Concerning CIDER.

story of the whole thing lies in this, to let so many of the Spiritsevaporate, that the Liquor shall not ferment before the gross Lee betaken away ; and yet to keep Spirits enough to cause a Fermentationwhen you would have it. For if you put it up as foon as it is ftrain d,and do not let. some of the Spirits evaporate, and the gross Lee byits Weight only be separated without Fermentation, it will fermenttoo much, and lose its Sweetness; and if none be left, it will not fer-ment at all ; and then the Cider will be dead, flat, and sowre.

Then after it is put into the Vessel, and the V?jsel fill’d all but a lit-tle, (that is, about a Gallon, or thereabout) I let it stand (the Bung-hole being left only covered with a Taper, to keep out any Dust orFilth that might fall in) for 24 Hours more ; in which time the gros-sest Part of the Lee being formerly left in the Vat, it will not. ferment,hut you may draw it off by a Tap some two or three Inches from thebottom of the Vessel, and in that second Vessel you may stop it up,and let it stand safely till it be fit to bottle ; and possibly that will bewithin a Day or more: But of this time there is no certain measure tobe given, there being so many things that will make it longer or lesswhile before it be fit to bottle. As for Example : If the Apples wereover-ripe when you stamped them, or ground them in the Mill, it will.be the longer before it will be clear enough to bottle ; or if the Wea-ther prove to be warmer or moister than ordinary; or that your Appleswere of such kinds, as with the same Force in the stamping or grind-ing they are broken into smaller Tarticles than other Apples that wereof harder kinds.

Now, for knowing when it is fit to bottle, I know no certain Rulethat can be given, but to broach the Vessel with a small Piercer, andin that Hole fit a Teg, and now and then (two or three times in aday) draw a little, and fee what Fineness it is of; for when it is bot-tled it must not be perfectly fine; for if it be so, it will not fret in theBottle , which gives it a fine Quickness, and will make it mantle andlparkle in the Glass, when you pour it out: And if it be too thickwhen it is bottled, then, when it hath stood lome time in the Bottles,it will ferment so much, that it may possibly either drive out theCorks, or break the Bottles, or at least be of that fort (which somecall Tot-gun-drink) that when you open the Bottles it will fly aboutthe House, and be so windy and cutting, that it will be inconvenientto drink: For the right Temper of Bottle Cider is, that it mantle alittle and sparkle when it is put out into the Glass; but if it froth andfly, it was bottled too soon. Now the Temper of the Cider is so nice,that it is very hard when you bottle it, to foretel which of these twoConditions it will have: But it is very easy within a few Days after(that is to fay, about a Week or so) to find its Temper as to thisFoint. For first, if it be bottled too soon, by this time it will begin toferment in the Bottles ; and in that cafe you must open the Bottles,a nd let them stand open two or three minutes, that that abundance ofSpirits may have vent, which otherwise kept in would in a Ihorttime make it of that Sort I called before Tot-gun-drink ; but beingJet out, that Danger will be avoided, and the Cider (without danger ofbreaking the Bottles) will keep and ferment, but not too much.•Now this is so easy a Remedy, that I would advise all Men rather totr 0I /„ tlle of bottling it too soon, than let it be too sine when

Qey bottle it; for if so, it will not fret in the Bottle at all, andcon-Cc \uently want that Briskness which is desirable. Yet