Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1855-10-20
TURNER'S Department.
When Apples should be Gathered.

Here are some hints in regard to cider max
ing, which may prove serviceable to those OF
our readers who contemplate producing that
pleasant beverage for the coming winter even
ings.
Whatever be the sort of apples employed, cer-
tain it is, that the longer the fruit remains on
the tree, without decay or being injuredby frost,
the better for not only is the perfect maturity
of the fruit a great consideration, but such is
the susceptibility of appleiuice, that the colder
the weather, short of actual frost, the more qui-
ct and equable will be the fermentation. The
proximate elements of this Juice are held togeth-
er very feebly, and tend to such q rapid fcrmen-
tation, that the destruction of the whole is the
inevitable result of too early an excitement by
our mild temperature, The apples, therefore,
should remain on the trees, and not be gather
ed until the approach of cool bracing weather
aud then during the finest and dr@t occasion
that offers itself. They should be carefully
gathered. 1t is not that a bruise would of it.
self injwe the price, but experience teaches,
that whatever the cause of mould, mouldineSs
speedily establishes itself upon the edges of eve
~ wound of a fruit gathered in autumn and
whenever this mysterious ~visitant establishes it.
self, it communicates a most disgusting flavor
to a great bulk of any material, solid or fluid.
Being gathered, the apples are to be stored
in some shady, cool room-fenccd in heaps,
wherein they undergo a further ripening, acquire
more sacharine matter, and lose a considerable
quantity of watery juice. In the ordinary prac-
tice of extensive apple growers, they are suf-
fered to lie for some DAYS in heaps on the grass
under the trees, and suffered this change there"
Another writer of standard authority says of
this subject "The characteristics of a good CT
der apple are, a red skin, yellow and often tough
and fibrous pulp, astringency dryness and ripe
ness in the cider season." 1t appears to us that
these are not the qualities usually sought for
in apples by our cider makers. Mr.. Knight,
the distinguished horticulturist, asserts, that
"when the rind and pulp are green, the cider
will always be thin, weak and ~colorlesS and
when these are deeply tinged with yellow, it
will, however manufactured, or in whatever soil
the fruit may have grown, almost always pos
sess color, and either strength or richness"
Nearly all writers of any repute, who have trea-
ted the subject of cider making, agree that the
apple h)u'd be thoroughly ripe, and gathered
on a dry day.
The soil has something to do with the quail
iy of cider. That made from apples grown Oh
O shallow loan with Il limestone basis, has been
found to be the strongest, as well as the most
highly favored. Calcareous soils are well adj
apted for cider orchards.
1t is commended that the pomace should be
exposed to the air sometimes before pressing,
MIR. Knight ascertained by experiment, that
pomace thus exposed for a few hours had the
specific quality of the juice increased from L. 064
to l.018. This accession was ascertained by
after experiment to be oxygen, which, accord
ing to Lavoisier, contributes Ga per cent. of SUI
gar. These are points Of interest, and as an
unusual quantity of cider will be made this sea-
son, We direct the attention of the reader to
them.