DAIRY HUSBANDRY. 349 



in proportion will be obtained ; but in a large dairy in Scotland, 

 the milk is always set in deep casks and tubs. Such is the diver 

 sity of opinion every where prevalent. The Scotch had no fears 

 that the cream would not find its way to the surface unless the 

 principle of gravitation were to be reversed. One of the best 

 dairy women in the country never suffers any water to be 

 applied to the butter when taken out of the churn, a practice not 

 uncommon. 



2. CHEESE. English cheese has long been celebrated for its 

 excellence, but it is far from being all equally good. The Stil 

 ton cheese stands, by general admission, at the head : the 

 Cheshire, the Cheddar, the Gloucestershire, and the Wiltshire, 

 have their different partisans, and though they differ from each 

 other, are preferred according to the particular tastes of those 

 who eat them. The celebrated Dunlop cheese of Scotland, 

 which is certainly excellent, is made with one fourth part of 

 ewe s milk. 



It cannot be expected that I should go into all the processes 

 of the dairy. My remarks must be general. All dairymen seem 

 to agree, that, in cheese-making, much depends on the character 

 of the soil upon which the cows are fed. Wet and low grounds, 

 producing a rank and coarse herbage, are unfavorable, and so are 

 the artificial grasses given to the cows green. An old pasture 

 and a dry soil are most desired ; and it is said, that the poorer 

 the pasture, the better the cheese. Wet and cold pastures have 

 been converted into good cheese grounds, by thorough draining 

 and cleaning. The quality of the cheese depends, more than 

 upon any thing else, upon the skilful and careful management 

 of the dairy-maid herself. This is to be learned by practice, and 

 very little useful direction can be conveyed in words. The 

 making of cheese is a chemical operation. We shall be glad 

 when chemistry is so applied as to determine the rules by 

 which success may be made certain. 



The average quantity of cheese made is reckoned at one hun 

 dred and twelve pounds to one hundred gallons of new milk. 

 Few cheeses are made wholly of new milk, being, in general, 

 what are called two meal cheese, and the cream being taken off 

 the previous night s milk, to be converted into butter. In this 

 case, according to the practice of an excellent Vermont farmer 

 VOL. ii. 30 



