HISTORY OF ORANGE
Not only for a supply of pork but also for beef the farmer provided. During the Winter time a quarter or more of beef could be hung up to freeze and be used when needed; but for Summer use the meat had to be packed in barrels and properly covered with brine, correctly prepared.
''Sheep-washing'' day was a welcome treat for the boys, as they could get into the water and have a good time under the guise of being at work. It was also very satisfactory to be able to take some stiff necked ''old buck'' by the horns and give him a good ducking, head and eyes under, who was so fearless and hard to manage when on land. The shearing time came soon after, and the great, white fleeces, tied up in sheets, were carried to the house, ready for carding into rolls for spinning.
In Winter the attics of these old houses were filled with all kinds of aromas. Strings of apples were hung up on nails to dry; many kinds of medicinal herbs were carefully dried--bags of hops, bunches of thyme, savory sage and fennel; boneset and penny-royal; peppermint, wormwood, and wintergreen; roots of sassafras and sarsaparilla.
The cider mill was an established institution in the earlier days. They were to be found on many farms. The building was four-square, inclosing a large, circular trough, through which, after the apples had been deposited a very large wooden wheel was drawn by a horse until the apples were thoroughly crushed. The pomace was then pressed under very large and skillfully constructed screws, which were turned down, from time to time, as the juice oozed out. As the pressure was more effectual near the center of the mass than on the edges, before bed- time it was necessary to cut down the edges of the ''cheese," reconstruct the formation and set the screws for the night. How a profitable market could have been obtained for the product of all these cider mills is hard to understand. Some of it was allowed to age until it became vinegar, but much of it was used as a beverage, either sweet or ''hard'' cider.
86