ON THE 
 
 MANAGEMENT 
 
 OP 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED 
 
 THE 
 
 BEST AND MOST CERTAIN 
 
 METHOD 
 
 or 
 
 MAKING 
 
 RICH AND MELLOW 
 
 CIBER. 
 
 RV 
 
 J- H- 
 
 PRICE THREE UHIII.IXCS. 
 
F. J. CHITTENDEN 
 
 ALBERT R. MANN 
 LIBRARY 
 
 New York State Colleges 
 of 
 
 Agriculture and Home Economics 
 
 AT 
 
 Cornell University 
 
DATE DUE 
 
 
 
 
 
 KN* 
 
 2 1970 
 
 
 
 _AUfi=4N 
 
 i iown~ 
 
 TT3TJ 
 
 
 
 /% 
 
 r/H 
 
 
 
 
 U 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 GAYLORD 
 
 
 
 PRINTED INU.S.A. 
 
 
I 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
ON THB 
 
 MANAGEMENT of ORCHARDS, 
 
 AND ON THB 
 
 BEST METHOD of MAKING CIDER, 
 
 *c. <tc. 
 
ON THE 
 
 Management of Orchards , 
 
 AND ON THE 
 
 BEST METHOD OF MAKING 
 
 OMSK? 
 
 TOGETHER WITH THE 
 
 Necessary Instructions for its After Care , 
 
 SO AS TO INSURE IT 
 
 GOOD AND MELLOW. 
 
 DEDICATED TO THE OWNERS AND OCCUPIERS OF 
 ORCHARDS IN DEVONSHIRE, 
 
 BY 
 
 J - H -. 
 
 Omnium rerum ex quibus aliquid acquirilur, nihil esl 
 Agrieulturd melius, nihil uberius, nihil du/cius, nihil 
 liomine libero dignius, 
 
 Cicero, de Offic. I, c. 42. 
 
 EXETER: 
 
 PRINTED BY TREWMAN AND CO. HIGH STREET. 
 
 1824. 
 
 c* 
 
s'S 
 
 3 sb 
 
 O b'% 
 
 374584 
 
 Entered at Stationers’ Halt. 
 
“LO! thoughtful of thy gain, 
 
 “ Not of my own, l all the livelong Day 
 “ Consume in meditation deep, recluse 
 “ From Human converse; nor at shut of Eve 
 “ Enjoy repose; but oft at Midnight lamp 
 “ Ply my brain-racking studies, if by chance 
 “ Thee I may counsel right; and oft this cure 
 “ Disturbs me slumbering. Wilt thou, then, repine 
 “ To tabor for thyself; and rather chuse 
 “ To He supine'y ; hoping Heaven will, bless 
 “ Thy slighted Fruits, and give thee Bread unearn d?” 
 
 “ IPouldsl thou thy Hats with gen rout Juice should froth 
 “ Respect thy Orchards : Think not that the Trees 
 “ Spontaneous will produce an wholesome draught.'' 
 
 “ And shall we doubt 
 
 “ T' improve out vegetable wealth t or let 
 The Soil lie idle, which , with fit Manure 
 “ (Fill largest Usury repay, alone 
 “ Empow red to supp'y what Mature asks 
 Frugal, or what nice Appetite requires." 
 
 JOHN PHILLIPS. 
 
ON THE 
 
 MANAGEMENT OF ORCHARDS, 
 
 Syc. Sfc. 
 
 
 A S the purport of the following Tract 
 is to convey information, tending to pro¬ 
 mote an increase of Profits to the Agricul¬ 
 turist, in that branch of rural economy, at 
 present, either, not well understood, or, 
 too much neglected, because the Climate 
 affords liberal returns without much Labor, 
 it becomes quite unnecessary to offer apo¬ 
 logy for its publication; particularly, as 
 those who read attentively, will immedi¬ 
 ately discover, how, by attentive and judi¬ 
 cious management, they may insure to 
 
 B 
 
8 
 
 themselves a high degree of pleasure and 
 satisfaction, at the same time that they 
 derive a considerable pecuniary advantage. 
 
