s construction, the latest and most powerful being of
American origin. The resulting pomace is pressed for the extraction of
the juice, which is then run into vats, where it undergoes fermentation,
which, converting the saccharine ingredients into alcohol and carbonic
acid gas, turns it into cider. Cider made from a judicious mixture of
several varieties of apples is to be preferred to cider made from one
variety only, inasmuch as it is less difficult to find the requisite
degrees of richness, astringency and flavour in several varieties than
in one; but the contrary is the case with pears, of which the most noted
sorts, such as the Barland, the Taynton Squash and the Oldfield, produce
the best perry when unmixed with other varieties. Some fining of an
albuminous nature is generally requisite in order to clear the juice and
facilitate its passage through the filter, but the less used the better.
The simplest and cleanest is skim milk whipped to a froth and blended
gradually with the cider as it is pumped into the mixing vat. Many
nostrums are sold for the clearing of cider, but none is necessary and
most are harmful.

Of late years the practice has largely obtained of using preservatives
for the purpose of checking fermentation. The principal preservatives
employed are salicylic and boracic acids and formalin. The two former
are ineffective except in quantities likely to prove hurtful to health,
while formalin, in itself a powerful and deleterious drug, though it
stops fermentation, renders the liquor cloudy and undrinkable. Other
foreign ingredients, such as saccharin and porcherine, both coal-tar
derivatives--the latter a recent discovery of a French chemist, after
whom it is named--are used by many makers, chiefly for the purpose of
rendering bad and therefore unwholesome cider palatable and saleable.
Provided that cider and perry be properly filtered, and attention paid
to perfect cleanliness of vessels and appliances, there is no need of
preservatives or sweeteners, and their use ought to be forbidden by law
in England, as it is in most continental states in the case of liquors
to be consumed within their borders, though not, it is significant to
note, in the case of liquors intended for exportation.

The wholesome properties of cider and perry when pure and unadulterated
have been recognized by medical men, who recommend them as pleasant and
efficacious remedies in affections of a gouty or rheumatic nature,
malad