No. 8. 



Construction and Management of Hot-beds. 



241 



pounds put upon it, in order to press out the 

 whey, which is drained to the lower side of 

 the tub and ladled out. When well drained 

 the curd is turned upside down, and pressed 

 as before. It is now cut into pieces, about 

 nine inches square, which are piled one 

 above another, and pressed both with the 

 hand and the weight, so long as the whey 

 continues to run out. 



The pieces are then cut and broken very 

 small, and salted at the rate of three hands- 

 ful to each. They are then put into a cheese 

 vat, furnished with a coarse cheese cloth. 



The curd is heaped in the vat in a conical 

 shape, the cone being covered with cjoth, to 

 prevent any curd falling off. As soon as the 

 curd adheres together, a weight of about 

 sixty pounds is put upon it, and several iron 

 skewers are stuck through it by holes in the 

 sides of the vat. These holes are made in 

 order to allow any whey remaining in the 

 curd to escape. The weight and skewers 

 are then removed, and the curd is broken as 

 small as possible half way down the vat. 

 The pressing and skewering are again re- 

 peated, and a clean cloth is put over the 

 upper part of the curd, which is then taken 

 out of the vat and put into it again upside 

 down, and broken half way down as before. 

 When no more whey can be extracted, the 

 curd is turned into the vat, and rinsed in 

 warm whey. The curd is still kept above 

 the edge of the vat, being bound round with 

 strong tape to keep it in a proper shape. 



The cheese is now put into the press 

 which has generally the power of about fif- 

 teen hundred weight, and is then well skew- 

 ered with strong pointed wires, eighteen or 

 twenty inches long. The vat is furnished 

 with holes at the sides to receive the skew- 

 ers; and after being about half an hour in 

 the press, the cheese is again turned, and 

 supplied with a clean cloth. It is in like 

 manner turned again and again several times 

 for forty-eight hours, each time supplied with 

 a clean cloth, after which it is put mid-deep 

 into salt, where it remains for three days, 

 its position being reversed each day. When 

 taken out of the vat, it is put into a wooden 

 hoop of the same breadth as the thickness 

 of the cheese, and is placed on the salting 

 bench for several days, as above mentioned. 



The cheese is then washed in lukewarm 

 water, and after being wiped, is placed on 

 the drying bench, where it remains about 

 seven days, being carefully turned each day, 

 after which it is again washed and dried as 

 before, and rubbed over with sweet butter. 

 After this it is placed in the warmest part 

 of the cheese-room, and rubbed each day 

 with sweet butter for seven days. 



These cheeses vary in size, being in some 



dairies nearly one hundred and forty pounds 

 in weight. The quantity of salt made use 

 of during the process is uncertain; three 

 pounds to a cheese of sixty pounds is thought 

 to be about the amount; but much of this ia 

 lost in the salting house. Whether the 

 cheese acquires much saltness during the 

 steeping and rubbing, is uncertain, though 

 much salt is expended in these operations. 



In operations so critical as those of the 

 dairy, where any material alteration in the 

 temperature will affect the quality of the 

 cheese, this ought at all times to be carefully 

 attended to. A thermometer ought not only 

 to be in every milk house, but also in every 

 byre, as extremes of heat and cold, or sud- 

 den changes in the temperature, have a 

 great effect upon the secretion of milk. The 

 temperature of the milk house ought never 

 to rise above fifty-five nor sink below fifty 

 degrees. 



The usual colouring for cheese is annatto, 

 one pound of which is sufficient to colour 

 half a ton of cheese. 



Cheese making in large dairies is very 

 laborious employment. It is said to be work 

 that is never done, and like most other kinds 

 of labour, it is ill remunerated. — A?nerican 

 Traveller. 



Construction and Management of Hot- 

 Beds. 



The prevalent opinion among farmers re- 

 specting hot-beds, is, that they are expensive 

 articles, requiring the skill of professed gar- 

 deners to manage them, and almost entirely 

 outside the range of farming economy. Both 

 suppositions are decidedly erroneous, and we 

 hope that every one who reads this will ar- 

 rive at such a conclusion. We do not pro- 

 pose that every farmer should go into the 

 regular routine of forcing vegetables, at ex- 

 traordinary seasons; but that every one, 

 however humble his circumstances may be, 

 should, at least, have one hot-bed to forward 

 such plants as he may want to cultivate in 

 his garden, and which he has either to pur- 

 chase from gardeners — and then get poor, 

 badly grown things — or else wait for the 

 regular process of open garden culture, 

 which, in our climate, under the most fa- 

 vourable circumstances, will not allow him 

 the taste of a vegetable until the summer is 

 half gone. We are surprised to see farmers 

 come to the city and purchase a dozen of 

 poor, weak withered cabbage, tomato, or 

 celery plants, when they might have raised 

 an abundance at home, far superior, and in 

 better season. 



The value of culinary vegetables, as we 

 have often said, is not at all appreciated by 