 Tire cultivation of the Vine in France, 
 was greatly improved, and the art of 
 making Wines, Brandy, and Vinegars, put 
 upon a regular system of beneficial pro¬ 
 duct, by the united efforts of Cijahtal, 
 Rozier, Parmentjer, and Dussieux, 
 men of the highest scientific intelligence, 
 and Members of the Societies established 
 for the improvement of Sciences and Agri¬ 
 culture in France. 
 
 When it is considered how great the 
 benefits have been, that have resulted from 
 their exertions to establish a System that 
 all might understand and practice, and how 
 very similar our Orchard productions are 
 to the Vineyards of France, it becomes a 
 wonder, that some simple publication has 
 
9 
 
 not been addressed to our Cider Growers, 
 particularly in the enlightened County of 
 Devon, developing a more regular, syste¬ 
 matic, and consequently beneficial Plan 
 of Management, than that too generally 
 followed. 
 
 On almost every Farm in Devonshire, 
 there is a sufficiency of Orchards to pro¬ 
 duce in what are vulgarly called “Good 
 bearing Years,” enough Cider to pay more 
 than the Rent of the whole Farm, although 
 their extent shall not exceed from one- 
 thirtieth to one-tenth of its measurement. 
 
 This “Good bearing Year” is looked 
 for about once in Three Years, and is regu¬ 
 larly waited for by the Farmer as a matter 
 of course,—he, taking few, if any, steps 
 beyond a very moderate Dressing, in quan¬ 
 tity far less than he would apply to a 
 
 B 2 
 
JO 
 
 Meadow usually mowed for Hay, and 
 leaving the Crop of Apples to the chance 
 of a “Lucky Year.” 
 
 Should a Farmer (there are many, no 
 doubt, besides Pinsent, of Chudleigh, and 
 the Mays’, of Dunsford ,) by better ma¬ 
 nagement than common, have Apples in his 
 Orchards every Season, — such Orchards are 
 denominated, by the unthinking, “Lucky !” 
 and little or no observation would be made 
 on his superior Knowledge, or the superior 
 Method of Cultivation he practised.—No! 
 “ Lucky,” is the term preferred by self love, 
 as that passes no strictures on the obser¬ 
 ver’s mis-management! Indeed, it would 
 occasion no surprise, if, rather than be 
 guilty of such a libel on himself, he were 
 to attribute Pinsent’s success to the pro¬ 
 tection and visits of Mr. Coleridge’s 
 friends, “ The Pixies of Chudleigli Rock." 
 
J1 
 
 It is not intended, in this little Tract, to 
 occasion any individual to feel personal 
 offence; and, although some prejudices 
 may be rather hardly touched upon, it must 
 be kept in mind, this is merely with a view 
 to their eradication, that a better feeling, 
 the result of knowledge and understanding, 
 may be substituted. 
 
 In matters not well understood, much 
 mis-information, and a far greater portion 
 of mis-conception, are sure to prevail. As, 
 for example,—It is a generally circulated 
 opinion, “that frequent rackings make 
 sweet Cider,”—hence, it is no uncommon 
 affair for a Devonshire Farmer, on a wet 
 day, to assemble all his People in his Cider 
 Cellars, to rack his Cider; and this, from 
 the false impression of its being essential 
 to its mellowness, is so frequently repeated, 
 that Color, Flavor, and Body, become 
 considerably impaired.—On inspection after 
 
 B 3 
 
12 
 
 this process, the Farmer finds some few 
 Hogsheads mellow, and to his wishes,— 
 many scarcely so good as they were,—and 
 the rest much worse. In his surprise, he 
 declares “ he cannot imagine how this can 
 have happened, as all were equally well 
 managed and racked at the same time .”— 
 Hence, he concludes that racking is useless, 
 and is induced to neglect it altogether, as 
 unnecessary;—and even here, he finds some 
 cause of confirmation of his views, as those 
 Hogsheads that have been longest in getting 
 into a state fit forrackiug, when sold, being 
 drawn off into clean Casks just at the time 
 required, maintain a superiority, that to 
 his mind, biassed in favor of that plan 
 which brings least trouble with it, is con¬ 
 clusive. 
 
