THE DAIRY. 563 



" water from the ice-house, or ice in small lumps, and water from 

 "the pump. The little cream that rises over night is taken off 

 " in the morning, and kept till the morning and evening milk are put 

 " together, and the cream is warmed to receive the rennet. It is 

 " mixed with about twice its quantity of new milk, and warm 

 " water added to raise its temperature to ninety-eight degrees ; stir 

 " it till perfectly limpid, put in rennet enough to curdle the milk 

 *' in forty minutes, and mix it with the mass of milk by thorough 

 " stirring ; the milk having been previously raised to eighty-eight 

 " or ninety degrees, by passing steam from the steam generator to 

 " the water in the wooden vat. In case no double vat is to be 

 *' had, the milk may be safely heated to the right temperature, by 

 " setting a tin pail of hot water into the milk in the tubs. It may 

 " be cooled in like manner by filling the pail with ice-water, or 

 " cold spring-water, where ice is not to be had. It is not safe to 

 *' heat milk in a kettle exposed directly to the fire, as a slight 

 " scorching will communicate its taint to the whole cheese and 

 *' spoil it. If milk is curdled below eighty-four degrees, the cream 

 " is more liable to work off with the whey. An extreme of heat 

 " will have a like effect. 



" The curdling heat is varied with the temperature of the air, 

 " or the liability of the milk to cool after adding rennet. The 

 "thermometer is the only safe guide in determining the tem- 

 " perature ; for, if the dairyman depends upon the sensation of the 

 *' hand, a great liability to error will render the operation uncer- 

 " tain. If, for instance, the hands have previously been immersed 

 " in cold water, the milk will feel warmer than it really is ; if, on 

 " the contrary, they have recently been in warm water, the milk 

 " will feel colder than it really is. To satisfy the reader how 

 " much this circumstance alone will affect the sensation of the 

 " hand, let him immerse one hand in warm water, and at the same 

 " time keep the other in a vessel of cold water, for a few 

 *' moments ; then pour the water in the two dishes together, and 

 " immerse both hands in the mixture. The hand that was previ- 

 " ously in the warm water will feel colc/^ and the other quite warm, 

 " showing that the sense of feeling is not a test of temperature 



