436 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Ch. XXXVII. 



NEW CHEESE, 



or, as it is in some places provincially termed, " slip-coat," is only made 

 in the early part of summer, when tlie cows have been turned out to 

 grass, and is formed entirely of new milk, with about one-third of warm 

 water added before the rennet is put to it. The whey is then gently 

 poured off, and the curd is carefully kept entire until put into a vat of con- 

 siderable diameter, but only about an inch in depth. It is very gently 

 pressed for a few hours only, and when removed from the vat it is covered 

 with a cloth, which is frequently changed; and so soon as the skin is 

 formed it is considered fit for use. 



Formerly much cheese was made of the milk of sheep and goats — more 

 especially the former — either separately or together, and sometimes mixed 

 with that of cows : a practice which is still extensively continued in many 

 parts of the Continent. In this country, however, it novv only occasionally 

 exists in the mountainous parts of Scotland and Wales, though the flavour 

 of the cheese is by many persons esteemed, and it is still in no little request ; 

 but we are not aware of any particular mode of its manufacture which needs 

 description, and if we are to believe what is said of it, the aroma which is 

 so much admired may be partly attributed to some not very delicate mix- 

 tures which it imbibes in the act of milking*. 



FOREIGN CHEESE. 



As to the foreign sorts of cheese, of which large quantities of various de- 

 scriptions are made all over the Continent, we can only touch the subject so 

 far as to mention that the Gouda, Eldam, Friezland, and other whole and 

 skim-milk cheeses which are imported into this country from Holland, are 

 manufactured so much in the same manner as the common modes here 

 practised as not to require any particular description. That of Parmesan 

 is prepared in that part of Italy generally known as the Lodesan, which lies 

 between Cremona and Lodi, comprising the richest portion of the Milan- 

 ese : the cows being kept in the house nearly the whole year round, and fed 

 during the summer with cut grass, and in the winter, upon hay. The weight 

 of these cheeses varies from GO to 180 lbs. ; it consequently requires a great 

 number of cows to produce one of even the smallest weight, and as the 

 farms in that territory are not large, it is usual for the dairymen to club 

 together ; the person on whom devolves the task of making the cheese 

 keeping an account of the milk received, and, after the charge of manufac- 

 ture, apportioning the produce of the sale accordinglyt. That being a plan 

 which we do not adopt in this country, it necessarily can only be carried 

 into efl'ect by those who have a large stock of cows ; but the cheese, being 

 sold in London at such an extravagant price, may, however, induce some 

 large English farmers to make an imitation ; we therefore insert the pro- 

 cess, as extracted from the "Journal de Physique," in the note at footj. 



* See the Faimei's Mafjazlne, vol. viii. p. 434, ou the Perthshire Husbandry. 



■}• This plan is very commonly adopteil by the small farmers in Switzerland, who asso- 

 ciate themselves in companies, havin<^ among them a certain number of cows ; and it is 

 there considered a scheme of essential economy, for it spares both the trouble of making, 

 and the cost of erecting a dairy, with the necessary utensils, and being committed to the 

 care of an experienced person, the cheese is certain to be of superior quality : such as 

 those of Neufchatel and Gruyere. See a French pamphlet, entitled " Des Associations 

 Rurales pour la Fabrication du Lait," by M. Charles LuUein ; which, in a small compass, 

 contains a great deal of valuable information. 



X " The summer cheese, which is the best, is made of the evening milk, after having 

 teen skimmed in the morning and at noon, mixed with the morning milk, which is also 



