68 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER, 



SEPT. 9, 1833 



GliOUCESTER CHEESE. 



In the preparation of this cheese, the milk is, 

 in the first instance, put into acheese-oowi (which 

 is a larg3 deep tub) with two teacupsful of rennet. 

 A hall of annatto is then clipped in the milk, and 

 rubbed on a piece of pantile, which is washed into 

 the milk till the color is as high as required. The 

 quantity of annatto is regulated by the wishes of 

 the cheesefactor, some liking more than others. 

 Originally only a small quantity was employed, to 

 induce the belief that the cheese was rich, and to 

 prevent its being discovered that skimmed milk 

 had been used. But now almost all the cheese is 

 highly colored ; and the color is no criterion of 

 the goodness of the article. After an hour has 

 elapsed, the milk is converted into cnrd ; this is 

 cut with a cheese-knife, which is about fourteen 

 inches in length, and has two edges : it is cut 

 gently at first, and then very small. It is suffered 

 to remain ten minutes, when the milkmaid puts 

 lier arms into the cow), and draws the curd gently 

 towards her, turning it over in the whey. She 

 afterwards draws it again towards her to dip out 

 the whey, which is strained through a seive, and 

 the small pieces of curd that are strained from it 

 are returned to the cowl. The curd is then put 

 into vats, in which cloths had been previously 

 laid. The vats are placed one on another, and )iut 

 in a cheese press for ten minutes, a vessel havin 

 previously been jdaced underneatlj the press to 

 catch the expressed whey. Afler this, the curd is 

 taken out of the vats and broken small, and some 

 hot whey is poured over it. The cnrd is then 

 drawn to the side of the cowl to drain from the 

 whey, which is ladled off and strained so that no 

 curd may be wasted. Then the curd is again put 

 into the vats, and they are pressed one on another ; 

 any curd that is pressed over the edges of the vats 

 being put in the middle of the vats to make the 

 mass as firm as possible. In an hour the vats are 

 taken out of the j)ress to have dry cloths, after 

 which they remain in the press till night, when 

 the compressed curd is taken out of the vats, turn- 

 ed and salted, and then replaced in the press, and 

 there remains till morning, when it is salted, and 

 also again the following evening. The second 

 morning the cloths are taken off, but the cheeses 

 are left in the vats seven or eight days, being turn- 

 ed night and morning. After that, they are put 

 on the f^oor of the cheese-loft, (which is a large 

 room on purpose for kee|iing cheese,) and turned 

 every day for three weeks or a month. In two 

 months the cheeses are scraped and painted. The 

 paint is a red powder, which is strewed over the 

 cheeses and rubbed on them with the hand. In 

 three months, they are what is technically called 

 " ready," and are fit for the cheese-fairtor. 



The whey that drained from the curd, during 

 the process of cheese-making, is put into trendies- 

 (a sort of tub) and suffered to remain till the next 

 day, when it is skimmed. From this, whey but- 

 ter is made, and the residue is given to pigs. The 

 rennet is made by mixingsalt and water till it will 

 support an egg, and then boiling it half an hour. 

 When it is cold, four calves' stomachs are |)nt to 

 a gallon of the brine, whh bay leaves and slices of 

 lemon. In six weeks it is fit for use. 



For single Gloucester cheese, the vats, which 

 are made of elm, are thirteen inches in diameter, 

 and about two inches and a half in depth : for 

 double Gloucester cheese, the same diameter, and 

 twice, or more than twice the depth. All the 

 dairy utensils, after being used, are washed with 



te|iid water, and then scalded. In making the 

 double Gloucester cheeses, and those that are 

 called " truckles," the same method is pursued, 

 except that more care is used in |)ressing the curd 

 into the vats, which, for such cheeses, have three 

 perforations to let the whey drain off; and band- 

 ages of cheese-cloth are put round when the curd 

 IS above the vat. Sage cheese is made by pound- 

 ing sage and straining the juice into a pail of milk, 

 to which rennet is then added. The same pro- 

 cess is observed as for other cheese till the time 

 when the warm whey should be poured upon it, 

 when it is broken up with as much of the simple 

 curd as the milk-maid considers necessary, and 

 treated as other cheese. To make the richest 

 cream-cheeses, the thickest cream must be taken, 

 and put, with a little salt, into a strainiug-cloth, 

 which is htmg twelve hours, in ordtjr that the 

 whey may drop from it. \Vhen it is taken from 

 the cloth, it is put between two pewter-piates, with 

 a weight on the upper one, and turned daily du- 

 ring five or six days. These cheeses can only be 

 njade in this manner in warm weather' The 

 milk that the cows give when they are first turn- 

 ed into the fields in the spring, and when they are 

 afterwards pastured in fields that have been newly 

 mown, yields nearly as much curd again as at any 

 other period ; and it is also nuich riclier. The 

 principal season for making the thin cheese is 

 from April to November; and that for making the 

 thick. May, June, and the beginning of July. 



