+--------------------------+--------+-----+-------+-------+----------+
|At what Mill, and the Des-|No. and |Dia- | Revo- | Re- | Total |
| cription of Mule. |kind of |meter|lutions|quired | Force |
| | Yarn. | of Pulley |Force | Employed |
| | | or | for | in |
| | | Rim Wheel. |Motion.| Spinning.|
+--------------------------+--------+------+------+-------+----------+
|_Messrs. Birley and Kirk._|_Weft._ |_Ins._| | _lbs._| _lbs._|
|Self-acting mule, 360 sps.|30 to 34| 12 | 58 | 30 | 5463 |
|[20]Hand mule, 180 sps. | ditto | 15 | 36 | 26 | 3669}|
| | | | | |× 2 =7338}|
|_Messrs. Leech and | | | | | |
|Vandrey._ |_Twist._| | | | |
|[21]Self-acting mule, 324 | 36 | 12 | 70 | 36 | 7912 |
|sps. | | | | | |
|Hand mules, 324 sps. | 36 | 29 | 58 | 16-1/2| 7273 |
| | | | | | |
|_Messrs. Duckworth & Co._ |_Twist._| | | | |
|Self-acting mule, 324 sps.| 40 | 12 | 62 | 33 | 6421 |
|Hand mule, 324 sps. | 40 | 47 | 36 | 15-1/2| 6646 |
+--------------------------+--------+------+------+-------+----------+
[20] The trial was disadvantageous for the hand-mules, being two for
360 spindles.
[21] The trial was disadvantageous for the self-acting mules, being
driven by a very short and light vertical strap, the hand-mule having
a long horizontal strap.
The mode adopted to make the trials was as follows, viz.:
A force, indicated by weight in pounds, was applied to the strap working
upon the driving-pulley of the respective mules, sufficient to maintain
the motion of the mule whilst spinning, which weight, being multiplied
by the length of strap delivered by each revolution of the pulley, and
again by the number of revolutions made by the pulley whilst spinning,
gave the total force in pounds, applied to the respective mules whilst
spinning; for instance, suppose a mule to be driven by a pulley 12
inches diameter (3·14 ft. in circumference), such pulley making 58
revolutions during the spinning as above, and that it required a force
equal to 30 lbs. weight to maintain the motion of the mule, then 30 lbs.
× 3·14 feet circumference of pulley × 58 revolutions in spinning = 5463
lbs. of force employed during the spinning, to the period of backing
off.
Mr. James Smith, of Deanstone cotton works in Scotland, obtained a
patent for the invention of a _self-actor_, in February, 1834. He does
not perform the backing-off by reversing the rotation of the spindle, as
in common mules, or as in Mr. Roberts’, but by elevating the
counterfaller wire, which, being below the ends of the yarn or thread,
along the whole extent of the carriage, thereby pulls off or strips the
spiral coils at the point of the spindle, instead of unwinding them, as
of old. This movement he considers to be of great importance towards
simplifying the machinery for rendering the mule self-acting; and the
particular way in which he brings the stripper into action is no doubt
ingenious, but it has been supposed by many to strain the yarn. He
claims as his invention the application and adaptation of a mangle wheel
or mangle rack to the mule, for effecting certain successive movements,
either separately or in conjunction; he claims that arrangement of the
carriages of a pair of mules, by which the stretch is caused to take
place over part of the same ground by both carriages, and thereby the
space required for the working of a pair of mules is greatly diminished;
and he claims the application of a weight, spring, or friction, for
balancing the tension of the ends of the threads.
A patent was granted, in April, 1835, to Mr. Joseph Whitworth, engineer
in Manchester, for some ingenious modifications of the mechanism of the
mule, subservient to automatic purposes. His machinery is designed,
first, to traverse the carriage in and out, by means of screws or
worm-shafts, which are placed so as to keep the carriage parallel to the
drawing rollers, and prevent the necessity of squaring bands, hitherto
universally employed; secondly, his invention consists in an improved
manner of working the drums of a self-acting mule by geer; thirdly, in
the means of effecting the backing off; fourthly, in the mechanism for
working the faller-wire in building the cops; and fifthly, in the
apparatus for effecting the winding of the yarns upon the spindles. As
regards the throstles and doubling frames, his improvements apply,
first, to the peculiar method of constructing and adapting the flyers
and spindles, and producing the drag; and, secondly, to the arrangement
of the other parts of the doubling machinery.
See LACE-MAKING, SINGEING, TEXTILE FABRIC, THREAD MANUFACTURE, and
WEAVING.
The Imports of Cotton Wool for home consumption into the United Kingdom
were in the year ending 5th January,
+-------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------+
| | 1836. | 1837. |
| +-----------+-----------+
| | lbs. | lbs. |
|From the British possessions in America | 1,346,220| 1,041,434|
| -- do. do. East Indies| 43,404,058| 34,060,055|
| -- United States of America |287,346,721|309,027,306|
| -- Brazil | 26,879,779| 20,822,509|
| -- Egypt | 5,184,743| 7,465,774|
|Otherwise imported | 6,789,603| 5,602,602|
| +-----------+-----------+
| Total |370,951,124|378,019,680|
+-------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------+
| _£_ _£_ |
|The Exports of Cotton Manufactures 18,511,692 13,625,464|
| -- Yarn 6,120,366 6,953,467|
+-------------------------------------------------------------------+
COURT PLASTER, is a considerable object of manufacture. It is made as
follows:
Black silk is strained and brushed over ten or twelve times with the
following preparation:--Dissolve 1/2 an ounce of balsam of benzoin in 6
ounces of rectified spirits of wine; and in a separate vessel dissolve 1
ounce of isinglass in as little water as may be. Strain each solution,
mix them, and let the mixture rest, so that any undissolved parts may
subside; when the clear liquid is cold it will form a jelly, which must
be warmed before it is applied to the silk. When the silk coated with it
is quite dry, it must be finished off with a coat of a solution of 4
ounces of China turpentine in 6 ounces of tincture of benzoin, to
prevent its cracking.[22]
[22] Paris’s Pharmacologia.
CRAPE. (_Crêpe_, Fr.; _Krepp_, Germ.) A transparent textile fabric,
somewhat like gauze, made of raw silk, gummed and twisted at the mill.
It is woven with any crossing or tweel. When dyed black, it is much worn
by ladies as a mourning dress. Crapes are crisped (_crepés_) or smooth;
the former being double, are used in close mourning, the latter in less
deep. White crape is appropriate to young unmarried females, and to
virgins on taking the veil in nunneries. The silk destined for the first
is spun harder than for the second; since the degree of twist,
particularly of the warp, determines the degree of crisping which it
assumes after being taken from the loom. It is for this purpose steeped
in clear water, and rubbed with prepared wax. Crapes are all woven and
dyed with the silk in the raw state. They are finished with a stiffening
of gum water.