 One Farmer hears that another, (famed 
 for sweet Cider,) always rots his Apples, 
 and, in consequence, puts his Fruit in 
 
13 
 
 Heaps, and lets them remain ’till he is com¬ 
 pelled to use a Scoop to load his Press with 
 the disgusting mass;—and he, too, expects 
 mellow Cider! 
 
 Want of true knowledge,—want of sys¬ 
 tem,—is all w r e have to complain of; and 
 this once made known, will be sure of being 
 kept alive by interest and competition, to 
 the benefit of the Growers and the Con¬ 
 sumers of Cider. 
 
 Every Vegetable has a Pabulum or Food 
 peculiarly adapted to its healthy growth; 
 and, as this naturally abounds or is fur¬ 
 nished by art,—or, on the other hand, is 
 either absent or neglected,—so does a 
 soil become congenial to what is grow n in 
 it, or otherwise. 
 
 The Earth is the stomach of Vegetables, 
 and the fibrous Roots are their absorbent 
 
 B 4 
 
14 
 
 Vessels. As these Vessels are largely 
 and healthily formed, to take up their 
 Food, — or are deficient; — and, as that Food 
 abounds or is wanting,—so is the Plant or 
 Tree more or less healthy, flourishing in 
 luxuriance of growth, or perishing by de¬ 
 grees — the victim of disease and parasitic 
 plunder! 
 
 How often is it to be observed, that 
 Apple Trees throw forth a fine luxuriant 
 Blossom, which, through the kindness of 
 Nature, appears, as it were, during a long 
 period, to stand still as to growth or decay, — 
 thus, giving time to the fibrous Roots to 
 push their Mouths in the Earth in search of 
 the requisite Nourishment to perfect the 
 Fruit. But, alas! it is not to be found, — 
 and those Blossoms, whose growth would 
 rapidly have proceeded to the formation of 
 a Crop of Fruit, had Man done his duty, 
 fall off abortive, — form small unwholesome 
 
15 
 
 Apples,—or become the Nidus for the de¬ 
 posit of the Egg of a Fly, whose thus con¬ 
 tinued race will commence fresh depreda¬ 
 tions the ensuing year, to the disgrace and 
 disappointment of unthinking Man. 
 
 By long practice, all Farmers are aware 
 how to prepare their Lands for Wheat, 
 Barley, Oats, Peas, Beans, Turnips, &c. 
 and when they fail of obtaining a Crop, are 
 at no loss, however they may try to qualify 
 the fact to their Landlords and Neighbours, 
 to account truly to themselves for the cause 
 of such failure. 
 
 Why should not the Culture of Orchards 
 be brought under as certain a Management 
 as Corn, or any other Vegetable production? 
 
 It is not meant, here, to be asserted, that 
 a greater degree of difficulty will not be 
 experienced than in the Management of 
 
16 
 
 Corn! But, then, the increased difficulty 
 will be merely in proportion to the absence 
 of knowledge; and, as pains are taken to 
 cultivate information, so will the obstruc¬ 
 tions to success disappear. 
 
 How many times do wc notice that a 
 piece of Wheat, which carries all the ap¬ 
 pearance of good management through the 
 Winter, falls away in Substance and Color 
 in the growing months of the Spring, — 
 while other, that appeared thin and scarcely 
 worth letting remain, grows away to an 
 abundant Crop! This is owing to the 
 Plant, at that Season of the Year, throwing 
 out its Fibres in search of Nourishment to 
 perfect its Seed Stem, (for Moisture, Light, 
 and Air, will alone produce the grassy 
 matter of a Plant;) and, in proportion as 
 the necessary Pabulum and good Hus¬ 
 bandry have been applied,—or, on the 
 
17 
 
 other hand, neglected,—so is the Crop 
 ample or deficient. 
 
