the time when his pulp should be carried to the press. If he carried it immediately from the mill to the press, he might lose some small advantage which may be expected from the rind and kernels, and his liquor might be of lower colour than he may wish. If he suffer it to remain too long unpressed, he will find to his cost that the acetous fermentation will come on before the vinous is perfected, especially in the early part of the cidermaking season. He will generally find that his pulp is in a fit state for pressing in about twelve or sixteen-hours. If he must of necessity keep it in that state longer, he will find a sensible heat therein, which will engender a premature fermentation; and he must not delay turning it over, thereby to expose the middle of the mass to the influence of the atmosphere. Knight's opinion is, however, that it should remain twentyfour hours before it is taken to the press; and in this opinion the author of the Art of Cider Making, in Lardner's Cyclopædia, Domestic Economy, vol. i. also concurs.

4127. The pommage being carried to the press, and a square cake or cheese made of it, by placing very clean sweet straw or reed between the various layers of pommage; or by putting the same into the hair-cloths, and placing them one on another. It is of importance that the straw or weed be sweet, and perfectly free from any fustiness, lest the cider be impregnated therewith. Particular care ought also to be taken to keep hair-cloths sweet, by frequently washing and drying, or the ill effects of their acidity will be communicated to the cider. To this cake or cheese, after standing awhile, a slight pressure is at first to be given, which must be gradually increased until all the must or juice is expressed; after which, this juice must be strained through a coarse hair sieve, to keep back its gross feculences, and be put into proper vessels. These vessels may be either open vats or close casks; but as, in the time of a plentiful crop of apples, a number of open vats may by the ciderist be considered an incumbrance in his cider-rooms, they should be generally carried immediately from the press to the cask. Thus far, says Crocker, cider-making is a mere manual operation, performed with very little skill in the operator; but here it is that the great art of making good cider commences; nature soon begins to work a wonderful change in this foul-looking, turbid, fulsome, and unwholesome fluid; and, by the process of fermentation alone, converts it into a wholesome, vinous, salubrious, heart-cheering beverage.

4128. Fermentation is an internal motion of the parts of a fermentable body. This motion, in the present case, is always accompanied with an evident ebullition, the bubbles rising to the surface, and there forming a scum, or soft and spongy crust, over the whole liquor. This crust is frequently raised and broken by the air as it disengages itself from the liquor, and forces its way through it. This effect continues whilst the fermentation is brisk, but at last gradually ceases. The liquor now appears tolerably clear to the eye, and has a piquant vinous sharpness upon the tongue. If in this state the least hissing noise be heard in the fermenting liquor, the room is too warm, and atmospheric air must be let in at the doors and at the windows. Now, continues Crocker, is the critical moment which the ciderist must not lose sight of; for, if he would have a strong, generous, and pleasant liquor, all further sensible fermentation must be stopped. This is best done by racking off the pure part into open vessels, which must be placed in a more cool situation for a day or two; after which it may again be barrelled, and placed in some moderately cool situation for the winter. The Herefordshire cider-farmers, after the cider has perfected its vinous fermentation, place their casks of cider in open sheds throughout the winter; and, when the spring advances, give the last racking, and then cellar it. In racking, it is advisable that the stream from the racking-cock be small, and that the receiving-tub be but a small depth below the cock, lest, by exciting a violent motion of the parts of the liquor, another fermentation be brought up. The feculence of the cider may be strained through a filtering-bag, and placed among the second-rate ciders; but by no means should it be returned to the prime cider. In this situation the cider will, in course of time, by a sort of insensible fermentation, not only drop the remainder of its gross lees, but will become transparent, highly vinous, and fragrant.

4129. According to Knight, after the fermentation has ceased, and the liquor is become clear and bright, it should instantly be drawn off, and not suffered on any account again to mingle with its lees; for these possess much the same properties as yeast, and would inevitably bring on a second fermentation. The best criterion to judge of the proper moment to rack off will be the brightness of the liquor; and this is always attended with external marks, which serve as guides to the cider-maker. The discharge of fixed air, which always attends the progress of fermentation, has entirely ceased; and a thick crust, formed of fragments of the reduced pulp, raised by the buoyant air it contains, is collected on the surface. The clear liquor being drawn off into another cask, the lees are put into small bags, similar to those used for jellies: through these whatever liquor the lees contain gradually filtrates, becoming perfectly bright; and it is then returned to that in the cask, in which it has the effect, in some measure, of preventing a second fermentation. It appears to have undergone a considerable change in the process of filtration,