Crape is a Bolognese invention, but has been long manufactured with
superior excellence at Lyons in France, and Norwich in England. There is
now a magnificent fabric of it at Yarmouth, by power-loom machinery.
There is another kind of stuff, called _crepon_, made either of fine
wool, or of wool and silk, of which the warp is twisted much harder than
the weft. The _crepons_ of Naples consist altogether of silk.
CRAYONS. (Eng. and Fr.; _Pastelstifte_, Germ.) Slender, soft, and
somewhat friable cylinders, variously coloured for delineating figures
upon paper, usually called chalk drawings. Red, green, brown, and other
coloured crayons, are made with fine pipe or china clay paste,
intimately mixed with earthy or metallic pigments, or in general with
body or surface colours, then moulded and dried. The brothers Joel, in
Paris, employ as crayon cement the following composition: 6 parts of
shell-lac, 4 parts of spirit of wine, 2 parts of turpentine, 12 parts of
a colouring powder, such as Prussian-blue, orpiment, whitelead,
vermillion, &c., and 12 parts of blue clay. The clay being elutriated,
passed through a hair sieve, and dried, is to be well incorporated by
trituration with the solution of the shell-lac in the spirit of wine,
the turpentine, and the pigment; and the doughy mass is to be pressed in
proper moulds, so as to acquire the desired shape. They are then dried
by a stove heat.
In order to make cylindrical crayons, a copper cylinder is employed,
about 2 inches in diameter, and 1-1/2 inches long, open at one end, and
closed at the other with a perforated plate, containing holes
corresponding to the sizes of the crayons. The paste is introduced into
the open end, and forced through the holes of the bottom by a piston
moved by a strong press. The vermicular pieces that pass through are cut
to the proper lengths, and dried. As the quality of the crayons depends
entirely upon the fineness of the paste, mechanical means must be
resorted to for effecting this object in the best manner. The following
machine has been found to answer the purpose exceedingly well.
[Illustration: 350 351]
_Fig._ 350. is a vertical section through the centre of the crayon mill.
_Fig._ 351. is a view of the mill from above. A, the mill tub, whose
bottom B must be a hard flat plate of cast iron; the sides A being of
wood or iron at pleasure. In the centre of the bottom there is a pivot
C, screwed into a socket cast upon the bottom, and which may be
strengthened by two cross bars D, made fast to the frame E. F, the
millstone of cast-iron, concave, whose diameter is considerably smaller
than that of the vessel A; it is furnished within with a circular basin
of wood G, which receives the materials to be ground, and directs them
to the holes H, which allow them to pass down between the under part of
the muller, and the bottom of the tub, to undergo trituration.
By the centrifugal motion, the paste is driven towards the sides of the
vessel, rises over the sides of the muller, and comes again through the
holes H, so as to be repeatedly subjected to the grinding operation.
This millstone is mounted upon an upright shaft I, which receives
rotatory motion from the bevel wheel work K, driven by the winch L.
[Illustration: 352 353]
The furnace in which some kinds of crayons, and especially the
factitious blacklead pencils are baked, is represented in _fig._ 352. in
a front elevation; and in _fig._ 353., which is a vertical section
through the middle of the chimney.
A A, six tubes of greater or less size, according as the substance of
the crayons is a better or worse conductor of heat. These tubes, into
which the crayons intended for baking are to be put, traverse
horizontally the laboratory B of the furnace, and are supported by two
plates C, pierced with six square holes for covering the axes of the
tubes A. These two plates are hung upon a common axis D; one of them,
with a ledge, shuts the cylindrical part of the furnace, as is shown in
the figure. At the extremity of the bottom, the axis D is supported by
an iron fork fixed in the brickwork; at the front it crosses the plate
C, and lets through an end about 4 inches square to receive a key, by
means of which the axis D may be turned round at pleasure, and thereby
the two plates C, and the six tubes A, are thus exposed in succession to
the action of the fire in an equal manner upon each of their sides. At
the two extremities of the furnace are two chimnies E, for the purpose
of diffusing the heat more equably over the body of the crayons. F,
_fig._ 352., is the door of the fire-place, by which the fuel is
introduced; G, _fig._ 353., the ash-pit; H, the fire-place; I, holes of
the grate which separate the fire-place from the ash-pit; K, brickwork
exterior to the furnace.
General Lomet proposes the following composition for red crayons. He
takes the softest hematite, grinds it upon a porphyry slab; and then
carefully elutriates it. He makes it into a plastic paste with gum
arabic and a little white soap, which he forms by moulding, as above,
through a syringe, and drying, into crayons. The proportions of the
ingredients require to be carefully studied.
CRAYONS, _lithographic_. Various formulæ have been given for the
formation of these crayons. One of these prescribes, white wax, 4 parts;
hard tallow-soap, shell-lac, of each 2 parts; lamp black, 1 part.
Another is, dried tallow soap and white wax, each 6 parts; lamp black, 1
part. This mixture being fused with a gentle heat, is to be cast into
moulds for forming crayons of a proper size.
CREOSOTE, or the _flesh-preserver_, from κρεας and σωζω, is the most
important of the five new chemical products obtained from wood tar by
Dr. Reichenbach. The other four, _paraffine_, _eupione_, _picamar_, and
_pittacal_, have hitherto been applied to no use in the arts, and may be
regarded at present as mere analytical curiosities.
Creosote may be prepared either from tar or from crude pyrolignous acid.
The tar must be distilled till it acquires the consistence of pitch, and
at the utmost till it begins to exhale the white vapours of paraffine.
The liquor which passes into the receiver divides itself into 3 strata,
a watery one in the middle, placed between a heavy and a light oil. The
lower stratum alone is adapted to the preparation of creosote.
1. The liquor being saturated with carbonate of potash, is to be allowed
to settle, and the oily matter which floats at top is to be decanted
off. When this oil is distilled, it affords at first, products lighter
than water, which are to be rejected, but the heavier oil which follows
is to be separated, washed repeatedly by agitation, with fresh portions
of dilute phosphoric acid, to free it from ammonia, then left some time
at rest, after which it must be washed by water from all traces of
acidity, and finally distilled along with a new portion of dilute
phosphoric acid, taking care to _cohobate_, or pour back the distilled
product repeatedly into the retort.
