| Show NEW CIDER visit to a L cider mili irke th rind isalo Old liuo thile hard hand press new england possesses an ancient in industry that is to bo be apprehended through a visit to the cider mill cider and apples were in the olden time indispensable in ill every well regulated new england home ionic country gallants sparking their girls on sunday nights looked f forward or to the treat 01 old 1 men luen find and maidens young men and all partook freely of the drink which before it grows hard and acid is as harmless as lemonade the tha old school divines alluded to cider in their sermons with wonderful moral effect wo we can imagine one them looking at bi hia shivering congre congregation r a from beneath tho the immense sounding 1 board and exhorting them to keep always the pristine tino tine sweetness of new cider and not to imitate that liquor in becoming sour with old ago age then what a fine ethical sermon could have been preached about cider apples which gnarled and specked to the outward eye are yet instinct with spiritual worth on tho the river road to a mile or two from the heart of springfield stands a rough unpainted building for many rods before the traveler gets to ti it tile the smell of cider apples is wafted wafred to him anti and coming coining nearer lie he sees in front of the structure tum a large bin filled brimful with tho the fruit that led to adams fall the building is the Ri verdale mill commonly known as tile the old saw mill and now used by tho the proprietor for making cider the dria driving ing public know mr loomis well and all sorts and conditions of vehicles fire driven over tile north end bridge and along by the winding connecticut till they come to a halt beside the mill jugs demijohns demi johns kegs and what not are brought out from the wag wagons go na and filled full of the amber liquid which might well have been the nectar that made olympus such a place from chicopee Chi copee street the falls agawam and all the fanning towns in the vicinity come stalwart farmer lads their rough carts laden with apples barrels are ore perched on oil top of the load which will be filled with cider find and the liquor will cheer many a rustic fireside during the dreary winter days the load is weighed and fifty pounds are allowed to a bugiel short and merry work is made of unloading tile apples a peculiar kind of stumpy shovel being used for the purpose A delightful air of informality hangs over the place and the genial proprietor etor though he is i a busy man these days is glad to explain the workings of his fine new machinery to any one who is interested in the matter the mill consists of two stories and a cellar in the upper sto story is i th hopper from which th the apples MA id into the press the fruit being carried from the bin bill outside by a cog elevator the press on the first floor is a revolving one that is while one cheese is being pressed another is being turned out A cheese che eso is simply the name given to a grist of apples turned in to be pressed the machinery is turned ky by a strong engine of thirty horse power and ole alie press capacity is barrels a day after the cheese has been pressed the which is tile alie apple pulp with the juice squeezed out off outside by another cog arrangement no one has been able to find out exactly what the use of is but mr Loo inis with truo true new england thrift proposes to test its utility as feed for cattle the cider runs I 1 out from the press into a tank in the cellar from which it is carried into the barrels by pipes during the season mason an average of barrels of cider is produced every year what a cont contrast is this well applin appointed ted mill to the rude hand cider press that used to be the property of almost every new england farmer forty or fifty years ago all the sons of the buse household hold would turn out and bear a liand land at squeezing out the juice and then there was the delight nf sucking cider from the barrel through a straw a delight rendered even keener when a pretty girl was enga engaged ae d in tile same operation close beside one there may be less romance and less flavor about this modern cider mill of ours ouis but the product of sir loomis press tastes just like old fashioned cider springfield Spring neld republican |