Its colour is remarkably deep, its taste harsh and flat, and it has a strong tendency to become acetous; probably by haying given out fixed and absorbed vital air. Should it become acetous, which it will frequently do in forty-eight hours, it must not on any account be put into the cask. If the cider, after being racked off, remains bright and quiet, nothing more is to be done to it till the succeeding spring; but if a scum collects on the surface, it must immediately be racked off into another cask, as this would produce bad effects if suffered to sink. If a disposition to ferment with violence again appears, it will be necessary to rack off from one cask to another, as often as a hissing noise is heard. The strength of cider is much reduced by being frequently racked off; but this arises only from a larger portion of sugar remaining unchanged, which adds to the sweetness at the expense of the other quality. The juice of those fruits which produce very strong ciders often remains muddy during the whole winter, and much attention must frequently be paid to prevent an excess of fermentation.

4130. The casks, into which the liquor is put whenever racked off, should always have been thoroughly scalded, and dried again; and each should want several gallons of being full, to expose a larger surface to the air.

4131. The above precautions neglected by the ciderist, the inevitable consequence will be this:Another fermentation will quickly succeed, and convert the fine vinous liquor he was possessed of into a sort of vinegar; and all the art he is master of will never restore it to its former richness and purity. When the acetous fermentation has been suffered to come on, the following attempts may be made to prevent the ill effects of it from running to their full extent:-A bottle of French brandy, half a gallon of spirit extracted from the lees of cider, or a pailful of old cider, poured into the hogshead soon after the acetous fermentation is begun: but no wonder if all these should fail, if the cider be still continued in a close warm cellar. To give effect to either, it is necessary that the liquor be as much exposed to a cooler air as conveniently may be, and that for a considerable length of time. By such means it is possible fermentation may, in a great measure, be repressed: and if a cask of prime cider cannot thence be obtained, a cask of tolerable second-rate kind may. These remedies are innocent: but if the farmer or cider-merchant attempt to cover the accident, occasioned by negligence or inattention, by applying any preparation of lead, let him reflect, that he is about to commit an absolute and unqualified murder on those whose lot it may be to drink his poisonous draught.

4132. Stumming, which signifies the fuming of a cask with burning sulphur, may sometimes be advantageous. It is thus performed:-Take a stripe of canvas cloth, about twelve inches long and two broad; let it be dipped into melted brimstone: when this match is dry, let it be lighted, and suspended from the bung of a cask (in which there are a few gallons of cider) until it be burnt out. The cask must remain stopped for an hour or more, and be then rolled to and fro, to incorporate the fumes of the match with the cider ; after which it may be filled. If the stumming be designed only to suppress some slight improper fermentation, the brimstone match is sufficient; but if it be required to give any additional flavour to the cider, some powdered ginger, cloves, cinnamon, &c. may be strewed on the match when it is made. The burning of these ingredients with the sulphur will convey somewhat of their fragrance to the whole cask of cider; but to do it to the best advantage, it must be performed as soon as the vinous fermentation is fully perfected.

4133. Cider is generally in the best state to be put into the bottle at two years old, where it will soon become brisk and sparkling; and if it possesses much richness, it will remain with scarcely any sensible change during twenty or thirty years, or as long as the cork duly performs its office.

The

4134. In making cider for the common use of the farm-house, few of the foregoing rules are attended to. The flavour of the liquor is here a secondary consideration with the farmer, whose first object must be to obtain a large quantity at a small expense. apples are usually ground as soon as they become moderately ripe: and the juice is either racked off at once as soon as it becomes bright, or more frequently conveyed from the press immediately to the cellar. A violent fermentation soon commences, and continues until nearly the whole of the saccharine part is decomposed. The casks are filled up and stopped early in the succeeding spring, and no further attention is either paid or required. The liquor thus prepared may be kept from two to five or six years in the cask, according to its strength. It is generally harsh and rough, but rarely acetous; and in this state, it is usually supposed to be preferred by the farmers and peasantry. When it has become extremely thin and harsh by excess of fermentation, the addition of a small quantity of bruised wheat, or slices of toasted bread, or any other farinaceous substance, will much diminish its disposition to become sour.

4135. Madeira Cider. Take new cider from the press, mix it with honey till it bears an egg, boil it gently for a quarter of an hour, but not in an iron pot; take off the scum as it rises, let it cool, then barrel it, without filling the vessel quite full: bottle it off in March. In six weeks afterwards, it will be ripe for use, and as strong as Madeira. The longer it is afterwards kept, the better. (Mech. Mag.)