2. The oily liquid thus rectified is colourless; it contains much
_creosote_, but at the same time some _eupione_, &c. It must therefore
be mixed with potash lye at 1·12 sp. grav., which dissolves the
creosote. The eupione floats upon the surface of that solution, and may
be decanted off. The alkaline solution is to be exposed to the air, till
it blackens by decomposition of some foreign matter. The potash being
then saturated with dilute sulphuric acid, the creosote becomes free,
when it may be decanted or syphoned off and distilled.
3. The treatment by potash, sulphuric acid, &c., is to be repeated upon
the brownish creosote till it remains colourless, or nearly so, even
upon exposure to air. It must be now dissolved in the strongest potash
lye, subjected to distillation anew, and lastly, re-distilled with the
rejection of the first products which contain much water, retaining only
the following, but taking care not to push the process too far.
In operating upon pyrolignous acid, if we dissolve effloresced sulphate
of soda in it to saturation, at the temperature of 167° F., the creosote
oil will separate, and float upon the surface. It is to be decanted,
left in repose for some days, during which it will part with a fresh
portion of the vinegar and salt. Being now saturated while hot, with
carbonate of potash and distilled with water, an oily liquor is
obtained, of a pale yellow colour. This is to be rectified by phosphoric
acid, &c., like the crude product of creosote from tar.
Creosote is apparently composed of 76·2 carbon, 7·8 hydrogen, and 16·0
oxygen, in 100 parts. It is an oily looking liquid, slightly greasy to
the touch, void of colour, having an acrid burning taste, and capable of
corroding the epidermis in a short time. It possesses a penetrating
disagreeable smell, like that of highly smoked hams, and when inhaled up
the nostrils, causes a flow of tears. Its specific gravity is 1·037, at
58° F. Its consistence is similar to that of oil of almonds. It has no
action upon the colours of litmus or turmeric, but communicates to white
paper a stain which disappears spontaneously in a few hours, and rapidly
by the application of heat.
It boils without decomposition at 398° F., under the average barometric
pressure, remains fluid at 16° F., is a non-conductor of electricity,
refracts light powerfully, and burns in a lamp with a ruddy smoky flame.
When mixed with water at 58° F. it forms two different combinations, the
first being a solution of 1 part of creosote in 400 of water; the
second, a combination of 1 part of water with 10 parts of creosote. It
unites in all proportions with alcohol, hydric ether, acetic ether,
naphtha, eupione, carburet of sulphur, &c.
Creosote dissolves a large quantity of iodine and phosphorus, as also of
sulphur with the aid of heat, but it deposits the greater part of them
in crystals, on cooling. It combines with potash, soda, ammonia, lime,
baryta, and oxide of copper. Oxide of mercury converts creosote into a
resinous matter, while itself is reduced to the metallic state. Strong
sulphuric and nitric acids decompose it.
Creosote dissolves several salts, particularly the acetates, and the
chlorides of calcium and tin; it reduces the nitrate and acetate of
silver. It also dissolves indigo blue; a remarkable circumstance. Its
action upon animal matters is very interesting. It coagulates albumen,
and prevents the putrefaction of butcher’s meat and fish. For this
purpose these substances must be steeped a quarter of an hour in a weak
watery solution of creosote, then drained and hung up in the air to dry.
Hence Reichenbach has inferred that it is owing to the presence of
creosote, that meat is cured by smoking; but he is not correct in
ascribing the effect to the mere coagulation of the albumen, since
_fibrine_ alone, without creosote, will putrefy in the course of 24
hours, during the heats of summer. It kills plants and small animals. It
preserves flour paste unchanged for a long time.
_Creosote_ exists in the tar of beech-wood, to the amount of from 20 to
25 per cent., and in crude pyrolignous acid, to that of 1-1/2.
It ought to be kept in well-stoppered bottles, because when left open,
it becomes progressively yellow, brown, and thick.
Creosote has considerable power upon the nervous system, and has been
applied to the teeth with advantage in odontalgia, as well as to the
skin in recent scalds. But its medicinal and surgical virtues have been
much exaggerated. Its flesh-preserving quality is rendered of little
use, from the difficulty of removing the rank flavour which it imparts.
CRUCIBLES; (_Creusets_, Fr.; _Schmelztiegel_, Germ.) are small conical
vessels, narrower at the bottom than the mouth, for reducing ores in
docimasy by the dry analysis, for fusing mixtures of earthy and other
substances, for melting metals, and compounding metallic alloys. They
ought to be refractory in the strongest heats, not readily acted upon by
the substances ignited in them, not porous to liquids, and capable of
bearing considerable alternations of temperature without cracking; on
which account they should not be made too thick. The best crucibles are
formed from a pure fire clay, mixed with finely ground _cement_ of old
crucibles, and a portion of black-lead or graphite. Some pounded coak
may be mixed, with the plumbago. The clay should be prepared in a
similar way as for making pottery ware; the vessels after being formed
must be slowly dried, and then properly baked in the kiln. Crucibles
formed of a mixture of 8 parts in bulk of Stourbridge clay and cement, 5
of coak, and 4 of graphite, have been found to stand 23 meltings of 76
pounds of iron each, in the Royal Berlin foundry. Such crucibles
resisted the greatest possible heat that could be produced, in which
even wrought iron was melted, equal to 150° or 155° Wedgewood; and bore
sudden cooling without cracking. Another composition for brass-founding
crucibles is the following:--1/2 Stourbridge clay; 1/4 burned clay
cement; 1/8 coak powder; 1/8 pipe clay. The pasty mass must be
compressed in moulds. The Hessian crucibles from Great Almerode and
Epterode are made from a fire clay which contains a little iron, but no
lime; it is incorporated with siliceous sand. The dough is compressed in
a mould, dried, and strongly kilned. They stand saline and leaden fluxes
in docimastic operations very well; are rather porous on account of the
coarseness of the sand, but are thereby less apt to crack from sudden
heating or cooling. They melt under the fusing point of bar iron.
Beaufay in Paris has lately succeeded in making a tolerable imitation of
the Hessian crucibles with a fire clay found near Namur in the Ardennes.
Berthier has published the following elaborate analyses of several kinds
of crucibles:--
+--------+------+------+-------+--------+--------+---------+--------+
| | Hes- | Beau-|English| St. E- | Glass |Bohemian | Glass |
| | sian.| fay. | | tienne |Pots at | Glass |Pots, of|
| | | | for Cast Steel.|Nemours.| Pots. |Creusot.|
+--------+------+------+-------+--------+--------+---------+--------+
|Silica |70·9 |64·6 | 63·7 | 65·2 | 67·4 | 68·0 | 68·0 |
|Alumina |24·8 |34·4 | 20·7 | 25·0 | 32·0 | 29·0 | 28·0 |
|Oxide of| | | | | | | |
|Iron | 3·8 | 1·0 | 4·0 | 7·2 | 0·8 | 2·2 | 2·0 |
|Magnesia| trace| -- | -- | trace | trace | 0·5 | trace |
|Water | -- | -- | 10·3 | -- | -- | -- | 1·0 |
| | | | [23] | | | | |
+--------+------+------+-------+--------+--------+---------+--------+
[23] This crucible had been analyzed before being baked in the kiln.
