Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1876-10-13
Cider.

The following by Alexander Hyde in the
New York Times is seasonable as, in the first
place, cider should not be made till the ap-
Piles are thoroughly ripe and the weather is
COOL No good cider can be made from i'm.
mature apples. The sugar must bo developed
in them, or the cider will be as fashy as
dishwater, hardly fit for vinegar. If the
temperature is up to co., or in that vici nifty,
the fermentation is so rapid that vinegar is
the result in short time. We prefer there.
fore to delay the making of cider till the last
of October, and even still later, unless the
weather is decidedly cool. The whole pro-
cess must be managed with neatness and
care. Cider is often spoiled by the musty
straw used in putting up the cheese, and
eitener still by the musty barrel in which 1t
is slowed An old barrel may possibly be
clcansed so that it is fit to receive cider, but
it is seldom done, and the Scripture iniunc-
ton to put new wine into new bottles is
no more imperative than the modern princi-
pie, put new cider into new barrels. We
have tried all manner of ways to cleanse old
barrels, have put ashes, lime, &C., into them
aud worked over them long enough to earn
new barrel, but still the seeds Of putrefac-
ton were left in some crack that damaged
tho cider. If any one has the facilities to
turn steam into his old barrels, it may be
economy to use them, for steam will search
out every crack and destroy all remains Of
old fermentatlons otherwise we recommend
farmers to make soap-tubs of their old cider
barrels, or turn them into some other use,
and buy new barrels for their new cider
Whisky and alcohol barrels can generally be
bought at a low figure, and they answer a
good purpose. Old wine casks we are not
SO sure Of We are afraid of the dregs, lest
they should prove to be drugs.
If cider is made late enough in the season,
and is well 6tered-that is, strained through
gravel and fine charcoal-before it is slowed
in the cask, it may be put into cool cellar
aud the fermentation will be so slow that it
will not be necessary to give it vent. 1t
should, however be watched lest the strain
should be so great as to press out the heads
of the barrels. We much prefer this slow
fermentation. 1t is mistake to suppose
that it is always necessary to take out the
bungs for few days. Sufficient air will ooze
into the tightest casks to cause all the fer
mentation requisite, aud the more slowly it
proceeds the better the vinous effect. The
iitering should not be neglected, no matter
at what season the cider is made, for if any
pomance enters the barrel. nucleus is fur
nished for putrefactive fermentation. The
common straw filter is not sufficient to strain
out all the organized solids and leave the
liquid as it should be, clear as quill
1t is often recommended to put into the
new cider some antiseptc, as sulphate of
lime or mustard seed, in order to prevent
rapid fermentation, but if the cider is made
late this is unnecessary, and all foreign in
gradients are to be avoided if possible. The
pure juice Of the ripe apples makes the best
cider when unadulterated. Lime neutralizcs
the acidity more or less, according to the
amount used, and the acid is what most
stomachs, especially bilious ones, crave, and
it is necessary to make cider healthy bcver-
age. Neither would we add any sugar. OF
course this would furnish more alcohol, but it
is not as an alcoholic drink that we make or
recommend cider. Pure, well.fermented
cider contains from six to eight per cent Of
alcohol, and this is sufficient stimulus to
promote digestion in all stomachs that are
in a normal condition. Even with this lin
tied amount it must be used with moderation
or it will induce disease. The young seldom
need any. 1t is only when dyspepsia and
ether like infrmities put in their appearance
that little cider with the dinner does good.