260 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



that will have risen is taken off and the milk warmed to blood 

 heat, when the cream is again returned to the milk and thor- 

 oughly mixed, (this is to prevent the appearance of aij oily 

 substance that would run off with the whey,) and the whole 

 immediately laded into a tub with the morning's milk, and set 

 for the cheese, with rennet sufficient to form the curd in about 

 thirty minutes ; and here much care is esteemed necessary in 

 cutting and crossing the ciird, and much moderation in dipping 

 and draining the whey from it, that the white whey (so called) 

 may not exude from it. 



When sufficiently drained, it is taken and cut with a sharp 

 knife to about the size and form of dice, when it is salted with 

 about one pound of fine salt to twenty-five of curd. It is then 

 subjected to a moderate pressure at first, gradually increasing 

 it for two days, (in the meantime turning it twice a day and 

 substituting dry cloths.) It is then taken from the press and 

 dressed all over with hot melted butter, and covered with thin 

 cotton cloth, and this saturated with the melted butter. It is 

 then placed upon the shelf, and turned and rubbed daily with 

 the dressing until ripe for use. 



HAMPSHIRE. 



Report of the Committee. 



The committee awarded premiums on the following prin- 

 ciples : — 



Flavor, color and form indicate the character of butter. 

 Flavor is first in importance, color the second and form the 

 third. Of two lumps of butter, flavored alike, but of different 

 color, that which has the deepest color is the richest and most 

 pleasant to the palate. And the nicer the form — other things 

 being equal — the better is the article, for the eye, which loves 

 to discriminate, is then gratified as well as the taste. She who 

 can make butter of fine taste and rich color, and impress on it 

 a beautiful form, is worthy of a premium, and will do her hus- 

 band good, and not evil, all the days of her life. 



The competitors furnished statements of the process of butter 

 making. Would it not be well, in future, to state how the cows 

 were fed; what kind of churns were used; how long it' takes 