Wurzer states the composition of the sand and clay in the Hessian
crucibles as follows:--
_Clay;_ silica 10·1; alumina 65·4; oxides of iron lime 0·3; water 23
and manganese 1·2;
_Sand;_ 95·6 2·1 1·5 0·8
_Black lead_ crucibles are made of two parts of graphite and one of fire
clay; mixed with water into a paste, pressed in moulds, and well dried;
but not baked hard in the kiln. They bear a higher heat than the Hessian
crucibles, as well as sudden changes of temperature; have a smooth
surface, and are therefore preferred by the melters of gold and silver.
This compound forms excellent small or portable furnaces.
Mr. Anstey describes his patent process for making crucibles, as
follows: Take two parts of fine ground raw Stourbridge clay, and one
part of the hardest gas coak, previously pulverized, and sifted through
a sieve of one-eighth of an inch mesh (if the coak is ground too fine,
the pots are very apt to crack). Mix the ingredients together with the
proper quantity of water, and tread the mass well. The pot is moulded by
hand upon a wooden block, supported on a spindle which turns in a hole
in the bench; there is a gauge to regulate the thickness of the melting
pot, and a cap of linen or cotton placed wet upon the core before the
clay is applied, to prevent the clay from sticking partially to the
core, in the taking off; the cap adheres to the pot only while wet, and
may be removed without trouble or hazard when dry. He employs a wooden
bat to assist in moulding the pot; when moulded it is carefully dried at
a gentle heat. A pot dried as above, when wanted for use, is first
warmed by the fire-side, and is then laid in the furnace with the mouth
downwards (the red coaks being previously damped with cold ones in order
to lessen the heat); more coak is then thrown in till the pot is
covered, and it is now brought up gradually to a red heat. The pot is
next turned and fixed in a proper position in the furnace, without being
allowed to cool, and is then charged with cold iron, so that the metal,
when melted, shall have its surface a little below the mouth of the pot.
The iron is melted in about an hour and a half, and no flux or addition
of any kind is made use of. A pot will last for fourteen or even
eighteen successive meltings, provided it is not allowed to cool in the
intervals; but if it cool, it will probably crack. These pots it is said
can bear a greater heat than others without softening, and will,
consequently, deliver the metal in a more fluid state than the best
Birmingham pots will. See a figure of the crucible mould under STEEL.
CRYSTAL, is the geometrical form possessed by a vast number of mineral
and saline substances; as also by many vegetable and animal products.
The integrant particles of matter have undoubtedly determinate forms,
and combine with one another, by the attraction of cohesion, according
to certain laws, and points of polarity, whereby they assume a vast
variety of secondary crystalline forms. The investigation of these laws
belongs to crystallography, and is foreign to the practical purpose of
this volume. Instructions are given under each object of manufacture
which requires crystallization, how to conduct this process; see BORAX,
SALT, &c.
CUDBEAR was first made an article of trade in this country, by Dr.
Cuthbert Gordon, from whom it derived its name, and was originally
manufactured on a great scale by Mr. G. Mackintosh at Glasgow, nearly 60
years ago. Cudbear or persio is a powder of a violet red colour,
difficult to moisten with water, and of a peculiar but not disagreeable
odour. It is partially soluble in boiling water, becomes red with acids,
and violet blue with alkalis. It is prepared in the same way as archil,
only toward the end the substance is dried in the air, and is then
ground to a fine powder, taking care to avoid decomposition, which
renders it glutinous. In Scotland they use the lichen tartareus, more
rarely the lichen calcareus, and omphalodes; most of which lichens are
imported from Sweden and Norway, under the name of rock moss. The lichen
is suffered to ferment for a month, and is then stirred about to allow
any stones which may be present to fall to the bottom. The red mass is
next poured into a flat vessel, and left to evaporate till its urinous
smell has disappeared, and till it has assumed an agreeable colour
verging upon violet. It is then ground to fine powder. During the
fermentation of the lichen, it is watered with stale urine, or with an
equivalent ammoniacal liquor of any kind, as in making archil.
CUPELLATION; is a mode of analyzing gold, silver, palladium, and
platinum, by adding to small portions of alloys, containing these
metals, a bit of lead, fusing the mixture in a little _cup_ of bone
earth called a _cupel_, then by the joint action of heat and air,
oxidizing the copper, tin, &c., present in the precious metals. The
oxides thus produced, are dissolved and carried down into the porous
_cupel_ in a liquid state, by the vitrified oxide of lead. See ASSAY,
GOLD, and SILVER.
CURRYING OF LEATHER, (_Corroyer_, Fr.; _Zurichten_, Germ.) is the art of
dressing skins after they are tanned, for the purposes of the
shoe-maker, coach and harness maker, &c., or of giving them the
necessary smoothness, lustre, colour, and suppleness. The currier’s shop
has no resemblance to the tanner’s premises, having a quite different
set of tools and manipulations.
The currier employs a strong hurdle about a yard square, made either of
basket twigs, or of wooden spars, fixed rectangularly like trellis work,
with holes 3 inches square, upon which he treads the leather, or beats
it with a mallet or hammer, in order to soften it, and render it
flexible.
The _head knife_, called in French _couteau a revers_, on account of the
form of its edge, which is much turned over, is a tool 5 or 6 inches
broad, and 15 or 16 long; with two handles, one in the direction of the
blade, and the other perpendicular to it, for the purpose of guiding the
edge more truly upon the skin. The pommel (_paumelle_) is so called
because it clothes the palm of the hand, and performs its functions. It
is made of hard wood, and of a rectangular shape, 1 foot long, 5 inches
broad, flat above and rounded below. It is furrowed over the rounded
surface with transverse parallel straight grooves. These grooves are in
section sharp-edged isosceles triangles. _Fig._ 354. and 355., represent
the pommel in an upper and under view. The flat surface is provided with
a leather strap for securing it to the hand of the workman. Pommels are
made of different sizes, and with grooves of various degrees of
fineness. Cork pommels are also used, but they are not grooved. Pommels
serve to give grain and pliancy to the skins.
