Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-01-21
cREAk OF THE CIDER MILL.
Feature of Farm Life Before the Days
of Apple Graters and Power Presses.

The creak Of The eide! mill was "a
m;lilr SOUND fifty years ago up aihols
tn. hills where the farmers had orchsrdS
fruit vas the yield of apple trees that
had rot been grated. Tie seed Of =
Baldwin OF of any other variety VI
apple viii produce q tree that Will Dear
Where ianI was cheap farmers set out
orchards OF young seedlings. but often
or hard grew up 10 bear only natural
fruit. Such :tpDl"s were good for cooking
ard tor making cider. Onc>. in 4 while a
! tree would hear excellent natural fruit
and tie variety wo,ld be worth per
pet'atinf; by 3raiting o., budding., -,
was one OF tie familiar sounds Of the
early winter. After tie farmers had
housed their corn and pumpkins ana
gathered their choice apples they MADE a
few h;'rerls Of cider out OF The nature"
Somewhere in the neighhorhood was 4
cider mill that aIybody could use Inrer
was 10 regular charge for using 1t. but
the farmers usually left a barrel or two
of cider as toll VIXEN they took their
product away.
III" mill was Il Good-sizcd shed. usually
opcu on one SIDE. The grinder consisted
If two upright wooden cylinders OF hard
maple, perhaps three feet high and eight
e.n inches i'll diameter. Around the sur
faces We're wooden cogs each or winch
1itttd into Il slot in the other cylinder.
To tletop of one cylinder 4 long sweep
was mortised. There was a hopper that
fed the apples II the cylinders, ana q vat
below caught the pulp as II came
through.
a horse vas hitched to the emo of the
sweep, and ;,s ne walked SLOWLY around
The old mill rrealted and the crushed APP
Pics care through. AZ the null grew
Older the apples came throrgn rather
, nni n, T5ckf o Ileny and 9 what ui Iear
cider came from these h;Ilf-cluShed ap-
PIES!
The eide, press was rs primitive as tha
grinder. II consisted of BED Of heavy
planks. set sl@ntins, with gnuEtd chan
nel.,. to lead the apple juice to TIC point
" here it flowed inc a big E"ttie.
screws made Of logs perhaps ten inches
i'll da.n.fc fitting S:to Il threaded beam
above. Nea" the lower ends Of tbs
screws were E,ll.s with rnol,ises in theln
r,anl;s. IL u" used as Il follower. com
plttcd the press
Ii vas something Of an art to put the
potaacr il the press. First layer "f
straw was placed around the edges Of
The he'd. so,neW Tat like tic fringe ri Il
met Then layer of pomGce "aa shov-
~. ends Of Tie straw We're folder inward
over the crushed apples
! another fringe OF straw was laid
ar"unG. another layer OF monaco SHOW
folded over as before The proc SIS
was repeated until tAe cheese Tas
built up three or four feet 'igh. or
more, when the follower was nut on
tor. ard the screws turned down. y
few twists With the Eandsrikes set the
,i.lc, fnp ing in clear stream.
! There was almost no sediment IN TINS
cil..r after it lad been harrt!ed II the
pulp could have been taken flom the
/ pressed cheese and subjected to modern
methods. II would have yielded perhaps
as much cider had bee: already eX-
PFC ssed from it; Rut what the farmers
got was good cider ....
7. was easily KEPT sweet b. putin
mustard seed into the barrel 1t made
hard cider Tat vert Gown as smoothly
| as old 3pplciaCk. ard would down an
With A red-hot iron in it il made. z
flip that was just riaht ami lust as IN,
sidions. With bit Of mhhri' drorped
in the barrel it made Il cider vinegar
M,st Of tie farmers had apples in
plenty; 50 when they had filed W
h6zeii or two barrels. they called
nlas for ANYBODY vino wanted them.
OF ;he barrels of cider taken AWAY.
one was kept sweet with mustard seed
and the others were allowed to get
hard.
Now ara then a farmer snid a bar
rel of hard cider vinegar, but the
price hardly enough to paw for
the empty Iarrel. ana So the cider and
We're thrown out 10 make room for the
next seasons product
Ci,cr making nowadays is different.
The. apples go into mill called
power. and come cut in consistency like
porriGcn.
This is poured into the press, the
shifting Of I, belt runs the follower down
twist Of the wrist a barrel OF apples is
turned into nearly Z barrel of cider