but in pome I have detected a slight sourness : 

 from this cause, or, what is more probable, from 

 too httle salt being used, the cheese \vill not 

 keep long before decomposition takes place. — 

 To the farmer this would only be of consequence 

 in the event of his not being able to sell the arti- 

 cle at the time he wished. In the dairies where 

 I have been permitted to take observations, the 

 lowest heat of setting the milk together was 77°. 

 I am disposed to think those who make a so- 

 csdled cold cheese do not adopt much lower tem- 

 peratures, even in summer, than 74° or 75° ; 

 since a much longer time would be occupied in 

 gatlicriug and compacting the curd, and consid- 

 erable risk incurred of having what is termed a 

 sour cheese. 



The evening's milk in the tub being at or 

 about 7.5°, as before stated, and the milk which 

 is brought fi'om the cows 90° or 95°, the tem- 

 perature of the whole is then found to be some- 

 where between 80° and 85° ; and I am of opin- 

 ion that the heat at which milk ought to be and 

 is commonly coagulated, ranges between those 

 two temperatures.* 



When colcyring is used, whicli is not so ex- 

 tensively the case as formerly, it is put into the 

 milk immediately before the rennet. The na- 

 ture of the article used for this purpose I pro- 

 pose to investigate under a distinct head in the 

 Appendix. Tlie quantity of coloring is in some 

 degree regulated oy the quality of the milk: if 

 a considerable portion of the cream of the eve- 

 ning's milk has been taken out for natking but- 

 ter, a greater qaantity of this coloring matter 

 will be required to give the cheese that appear- 

 ance which is found neccs.sary to please the eye 

 of the consumer, and particularly of those resid- 

 ing in London or at a distance. Annntto (or, 

 rather, a coloring matter which goes by that 

 name) is the ai-ticle used ; 1 lb. of it for each ton 

 of cheese is a moderate calculation ; this would 

 be after the rate of half an ounce to 75 Ibs.t The 

 present retail price of the " be.st real Spanish 

 Annatto" is 4s. per lb. The coloring is prepared 

 and applied in different ways, but the most com- 

 mon is to take a piece of the requisite size, to 

 fold it in a small bit of linen, and put it in half 

 or a quarter of a pint of -s^-arm water the previ- 

 ous night. By this means it gets sufficiently 

 dissolved. When tlie infusion is poured into 

 the milk, the linen bag containing it is dipped 

 in, and i-ubbed betwixt the fingers until the col- 

 oring is all discharged. The dregs, if any, re- 

 main in the bag. 



The rennet, or steep as it is commonly called, 

 is next added. I have already stated, in the in- 

 ti-oduction, that this is an infusion made from the 

 preserved stomach or maw of sucking calves, 

 thence called tnav-slfins or bag-skins. A re- 

 cipe for preserving the skins will be found in 

 tlie Appendix. To define the quantity of rcn- 



* Since writing the above, I have met vnth a farm- 

 er in Eddisbury Hundred, who says he used the 

 thennometer durins; the year 1841 for the lii-st time, 

 and that the heat he uniformly adopted was 84'^. I 

 also found a thennometer at another dairy near to 

 this, but it was not in use. I was allowed to test the 

 heat of the milk with it, and found it 78'^ ; this was 

 ill June. Tlie precise hent at which milk ought to 

 be coagulated is a matter of vital importance in 

 oheese-makiii£;, and can only be ascertained by a se- 

 ries of careful and judicious experiments made by 

 scientitic and practical parties. 



t The juice of the yellow carrot and the flower of 

 Marygold are also used for coloiing Cheese. 



[Ed. F. L. 

 (297) 



net sufficient for coagulating a given quantity 

 of milk, is a very difficult matter, as the maw- 

 skins vary so much in quality. When the farm- 

 er is laying in a stock for the year, he generally 

 calculates upon a dozen of skins to a ton of 

 cheese ; but the skins vary in size, (the price 

 when cured is from Cs. to 9s. per dozen.) In 

 using them, it is the practice often to cut two 

 skins at once. Three square inches taken from 

 the bottom (or strongest part) of one, and one or 

 tw^o inches from the top (or weakest part) of the 

 other, is generally found sufficient for sixty gal- 

 lons of milk. These two pieces of skin are put 

 into a cup containing about half a pint of luke- 

 warm water, with the addition of a tea-spoonful 

 of salt, some part of the day previous to behig 

 used. The water thus impregnated with the 

 maw-skin is passed through the sieve into the 

 milk, but the skin itself is generally, though not 

 always, kept out. The reimet-cup is well 

 scalded before being u.scd again. I have been 

 told that some farmers make a sufficiently large 

 quantity of renjiet to last for several weeks, and 

 find it to answer better than making a small 

 quantity daily. The question is, wUl it keep 

 sweet ? 



The coloring and rennet having been put in, 

 the milk is well stirred and left to coagulate. 

 It is usual to invert the skimming-dish on the 

 surface of the milk — a practice of doubtful pro- 

 priety, for this reason, that the curd immediately 

 under it does not attain the same adhesiveness 

 as the other, and is one of the causes of what is 

 commonly called slip cvrd. The tub is now 

 covered up, cither with a wooden lid, or with 

 cloths supported by the " cheese ladder ;'' these 

 assist in preserving the heat of the milk, and 

 protect it from dust and dirt. 



The coagulation (or "coming") is generally 

 effected in an hour or an hour and a half As 

 far as my own observations extend, I am led to 

 think that an average of these two is sufficiently 

 long, if the proper means are used in efiecting 

 the formation of the curd : for it is -well known 

 that, casteris paribiis, tha warmer the milk is at 

 the time of setting together, or the stronger the 

 rennet, the sooner will the coagulation take 

 place, but the curd -will in consequence be 

 tougher and less in quantity ; on the contraiy, 

 the cooler the miik, or the weaker the rennet, 

 the longer will the curd be in fomiing, and the 

 more tender its quality, but its quantity will be 

 greater. Bj' attention to these results the cheese- 

 maker may soon decide when too much or too 

 little rennet has been put in the milk, and cor- 

 rect the quantity the next time. It maj' be pro- 

 per here to state that too much rennet has a ten- 

 dency to impart an unpleasant flavor, or bitter- 

 ness, to the cheese. 



It may generally be expected that the heat of 

 the curd when fonned v^'ill be four or five de- 

 gi-ecs less than the milk v\-as when set together ; 

 and it is desirable, piarticularly in cool weather, 

 that this difference should not be greater, other- 

 wise the subsequent labor vvill be more difficult. 

 To determine exactly when the curd is in a fit 

 state for what is called " breaking," requires 

 some practical knowledge ; with attention this 

 is soon acquired. The point is generally deter- 

 mined by gently pressing the surface of the 

 milk with the back of the hand, or by lifting up 

 the skimming-di.sh, beneath which tiie curd and 

 whey will distinctly appear if the coagulation is 

 complete. Another criterion is the color of the 

 whey, which should be of a pale green. 



The " breaking " and " gathering " of the curd 