[Illustration: 354 355 356]
The _stretching iron_, _fig._ 356., is a flat plate of iron or copper,
fully a fourth of an inch thick at top, and thinning off at bottom in a
blunt edge, shaped like the arc of a circle of large diameter, having
the angles _a_ and _b_ rounded, lest in working they should penetrate
the leather. The top _c_ is mounted with leather to prevent it from
hurting the hands. A copper stretching knife is used for delicate skins.
The workman holds this tool nearly perpendicular, and scrapes the thick
places powerfully with his two hands, especially those where some tan or
flesh remains. He thus equalizes the thickness of the skin, and renders
it at the same time more dense and uniform in texture. This tool is of
very general use in currying.
[Illustration: 357 358]
The round knife, _fig._ 357. and 358. (_lunette_ in French), is a
circular knife from 10 to 12 inches in diameter, with a round 4 or 5
inch hole in its centre, for introducing the hands and working it. It is
concave, as shown in the section _fig._ 358., presenting the form of a
spherical zone. The concave part is that applied to the skin. Its edge
is not perfectly straight; but is a little turned over on the side
opposite to the skin, to prevent it from entering too far into the
leather. The currier first slopes off with the head knife from the
edges, a portion equal to what he afterwards removes with the round one.
By this division the work is done sooner and more exactly. All the oiled
or greased skins are dressed with the round knife.
[Illustration: 359]
The _cleaner_ is a straight two-handled knife two inches broad, of which
there are two kinds, a sharp-edged and a blunt one. _Fig._ 359.
The _mace_ is made of wood, having a handle 30 inches long, with a
cubical head or mallet; upon the two faces of which, parallel to the
line of the handle, there are 4 pegs of hard wood turned of an
egg-shape, and well polished, so as not to tear the moistened leather
when it is strongly beat and softened with the mace.
[Illustration: 360]
The horse or trestle, _fig._ 360., consists of a strong wooden frame, A
B C D, which serves as a leg or foot. Upon the middle of this frame
there are two uprights, E F, and a strong cross beam, G, for supporting
the thick plank H, upon which the skins are worked. This plank may be
set at a greater or less slope, according as its lower end is engaged in
one or other of the cross bars, I I I I, of the frame. In the figure, a
skin K is represented upon the plank with the head knife upon it, in the
act of being pared.
A cylindrical bar fixed horizontally at its ends to two buttresses
projecting from the wall, serves by means of a parallel stretched cord,
to fix a skin by a coil or two in order to dress it. This is accordingly
called the _dresser_. The tallow cloth is merely a mop made of stout
rags, without the long handle; of which there are several, one for wax,
another for oil, &c. Strong-toothed pincers with hook-end handles, drawn
together by an endless cord, are employed to stretch the leather in any
direction, while it is being dressed. The currier uses clamps like the
letter U, to fix the edges of the leather to his table. His polisher is
a round piece of hard wood, slightly convex below, with a handle
standing upright in its upper surface, for seizing it firmly. He first
rubs with sour beer, and finishes with barberry juice.
Every kind of tanned leather not intended for soles or such coarse
purposes, is generally curried before being delivered to the workmen who
fashion it, such as shoemakers, coachmakers, saddlers, &c. The chief
operations of the currier are four:--
1. Dipping the leather, which consists in moistening it with water, and
beating it with the _mace_, or a mallet upon the hurdle. He next applies
the _cleaners_, both blunt and sharp, as well as the head knife, to
remove or thin down all inequalities. After the leather is shaved, it is
thrown once more into water, and well scoured by rubbing the grain side
with pumice stone, or a piece of slaty grit, whereby it parts with the
bloom, a whitish matter, derived from the oak bark in the tan pit.
2. Applying the pommel to give the leather a granular appearance, and
correspondent flexibility. The leather is first folded with its grain
side in contact, and rubbed strongly with the pommel, then rubbed simply
upon its grain side; whereby it becomes extremely flexible.
3. Scraping the leather. This makes it of uniform thickness. The workman
holds the tool nearly perpendicular upon the leather, and forcibly
scrapes the thick places with both his hands.
4. Dressing it by the round knife. For this purpose he stretches the
leather upon the wooden cylinder, lays hold of the pendent under edge
with the pincers attached to his girdle, and then with both hands
applies the edge of the knife to the surface of the leather, slantingly
from above downwards, and thus pares off the coarser fleshy parts of the
skin. This operation requires great experience and dexterity; and when
well performed improves greatly the look of the leather.
The hide or skin being rendered flexible and uniform, is conveyed to the
shed or drying house, where the greasy substances are applied, which is
called dubbing (daubing), or stuffing. The oil used for this purpose is
prepared by boiling sheep-skins or doe-skins, in cod oil. This
application of grease is often made before the graining board or pommel
is employed.
Before waxing, the leather is commonly coloured by rubbing it with a
brush dipped into a composition of oil and lamp black on the flesh side,
till it be thoroughly black; it is then black-sized with a brush or
sponge, dried, tallowed with the proper cloth, and slicked upon the
flesh with a broad smooth lump of glass; sized again with a sponge; and
when dry, again curried as above described.
Currying leather on the hair or grain side, termed black on the grain,
is the same in the first operation with that drest on the flesh, till it
is scoured. Then the first black is applied to it while wet, by a
solution of copperas put upon the grain, after this has been rubbed with
a stone; a brush dipped in stale urine is next rubbed on, then an iron
slicker is used to make the grain come out as fine as possible. It is
now stuffed with oil. When dry, it is seasoned; that is, rubbed over
with a brush dipped in copperas water, on the grain, till it be
perfectly black. It is next slicked with a good grit-stone, to take out
the wrinkles, and smooth the coarse grain. The grain is finally raised
with the pommel or graining board, by applying it to the leather in
different directions. When thoroughly dry, it is grained again in two or
three ways.
Hides intended for covering coaches are shaved nearly as thin as shoe
hides, and blacked upon the grain.
CUTLERY. (_Coutellerie_, Fr.; _Messerschmidwaare_, Germ.) Three kinds of
steel are made use of in the manufacture of different articles of
cutlery, viz. common steel, shear steel, and cast steel. Shear steel is
exceedingly plastic and tough. All the edge tools which require great
tenacity without great hardness are made of it, such as table knives,
scythes, plane-irons, &c.
Cast steel is formed by melting blistered steel in covered crucibles,
with bottle glass, and pouring it into cast-iron moulds, so as to form
it into ingots: these ingots are then taken to the tilt, and drawn into
rods of suitable dimensions. No other than cast steel can assume a very
fine polish, and hence all the finer articles of cutlery are made of it,
such as the best scissors, penknives, razors, &c.