 Who has not seen this frequently in 
 Orchards?—Who has not frequently ob¬ 
 served, as has been remarked before. Trees 
 covered with Blossoms and Leaves—neither 
 of which have had support enough from 
 their Roots to come to perfection?—It is 
 not the “Lucky Year!” That is, the 
 whole is left to Nature, and she had not 
 had time to concoct in the Earth a sufficiency 
 of matter for the production of a Crop. — 
 Will not, however, the thinking mind be 
 convinced, that had the proper Pabulum 
 and Attention been bestowed, the Crop 
 (the Season being favorable,) would have 
 resulted ? For, let it be well understood, 
 that all Vegetables, before the Blossoms 
 can burst forth, send out their fibrous 
 Roots to take up the Food necessary for 
 perfecting the Seed; and while the Blossom 
 
18 
 
 stands stagnated, they are pushing their 
 subtle Mouths through the Earth in search 
 of the required Nourishment; — where this 
 is plentifully provided, in a Soil kept light 
 and mellow around the Roots of the Trees, 
 the difficulty is not how to obtain a Crop, — 
 but would be found, if Experiment were 
 made, how to prevent one ! This is in¬ 
 stanced in some Orchards, which are under 
 highly superior Culture, where Frosts have 
 cut off the promised Fruit, by theTrees 
 bursting out into second Blossom on the 
 same Year; and that this is the Truth, is a 
 matter of easy inquiry, by Experiment 
 among the minor Vegetables, such as Tur¬ 
 nips, whose quick growth gives time for the 
 observation, and whose disposition to form 
 their Seed, when once excited, cannot be 
 stopped by cutting off the Seed Stem, how¬ 
 ever frequently repeated. 
 
19 
 
 By the way of illustrating what has been 
 remarked of each Vegetable requiring a 
 peculiar Food of its own, it is here worthy 
 of observation, that although a Crop of 
 Wheat, (generally speaking,) cannot be 
 successfully grown after a Crop of Wheat, 
 without dressing,—still, a Crop of Barley, 
 of the most saleable Color, can! This is 
 owing to the Wheat never taking up what 
 forms the peculiar Nourishment of Barley: 
 Wheat requiring Gluten and Phosphate of 
 Lime ,—and the Barley, Nitrate of Potassa, 
 all of which are contained in Animal 
 Manure and Urine. 
 
 Some Farmers, being made aware of the 
 different Pabula required by Vegetables, 
 and of their not interfering with each other’s 
 growth, have, very beneficially, cultivated 
 their Horse-Corn for their own consumption, 
 to a much larger production, by sowing 
 Oats, Barley, and Peas, together in the 
 
20 
 
 same Field,—reaping, of this “ Omnium,” 
 frequently upwards of Eighty Bushels per 
 Acre, where neither, separately, would 
 have furnished Fifty. 
 
 Although it is generally admitted that 
 Wheat cannot be grown after Wheat with 
 any prospect of beneficial result, yet, it is 
 certain, if the matter abstracted from the 
 Land by a Crop of Wheat, could be re¬ 
 stored, Wheat might be again successfully 
 cultivated to the end of time' in annual suc¬ 
 cession,—and, in all probability, should 
 this desideratum in Agriculture be ever as¬ 
 certained, in Quantities per Acre, of which, 
 at present, we have little or no idea. 
 
 Every Farmer, in the Vicinity of Exeter, 
 is aware that the quickest growth of Turnips 
 is promoted by the use of the Scavenger’s 
 Dung, composed of Ashes of various sorts, 
 and the Sweepings of the Streets;—the 
 
21 
 
 cause of this is easily attainable: Turnips 
 abound in what Chemists term hydroguretted 
 Sulpliuret, and this matter is contained in 
 the Scavenger’s Dung, in a higher degree 
 than in any other Manure that can be 
 easily obtained. 
 
