126 CHERRY. 



A decoction of saffron is sometimes put into milk to give 

 cheese a little color ; it is used in the Parmesan cheese. 



The mould or vat in which cheese is formed is made 

 of thick staves, generally of white or American oak, and 

 secured with two strong iron hoops, to withstand the neces- 

 sary pressure. It is perforated with many small holes in the 

 bottom and sides, to let the whey escape from the curd. 

 This vat is sometimes called chessel. 



Cheese-cloths should be strong, and of open texture ; every 

 time they are removed from the vat, they should be wrung 

 out of boiling water, and dried in the sun or before the fire ; 

 if this is not done, it is sufficient cause for inducing " a sharp 

 acid taste " in cheese. 



CHERRY (Cerasus vulgaris). The Cherry is of Asiat- 

 ic origin ; the Roman Lucullus, returning from Pontus after 

 a victorious campaign, brought it from Cerasus, a town in 

 that province, in the year 69 B. C. 



It is a tree of rapid growth, and the varieties of the Black 

 and Heart-shaped Cherries grow to forty or fifty feet in 

 height ; the Acid or Red Cherry does not spread so vigor- 

 ously, but is of slower growth, lower, and more bushy in its 

 developments. 



It is a strange fact, that we have not cultivated our native 

 Cherries to any great extent, but have directly imported the 

 rich Cherries of France, England, and Holland, which seem 

 not altogether suited to our climate, for they decay at the 

 season of ripening, and those which reach maturity lose their 

 fine fleshy firmness a few hours after being plucked. 



The wild Virginia Cherry yields a wood hardly inferior to 

 mahogany, and I have seen bedsteads of elegant polish and 

 color made from this material. 



Though the Cherry will grow in almost any soil, that which 

 is deep and mellow, but not damp, is the best suited to it ; 



