol,  and  a  dry  unsweetened  beverage  is  the  result.  Both  systems 
had  their  advocates,  but  generally  speaking  the  first  was  preferred. 
Cider  and  perry  were  both  natural  drinks  made  from  fruits  without 
any  addition.  Cider  rarely  contains  more  than  4  per  cent,  of  alcohol, 
and  this  was  demonstrated  at  the  late  show  of  the  Bath  and  West  of 
England  Society  at  St,  Albans,  where  many  of  the  competitors  were 
disqualified  because  the  drink  did  not  contain  the  required  percentage 
of  alcohol. 
He,  Mr.  Cook,  maintained  that  cider  was  a  temperance  beverage, 
made  from  ripe  fruit,  and  not  containing  so  much  alcohol  as  many  of 
the  advertised  temperance  drinks.  Cider,  he  added,  was  recommended 
for  gouty  people,  and  further  statistics  show  that  in  Hereford  not  a 
single  case  of  true  Asiatic  cholera  has  ever  been  known ,  Diarrhma,  too,  in 
the  county  is  singularly  rare  ;  and  in  Normandy,  where  cider  is  a  general 
beverage,  gout  and  gravel  diseases  are  practically  unknown,  Mr.  Cook 
then  read  an  extract  from  the  “  Lancet,”  testifying  to  these  facts,  and 
added  that  the  natives  of  Hereford  are  noted  for  longevity,  and  that  the 
county  is  classed  as  one  of  the  four  longest  lived  in  the  country. 
Eeferring  to  the  industrial  value  of  the  trade,  it  was  well  known  that 
in  years  of  abundance  large  quantities  of  fruit  are  allowed  to  rot  on  the 
ground.  Why  should  not  the  farmer  either  sell  his  fruit  or  convert  it 
into  cider  or  perry  ?  The  manufacture  of  the  beverage  was  the  best,  but 
the  sale  of  the  fruit  is  profitable  in  years  of  abundance,  while  in 
seasons  of  scarcity  the  prices  obtained  would  be  highly  remunerative,  as 
some  of  the  choice  cider-making  varieties  fetch  from  53,  to  6s.  per  cwt. 
The  expenses  of  production,  too,  are  less  than  that  of  table  fruit,  as 
trees  are  growr  ^n  orchards,  and  the  grass  underneath  is  worth  more 
than  if  there  were  no  trees.  Kef  erring  to  the  saleability  of  the  beverage 
there  was  a  good  demand  for  sound  liquor  in  the  North  of  England,  though 
perry  was  less  known  than  cider.  In  former  days  both  Surrey  and  Kent 
were  cider-making  counties,  though  by  his  writings  Dr.  Beale  preferred 
the  liquor  of  Hereford,  This,  perhaps,  was  owing  to  the  fact  that 
Kentish  cider  was  chiefly  manufactured  from  table  fruits,  and  would  be 
better  if  some  of  the  more  acid  kinds  were  mixed  with  it. 
In  hi3,  the  easayiat’s  opinion,  there  was  room  for  the  small  cider 
maker  and  the  large  manufacturer,  and  he  thought  it  quite  possible 
that  prime  cider  will  displace  many  of  the  cheap  wines  now  sold.  He 
had  said  in  the  beginning  of  his  lecture  that  cider  making  was  an 
industry  in  which  there  was  no  fear  of  foreign  competition,  and  would 
doubtless  be  asked  to  substantiate  this.  Cider  was  certainly  imported 
from  America,  and  there  appeared  to  be  an  impression  that  it  was  on 
the  increase.  The  Board  of  Trade  returns,  however,  did  not  support 
this  view,  the  figures  showing  that  in  1893  537,000  gallons  of  American 
cider  came  into  this  country,  in  1894  409,000,  in  1895  579,000,  and  up  to 
August  3l8t  in  the  present  year  246,881  gallons.  It  was  urged  that  the 
decrease  in  1894  was  due  to  the  failure  of  the  fruit  crop,  but  he  thought 
the  reason  lay  in  the  inferior  quality  of  the  American  liquor  to  that  pro¬ 
duced  at  home.  He  was  of  the  opinion  that  if  good  cider  were  manu¬ 
factured  in  England,  and  steps  taken  to  thoroughly  advertise  it,  we 
should  in  time  be  able  to  oust  the  Americans  from  the  market. 