 These Remarks on Grain, &c. may be 
 considered as somewhat foreign to the object 
 of this Tract; they are, however, intro¬ 
 duced, by way of leading the mind through 
 a subject so fully understood by Farmers, 
 as the Cultivation of Corn, &c. to a con¬ 
 viction of how great has been the general 
 neglect,—and how much may be ac¬ 
 complished by judicious Management of 
 Orchards and their produce. 
 
 Somehow or other, notwithstanding the 
 immense production of Orchards, their Pro¬ 
 duce claims the least attention of the 
 Farmer in general;—that is, as relates to 
 
22 
 
 any really assisting management or helping 
 hand! Thus, though Fifteen Seams of 
 Hay per Acre would he a very large Crop 
 to calculate upon from his best Meadow 
 Land,—and Ten Hogsheads of Cider per 
 Acre a common produce in good Orchards 
 in “ Fortunate Years,” besides the under¬ 
 growth of Grass,—he gives his Meadows 
 nearly Two Hundred Seams of Dung per 
 Acre every Three Years, and imagines the 
 Sheep, with whom he feeds otf the Grass, 
 and perhaps to whom he hauls a few Tur¬ 
 nips in the Winter, to leave sufficient 
 Manure for the renewal of the Pasture and 
 the growth of Apples,—unless, indeed, he 
 wants a Crop of Potatoes, and has no 
 better place than his Orchards to grow 
 them,—in which case, he puts no more 
 Dung for them than he would in any Field, 
 and calls it dressing his Orchards! In his 
 preparation, too, for Potatoes, he ploughs, 
 instead of digging with a skilful hand, and 
 
23 
 
 thus promiscuously tears away the Root and 
 Fibres of the Trees, which may not inaptly 
 be compared to mutilating the Mouth of an 
 Animal that is put up to fatten,—a pro¬ 
 posal to do which, the most ignorant Person 
 on Earth would naturally term madness and 
 folly. 
 
 Ploughing, and under-cropping Orchards, 
 can be considered in no other light than a 
 paltry system (arising out of ignorance of 
 the mischief effected,) of digging at the 
 least Expence, and obtaining a Payment 
 for the Labor and Manure from an under- 
 Crop, instead of generously awaiting for the 
 Trees to make a return for them, and which 
 they would do, by amply overloading the 
 groaning Vessels with rich, stout, mellow 
 Wine, under the following Management 
 
 Let the Orchards be manured every Year, 
 directly after the Fruit is got in and the 
 
 c 
 
24 
 
 Grass fed off, with from One to Two Hun¬ 
 dred Seams of Dung mixed with a Quarter 
 or Half a Ton of Salt Ashes per Acre. 
 
 Let the Roots be dug round every Spring, 
 so as to give fresh room to the Fibres, and 
 to admit the Air, which is requisite to assist 
 the decomposition of decaying Animal and 
 Vegetable Matter in the Earth, and which, 
 until in a state of solution, (dissolved,) 
 cannot be absorbed by the tibrous Roots. 
 
 Let the Branches be pruned Annually, 
 by a proper and skilful Person, so that 
 bearing Wood may always be left in suffi- 
 
 a. A Branch supposed to have done bearing, and which 
 is to be cut ont at 6. This is to be succeeded by c,— 
 which, when also done with, is to be removed at d ,— 
 e then takes its place, and when wanted to be pruned, is 
 to be taken off at/, leaving g to succeed. 
 


25 
 
 cient Quantity, and a due succession of 
 Shoots insured; (the best time is in April or 
 May,) at the same time taking care to re¬ 
 move all dead and superabundant Branches, 
 and to carefully cut out the cankered Parts; 
 this will, at the same time that it efficiently 
 admits the Light and Air, prevent the ab¬ 
 sorption of Sap by unproductive Parts, and 
 leave the juicy circulation more abundant 
 for the perfection of a Crop of full, noble¬ 
 sized Fruit, far exceeding any produced 
 even in the luckiest of “ Lucky Years.” 
 
