236 



Subsoils and their Management. 



Vol. XL 



tubs. Such is the diversity of opinion every 

 where prevalent. The Scotch had no fears 

 that the cream would not find its way to the 

 surface unless the principle of gravitation 

 were to be reversed. One of the best dairy 

 women in the country never suffers any wa- 

 ter to be applied to the butter when taken 

 out of the churn, a practice not uncommon. 

 2. Cheese. — English cheese has long been 

 celebrated for its excellence, but it is far 

 from being all equally good. The Stilton 

 cheese stands, by general admission, at the 

 head ; the Cheshire, the Cheddar, the Glou- 

 cestershire, and the Wiltshire, have their 

 different partisans, and though they differ 

 from each other, are preferred according to 

 the particular tastes of those who eat them. 

 The celebrated Dunlop cheese of Scotland, 

 which is certainly excellent, is made with 

 one fourth part of ewes' milk. 



It cannot be expected that I should go 

 into all the processes of the dairy. My re- 

 marks must be general. All dairymen seem 

 to agree, that, in cheese-making, much de- 

 pends on the character of the soil upon 

 which the cows are fed. Wet and low 

 grounds, producing a rank and coarse herb- 

 age, are unfavourable, and so are the artifi- 

 cial grasses given to the cows green. An 

 old pasture and a dry soil are most desired ; 

 and it is said, that the poorer the pasture, 

 the better the cheese. Wet and cold pas- 

 tures have been converted into good cheese 

 grounds by thorough draining and cleaning. 

 The quality of the cheese depends, more 

 than upon anything else, upon the skilful 

 and careful management of the dairymaid 

 herself. This is to be learned by practice, 

 and very little useful direction can be con- 

 veyed in words. The making of cheese is 

 a chemical operation. We shall be glad 

 when chemistry is so applied as to deter- 

 mine the rules by which success may be 

 made certain. 



The average quantity of cheese made is 

 reckoned at one hundred and twelve pounds 

 to one hundred gallons of new milk. Few 

 cheeses arc made wholly of new milk, being 

 in general what are called two meal cheese, 

 and the cream being taken off the previous 

 night's milk, to be converted into butter. In 

 this case, according to the practice of an ex 

 cellent Vermont farmer within my know- 

 ledge, the buttermilk would go back to the 

 cheese and serve to enrich it. The cheeses 

 in general are made very hard, which is 

 owing, in the first place, to cutting the curd 

 very fine, and next, to the severe pressure 

 which is given to them. The rennets are 

 here called veils; and the best are imported 

 from Ireland. At one of the principal dairies 

 which I visited, it was customary to put six 



skins, at the beginning of the season, into 

 two gallons of brine, and use this liquid for 

 forming the curd, in such quantities and at 

 such time as required. A quantity of lemon 

 was also put into the liquid, to correct the 

 taste and give it a flavor; but I believe with 

 no advantage to the cheese. It is strongly 

 urged not to use the rennets until they are 

 a full year old, as otherwise they cause the 

 cheese to heave and to be full of holes. In 

 most dairies it is customary to scald the curd 

 with hot whey, but by the best dairywomen 

 this is disapproved, as tending to impoverish 

 the cheese. The colouring the cheese with 

 anatto is not universally practised, nor does 

 it much benefit the sale, where the charac- 

 ter of the dairy is known. — Colmari's Tour. 



Subsoils and their Management. 



The efficiency of soils for producing good 

 crops, depends much on the subsoil. If this 

 consists of impervious clay or hard-pan, so 

 as to oppose a ready escape to the water, it 

 is evident the accumulation of the heavy 

 rains will materially injure the vegetation 

 above them ; for it is certain that while no- 

 thing is more essential to productive crops 

 than an adequate supply of moisture to the 

 roots, nothing is more injurious than their 

 immersion in stagnant water. When such 

 is the character of the subsoil, it should be 

 under-drained if possible, or if this be not 

 practicable, it should be broken up and loos- 

 ened by the use of the subsoil plough. 



A variety of ploughs have been construct- 

 ed for this purpose, but unless it be intended 

 to deepen the soil by an admixture of ma- 

 nures, care should be taken to avoid bring- 

 ing up the subsoil to mix with that on the 

 surface. In addition to the more ready es- 

 cape of water thus secured by breaking it 

 up, the air is also admitted, which enables 

 the roots to strike deeper, and draw their 

 nourishment from a much greater depth. 

 The increased distance through which the 

 roots penetrate, furnishes them with an ad- 

 ditional moisture during a season of drought, 

 thereby securing a luxuriant crop when it 

 might otherwise be destroyed. This is fre- 

 quently a great item in the profit of the 

 farmer; as besides the increase of crop 

 which follows a hot dry season when a full 

 supply of moisture is furnished, the product 

 is usually of better quality; and the general 

 deficiency of agricultural produce which en- 

 sues from seasons of drought, makes his own 

 more valuable. 



As a result of this practice, there is also 

 a gradual increase in the depth of the soil, 

 as the fine and more soluble particles of the 

 richer materials above are constantly work- 



