NO. 6. 



TUE FARMERS CABINET. 



89 



no insect could enter; but he found them 

 there as destructive as in the open field. He 

 then took some earth and boiled it in the 

 box, and sowed the seed, watering it with 

 water also boiled, with no better success 

 than before. Having thus satisfied himself 

 that it proceeded neither from other plants, 

 nor contained in the earth or water, he turned 

 his attention to the seed, on which, by the 

 help of a magnifying glass, he found small 

 white flattish substances, which he con- 

 cluded were eggs. On some seeds he found 

 none; but generally two or three, and in 

 some instances five on a single seed. The 

 difficulty was now to destroy them. To ac- 

 complish this he made some strong brine 

 and soaked the seed in it twenty-four hours. 

 It being dried thoroughly, he then sowed it 

 with all the care mentioned above, and not 

 a single fly was found nor turnep injured. 

 He found that if the brine was sufficiently 

 strong, three hours soaking was enough. 

 He says, " I now practice this method with 

 turnep seed, cabbage seed, and in fact with 

 all the various plants in common cultiva- 

 tion, with very satisfactory success. The 

 whole of these experiments were made on 

 the Swedish turnep, which is generally more 

 infested by these beetles than any of the 

 other sorts." 



A correspondent of the American Farmer 

 says that he destroyed all the caterpillars 

 on bis fruit trees, by using mobs of cloth 

 clipped in salt water, and conveyed to the 

 nests on the end of long poles. Saltwater 

 in which pickles have been preserved, or 

 meat or fish brine may be used with econo- 

 my for this purpose. Some destroy cater- 

 pillars by throwing a turf into their nests ; 

 others by a burning match of brimstone held 

 under their nests; and others apply fish oil. 

 The application of soap suds is a very cheap 

 and easy method of destroying them, and 

 the suds will be a benefit to the trees. — 

 Yankee Farmer. 



THS B.aiRV.-ITO. III. 

 Clieese Making. 



The production of cheese includes the 

 making of rennet, the selection of a coloring 

 matter, the setting of the curd, and the man- 

 agement of the cheese in the press. The 

 milk, fresh drawn from the cow, is to be 

 immediately strained into the dishes, or shal- 

 low troughs, if these are used, in order to 

 promote cooling, as the surest guard against 

 fermentation. The same object may be ob- 

 tained by frequently drawing off the milk 

 from the coolers, and pouring it back again. 



What is called rennet, is nothing more 

 than the stomach of an animal in which the 



gastric juices are preserved by salt. The 

 application of any kind of acid will cause 

 milk to coagulate, as well as the infusion of 

 several plants, as ladies' bed straw, butter- 

 wort, and others. The maw, or stomach of 

 ruminating animals, which admit of obtain- 

 ing the gastric juice in a less mixed state 

 than those of others, and chiefly of a young 

 calf that has been killed before the digestion 

 is perfected, is almost universally preferred 

 as rennet. When the bag is first taken from 

 the animal, the curd should betaken out, and, 

 after it is thoroughly washed, it should be 

 entirely covered with salt, inside and out. It 

 is then put into an earthen jar, or other vessel, 

 for three or four days, when it is taken out and 

 hungup for two or three days, to let the pickle 

 drain from it. It is now re-salted, placed in 

 ajar, covered tight down with paper, pierced 

 with a large pin, and in this state it is left 

 till wanted for use. It ought to be kept in 

 this way for twelve months ; it may, how- 

 ever, in case of necessity, be used a few days 

 after it has received a second salting; but it 

 will not be so strong as if kept a longer 

 period. Marshal gives the following direc- 

 tions to prepare this rennet for use : — 



" Take a handful of the leaves of sweet 

 briar, the same quantity of the leaves of the 

 dog rose, and the like quantity of bramble 

 leaves. Boil them in a gallon of water, with 

 three or four handfuls of salt, about a quarter 

 of an hour. Strain off the liquor, and having 

 let it stand till perfectly cool, put it into an 

 earthen vessel, and add to it the maw, pre- 

 pared as above. To this add a good sound 

 lemon, stuck round with about a quarter of 

 an ounce of cloves, which gives the rennet 

 an agreeable flavor." 



The strength of the rennet thus prepared, 

 will increase in proportion to the length of 

 time during which the bag remains in the 

 liquor. The quantity to be used for the pur- 

 pose of coagulating milk, can, therefore, only- 

 he ascertained by daily use and occupation. 

 In general, however, it may be stated, on 

 the average, that sometimes less than half a 

 pint will suffice for fifty gallons of milk. 

 Throughout the whole process of preparing 

 and preserving rennet, too much attention 

 cannot be given to its cleanliness and sweet- 

 ness ; for if it be kept too long, so as to be- 

 come foul or tainted, the cheese will invaria- 

 bly become affected by it, and will prove 

 unfit for use. 



Formerly, turmeric, marigolds, hawthorn 

 buds, and other vegetables, were used for 

 giving a color to cheese ; but these have long 

 since been rejected, in all good dairies, for 

 the Spanish Arnotto, which is unquestionably 

 the best ingredient of the kind that can be 

 used for that purpose. It is a preparation of 

 the roucon, (Bixa orellana) which grows in 