 As a specimen of what is effected for 
 Fruit by judicious Pruning, a Sketch of 
 Two Pears, grown on the same Tree, the 
 same Season, is here exhibited,—the small 
 one was grown on a Branch pruned with 
 Spurs, according to the old System,—and 
 the other fine Specimen resulted from the 
 Branch itself, on which no Spur was suf¬ 
 fered. 
 
 C 2 
 
26 
 
 To keep the Bark of the Trees clean, and 
 free from Insects, the following Wash 
 should be used, as recommended by Mr. 
 Forsyth: —Take 
 
 Fresh Cow Dung, a little Lime, and 
 Wood Ashes ,— 
 
 Mix these with Urine and Soapsuds, 
 for use. 
 
 Wash the Trees with this Mixture, made 
 about the consistence of Plasterer’s White 
 Wash, and lay it on in the same man¬ 
 ner, in the Months of February and 
 March; and, in the course of the fol¬ 
 lowing Summer, a fine new Bark will be 
 observed.—If this be again repeated in 
 the Autumn, it will destroy the Eggs 
 deposited by various Insects, and further 
 improve the Bark. 
 
 The same Mixture, made thicker, should 
 be put over those Parts from whence 
 the cankered Wood or superabundant 
 
27 
 
 Branches are removed, as it will be found 
 to heal the Wound, and renew the Bark. 
 
 Let not the Farmer think this useless 
 trouble, but rather turn his mind to a full 
 belief in a beneficial result, which will 
 enable him to look forward to meeting with 
 pleasure the demands of his Landlord. 
 
 Having shewn how to produce good 
 Crops of excellent Fruit,—it now becomes 
 necessary to advise as to the best Method of 
 making the Apples into rich, stout, mellow 
 Wine,—and which may be effected by a 
 strict observance of the following Rules:— 
 
 Let the Fruit be selected,—ripe and perfect, 
 and laid together in Heaps, not more 
 than Eighteen Inches deep, till mellow,— 
 not rotten! 
 
 In this mellow state let the Apples be ground. 
 C 3 
 
28 
 
 Hair-Cloth is better than Reed for wrapping 
 round the ground Pomace, when placed 
 in the Press,—as not being so subject 
 to the attacks of parasitic Fungi, the 
 Pollen from which we vulgarly call 
 “ Mold,” or “ Must.” 
 
 Let all the Utensils and Casks be perfectly 
 dry, sweet, and clean. 
 
 Put the Juice, as it comes from the Press, 
 into large open Tubs, and let it remain 
 therein till the Head rises, which skim 
 carefully off;—and then put the Cider 
 into Casks, observing not to till them more 
 than Three-Fourths full.—Dissolve One 
 Ounce of the best Isinglass in some 
 Cider, and mix it with that in each Hogs¬ 
 head, stirring it well up.—Bung the Casks 
 close, and let a Spile be put in the Head 
 of each, and a little of the Liquor drawn 
 therefrom daily into a clean thin Wine 
 
29 
 
 Glass, that it may be known when the 
 Cider is bright, which, as soon as it is 
 observed to be, let it be racked,—and 
 not before; unless, indeed, it should, 
 from atmospheric or other causes, get 
 into a state of fermentation,—in which 
 case it should be instantly racked, and 
 the racking continued till the fermentation 
 ceases. 
 
