The morning journal-courier., 1908-12-02

life lS that made from the elderheTfN, Now that the berries are ripe on the hedges, the following mode of making eldcrbcrrN wine according to the rec lpc of a kindly village dame in Berk- shire may be topical,
 Soak the berries for ten days in an equal measure of cold spring water; carefully strain Boil the juice with an ounce ot cloves to each gallon of liquor; strain again while hot on to ] Dcmerara sugar, using quarters of a pound of sugar to each quart of liquor stand in an earthenware pan for ten days or so, skim, and bottle " "without corkng Tho must, as the . liquor is then called, will work for month or more, according to the tenn pcrature, the warmer the weather the more quickly fermentation proceeds Do not cork until the must has ceased working"
 This Is the usual process for making cottage wines, For other fruits diff rerent tlavorngs are employed, accord- inE to Individual taste. In parsnip wine, for example, some people put in lemon and orange rinds and crushed ginger
 The wise women of the villages well
 know the medicinal properties of these
 drinks. The dandellon, for example,
 ia "tnraNacum, a fine stimulant for
 the liver, Cowslip wine makes a good remedy for slceplessness, and is also
 given to children who are sickening pz, .I
 wine are good for Indigestion In
 fact, the elder bush--leaves, berries and pth--supplies storehouse of rustic physlc. When winter winds
 chill the bones, the old people of the
 village take the rich and comforting
 wines made from entrants or plums
 In former times these native wines
 were made to much greater extent 1 than they are now. In q few villages
 in the rustic parts of England some
 women wine makers may still he found, but it is only for Rome pur-
 poses that the art Is employed. As
 an industry wino-making is now prac-
 tlcally dead, or rather, buried The younger generations in their struggle for existence have lost sight of the l by-products of garden and field and the small economies made possible by their use Instead of turning every little item to account, they have grad ually shed these slde- issue earnings SO as to enter into corn growing and
 cattle -fattenlng competition with new
 CT countries with virgin lands and ln- hniteslmal rentals. To the continent
 al farmer and village holder the con.
 verse has happened In France. for
 example probably owing to the fact
 that hy the French law of inheritance
 the rural districts are split up into
 numerous small holdings tho rural
 population there recognize that their
 best policy is to turn to account every
 inch of land
 Surplus fruit and vegetables are either dried for home use or puped for the jam and preserve makers Thor
 syrup Is extracted for a variety of uses One of these is for vine-makins l "Cassis" made from tho currant and
 "grosseillo" from the Eoosehorry may he had al every "taverne," and zen
 orally these liquors are of local manu- facture
 II may he argued that the climate of ! France Is better suited to such an in dustrY than ours but in regard 10 cer
 tain fruits we arc more favored here This particular season there has heen
 glut of plum in most English dis
 tricts owners of orchards would have almost paid to have them taken away. Plum wine Is delicious and wholesome. Why not make this instead of givng the fruit 10 pigs? No apprecablo cap ital Is needed Sugar and bottles or
 casks are cheap enough, With little 1 intelligence a considerable portion of
 the household drink bill can he saved | Of late matters of agriculture and horticulture have undoubtedly been re-
 cevinE very Ereat deal more public | attention in England than formerly | The Small Holdings act has opened the | eyes of many people to the possibilities 1 of country life from which not only | health but Income may be gained sev-
 eral mo hods of making income out Of | small holdings have been soundly ad. vocated.
 The intensive culture system of | French gardening, bee keeping, poul- l try-fdrminE, Jam making. and other
 modes of employment and money mak- | ing have all been discussed in the | pres and in current literature. Tn 1 wine making there Is surely a commer- cial outlet which ought to he fostcred, | It is a fact that the agricultural
 classes of England do not make enough l of their opportunities in this direction. l Huge sums of money arc paid annually ! out of thls country for foreign drinks. | while in the garden of every village | there ts some of natures products | which could be turned 10 cash account. | It is not suggested that the law would | allow the sale by tho cottagcrs them | selves Of these home made fcrmcnted l liquors, but the establishment of small ! manufaCtories fin rural centers, to l which they could bring their fruit. ! their berries, or perhaps tho extracted i juices Is a matter well worth conner clal consideration.
 II seems obvious that if these svarl-
 Ous small industries, especially in con nection with the utilization of fruit
 and garden stuff of all kinds, are to be l financially successful ro-nporation fig . necessary and also tho establishment
 of ceuttrs within an easy radius for the disposal of thc products.
 This question Of co.opcratiOu how
 cver is matter for extensive and ma
 tUro considerations II Is too wide q
 subject to be dealt with here, Native . wine making ig only ono of lis Issues
 For the moment therefore, lot 1t suf-
 0ce for tuo villagers to he reminded
 of the fact that if they have the en-
 tcrprise tiey can slill make the wines
 of their forcrathors. and save money
 which might otherwise Eo out of the
 country,