Formerly cast steel could be worked only at a very low heat; it can now
be made so as to be welded to iron with the greatest ease. Its use is
consequently extended to making very superior kinds of chisels,
plane-irons, &c.
_Forging of table knives._--Two men are generally employed in the
forging of table knives; one called the foreman or maker, and the other
the striker.
The steel called common steel is employed in making the very common
articles; but for the greatest part of table knives which require a
surface free from flaws, shear steel is generally preferred. That part
of the knife termed the blade, is first rudely formed and cut off. It is
next welded to a rod of iron about 1/2 inch square, in such a manner as
to leave as little of the iron part of the blade exposed as possible. A
sufficient quantity of the iron now attached to the blade, is taken off
from the rod to form the bolster or shoulder, and the tang.
In order to make the bolster of a given size, and to give it at the same
time shape and neatness, it is introduced into a die, and a swage placed
upon it; the swage has a few smart blows given it by the striker. This
die and swage are, by the workman, called prints.
After the tangs and bolster are finished, the blade is heated a second
time, and the foreman gives it its proper anvil finish; this operation
is termed smithing. The blade is now heated red-hot, and plunged
perpendicularly into cold water. By this means it becomes hardened. It
requires to be tempered regularly down to a blue colour: in which state
it is ready for the grinder.
Mr. Brownill’s method of securing the handles upon table-knives and
forks, is, by lengthening the tangs, so as to pass them completely
through the handle, the ends of which are to be tinned after the
ordinary mode of tinning iron; and, when passed through the handle, the
end of the tang is to be spread by beating, or a small hole drilled
through it, and a pin passed to hold it upon the handle. After this,
caps of metal, either copper plated, or silver, are to be soldered on to
the projecting end of the tang, and while the solder is in a fluid
state, the cap is to be pressed upon the end of the handle and held
there until the solder is fixed, when the whole is to be cooled by being
immersed in cold water.
Mr. Thomason’s patent improvements consist in the adaptation of steel
edges to the blades of gold and silver knives. These steel edges are to
be attached to the other metal of whatever quality it may be, of which
the knife, &c. is made, by means of solder, in the ordinary mode of
effecting that process. After the edge of steel is thus attached to the
gold, silver, &c., it is to be ground, polished, and tempered by
immersion in cold water, or oil, after being heated. This process being
finished, the other parts of the knife are then wrought and ornamented
by the engraver or chaser, as usual.
A patent was obtained in 1827, by Mr. Smith of Sheffield, for rolling
out knives at one operation.
In the ordinary mode of making knives, a sheet of steel being provided,
the blades are cut out of the sheet, and the backs, shoulders, and
tangs, of wrought iron, are attached to the steel blades, by welding at
the forge. The knife is then ground to the proper shape, and the blade
polished and hardened.
Instead of this welding process, the patentee proposes to make the
knives entirely of steel, and to form them by rolling in a heated state
between massive rollers; the shoulders or bolsters, and the tangs for
the handles being produced by suitable recesses in the peripheries of
the rollers; just as rail-way rails are formed. When the knife is to be
made with what is called a scale tang, that is a broad flat tang, to
which the handle is to be attached in two pieces, riveted on the sides
of the tang, the rollers are then only to have recesses cut in them, in
a direction parallel to the axis for forming the bolster.
The plate of steel having been heated, is to be pressed between the two
rollers, by which the blades and the parts for the scale tangs will be
pressed out flat and thin, and those parts which pass between the
grooves or recess will be left thick or protuberant, forming the bolster
for the shoulder of the blade. But if the tangs are to be round in order
to be fixed into single handles, then it will be necessary also to form
transverse grooves in the rollers, that is, at right angles to those
which give shape to the bolsters, the transverse grooves corresponding
in length to the length of the intended tang. When the plates of steel
have been thus rolled, forming three or more knives in a breadth, the
several knives are to be cut out by the ordinary mode of what is called
slitting, and the blades and shoulders ground, hardened, and polished in
the usual way.
Forks are generally a distinct branch of manufacture from that of
knives, and are purchased of the fork makers by the manufacturers of
table knives, in a state fit for receiving the handles.
The rods of steel from which the forks are made, are about 3/8ths of an
inch square. The tang and shank of the fork are first roughly formed.
The fork is then cut off, leaving at one end about 1 inch of the square
part of the steel. This part is afterwards drawn out flat to about the
length of the prongs. The shank and tang are now heated, and a proper
form given to them by means of a die and swage. The prongs are
afterwards formed at one blow by means of the stamp; this machine is
very similar to that used in driving piles, but it is worked by one man.
It consists of a large anvil fixed in a block of stone nearly on a level
with the ground. To this anvil are attached two rods of iron of
considerable thickness, fixed 12 inches asunder, perpendicularly to the
anvil, and diagonally to each other. These are fastened to the ceiling.
The hammer or stamp, about 100 lbs. in weight, having a groove upon
either side corresponding to the angles of the upright rods, is made to
slide freely through its limited range, being conducted by its two iron
supporters. A rope is attached to the hammer, which goes over a pulley
on the floor of the room above, and comes down to the person who works
the stamp: two corresponding dies are attached, one to the hammer, and
the other to the anvil. That part of the fork intended to form the
prongs, is heated to a pretty white heat and placed in the lower die,
and the hammer containing the other die is made to fall upon it from a
height of about 7 or 8 feet. This forms the prongs and the middle part
of the fork, leaving a very thin substance of steel between each prong,
which is afterwards cut out with an appropriate instrument called a
flie-press. The forks are now annealed by surrounding a large mass of
them with hot coals, so that the whole shall become red hot. The fire is
suffered gradually to die out, and the forks to cool without being
disturbed. This process is intended to soften, and by that means to
prepare them for filing. The inside of the prongs are then filed, after
which they are bent into their proper form and hardened. When hardened,
which is effected by heating them red-hot and plunging them into cold
water, they are tempered by exposing them to the degree of heat at which
grease inflames. See STAMPS.
Penknives are generally forged by a single hand, with the hammer and the
anvil simply. The hammer in this trade is generally light, not exceeding
3-1/2 lbs. The breadth of the face, or the striking part, is about one
inch; if broader, it would not be convenient for striking so small an
object. The principal anvil is about 5 inches, and 10 upon the face, and
is provided with a groove into which a smaller anvil is wedged. The
smaller anvil is about 2 inches square upon the face. The blade of the
knife is first drawn out at the end of the rod of steel, and as much
more is cut off along with it as is thought necessary to form the joint.
