The Washington herald., 1908-01-19
CREAK OF The CIDER MILL
A Feature Of Farm Life Half q
Century Ago.
Power Presses and Apple GPaters
Have ReIeEated Old Form
to ia Memory.

/ The creak of the cider mill was d ia
miliar sound nifty years ago up among the
hills, where the farmers had orchards of
natural fruit on the hiilsides. Natural
fruit was the yield of apple trees that
| had not been grated The seed Of a
Baldwin or Of any other fine variety of
apple will always produce d tree that
will bear natural fruit
/ Where land was cheap farmers set out
orchards of young seedlings. but often
neglected TO graft the trees. and the
orchard grew up 20 bear only natural
fruit. Such apples We're good for cooking
and for making cider Once i'm a while "a
tree would bear excellent natural fruit
and the variety would be worth perpe1-
uating by grating or budding.
The creak OF the old-time cider mill was
one of the familiar sounds of the early
winter. After the farmers had housed
their corn and pumpkins ana gathered
their choice apples they made a few bar
rels Of cider out of the natural fruit
Somewhere in the neighborhood was
cider mill that anybody could use. There
was no regular charge for using it, but
the farmers usually left a barrel or two
of cider as toll when they took their
product away.
The mill was a good size shed. usually
open on one side. The grinder consisted
of two upright wooden cylinders of hard
maple, perhaps three feet high and
eighteen inches in diameter. Around the
surfaces were wooden eogs. each of which
fitted into "a slot in the other cylinder
To the top Of one cylinder a long sweep
was mortised. There was hopper that
fed the apples to the cylinders. and a vat
below caught the pulp as it came through.
A horse was hitChed 10 the end of the
sweep, and as he walked slowly around
the old mill cTeaked and the crushed
apples came through. As the mill grew
Older the apples came through rather
badly cracked, but far from crushed.
But apples were plenty, and what clear
cider came from these half crushed ap-
pies.
The cider press was as primitive as the
grinder It consisted Of a bed OF heavy
planks set slantinE. with gOUged channels
TO lead the apple juice 10 the point where
Il flowed into q big kettle.
In the frame above this bed were two
screws made Of logs perhaps ten inches
IN diameter, fitting into a threaded beam
above Near the lower ends Of the screws
were hubs with uortises in them for
handspikes. 4 heavy square of planks.
70 be used as a follower, completed the
press.
II was something of an art To put the
pumice IN the press. First a layer Of straw
was placed around the edges OF the bed.
somewhat like the fringe OF mat. Then
layer Of pumice was shoveled on with q
scoop shovel and the outer ends Of The
straw were folded inward over the crush
ed apples.
Another fringe of straw was laid
around another layer of pubice shoveIed
on and the ends Of the straw folded over
as before. The process was repeated Un-
til the cheese was built up three or four
feet high OF more, when the follower was
put on top and the screws turned down.
few twists with the haudspikes set the
cider flowing in a clear stream.
There was almost no sediment in this
cider after 1t had been barreled II the
pulp could have been taken from the
pressed cheese and subjected to modern
methods it would have yielded perhaps
as much cider as had been already eX-
pressed from it But what the farmers
got was good cider
1t was easily kept sweet by putting
mustard seed into the barrel Il made
hard cider that went down as smoothly
as old applejack and would down an in
cautious drinker before he knew his
danger
With a redhOt iron in it II made a flip
that was just right and just as insidious.
With bit Of mother dropped In the
barrel it made a cider vinegar that was
perfect
Most Of the farmers had apples in plen-
ty; so when they had filed up a dozen or
two dozen barrels they called it a job and
left the rest of the apples for anybody
who wanted them. OF the barrels of
cider taken away one was kept sweet
with mustard seed and the others were
allowed to get hard
Now and then a farmer sold q barrel Of /
hard cider or vinegar, but the price was
hardly enough 10 pay for the empty bar
rel, and so the cider and vinegar lay in !
the cellar until they were thrown out to
make room for the next seasons product. /
Cider making nowadays is different The I
apples go into a mill called a crater US |
ually run by steam or water power. and /
come out in consistency like pOrridge.
This is poured into the press, the shift /
ing Of the belt runs the follower down in /
jiffy, and in the time taken for a twist /
Of the wrist q barrel of apples is tuTneds
into nearly q barrel of cider.