In different districts, the produce of cows differs 

 very much ; but in the vale of Gloucester, from 

 3 1-2 to 4 1-2 cwt. per cow is considered a fair 

 annual average return. The same cow, on dif- 

 ferent pastures, will yield milk of very different 

 qualities ; from one will be made rank and un- 

 pleasant cheese, while the other will be fine and 

 rich. An estimate of the profit and e.xpenses of 

 a farm for twenty cows can be, from the contin- 

 ual variation in the state of the times and local 

 circumstances, of course only an approximation 

 towards the truth. But the following, made in the 

 vale of Gloucester in 1836, where the land is rich 

 and excellent, is as accurate an annual average 

 as the nature of the subject will admit: — 



£100 



Rent of 40 acres, at 50s. for pasture, 



" 20 acres for hay, 



" 2 acres of arable, for potatoes, 

 Making hay, 12s. an acre, 

 Carryinif and ricking, 

 Expenses of raisins; potatoes and seed,- 

 Tithes, .3s. 6d. in the pound, 

 Poor and other rates, 3s. 9d. in the pound, 

 Dairymaid, 71. a year (besides board) 

 Dairyman, at 71. a year (besides board) 

 Wear and tear of dairy utensils, 

 Salt, 



Annatto, 4s. a-pound. 

 Rennet and paint. 

 Interest of money laid out in stock and implements, 



reckoning each cow at from 8/. to lOZ. and the 



chance of loss, 

 Profit, 



Cheese 4 tons, at 4 cwt. each cow, and at 49s. 



,r ,P"/"^ 176 



Value of whey, oy q q 



Pasture of colts and sheep, 20 o 



Profit of calves, 30 



Butter, 90 



P'?^' .'i 



Potatoes, 25 q q 



£306 

 The capital necessary for the purchase of stock 

 for such a farm would, according to present pri- 

 ces, be about 300/.; but as it is not j)rudent that 

 the whole of the capital should be expended, a 



man who had only that sum should take a smaller 

 farm, and reserve a part for the jiayment of work- 

 peo])le, and other incidental expenses which would 

 be required before much profit was derived from 

 the farm. From the depressed state of agricul- 

 ture, the present time is not by any means auspi- 

 cious for the commencement of business as a dairy 

 farmer. The requisite dairy utensils will cost 

 about 25/. — London Penny Magazine. 



EXTRACT OP A LETTER PROM MR HARVEY 

 JOHIVSOIV, OP HOLIiAIVD, COUNTY OP ERIE. 



[It is not my intention to tax the reader with 

 all the details of the history of silk, nor even of 

 its first introduction into this country ; but there 

 is something so interesting, at least to me, in the 

 plain unstudied style of Mr Johnson, added to the 

 circumstance that the facts he relates were mostly 

 known to me at the time (for I am some years his 

 senior, and was brought up near the same neigh- 

 borhood), that I cannot deny myself the pleasure 

 of i)ublishing part of his letter. I would now 

 give more for his gloves than for any other pair 



in existence Ed. Silkworm.] 



Dk.\r Sir — Although a stranger, I take the 

 liberty to address you on a sidyect which I have 

 long considered of incalculable importance to our 

 country — I refer to the subject of silk. My 

 introduction will bean awkward piece of work 

 as I must assume the character of the egotist. 



Bly native place is New Haven, Ct. Some fifty 

 years ago, my father set out about two thousand 

 white mulberry trees, from which a great quantity 

 of silk was made (I mean a great quantity for that 

 day). He carried on the business for a number 

 of years. He raised a great many worms himself, 

 and let his trees to several individuals, and had a' 

 certain part of the raw silk. My father's family 

 consisted of eight children, five daughters and 

 three sons. They were not all of them able to 

 do much towards picking leaves, &c. but with a 

 little lielp from the apprentices (for my father was 

 a mechanic) occasionally, they managed the busi- 

 ness so as to feed a great many worms. I think 

 he kept one year over two hundred thousand. 

 This was an unfavorable year (I think it was 1794); 

 a late frost killed the leaves after the worms had' 

 hatched, or at the time they were hatching so 

 the growth of the worms was much backened by 

 lack of leaves. Some individuals had to go into 

 the woods, and gather wild leaves; but the balls 

 were not so large and sglid as in good years. 



It is not worth while to mention all the partic- 

 ulars which occur to mind ; but every thing relat- 

 ing to the business was done to great disadvantage. 

 My father's land lay in detached pieces ; one large 

 orchard was one and a half miles off. It was 

 difficult to find workmen who understood dyeing, 

 weaving, or manufacturing any way. Still we 

 made a number of pieces of cloth for women's 

 and men's wear, one piece of handkerchiefs, and 

 a number of jiairs of stockings, some knit and 

 some wove, and some pairs of gloves. I have yet 

 a pair of the gloves, which were made, I believe, 

 thirtyfive years ago, which I prize very highly. 



To WASH C.\LIC0 WITHOUT FADI.iIG. InfuSe 3 



gills of salt in 4 quarts of boiling water, and put 

 the calico in, while hot, and leave it till cold. 

 And in this way, the colors are reudered perma- 

 nent, and will not fade by subsequent washing. 

 So we are informed by a lady who has frequently 

 made the experimc"* ' 



