The St. Louis Republic., 1900-11-04
PROHIBITIONISTS WANT
TO DANISH CIDER.
Maine Farmers Trembling for Fear
There Will Come an Applejack
Famine.
EEPTBIIC SPECIAL.

EEPTBIIC SPECIAL.
BOSTON Mass. Nov 3.--Tlere IS fear and
trembling In the Pine Tree State. for the
rrohibitionist is on the warpath and the
| app!" is the offending object. Church MEM
| hers have stopped using the milk of cows
that belong 10 farmers who have such eX-
t-nSive orchards that the feeding of apples
| To the cows Is small matter. Just what
viii he The. outcome of the present temper
| anre agitI tiun remains To be seen.
| To remove from the farmer his annual
supply of applcjIclS for during the
| lung winter evenings. when ne Is entertain
! ing his reXt-farm neighbor. To- say nothing
of the Inconvenience he would experience
next spring and summer III hiring help Tor
| The spring farm work and hayinS season,
! would be To have tiree-fourths of the best
| farms in the State deserted and abandoned
| before two years expired. TO the Maine
| farmer hard cider is as necessary as seed
| for crop iii more ways than one: Bssldes
furnishing II fine flavor for the ThanksglF-
ing and Christmas rince pies when the
children from the city are at home, II Is Il
source Of profit TO many at 3 cents a gallon
fran young men who like 10 be sporty ana
have, not money enough to send 80 Boston
To get alcohol with which 10 make that
original Of original drinks. split. Besides
this, one gallon of cider according TO the
hest authorities i'll the State. will do more
toward getting II big days work from Il
hired man than all the double-priced wages
that could be paid. III the planting season
II w0-gallun jug filed with cider made the
fan before VIII help more ground to be
planted to corn and potatoes than Il dozen
quarts of the best Kentucky whisky ever
distilled. During the haying season, when
the days are long and hot and men in the
field need a cool refreshment. a iive-sa Hon
keg Is necessary to house all the has i'll the
field he!ur. the night thunderstorm ap-
proaches. To Maine farmers old cider gives
wonderful courage and unlimited endur-
ance. Some OF them liave been known to
work from Saturday morning until Mon
day without thinking OF their church duties.
Much of the cider made in Maine is from
apples that are unfit for market. The fruit
has become decayed to Il certain stage
where II Is unwise TO pack IT with good
fruit for the markets while other portions
Here is where the farmer makes good. He
hauls his bad fruit to the village cider
has its cider mill. If there is not a school
house or church In the place. or IL the roof
Of the farmers house leaks., and after
Waiting few fS%rs aTTs1 rides ed breday home tine
hoops with new cider. Tucked under the
seaI of the farm cart may be found a
package from the butchers shop contain
ing from two to ten pounds of choice rump
steak. In the attic of his home Is n box
containing the pickings from a well-laden
black cherry tree, and If the farmer Is well
fresh-laid eggs awaiting his arrival at the
cellar door. The beefsteak is chopped fine.
and the eggs are broken into a large bowl.
Then all is put together and stirred. and
then, after the cider has worked II few
hours. all IL put in the barrel,
which is tightly bunged and rolled down
the bullihead into the cellar. BY the time
cold weather arrives in earnest the cider
is in shape 10 put jag on a man in one
night that he will not forget for 4 month.
Another method of "aging" the cider is TO
add tire same ingredients and leave the
barrel in the open. where 1t will freeze
tightly TO the middle Then long bit or
alIg.r is used To tap the barrel 10 the CEN
ter of the mass where it strikes the clear
alcohol. which is sucked out in Straws or
else run through a rubber hose to the
mouth of the drinker or into IL pitcher.
from which it is served to the invited
guests. Two drinks of this part of the
| cider have been known to break UP fanli-
| stroyer." In the hunting season. when
birds are shy. the cherries that have been
! in the cider barrel for several months are
used by some of the farmers to enabie
them to supply the city markets with part
| tridges. Ralph Hart of Holden became in
| Cependently rich by feeding the birds that
came onto his farm with cherries that had
| been filed with alcohol from the cider, ana
when they had become helpless, wringing
| their necks and killing them. IN the
/ spring the doped cherries are used on many
| farms for the same purpose in catching the
wary crow that comes to the cornfield to
| feed on the newly planted cereal 1t Is not
| an unusual sight to see flock of 10 or 100
| crows helplessly intoxicated in a newly
| planted cornfieid in the early spring.
| If the prohibition agitators succeed in
! getting bill passed forbidding the manu-
| facture of cider in the State ii will seri-
| o,isiy handicap the Maine farmer in more
ways than one.