In  taking  steps  to  obtain  a  good  supply  old  orchards  should  be 
renovated  and  new  ones  planted.  Trees  have  been  allowed  to  deteriorate, 
and  no  efiorts  made  to  improve  them.  Then  there  is  the  destruction  of 
insect  pests,  in  the  respect  of  which  co-operation  is  necessary,  as  it  it 
practically  useless  one  grower  endeavouring  to  keep  his  trees  free  from 
attacks  if  those  of  his  neighbours  are  infested.  In  Tasmania  growers 
were  compelled  by  the  Government  to  keep  their  trees  clean,  and  he 
thought  it  would  be  a  good  thing  if  the  local  authorities  in  England  had 
the  same  power,  as  he  was  convinced  that  in  many  cases  the  failure  of 
the  Apple  crop  was  due  to  attacks  of  insect  pests.  Instruction  in  cider 
making,  he  thought,  was  a  matter  that  should  be  dealt  with  by  the 
State,  and  he  should  suggest  the  institution  of  two  experimental  farms, 
supplied  with  proper  plant,  one  in  Hereford,  and  another  on  the  borders 
of  Somerset  and  Devon. 
Distribution  was  another  matter  to  be  considered.  In  the  first 
place  there  was  the  cost  of  carriage,  and  the  high  railway  rates 
caused  an  increase  in  the  price  to  the  consumer  of  from  4d,  to  5d,  per 
gallon,  and  while  alterations  had  been  made  by  different  companies  in 
the  rate  of  agricultural  produce,  no  reduction  had  been  made  in  the 
rates  for  the  transit  of  cider.  He  would  suggest  competition  by  the 
State  taking  over  the  canals,  putting  them  in  order,  and  working  them. 
The  Adulteration  Acts,  too,  should  be  rigidly  enforced,  and  manu¬ 
facturers  of  liquor  containing  chemicals  be  made  to  state  this  fact  on 
the  label.  All  American  cider  should  also  be  labelled  as  such,  and  an 
association  formed  to  make  the  proper  investigations  in  order  to  prevent 
foreign  liquor  being  sold  as  English.  With  a  few  other  remarks  Mr, 
Cook  brought  his  interesting  and  instructive  lecture  to  a  close,  and  a 
short  discussion  followed  in  which  Messrs.  Gaymar,  Watkins,  and  others 
took  part. 
THE  R.H.S.  FRUIT  COMMITTEE. 
Most  gardeners,  I  believe,  are  quite  satisfied  as  to  the  absolute  fair¬ 
ness  and  impartiality  with  which  the  business  of  all  the  Committees  of 
the  R.H.S.  is  carried  on,  not  only  as  to  the  exhibits  of  outsiders,  but  also 
those  of  the  members  themselves.  Therefore,  I  venture  to  suggest  that 
an  apology  from  Mr.  Alderman  would  be  the  most  graceful  manner  of 
withdrawal  from  the  position  which  he  has  been  induced  to  take  up,— 
An  Unpebjtoiced  Gabdenee. 
I  SHALL  esteem  it  a  great  favour  if  you  will  kindly  insert  in  your 
next  issue  my  entire  disapproval  of  all  the  complaints  that  have  been 
made  against  the  R.H.S.  Fruit  Committee  by  my  namesake,  “  A  Aider- 
man.”  My  reason  for  this  request  is  that  I  am  credited  with  what  he  has 
written,  whereas  I  have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the  decisions  of 
the  Committee.  I  therefore  disclaim  any  connection  or  relation  in  this 
matter  with  my  aggrieved  namesake;  —  Aleeed  Aldeeman,  The 
Gardens,  Effi,ngham  Hill,  Dorking. 