The pears

4136. Perry is manufactured on exactly the same principles as cider. should not be quite ripe, and the admixture of some wildings will add much to the sprightliness of the taste. "It is thought by some to resemble champagne more than gooseberry wine does; and it is said, when of the best quality, to have been at times sold instead of champagne.' (Lardner's Cyc. Dom. Econ.)

4137. The produce of cider or perry by the acre can only be guessed at, by first ascertaining the number of trees. From an orchard of trees in full bearing, hatf a hogshead of cider may, in seasons ordinarily favourable, be expected from the fruit of each tree. As the number of trees on the acre varies from ten to forty, the quantity of cider must vary in the same proportion, that is, from five to twenty hogsheads. Pear-trees, in equally good bearing, yield fully one third more liquor; therefore, although the liquor extracted from pears sells at a lower price than that produced from apples, yet the value by the acre, when the number of trees is the same, is nearly on a par.

SECT. VI. Machinery and Utensils necessary for Cider-making.

4138. The machinery of the common ciderist includes the mill-house, mill, press, cloth, vat, and cask, with their appurtenances.

4139. Marshal, in The Rural Economy of Gloucestershire, remarks, that a mill-house, on an orchard-farm, is as necessary as a barn. It is generally one end of an out-building, or perhaps an open shed, under which straw or small implements are occasionally laid up. The smallest dimensions, to render it any way convenient, are twenty-four feet by twenty; a floor thrown over it, at seven feet high; a door in the middle of the front, and a window opposite; with the mill on one side, the press on the other side, of the window, as much room being left in front, towards the door, for fruit and utensils, as the nature of the mill and the press will allow. The utensils belonging to a mill-house are few: the fruit is brought in carts or baskets, and the liquor carried out in pails.

4140. Of the common cider-mill there are several varieties, formed on the principles of the barkmills of tanners. The circle enclosed by the trough is in Devonshire generally in one division (fig. 602.), and

602

is sometimes divided into compartments for containing different varieties of the same fruit. (fig. 603.) The size of the runner varies from two and a half to four and a half feet in diameter, and from nine to twelve

603

inches in thickness; which in general is equal, like that of a grindstone, not varying, like that of a millstone: the weight one or two tons. The bottom of the chace is somewhat wider than the runner, that this may run freely. The inner side rises perpendicularly, but the outer side spreads, so as to make the top of the trough some six or eight inches wider than the bottom, to give freedom to the runner, and room to scatter in the fruit, stir it up while grinding, and take out the ground matter. The depth is nine or ten inches. The outer rim of the trough is three or four inches wide; and the diameter of the inner circle, which the trough circumscribes, from four and a half to five feet, according to the size of the mill. This is sometimes raised by a table of thick plank fixed upon the stone, with a curb of wood, lessening to an angle, fixed upon the circumference of the trough, making the whole depth of the trough about equal to its width at the bottom. This lessens the quantity of the stone; and the plank upon the centre answers other purposes. The entire bed of a middle-sized mill is about nine feet; some are ten, and some few twelve, in diameter; the whole being composed of two, three, or four stones, cramped together as one; and worked, or at least finished, after they are cramped together. The best stones are raised in the Forest of Dean: they are mostly a darkreddish gritstone (non-calcareous), working with sufficient freedom, yet sufficiently hard for this intention. The bed of the mill is formed, and the trough partly hollowed, at the quarry, leaving a few inches at the edge of each stone uncut out, as a bond to prevent its breaking in carriage. Much depends on the quality of the stone. It ought not to be calcareous, in whole or in part, as the acid of the liquor would corrode it. Some of the Herefordshire stones have calcareous pebbles in them, which being of course dissolved leave holes in the stone. Nor should it be such as will communicate a disagreeable tinge to the liquor. A clean-grained grindstone grit is the fittest for the purpose.

