Charles Wallwyn Radcliffe Cooke

“ The practice which formerly prevailed in England of making cider on the farm from the produce of the home orchards has within the last few years been to a large extent given up, and, as in Germany and many parts of France, farmers now sell their fruit to owners of factories where the making of cider and perry is carried on as a business of itself. ”

“ 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, maladies which, strange to say, these very liquors were once supposed to foster, if not actually to originate. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”