THE FARMER AT HOME. 343 



brown ; but as the summer approaches, it begins to grow light, and 

 varies until it becomes nearly gray ; the hair upon its body is thick 

 and long, calculated t6 defend it from the severity of the clime ; and 

 contrary to the rest of the deer species, the female is adorned both 

 with antlers and horns. 



There are two kinds of reindeer in Lapland ; the one wild, and 

 the other tame ; the latter are chiefly used for drawing the sledges, 

 as the former will seldom submit to their guide. The sledges are 

 built remarkably light, and their bottoms covered with a young deer's 

 skin, with the hair placed in a proper direction to glide over the con- 

 gealed snow. The person who sits on this vehicle guides the animal 

 with a string fastened round the horns, and encourages him to proceed 

 by the sound of his voice, or compels him forward by the assistance 

 of a goad. The wild breed, when harnessed, are sometimes so refrac- 

 tory, that their drivers find it impossible to make them proceed, and 

 are obliged to hide themselves under their conveyance to avoid the 

 attack it would make upon their lives. There is scarcely a part of 

 this animal but what is serviceable to the inhabitants, and proves the 

 benevolence of that Power by whom it was made ; its flesh, as I have 

 observed, supplies them with food ; and though it does not give milk 

 in large quantities, yet it is both nourishing and sweet. As to butter, 

 they seldom make any ; but they boil the milk with sorrel, which 

 makes it coagulate and grow thick ; they then put into casks, or 

 skins, and bury it in the earth as a winter's regale ; but the skin is 

 the most valuable part of this animal ; it supplies the inhabitants 

 with bedding, clothing, arid shoes ; nay, even the blood is preserved 

 in small casks, to make sauce with the marrow of those which are 

 killed in the spring. 



RENNET. The preserved membrane of the calf s stomach is 

 called rennet, and it has the property of coagulating the albumen of 

 milk, and converting it into curd and whey. The maw is cleaned, 

 salted, and stretched upon a small hoop or frame, like parchment. 

 Previous to its use, the salt is extracted by washing the rennet ; which 

 is then soaked in hot water during the night ; and in the morning 

 the infusion is poured into the milk to coagulate it. Coagulation is 

 the result of the gastric juice, which is acid ; and acts upon the case- 

 ous part of the milk, in the same manner as other acids. It has 

 sometimes happened that no rennet sufficiently good can be had for 

 curdling milk. In that case, vegetable acids are used for the pur- 

 pose. 



REPRODUCTION. This is one of the most important provisions 

 of nature, inasmuch as it guards animals and plants against the mul- 

 tiplied dangers to which their bodies are exposed. Hence, when 

 viewed in the connection with the system of nutrition, altogether, it 

 forms one of those decisive and grand characters which distinguish at 

 once the machines that proceed from the hand of the Creator, from 