 For, let it be remembered always, that, 
 in proportion as the vinous fermentation is 
 carried on, the Spirit is elicited, and the 
 Sweetness subsides into the new product of 
 Wine. It is of the greatest importance, 
 therefore, that the vinous fermentation does 
 not proceed beyond its due limits; and, 
 that it may be stopped at the proper time, 
 it is necessary to watch the Must, or new- 
 made Cider, by Day and Night, through 
 the whole of the period,—because, soon 
 after the termination of the vinous termen- 
 C 4 
 
30 
 
 tation, the acetous fermentation, or forma¬ 
 tion of Vinegar begins. But, from a variety 
 of causes, it may happen that the vinous 
 fermentation will go on too slowly,—very 
 much to the deterioration of the Cider; in 
 such cases, it will be advantageous to re¬ 
 move the fermenting Liquor to a warmer 
 Cellar, where the temperature of the Air 
 may be raised to 55 Degrees of Fahren- 
 heit’s Thermometer, if so great a degree 
 of Heat be wanted. An increase of Heat 
 always promotes and accelerates the vinous 
 fermentation, and much vigilance is re¬ 
 quired, at such times, to regulate the 
 fermentation so excited, for fear of con¬ 
 verting the Cider into Vinegar.—The first 
 symptoms of which have been frequently ob¬ 
 served within a few Hours after the close of 
 the vinous Process thus artificially excited. 
 As Heat promotes, so, on the contrary. 
 Cold will restrain the activity of fermenta¬ 
 tion,—and, on the skill and address with 
 
31 
 
 which these Agents are applied, the Per¬ 
 fection and Preservation of the Cider will 
 depend. 
 
 The best Cider is always produced when 
 the vinous fermentation has been fully com¬ 
 pleted. This may be known by the Bubbles 
 ceasing to rise, and to increase the Head 
 or Scum, which has been gradually formed 
 on the Surface of the Liquor, and this cri¬ 
 tical moment for the first racking, should 
 never be lost. 
 
 If the fermentation be carried on in 
 Casks instead of open Vessels, greater vi¬ 
 gilance must be used, because what is 
 going on is out of sight,—and care must be 
 taken that the Cider be racked the very 
 moment the slightest degree of hissing is 
 perceptible;—and, as Acids are formed by 
 the absorption of that part of the atmosphe¬ 
 ric Air which is the acidifying principle, by 
 
32 
 
 Chemists termed Oxygen, it is expedient 
 that the Cider be kept as much as possible 
 from its influence, and therefore it has been 
 recommended in the process of racking, to 
 use a small Cock, that affords only a thin 
 quiet Stream, and that the Vessel into 
 which the Liquor runs should be as near the 
 Stream as possible,—because, in employing 
 a large Cock, the Cider rushes out with so 
 ruuch violence, as to incorporate a vast 
 Quantity of Air, which, consequently, aids 
 its progress in becoming Vinegar. There 
 is little more to add on these matters, ex¬ 
 cept to recommend a Straw Mat as a 
 covering for the Tubs, when Tubs are used 
 to receive the Must, during the period of 
 the vinous fermentation,—and to state, by 
 way of example of the caution required in 
 racking,—that at Dijon, in the manage¬ 
 ment of that delicate Wine Burgundy, the 
 French Factors contrive to rack their 
 Wines without exposing them to the Air 
 
33 
 
 at all! This may be easily effected, by the 
 Casks to be racked being placed on a high 
 Stilling, so that the receiving Cask may 
 stand under the Cock of the other,—to the 
 Cock should be fastened a small Hose, 
 long enough to reach from it to the Bottom 
 of the Cask into which the Cider is to be 
 racked, and into which, by these means, it 
 will run with perfect facility and quietude. 
 When the Cask that is racked from re¬ 
 quires stooping, the Hose may be removed, 
 and the remains of the Cider drawn off into 
 Cans, previous to its transit into that already 
 drawn off;—this is particularly necessary, 
 as constant examination of the Liquor, at 
 this period of the racking, is especially re¬ 
 quired, to prevent any of the Lees, or 
 Dregs, being mixed with the bright Cider. 
 A Siphon should never be used for the 
 purpose of racking, as it is almost invariably 
 sure to produce Foulness in the Liquor to 
 be racked, by the agitation unavoidable in 
 introducing it into the Cask. 
 
