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THE AGRICULTUKAL NEWS. 



October 31, 1908. 



CHEESE MAKING IN CUBA. 



An interesting and illii.strated bulletin dealing 

 with cheese making in Cuba has lately been issued by 

 the Central Experiment Station of the island. 



The manufacture of cheese, at least on anything but 

 a .small scale, i.s not an industry that one readily associates 

 with tropical cimditions. I'sually the product can be imported 

 'more cheaply than It can be produced locally, while fiesh 

 milk can generally be disposed of to consumer.s at so satisfac- 

 tory a price that there is no temptation to utilize it in any 

 other way. The risk of loss entailed by daily handling 

 large quantities of a product so perishable ai nnlk in a hot 

 climate would also have to be taken into con.sideration by 

 intending chee.se-maker.s, but probably the chief obstacle 

 In the way of the establishment of an industry of the kind 

 in most parts of the West Indies would be the want of proper 

 facilities for providing a suitably low temperiture for rii)en- 

 ing the manufactured product. 



The particulars given in the bidletin mentioned, however, 

 show that soft cheeses and small bard cheeses are being made 

 .succe.ssfully in fairly large quantity on many farms in t'ulia 

 all the year round. Near Havana and other towns in the 

 i.sland milk sells readily at 6il. to lh<!. per (juart, but on 

 farms distant from town, and where there is no easy means 

 of transport, the product is' made into various kinds of small 

 cheeses. 



Those interested in the possibilities of cheese making in 

 the West Indies w^ill find in the bulletin full details as to 

 apparatus re(|uired and its cost, the methods of procuring 

 and using a ' starter ' (i.e., a quantity of milk known to con- 

 tain the right kind of bai-teria for producing the proper 

 fermentation when a small jiortion of it is added to the nulk 

 that is to be made into cheese), and of deternuning the 

 'ripeness' of the milk, or the point at which it has reached 

 the proper degree of acidity for the rennet to be a<lded. 

 I)escrij)tions are al.so given of the processes of cutting, cook- 

 ing and .salting the curd, drawing off the whey, and of putting 

 the curd into the ()re.ss, in making hard cheese Other 

 details relate to the manner of making rennet, or (what 

 is advised in preference) the juirchase of rennet tabloids from 

 a dealer in dairy supplies, the curing and dressing of chee.se, 

 and thi^ manufacture ot soft, cream, and skimmed milk 

 cheeses. .Stress is laid upon the fact that to attain success 

 every care must be taken to ensure the utmost cleanliness at 

 every stage of the work. 



The following aceonnt o\' a short and simple 

 process for making a small hard cheese (as distinct from 

 the factory process, whi(-h is described in full detail ), 

 is given in the bulletin and may be of ititcrest : — 



Take 20 (piarts of milk, consisting of 15 c|uarts of fresh 

 morning's milk, and o cjuarts from tlie yield of the evening 

 before, stirring the latter well, so as to mi.\ the creani. Heat 

 the whole volume of mixed milk to a temi)erature of 86' K. 

 (30° t,".) and iuld one No 2 Hansen's prepared rennet tabloids 

 (to be obtainecl of any di-alcr in dairy supplies and ecpiip 

 meat) dissol\cil in a cup of cold waiter, together with 

 a tablespoonful of salt, the whole to be thoroughly ini.\ed 

 with the milk. 



Let the milk stand until the curd is well-formed, then 

 cut or break the curd up thoroughly and stir for five minutes 

 to separate the curd from the whey. Let it stand for ten 

 miinites, then jiour off the whey and place the curd into a clean 

 cloth .sack, and hang it up to drain for half an hour. Remove 

 the curd and cut into cubes \ inch s(piarc, then add two 

 lablesponnfuls of line .salt, sprinkling it over the curd, and 



mi.x well. The curd can be pres.sed in a 1 -gallon tin 

 pail, that has a few holes [junched in the bottom. The pail 

 should be lined with; a piece of cheese cloth well greased with 

 fresh butter or lard... Put a 50-tti. weight on the chee.se and 

 leave for twentyfcau- hours, then remove the cheese, trim and 

 grease with fresh bu.tter or lard, and [)ut in as cool a [)lace as 

 [lossible, turning the^cheese daily. 



The cheese will be cured in three weeks, but will 

 improve with age up to three months. 



THE 'LOVE VINE.' 



U'he creeper known as the ' Love Vine ' (' L'aniitie ') 

 a species of Cii.si-uta, is well known in all the West 

 Indian Islands, and is a most destructive parasite. 



An editorial article in a recent number of the I'i)i-/-ot- 

 Sjiaiii (Tiizettf draw.-j attention to the increasing prevalence of 

 this pest in all parts of Trinidad, and from the particulars 

 given, it would ap]iear that it has been allowed to spread in 

 that island to an alarming degree, and is latelj' reported to 

 have been noticed on cacao trees in a few instances. Two or 

 threi' years ago (.see Ayrirultural X<:ii'!<,\o\. Ill, p. 185) 

 the love vine became such a menace to the agricultural 

 interests of Trinidad that steps were taken to deal with the 

 matter by legislation. Powers were given to the C'hief 

 Inspector under the Agricultural Protection Ordinance to 

 call upon owners of land infested with ' love vine ' to destroy 

 the parasite by burning or burying, while provision was 

 made for the punishment of proprietors neglecting to carry 

 out this onler liv the impo.sition of fines. Apparently, 

 however, there is still needed a good ileal of energetic 

 co-operation amongcultivators in Trinidad to keep this pe.st 

 under I'fintrol. 



The Ciisoita genus of plants belongs to the order 

 t'onvolvulaceae. There are about eighty species of Cnxruta 

 known to science, all of which are parasitic on other plants. 

 They ]>ossess no chloroplasts, and are therefore unable to 

 take up carbon dio.\ide from the air like ordinary green 

 plants, but attach themselves by means of root-like suckers 

 to various host-plan t,s, from which they extract reaily-inade 

 food products. As a natural result, the host becomes 

 exhausted, and ultimately dies. A species of C'lisciifd well- 

 knoun in Great Hritain is C. trifo/i, the 'clover dodder.' 



The 'love vine' ,vnd other species of Cii-iritta produce .seeds 

 which fall to the grimnd and germinate in the usual way. 

 As .soon, however, lis the young shoot conies into contact 

 with another growing plant, it twines it.self around this, whicb 

 becomes the host, and the root of the jjarasitic plant dies out. 

 The ' love vine' is also readily reproduced by vegetative means, 

 as snnill portions thrown on another plant are able to attach 

 them.selves and give ri.se to another mass ot tendrils. 



It will therefore be understood that to thoroughly 

 eradicate the [x'st needs the most unremitting labour anil 

 attention. Special care should be taken to prevent the vine 

 from forming .seed, and therefore whenever the green i.sh 

 rosettes of Howers make their appearance, the work of des- 

 truction should no hmger be delayed under any circumstances. 

 I'bery portion of the creeper should be picked of}' and either 

 burned, or buried deeply with lime. 



In a leaflet issueil some four years ago by the Botaniciil' 

 Department of Trinidad, it is pointed out that even after 

 infesterl land has been cleared a,s thoroughly as possible of 

 the parasite, it should receive a visit of inspection at least 

 once a week, in order that every remnant which can be seen 

 may be removed. 



