Cider Making On Long Island

Cider Making On Long Island

N0368.1955

In addition to aiding in plowing and harvesting, horses allowed American farmers to conduct relatively complex operations with a modest amount of machinery. In this painting the entire process of traditional cider making is depicted. A draft horse powers a large wooden wheel to crush apples into a pulp in a circular trough. With the wheel pivoting on a post, and guided by the trough, the horse needed only a young boy to casually prod it along. The pulp was encased in straw or cloth and made into "cakes" of a uniform size by a frame, here leaning against a tree. Six to ten "cakes" were stacked on the press bed to form the "cheese." A large wooden screw, visible under the shingle roof, was turned by hand to compress the "cheese" and the juice flowed. Here the farmer is straining the juice through a straw filter into a wooden cask. Other casks are in the foreground. Most cider was fermented to a stable condition to last throughout the year, but some sweet cider was drunk during the harvest.

height 19.75 in ; width 29.75 in