[We  have  received  another  letter  on  this  subject  (not  from  the  other 
Mr.  Alderman),  but  as  its  publication,  as  we  have  taken  pains  to 
ascertain,  would  undoubtedly  subject  the  writer  of  it  to  an  action  for 
libel  we  protect  both  him  and  ourselves  from  such  contingency. — Eh."] 
A  VISIT  TO  BUNYARD’S. 
For  the  last  three  or  four  years  I  had  been  trying  to  arrange  a  day 
to  go  and  see  Mr.  Geo.  Bunyard.  It  came  about  like  this :  About  the 
time  when  I  was  taking  an  increased  interest  in  Apples,  Mr.  Bunyard, 
happening  to  be  down  in  Ipswich,  was  goad  enough  to  come  over  and 
see  me.  It  was  about  the  middle  of  October,  and  either  I  had  gathered 
my  Apples  and  Pears,  or  had  none  that  year ;  anyhow,  there  was  no 
fruit  on  the  trees,  and  my  remembrance  is  that  the  leaves  were  turned 
and  falling  fast.  Mr.  Bunyard  stood  among  my  Roses,  about  40  yards 
from  seven  or  eight  Apple  trees,  standard  and  bush,  and  two  Pears,  and 
named  them  every  one  correctly  in  succession,  though,  as  I  have  said, 
there  was  no  fruit  on  them,  and  not  many  leaves.  Several  of  them  were 
not  what  might  be  called  common  varieties,  and  they  were  all  different, 
and  I  thought  to  myself  that  there  was  no  doubt  this  man  was  pretty 
well  up  in  Apples. 
He  then  went  with  me  into  my  church,  and  seemed  astonished  that  I 
did  not  know  that  the  reason  there  were  no  cobwebs  on  the  roof  was 
because  it  was  made  of  Chestnut  wood.  It  was  all  very  well  about  the 
Apples,  but  now  I  began  to  be  rather  ashamed  of  myself  and  my 
ignorance  ;  but  I  have  “  perked  up  ”  a  bit  since  on  this  matter,  seeing 
that  I  have  mentioned  it  after  this  to  every  visitor,  and  only  found  one 
other  man  (a  day  or  two  ago)  who  did  know  it.  That  was  three  years 
ago,  but  it  was  only  this  August  that  I  have  been  able  to  carry  out  my 
desire  of  visiting  Mr.  Bunyard  among  his  Apples.  I  cannot  give  a 
detailed  account,  as  I  said  at  first,  and  I  daresay  the  readers  of  the 
Journal  do  not  want  one.  I  only  note  the  things  which  struck  me  as  a 
“  mere  amateur.” 
I  remember  being  struck  with  the  White  Transparent  Apple,  figured 
in  the  Journal  of  September  17th.  I  had  breakfasted  early,  and 
travelled  100  miles,  and  in  the  course  of  a  delightful  lunch  on  the 
simple  fruits  of  the  earth  as  we  walked  along,  I  remember  gratefully  the 
White  Transparent  Apple,  even  among  divers  Peaches  and  Nectarines, 
Now,  what  struck  me  most  will  be  no  news,  I  suppose,  to  anyone  who 
has  ever  seen  an  Apple  nursery,  but  I  expect  it  will  sound  strange  to 
one  who  has  not.  'When  I  came  back  I  found  my  man  planting  out  my 
young  plants  of  Royal  Sovereign  Strawberry,  and  I  said  to  him,  “  How 
far  apart  do  you  think  Mr.  Bunyard  grows  his  standard  Apple  trees  for 
Bending  ontf  ”  He  said  he  did  not  know.  I  said,  “Just  half  the 
distance  that  you  are  putting  out  those  young  Strawberry  plants — viz., 
1  foot  from  tree  to  tree,  and  3  feet  from  row  to  cow.”  He  was 