The blade is then taken in a pair of tongs, and heated a second time to
finish the joint part, and at the same time to form a temporary tang for
the purpose of driving into a small haft used by the grinder. Another
heat is taken to give the blade a proper finish. The small recess called
the nail hole, used in opening the knife, is made while it is still hot
by means of a chisel, which is round on one side, and flat upon the
other.
Penknives are hardened by heating the blade red hot, and dipping them
into water up to the shoulder. They are tempered by setting them side by
side, with the back downwards upon a flat iron plate laid upon the fire,
where they are allowed to remain till they are of a brown or purple
colour.
The blades of pocket knives, and all that come under the denomination of
spring knives, are made in the same way.
The forging of razors is performed by a foreman and striker, as in
making table knives.
They are generally made of cast steel. The rods, as they come from the
tilt, are about 1/2 inch broad, and of a thickness sufficient for the
back of the razor.
There is nothing peculiar in the tools made use of in forging razors:
the anvil is a little rounded at the sides, which affords the
opportunity of making the edge thinner, and saves an immense labour to
the grinder.
Razors are hardened and tempered in a similar manner to penknives. They
are, however, left harder, being only let down to yellow or brown
colour.
The forging of scissors is wholly performed by the hammer, and all the
sizes are made by a single hand. The anvil of the scissor-maker weighs
about 1-1/2 cwt.; it measures, on the face, about 4 by 11 inches. It is
provided with two gates or grooves for the reception of various little
indented tools termed by the workman bosses; one of these bosses is
employed to give proper figure to the shank of the scissors; another for
forming that part which has to make the joint; and a third is made use
of for giving a proper figure to the upper side of the blade. There is
also another anvil placed on the same block, containing two or three
tools called beak-irons, each consisting of an upright stem about 6
inches high, at the top of which a horizontal beak projects; one of
these beaks is conical, and is used for extending the bow of the
scissors; the other is a segment of a cylinder with the round side
upwards, containing a recess for giving a proper shape and smoothness to
the inside of the bow.
The shank of the scissors is first formed by means of one of the bosses,
above described, leaving as much steel at the end as will form the
blade. A hole is then punched about 1/4 inch in width, a little above
the shank. The blade is drawn out and finished, and the scissors
separated from the rod a little above the hole. It is heated a third
time, and the small hole above mentioned is extended upon the beak-irons
so as to form the bow. This finishes the forging of scissors. They are
promiscuously made in this way, without any other guide than the eye,
having no regard to their being in pairs. They are next annealed for the
purpose of filing such parts of them as cannot be ground, and afterwards
paired.
The very large scissors are made partly of iron, the blades being of
steel.
After the forging, the bow and joints, and such shanks as cannot be
ground, are filed. The rivet hole is then bored, through which they are
to be screwed or riveted together. This common kind of scissors is only
hardened up to the joint. They are tempered down to a purple or blue
colour. In this state they are taken to the grinder.
_Grinding and polishing of cutlery._--The various processes which come
under this denomination are performed by machinery, moving in general by
the power of the steam-engine or water-wheel.
Grinding wheels or grinding mills are divided into a number of separate
rooms; every room contains six places called troughs; each trough
consists of a convenience for running a grindstone and a polisher at the
same time, which is generally occupied by a man and a boy.
The business of the grinder is generally divided into three stages, viz.
grinding, glazing, and polishing.
The grinding is performed upon stones of various qualities and sizes,
depending on the articles to be ground. Those exposing much flat
surface, such as saws, fenders, &c. require stones of great diameter,
while razors, whose surface is concave, require to be ground upon stones
of very small dimensions. Those articles which require a certain temper,
which is the case with most cutting instruments, are mostly ground on a
wet stone; for which purpose the stone hangs within the iron trough,
filled with water to such a height that its surface may just touch the
face of the stone.
Glazing is a process following that of grinding: it consists in giving
that degree of lustre and smoothness to an article which can be effected
by means of emery of the various degrees of fineness. The tool on which
the glazing is performed, is termed a glazer. It consists of a circular
piece of wood, formed of a number of pieces in such a manner that its
edge or face may always present the endway of the wood. Were it made
otherwise, the contraction of the parts would destroy its circular
figure. It is fixed upon an iron axis similar to that of the stone. Some
glazers are covered on the face with leather, others with metal,
consisting of an alloy of lead and tin; the latter are termed caps. In
others, the wooden surface above is made use of. Some of the
leather-faced glazers, such as are used for forks, table knives, edge
tools, and all the coarser polished articles, are first coated with a
solution of glue, and then covered with emery. The surfaces of the
others are prepared for use by first turning the face very true, then
filling it with small notches by means of a sharp-ended hammer, and
lastly filling up the interstices with a compound of tallow and emery.
The pulley of the glazer is so much less than that of the stone, that
its velocity is more than double, having in general a surface speed of
1500 feet in a second.
The process of polishing consists in giving the most perfect polish to
the different articles. Nothing is subjected to this operation but what
is made of cast steel, and has been previously hardened and tempered.
The polisher consists of a circular piece of wood covered with buff
leather, the surface of which is covered from time to time, while in
use, with the crocus of iron, called also colcothar of vitriol.
The polisher requires to run at a speed much short of that of the stone,
or the glazer. Whatever may be its diameter, the surface must not move
at a rate exceeding 70 or 80 feet in a second.
CYANATES; saline compounds of cyanic acid with the bases potash, soda,
ammonia, baryta, &c. The first is prepared by calcining at a dull red
heat, a mixture of ferro-cyanide of potassium (prussiate of potash) and
black oxide of manganese. The cyanates have not hitherto been applied to
any use in the arts.
CYANHYDRIC Acid; another name for the hydrocyanic or prussic acid. See
PRUSSIAN BLUE and PRUSSIC ACID.
CYANIDES; compounds of cyanogen with the metals; as cyanide of
potassium, sodium, barium, calcium, iron, mercury. The last is the only
one of importance in a manufacturing point of view, since from it
prussic acid is made.
CYANIDES, FERRO. Double compounds of cyanogen with iron, and of cyanogen
with another metal, such as potassium, sodium, barium, &c. The ordinary
yellow prussiate of potash has this constitution, and is called the
ferro-cyanide.
CYANOGEN. A gaseous compound of two prime equivalents of charcoal = 12,
and one of azote = 14 = 26; hydrogen being the radix or, 1. It consists
of two volumes of vapour of carbon, and one volume of azote, condensed
into one volume; and has therefore a density equal to the sum of the
weights of these 3 gaseous volumes = 1·815. Cyanogen is readily procured
by exposing the cyanide of mercury to a dull red heat in a retort; the
gas is evolved and may be collected over mercury. Its smell is very
sharp and penetrating; it perceptibly reddens tincture of litmus; it is
condensable by pressure at a low temperature into a liquid; and by a
still greater degree of cold, it is solidified. When a lighted taper is
applied to a mixture of cyanogen and oxygen, an explosion takes place;
carbonic acid is formed, and the azote is set at liberty.
