FARMERS' REGISTER- CULTURE OF CORN, &c. 



269 



white ones in preference,) boil them in a kettle. 

 When they arc sulficiently cooked, lake them out 

 and let them cool ; then peel them, and mash them 

 in a mortar. To five pounds of potatoes well 

 mashed, add one pound of sour milk, and the quan- 

 tity of salt necessary : knead the whole, cover it, 

 and let it remain undisturbed for three or four 

 days, according to the season ; at the end of this 

 time, knead it again, and place the cheeses in 

 small baskets, where the supertiuous moisture will 

 evaporate. 



Then place the cheeses in the shade to dry, and 

 put them in layers in large pots, or any other ves- 

 sels, where they must be kept for tifteen days. 

 The older these cheeses are, the better their 

 quality. 



Three sorts of cheeses may be made ; the first, 

 which is the most common, is made with the pro- 

 portions mentioned above ; the second, with four 

 parts of potatoes, and two parts of curdled milk ; 

 the third, with two pounds of potatoes, and four 

 pounds of cows or ewes milk. 



Cheeses made of potatoes, have over common 

 cheeses the advantages of not engendering mites, 

 and of keeping fresh for many years, provided you 

 put them in a dry place, and in close vessels. 



I have repeated this experiment with the pro- 

 portions of the seto:Kl quality, and this is the 

 course that has been pursued. We first cooked 

 the potatoes, then peeled and mashed them with 

 the hands. (We might, if we proceeded on a 

 large scale, make use of the cylinders generally 

 used in distilleries for mashing potatoes.) We 

 then warmed the milk, into which vinegar (in 

 place of rennet) was poured, until it curdled. Af- 

 ter this operation, we mixed the milk with the po- 

 tatoes, put salt into the mixture, and passed it 

 through a sieve of hair to make the mixture more 

 perfect. It was then put into an earthen pan, 

 where it remained for ten or twelve days. At the 

 end of that time we placed it on sieves where it 

 was drained, at the same time that it was moulded. 

 The sieves must be covered with cloth. After 

 draining fifteen days, the cheeses were pressed, 

 and covered over, and placed in wicker work in a 

 cellar. By this time the fermentation was deve- 

 loped, the cheeses still soft, and a skin of mould 

 was formed on the surface. The flavor of cheese 

 was very perceptible ; it is not disagreeable, and 

 I believe these sorts of cheeses may be made with 

 advantage on farms. Now that the taste of cheese 

 is well developed, I shall dry them in the shade, as 

 was recommended in the recipe above mentioned, 

 in order to know the quality of the product in this 

 state. I have noAv shown the reader the conse- 

 quences of this experiment, which seems to me to 

 be very interesting to rural economy. 



Saviiig^ of l<aI>or 



IN CUTTI3SG DOWN CORN STALKS. REMARKS 

 ON CONTRIBITTORS TO THE FARMERS' RE- 

 GISTER. 



j^melia, Aug. 22d, 1833. 

 Dear Sir, — If yout numerous patrons could be 

 induced to communicate whatever they consider 

 good in their system of management, much useful 

 information would in this way be obtained. There 

 are many excellent practical managers in Virgi- 



nia, who cannot be prevailed on to write any thinj^ 

 for puldication. Suppose something like this be 

 suggested tlirough the Farmers' Register — that 

 f\cls be furnished you, with the understanding 

 that you will present tiiem to your readers in your 

 own way. In every instance the name of the per- 

 son should be given. 



In closing these crude, undigested remarks, I 

 will give the method which I have pursued for se- 

 veral years in cutting down corn, preparatory to 

 sowing wheat. I have no hesitation in saying tliat 

 half the labor is saved. Instead of using a hoe with 

 a long helve in cutting down the corn, to be picked 

 up by another hand, I use a small hoe (which can 

 be bought (()r fifty cents in Richmond) w ith a short 

 helve, made of some light wood, such as pine, pop- 

 lar or walnut. The operator taking the hoc in one 

 hand, and taking hold of the stalk of corn with the 

 other, cuts it down, carrying the stalks cut, until 

 he has as many as he can carry. In this way the 

 corn is cut and piled by the same hand, and the 

 picking up, the luordt half of the labor, is saved. 

 In piling, three rows are laid in one, or six in two; 

 leaving a space along which 'the cart or wagon 

 may pass, to take the corn off" of the land to be 

 sown in wheat. For several years I used knives in 

 cuftingdown my corn, but found it very difficult to 

 avoid leaving the stubble too long. With the short 

 helved hoe the corn can be cut as close to the earth 

 as with the long. 



Thus, sir, on the plans suggested, I have given 

 you thc.facts respe( ting my plan of cutting down 

 corn. You wil' dispose of them as you please. 

 For the inelegance of style, or other defects in 

 conmmnicating the (acts, if published,! hold the 

 editor of the Farmers' Register responsible. 

 Respectfully yours, 



JOHN H. STEGER. 



P. S. I have used the term my plan. It is pro- 

 per to say that Avith me the method did not origi- 

 nate : I learned it from a friend in Louisa. I in- 

 troduced it in this county and in Powhatan. As 

 far as I know, the old plan of cutting down, and 

 picking up, still prevails. 



J. II. s. 



We are very willing to incur all the responsibility of 

 publishing .the foregoing communication, and without 

 changing a word — though we should certainly have 

 used the privilege of altering the form, if it had been 

 thought necessary. The communication of our friend 

 and correspondent is just such as are most needed, and 

 might be most abundantly supplied, for the Farmers' Re- 

 gister — a statement of useful facts, in plain but correct 

 words. We recommend both his suggestion and his 

 example to others. Every real improvement in the 

 mode of applying labor by one individual, however in- 

 considerable, is worth communicating for the use of 

 others : and if such was the course of every one of the 

 patrons of the Farmers' Register, it would from this 

 source alone, humble as it may be considered, derive 

 and dispense more valuable information for farmers, 

 than has yet been done by this or any other journal. 

 It would become a literary savings hank, from which 

 each customer would oljtain 'a thousand fold increase 

 upon his deposit. 



