Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 2, 1802).djvu/132

112] of sweating may be determined by the flavour of the fruit, as different kinds require various lengths of time; namely, from eight or ten days to six weeks. The harsher and more crude the apples are, the longer it is necessary that they should remain in a sweating state, and not only be well dried, but the rotten parts carefully pared, before they are exposed.

The utility of the sweating practice is acknowledged in all the cyder countries, though various methods have been adopted in following it; as the apples are piled up either in the open air, or under cover in houses. In the South-hams, a middle way has been adopted, to avoid the fermentation occasioned by piling them up in rooms, and which we recommend as the best, and most rational. Heaps of fruit are raised in an open part of the orchard, where, by means of a free air and less heat, the desired maturity is gradually effected, with an inconsiderable waste of the juice and decay of ths fruit, which thus becomes almost totally divested of rancidity. And though a few apples will rot even in this manner, they are still fit for use: all of them continue plump and full of juice, and heighten in a considerable degree the colour of the liquor, without imparting to it any disagreeable smell or taste.

The fruit is then to be ground till the rind and kernels are well bruised; a process which will considerably improve the flavour and strength of the liquor, when it should be allowed to stand for a day or two, in a large open vessel. It is next pressed between several hair-cloths, and the liquor received in a vat, whence it is removed into casks, which ought to be placed in a cool situation, or in the free air, with their bung-holes open. These casks are to be sedulously watched, till the cyder drops fine, when it is to be immediately racked off from the lees into other vessels. The first racking is a most important operation; as cyder, which is suffered to become foul again, by missing the first opportunity of racking it when fine, will never become what is called a prime liquor. After the clear part has been racked off, a quantity of lees or dregs remains, which, when filtered through coarse linen bags, yields a bright, strong, but extremely flat liquid: if this be added to the former portion, it will greatly contribute to prevent fermentation, an excess of which will make the cyder thin and acid. To avoid such an accident, the casks should neither be entirely filled, nor stopped down too close; and, if the whole incline to ferment, it ought again to be racked. This latter operation, however, should on no account be repeated, unless from absolute necessity; as every racking diminishes its strength.

When there are no signs of any farther fermentation, the casks should be filled up with cyder of the best quality, and the bung-hole firmly closed with resin.

This method of making cyder is that chiefly followed in Herefordshire. Considerable quantities of this liquor are also made in Devonshire, where the process varies but little from that pursued in the county before-mentioned. Several farmers, however, instead of racking, fine it with isinglass, steeped in white-wine, dissolved over the fire, and then boiled in a quantity of the liquor intended to be fined: in this state, it is added to