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Robert Kemp Philp754The expression of the juice is the next step in cider-making. The apples are ground to a pulp in a mill, consisting of two fluted cylinders of hard wood or cast iron working against each other. The pulp is afterwards put into coarse strong bags, and pressed with a heavy weight so as to squeeze out all the juice. This is then placed in large open tubs, and kept at a heat of about sixty degrees. After two or three days for weak cider, and eight or ten days for strong cider, or as soon as the sediment has subsided, the liquor is drawn off into clean casks. The casks are then stored in a cellar, shaded barn, or other cool place, where a low and regular temperature can be insured, and are left to mature and ripen until the following spring. The refuse pulp may be given to pigs and store cattle. 2198. Bottling Cider. Preparatory to bottling cider, it should always be examined, to see whether it is clear and sparkling. If not so, it should be clarified, and left for a fortnight. The night previous to bottling, the bung should be taken out of the cask, and the filled bottles should not be corked down until the day after; as, if this is done at once, many of the bottles will burst by keeping. The best corks should be used. Champagne bottles are the best for cider. When the cider is wanted for immediate use, or for consumption during the cooler season of the year, a small piece of lump sugar may be put into each bottle before corking it. When intended for keeping, it should be stored in a cool cellar, when the quality will be greatly improved by age.