For a connected view of the various compounds of cyanogen employed in
the arts, see PRUSSIAN BLUE.
CYDER; (_Cidre_, Fr.; _Apfelwein_, Germ.) the vinous fermented juice of
the apple. The ancients were acquainted with cyder and perry, as we
learn from the following passage of Pliny the naturalist: “Wine is made
from the Syrian pod, from pears and apples of every kind.” Book xiv.
chap. 19. The term cyder or cidre in French, at first written _sidre_,
is derived from the latin word _sicera_, which denoted all other
fermented liquors except grape wine. Cyder seems to have been brought
into Normandy by the Moors of Biscay, who had preserved the use of it
after coming into that country from Africa. It was afterwards spread
through some other provinces of France, whence it was introduced into
England, Germany, and Russia. It is supposed that the first growths of
Normandy afford still the best specimens of cyder. Devonshire and
Herefordshire are the counties of England most famous for this beverage.
Strong and somewhat elevated ground, rather dry, and not exposed to the
air of the sea, or to high winds, are the best situations for the growth
of the cyder apple. The fruit should be gathered in dry weather. The
juice of apples is composed of a great deal of water; a little sugar
analogous to that of the grape; a matter capable of causing fermentation
with contact of air; a pretty large proportion of mucilage, with malic
acid, acetic acid, and an azotized matter in a very small quantity. The
seeds contain a bitter substance and a little essential oil; the pure
parenchyma or cellular membrane constitutes not more than two per cent.
of the whole. After the apples are gathered, they are left in the
barn-loft for fifteen days or upwards to mellow; some of them in this
case, however, become soft and brown. This degree of maturation
diminishes their mucilage, and developes alcohol and carbonic acid; in
consequence of which the cyder suffers no injury. There is always
however a little loss; and if this ripening goes a little further it is
very apt to do harm, notwithstanding the vulgar prejudice of the country
people to the contrary. Too much care, indeed, cannot be taken to
separate the sound from the spoiled apples; for the latter merely
furnish an acid leaven, give a disagreeable taste to the juice, and
hinder the cyder from fining, by leaving in it a certain portion of the
parenchyma, which the gelatinous matter or the fermentation has diffused
through it. Unripe apples should be separated from the ripe also, for
they possess too little saccharum to be properly susceptible of the
vinous fermentation.
In France, where cyder making is most scientifically practised, it is
prepared by crushing the apples in a mill with revolving edge-stones,
turned in a circular stone cistern by one or two horses. When the fruit
is half mashed, about one fifth of its weight of river water is added,
or the water of lakes. The latter have been found by experience to be
preferable to other water.
In some places a mill composed of two cast-iron fluted cylinders placed
parallel to each other under the bottom of a hopper, is employed for
crushing the apples. One of the cylinders is turned by a winch, and
communicates its motion in the opposite direction by means of the
flutings working into each other. Each portion of the fruit must be
passed thrice through this rude mill in order to be sufficiently mashed;
and the same quantity of water must be added as in the edge stone mill.
After the apples are crushed they are usually put into a large tub or
tun for 12 or 24 hours. This steeping aids the separation of the juice,
because the fermentative motion which takes place in the mass breaks
down the cellular membranes; but there is always a loss of alcohol
carried off by the carbonic acid disengaged, while the skins and seeds
develope a disagreeable taste in the liquid. The vatting might be
suppressed if the apples were so comminuted as to give out their juice
more readily. With slight modifications, the process employed in rasping
and squeezing the beet-roots might in my opinion be applied with great
advantage to the cyder manufacture. See SUGAR.
After the vatting, the mashed fruit is carried to the press and put upon
a square wicker frame or into a hair bag, sometimes between layers of
straw, and exposed stratum super stratum to strong pressure till what is
called a cheese or cake is formed. The mass is to be allowed to drain
for some time before applying pressure, which ought to be very gradually
increased. The juice which exudes with the least pressure affords the
best cyder; that which flows towards the end acquires a disagreeable
taste from the seeds and the skins. The must is put into casks with
large bungholes, where it soon begins to exhibit a tumultuous
fermentation. The cask must be completely filled, in order that all the
light bodies suspended in the liquid when floated to the top by the
carbonic acid may flow over with the froth; this means of clearing cyder
is particularly necessary with the weak kinds, because it cannot be
expected that these matters in suspension will fall to the bottom of the
casks after the motion has ceased. In almost every circumstance besides,
when no saccharine matter has been added to the must, that kind of yeast
which rises to the top must be separated, lest by precipitation it may
excite an acid fermentation in the cyder. The casks are raised upon
gawntrees or stillions, in order to place flat tubs below them to
receive the liquor which flows over with the froth. At the end of two or
three days, for weak cyders which are to be drunk somewhat sweet, of 6
or 10 days or more for stronger cyders, with variations for the state of
the weather, the fermentation will be sufficiently advanced, and the
cyder may be racked off into other casks. Spirit puncheons preserve
cyder better than any other, but in all cases the casks should be well
seasoned and washed. Sometimes a sulphur match is burned in them before
introducing the cyder, a precaution to be generally recommended, as it
suspends the activity of the fermentation, and prevents the formation of
vinegar.
The cyder procured by the first expression is called cyder without
water. The cake remaining in the press is taken out, divided into small
pieces, and mashed anew, adding about half the weight of water, when the
whole is carried back to the press and treated as above described. The
liquor thus obtained furnishes a weaker cyder which will not keep, and
therefore must be drunk soon.
The cake is once more mashed up with water, and squeezed, when it yields
a liquor which may be used instead of water for moistening fresh ground
apples.
The processes above described, although they have been long practised,
and have therefore the stamp of ancestral wisdom, are extremely
defective. Were the apples ground with a proper rotatory rasp which
would tear all their cells asunder, and the mash put through the
hydraulic press in bags between hurdles of wicker-work, the juice would
be obtained in a state of perfection fit to make a cyder superior to
many wines. An experimental process of this kind has been actually
executed in France upon a considerable scale, with the best results. The
juice had the fine flavour of the apple, was fermented by itself without
any previous fermentation in the mash, and afforded an excellent strong
cyder which kept well.
When the must of the apples is weak or sour, good cyder cannot be made
from it without the addition of some saccharine matter. The syrup into
which potato farina is convertible by _diastase_ (saccharine ferment),
see STARCH and SUGAR, would answer well for enriching poor apple juice.