34 
 
 That the necessity of racking, the mo¬ 
 ment the Lees, or Dregs, are deposited, 
 may be fully understood and appreciated, 
 it is proper to observe, that as soon as this 
 takes place, they assume a Flavor of their 
 own, proportionably vicious aud bad tasted, 
 instanced in the tartaric deposition of Port 
 Wine, as the Liquor becomes mellow and 
 bright; and should these Lees, in Cider, 
 be suffered to mix again with the bright 
 Liquor, it will become so affected as never 
 to be perfectly recoverable;—hence, in 
 racking, not the smallest Quantity of that 
 which is not bright should be allowed to 
 pass into the Cask with that which is, or 
 the racking must be repeated,—a circum¬ 
 stance always to be avoided, if possible, 
 as being destructive of Color, Flavor, and 
 Body. — So far is it untrue that frequent 
 rackings make mellow Cider. 
 
 To effect a perfect Brightness, use the 
 Isinglass as before directed,—and let it be 
 
35 
 
 repeated, if necessary, remembering always 
 to rack off within Four or Five Days after 
 fining; then bung the Casks close, and let 
 them be placed in a Cellar of even tem¬ 
 perature, not exceeding 48 Degrees of 
 Fahrenheit's Thermometer, where the 
 Cider may remain for use to any age. 
 
 By such treatment, Cider will retain its 
 genuine relish, and be classed, as it de¬ 
 serves, under the denomination of Wine, 
 possessing Strength that will keep for 
 Years,—that will invigorate the Farmer and 
 his People during the toils of labor,—and 
 cheer the hearts of himself and Friends to 
 kindly merriment in the hours of relaxation. 
 
 As bad Seasons, however, will occur, 
 and frequently, in spite of every care, the 
 Farmer will be compelled to use a mixture 
 of different Fruit, in various stages of ripen- 
 
36 
 
 ing, to compose the Pomace, — the Cider 
 resulting therefrom will be of inferior 
 Quality, and be found cloudy and turbid, 
 — and ill-disposed, under every care, to 
 assume the requisite brightness. Frequent 
 observations of this Liquor will be neces¬ 
 sary, — and, although the poverty of the 
 Cider, under such circumstances, can ill 
 bear the exhaustion of frequent rackings, 
 yet its disposition to ferment may be so 
 constant, that necessity will enforce the 
 repetition of racking,—and no better course 
 can be adopted. In this desperate case, 
 much advantage will be derived from the 
 observance of the Rules and Management 
 herein laid down,— as many Improvements 
 in the Treatment of Orchards, the Fruit, 
 Pomace, and the Must, have been sug¬ 
 gested, — and, consequently, a more gene¬ 
 rous Liquor will be obtained, than can be 
 had (unless by chance,) amidst the mis¬ 
 takes and errors of the present usage. 
 
37 
 
 Not having resided long enough in the 
 County of Devon to become acquainted 
 with the different Apples that are cultivated, 
 —and having noticed the same Fruits to 
 have different names in different districts, 
 I shall not attempt to describe or enume¬ 
 rate the various sorts, but recommend the 
 Farmers to be careful in observing the 
 Orchards in their respective neighbour¬ 
 hoods, and to select for their own, those 
 Apple Trees, which experience has shewn 
 to be best suited to their particular situation 
 and soil. 
 
 It is hoped, the foregoing Observations, 
 which are purposely condensed to make 
 them more generally useful, may prove 
 acceptable to those who possess Orchards, 
 —and the observance of the System laid 
 
38 
 
 down, be the means of producing much 
 Satisfaction and Profit,—and of speedily 
 annihilating the Expression, as well as the 
 Liquor, which is now too frequently met 
 with— 
 
 “ Good Working-Man’s Cider!” 
 
 J. H. 
 
 TREWMANS, PRINTERS, EXETER.