206 



Making of Cheese. — To Destroy Ants. 



Vol. XI 



The committee notice with regret, the 

 exceedingly low prices at which our great 

 staples, the wheat, oat, and corn crops, have 

 ranged in the grain market of our Atlantic 

 ports. At Baltimore, wheat has ranged at 

 50 to 75 cents per bushel, as in quality, 

 during the most of July and August; corn 

 from 40 to 55 cents ; and oats from 18 to 2.3 

 cents per bushel — the freight, commission, 

 &c., of four or five cents per bushel at the 

 farmer's cost. Grain in the West has also 

 been very low. At St. Louis, for several 

 months, wheat has ranged from 30 to .50 

 cents ; corn from 17 to 20 cents ; and oats 

 at about the same price per bu;^hel. And at 

 the town of Davenport, on the Mississippi 

 river, corn would scarcely command 12^ 

 cents per bushel. But within the last few 

 days the price of grain has gone up a little, 

 owing to the reports of the failure of t!ie 

 potatoe crop in Ireland. 



John Jones, 

 Henry du Pont, 

 Bryan Jackson, 

 John Smith, 

 James N. Cleland, 

 Joseph Carr. 



Making of Cheese. 



In conversation with one of the largest 

 wholesale cheesemongers and provision deal- 

 ers in the country, he suggested that there 

 were two great faults of the American 

 cheese, which somewhat prejudiced its sale 

 in the English markets. He is a person in 

 whose character and experience entire con 

 /idence may be placed. 



He was pleased to say that he had cheeses 

 from the United States as good as any he 

 had ever seen, and that the general charac 

 ter of the article was greatly improved since 

 the first importations. 



But the first fault was the softness of the 

 rind. It often cracked, and the cheese be 

 came spoiled from that circumstance. This 

 he considered as owing to the cheese being 

 too rich ; if so, it is a fault which may be 

 remedied. The English cheeses soon ac- 

 quire a great firmness. I think proper, 

 however, to add the directions of a most ex- 

 perienced and successful dairy farmer in 

 respect to this matter. He says that the 

 rind may be made of any desired hardness, 

 if the cheese be taken from the press and 

 allowed to remain in brine, so strong that it 

 will take up no more salt, for four or five 

 hours. There must be great care, however, 

 not to keep it too long in the brine. 



The second fault is the acridness, or pe- 

 culiarly smart bitter taste often found in 

 American cheeses. He thought this might 



be due, in part, to some improper prepara- 

 tion or use of the rennet, and, in part, to 

 some kind of feed which the cows found in 

 the pastures. Both these matters are well 

 worthy of investigation, and that alone can 

 determine. 



He was of opinion, likewise, that Ameri- 

 can cheese would sell better if it were co- 

 loured like the English cheese. The mar- 

 ket for it was fast becoming most extensive. 



In respect to American butter, he consi- 

 dered that which usually came here as a 

 most inferior article. Much of it, I believe, 

 is used in the manufacturing districts, solely 

 for greasing machinery. Salt butter, or 

 butter strongly salted, is not saleable in the 

 [English market; and especially the salt 

 imust not appear. I cannot doubt however, 

 jthat presently some of our best June or Sep- 

 'tember butter, put up in lumps, would find 

 a good market here, — if, in truth, we have 

 any to export. The very best fresh butter 

 in London market, however, does not bring 

 so high a price as I have often paid for the 

 best article from the county of Worcester, 

 in Boston market; and I have frequently 

 known the best butter to be sold in Balti- 

 more, and even in Cincinnati market, for 

 half a dollar; a little more than two shil- 

 lings sterling per pound. 



I have seen in England none of the admi- 

 rable spring-houses which are to be found 

 in Pennsylvania. — Colman's Tour. 



How TO Decoy and Destroy Ants in 

 Dwelling Houses. — When practicable, 

 place as near the end or passage on a level, 

 a basin or bowl filled with dry mould ; then 

 put a bone or bones of fresh meat in the bot- 

 tom — such as are discarded from the dining 

 room. You will soon find your tormentors 

 congregate thousands strong; for I assure 

 you they are first-rate bone-polishers. Forty 

 years ago, when a boy, whenever I wanted 

 a particular bone of a duck or goose polished, 

 I always found the ant-hill the best manu- 

 factory. Have in readiness a strong solu- 

 tion of boiling salt and water, and when 

 you perceive your enemies begin to retreat, 

 cover them with it. Salt and water cold 

 will destroy them poured into their haunts; 

 but the better way is to decoy them out of 

 their strongholds. It will be good policy to 

 wash out the basin or bowl, and fill it with 

 fresh mould previous to a second decoy, as 

 it will be perceived salt is not a favourite. 

 — Gardener'' s Chronicle. 



The imports of tea into the United States 

 from China, during the years 184.5 and 1846, 

 were respectively, twenty and a half mil- 

 lions, and eighteen millions of pounds. 