4141. The runner, as it has been seen (fig. 602.), is moved by means of an axle passing through the centre, with a long arm, reaching without the bed of the mill, for a horse to draw by; and with a short one passing to an upright swivel, turning upon a pivot, in the centre of the stone, and steadied at the top, by entering a bearing of the floor above. An iron bolt, with a large head, passes through an eye in the lower part of the swivel, into the end of the inner arm of the axis. Thus the requisite double motion is obtained, and the stone kept perfectly upright (which it ought to be) with great simplicity, and without stress to any part of the machine. This is the ordinary method of hanging the runner. There is a more complex way of doing it, but Marshal says he sees no advantage arising from it. There are some mills, it seems, with two runners, one opposite the other. On the inner arm of the axis, about a foot from the

runner, is fixed (or ought to be, though it is frequently wanting) a cogged wheel working in a circle of cogs, fixed upon the bed of the mill.

4142. The diameter of the wheel is determined by the height of the axis above the bed of the mill; the diameter of the ring of cogs, by the distance of the wheel from the centre of motion. The use of cog wheels is to prevent the runner from sliding, to which it is liable when the mill is full; the matter, when nearly ground, rising up in a body before the stone. Besides, by assisting the rotatory motion of the stone, it renders the work more easy to the horse. These wheels require to be made with great exactness; and in a country where carpenters are unaccustomed to them, a millwright should be employed in fixing them. The mill is placed so as to leave a horse-path, about three feet wide, between the bed and the walls; so that a moderately sized mill, with its horse-path, takes up a space of fourteen or fifteen

feet every way.

4143. À cider-mill in use in the south of France (fig, 604.) is worked on a circular platform of boards,

604

and instead of stone the wheel or conical roller (a) is of cast-iron. The fruit is spread thinly over the platform, and the roller moved round by one man or a woman. From the roller's covering more breadth than the narrow bark wheels in use in England, more fruit is crushed in a short time by this sort of mill than would at first sight be supposed

4144. An eligible description of mill, where cider is only made for private use, consists of a pair of fluted rollers working into each other. These rollers are of cast-iron, hollow, about nine inches in diameter, with flutes or teeth, about an inch wide, and nearly as much deep. In general they are worked by hand, two men working against each other. Between these the fruit passes twice; the rollers being first set wide to break it into fragments, and afterwards closer to reduce the fragments and the seeds, the bruising of the latter being of essential use in making high. flavoured cider.

4145. The apple-mill is an iron machine. Where iron-mills have been tried, this metal has been found to be soluble in the acid of apples, to which it communicates a brown colour and an unpleasant taste. No combination has been ascertained to take place between this acid and lead; but as the calx of this metal readily dissolves in, and communicates an extremely poisonous quality to, the acetous juice of the apple, it should never be suffered to come into contact with the fruit or liquor. (Knight on the Apple and Pear.) In Ireland the cider-mill is composed of two horizontal wooden cylinders, covered with studs of iron like an organ barrel. These work into each other and crush the apples, which are afterwards beat in a vessel with wooden pestles.

4146. The cider-press in Herefordshire is a modification of the common screw-press. In Ireland the press bears a considerable resemblance to the common wine-presses of France, that being effected by a long lever which in England is effected by a screw. It will save some subsequent trouble if, in pressing out the juice, the action of the press be applied gradually, and very slowly increased. In this way the juices, at first running muddy, will at length come off perfectly transparent. (Lardner's Cyclo. Dom. Econ.) 4147. Cider cloths are used for containing the pommage in order to its being pressed. They are usually made of common hair-cloth; but such as is rather close in its texture is the best. The size is generally about four feet square; and they hold about two or three bushels, or as much as the mill can grind at once: and these are heaped over each other till the press is full. The larger presses will hold from eight to fifteen bags, which yield from one to two hundred gallons of liquor, according to the largeness of what is termed the cheese. To perform the work neatly, it is necessary to have two sets of these bags for they clog and fur in pressing, and consequently become unfit for use till they have been washed and dried; so that, while this is doing, either the press must stand still or another set be ready to employ it. But some, instead of hair bags, lay long straw under the pommage, the ends of which they turn up over it; then cover the pommage entirely with fresh clean straw, upon which they spread another layer of pommage, and so on alternately, till the press is full. Either of the methods will do ; but those who are desirous of doing the work in the neatest and best manner generally use bags.

:

4148. The cider-vat is a vessel made for the purpose of receiving the pommage, or the cider before it is racked off into the cask. Vessels of this kind should be made of wood, as where lead is employed it is liable to be corroded by the malic acid.

