The Dickinson press. (Dickinson, Stark County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1927, 1891-02-14
SWEET APPLE c1oea.
Tho Old and the New Methods OF -
trneting tho Sacohariue Juice.

InO OM ana the New Methods OF -
traeting tho sacosarine Juice.
'"The sight m q keg of sweet cider on
the counter is more frequent in city res
taurants nowadays than it was q dozen
years ago. A piece of pumpkin pie and
a glass Of saccharine apple juice doubt
less appeal to tho country bred tastes of
many grizzled merchant and busy
clerk, and call up recollcctions 2 rude
old country cider mills and tho great vats
of amber liquor into which they onco
inserted the potent rye straw. Or pos
sibly tho pretty girl washing glasses Il
the counter reminds them of some ooun-
try Pomona such as John Keats drew in
his poem of Autumn" who loved to sit
beside a cider press "and watch the last
slow oozings, hour by hour"
The romantic old time cider mill is
being rapidly supplanted by the more
thorough and trustworthy modern sort.
In tho old ono the apples were often
ground by horse power. But most fire.
quently the cider mill was pitched beside
a small stream, the power of which, half
wasted ON u great "overshot" wheel, was
made to do the grinding. Often the
supply of water would fail, or the dam
or other contrivances give way, and then
there was a great temptation to water
the cider to make up for lost time whils
waiting for the dam to fill up. Tins
pressing was done generally by an up
right screw into which iron bars wore
thrust and pushed around by brawny
arms. The writer has seen IL broad back
cd Dutch woman helping her husband ut
this arduous work.
The modern cider mill, however,
shows by the puffs of steam that it docs
not depend ol dams. To be sure, there
may be dam foot high in the neigh
boring ravinc, a fall of water enough to
work a hydraulic ram and feed the
boiler. The grinder revolves at rats
which makes the building hum. The
ground apple, orpulp, falls down through
the floor into canvas sacks, which are
hastily closed and laid in a tier of q
dozen on the platform of the hydraulic
press. Then down comes the cover with
Irresistible power, and the essence Of ths
apple gurgles into the vat. From here q
pump, also propelled by steam, forces
the liquid up into largo vat, from
which it can be drawn into barrels by
turning spigot. In old times the load
ing of barrel of cider, weighing over
400 pounds, occupied tho close attention
ef several brawny men, as they rolled it
up pair of "shds," with concert Of
"heave ons." But now pair of barrel
tongs, a rope thrown over windlass,
having largo wheel for the hand rope,
and the muscle of one man lifts the bar
rel and swings it into the wagon.
It is q strong argument for tho sweet
cider drinker that the pomace left after
pressing is absolutely worthless as food
for anything or as fertilizer. The
virtue of the apple must therefore go
with the juice.
The best cider is that made late in the
season from tho best mat,lred fruit.
Cold weather also conduces to its keep
ing we'll. Russet apples make about tho
finest cidcr in the market, and it will
bring an extra price. Some other va
rieties, Newtown pippins or crab apples,
make very fine thick cider. If properly
worked, cleared of pomace, and kept
air tight in clean new barrels, it will
keep all winter as rich and pleasant as a
sherry wine, while, of course, less al
coholic and SO less harmless.
Theplcasure of sucking cider through
a straw" is not always attainablc, as
straws are not everywhere convenient at
hand. An excellent substitute for the
straw is a stick of MISUNDERSTANDING
Dispatch.