THE DAIRY. 309 



ways of curing and preserving it. The stomach of the 

 newly killed animal contains a quantity of curd derived from 

 the milk on which it has been fed. In most districts it is 

 usual to remove by a gentle washing the curd and slimy mat- 

 ters which are present in the stomach, as they are supposed 

 to impart a strong taste to the cheese. In Cheshire the curd 

 is frequently salted separately for immediate use. In Ayrshire 

 and Limburg, on the other hand, the curd is always left in 

 the stomach and salted along with it. Some even give the 

 calf a copious draught of milk shortly before it is killed, in 

 order that the stomach may contain a larger quantity of the 

 valuable curd. 



Sailing tlie stomach. In the mode of salting the stomach 

 similar differences prevail. Some merely put a few handfuls 

 of salt into and around it, then roll it together, and hang it 

 near the chimney to dry. Others salt it in a pickle for a 

 few days, and then hang it up to dry (Gloucester,) while 

 others again (Cheshire) pack several of them in layers with 

 much salt both within and without, and preserve them in a 

 cool place till the cheese-making season of the following 

 year. They are then taken out, drained from the brine, 

 spread upon a table, sprinkled with salt which is rolled in 

 with a wooden roller, and then hung up to dry. In some 

 foreign countries, again, the recent stomach is minced very 

 fine, mixed with some spoonfuls of salt arid bread-crumb into 

 a paste, put into a bladder, and then dried. In Lomhardy the 

 stomach, after being salted and dried, is minced and mixed 

 up with salt, pepper, and a little whey or water into a paste, 

 which is preserved for use. In whatever way the stomach 

 or intestine of the calf is prepared and preserved, the almost 

 universal opinion seems to be, that it should be kept for 10 or 

 12 months before it is capable of yielding the best and 

 strongest rennet. If newer than 12 months, the rennet is 

 thought in Gloucestershire to make the cheese heave or swell, 

 and become full of eyes or holes. 



MaJdng the rennet. In making the rennet different customs 

 also prevail. In some districts, as in Cheshire, a bit of the 

 dried stomach is put into half a pint of lukewarm water with 

 as much salt as will lie upon a shilling, is allowed to stand 

 over night, and in the morning the infusion is poured into the 

 milk. For a cheese of 60 Ibs. weight, a piece of the size of 

 half-a-crown will often be sufficient, though of some skins 

 as much as 10 square inches are required to produce the 

 same effect. It is perhaps more common, however, to take 