4149. Cider casks, when new, though the wood be ever so well seasoned, are apt to give a disagreeable relish, unless due caution be used before-hand. Frequent scalding with hot water, into which some handfuls of salt have been first thrown, or with water in which some of the pommage has been boiled, and washing afterwards with cider, are the usual remedies against this evil, and seldom fail of removing it effectually. Of old casks, beer-vessels are the worst, as they always spoil cider; and, in return, cider-casks infallibly spoil beer. Wine and brandy casks do very well, provided the tartar adhering to their sides be carefully scraped off, and they are well scalded.

CHAP. XI.

Laying out of Farm and other Culturable Lands.

4150. The farming lands of an estate are in general the grand source of its annual rental. The demesne lands are chiefly for enjoyment; the roads afford no direct income; the villages, manufactories, commonly the mines and fisheries, and often also

the woods, yield no income of consequence; but there remain the lands to be let out to the professional farmer, market-gardener, nurseryman, and cottagers: from these the landlord generally derives his principal return for the capital laid out on the estate. Having therefore disposed of all the other parts of the territory, it remains only to arrange the farming or culturable lands in farms of different characters and sizes, in cottage lands, gardens, or orchard grounds: these may be considered in regard to their extent and arrangement.

SECT. I. Extent or Size of Farm and Cottage Lands.

4151. The proper size of farms, or of land to be let in any way, must necessarily be that which best suits the markets; not altogether the market of the moment, for there may be a run for large or for small farms; but the market on an average of years, times, and circumstances.

4152. The enlargement or diminution of farms can proceed only for a time, and to a limited extent. The interest of the landlord, which gave the first impulse, is ever vigilant to check its progress, when it is attempted to carry the measure beyond due bounds. It is in this that the security of the public consists, if it were ever possible that the public interest should be endangered by the enlargement of farms. Accordingly, in most of our counties, a few tenants, of superior knowledge and capital, have been seen to hold considerable tracts of land, which, after a few years, were divided into a number of separate farms. The practice of these men is a lesson to their neighbours; and their success never fails to bring forward, at the expiration of their leases, a number of competitors. Whenever skill and capital come to be generally diffused, there can be few instances of very large farms, if a fair competition be permitted. No individual, whatever may be his fortune and abilities, can then pay so high a rent for several farms, each of them of such a size as to give full room for the use of machinery, and other economical arrangements, as can be got from separate tenants. The impossibility of exercising that vigilant superintendence, which is so indispensable in agricultural concerns, cannot long be compensated by any advantages which a great farmer may possess. His operations cannot be

brought together to one spot, like those of the manufacturer; the materials on which he works are seldom in the same state for a few days, and his instruments, animated and mechanical, are exposed to a great many accidents, which his judgment and experience must be called forth instantly to repair.

4153. If we examine the various sizes of farms in those districts where the most perfect freedom exists, and the best management prevails, we shall find them determined, with few exceptions, by the degree of superintendence which they require. Hence, pastoral farms are the largest; next, such as are composed both of grazing and tillage lands; then such rich soils as carry cultivated crops every year; and, finally, the farms near large towns, where the grower of corn gradually gives way to the market gardener, cultivating his little spot by manual labour. The hills of the south of Scotland are distributed into farms of the first class; the counties of Berwick and Roxburgh into those of the second; and the smaller farms of the Lothians and of the Carse of Gowrie, where there seems to be no want of capital for the management of large farms, are a sufficient proof of the general principle which determines the size of farms. (Sup. Encyc. Brit. art. Agr.)

SECT. II. Laying out Farms and Farmeries.

4154. The arrangement of farms naturally divides itself into whatever relates to the farmery or home-stall, and what relates to the arrangement of the fields, roads, fences, and water-courses. In a country like Britain, long under cultivation, it is but seldom that these can be brought completely under the control of the improver; but cases occur where this may be done without restraint, as in the enclosure of large commons; and in Ireland and the highlands of Scotland the opportunities are frequent.

SUBSECT. 1. Situation and Arrangement of the Farmery.

4155. The general principles of designing farmeries and cottages having been already treated of: we have in this place chiefly to apply them to particular cases. Though the majority of farms may be described as of mixed culture, yet there are a number which are almost exclusively devoted to pasture, as mountain farms; to meadow culture, as irrigated or overflown lands, lands in particular situations, as in fenny districts, and those situated on the borders of some description of rivers: there are others in which peculiar crops are chiefly raised, as in the case of the hop and seed farms of Kent, Essex, and Surrey. All these require a somewhat different kind and extent of accommodation in the farm buildings. 4156. The requisites for a farmery common to most characters of farms are, a central situation, neither too high nor too low, shelter, water, exposure to the south or south