84 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



If it is necessary to handle the birds, it must be 

 done curefully as they are very tender, and will not 

 bear uuicli liaudling. Great care should bo taken 

 not to trifi;liteu them. I have known a valuable 

 Canary bu-d so frightened that he never sung 

 again. Strangers should not go very near the 

 cage, and no one sliould look into the nest while 

 the bird is sitting, or she may desert it. 



Wo have frequently let them out of their cages, 

 taking care to close all places where they could 

 niiike their escape. They tly about and alight on 

 heads and shoulders, and sometimes on our liands ; 

 and if there are plants in the room they .seem to 

 take great delight in Hitting about among them. 

 When tired they wdl return to their cages. It 

 may be necessary to place a piece of apple or some- 

 thing tcmj)ting inside of the door of the cage to 

 call liim back; but they will soon become so 

 familiar, if allowed to be out often, that they will 

 not need much coaxing to induce them to return. 



Ripe fruit in its season, sugar, chickwecd, or 

 lettuce, are excellent to keep them in health. — 

 Cui.tle fish bone and bread or cracker should 

 always be in the cage for them to peck at; but 

 they "should never have rich cake. If they have 

 the"dum[>s they will set on tlie perch with their 

 feathers rough, not taking the trouble to dress their 

 plumage. Tut a drop of sweet oil on the sole of 

 each foot and it will cure them. A little scalded 

 milk on some bread will cure the diarrhoea. When 

 muulting they should have less seed, but be supplied 

 with soaked bread, lettuce leaves, fruit, &c., to 

 allay the natural fever. 



In winter they must be kept in a warm room, 

 but not very near the fire. In summer the cages 

 should be hung out of doors a part of the day, to 

 give them air, but shaded from the sun. Dew or 

 rjiii must not fall on thsm. 



I have kept none but Cauaries and Goldfinches 

 ill cages, as I am not one of those who would 

 deprive our native songsters of their liberty, and 

 Iiave them pine away in cages. * 



CldrtiUnon, JT, F., December, 185S. 



CHEESE MAKING FBOM A SMALL DATRY. 



It is customary for those farmers who liave but 

 a small number of cows, and make dairying 

 merely an incidental business, to change irom 

 butter to cheese making, during the warmest 

 weather. Although in this way but a few cheeses 

 can be made, it is important that they should be 

 made well. Hence a few hints to beginners — and 

 those of experience too — may not be am'ss. 



The first care should be to see that the rennet is 

 properly preserved and prepared, as the quality of 

 the cheese depends very much upon the rennet 

 iised. 



Preparing Renxkt.— The calf should be allowed 

 to stand several hours after sucking before being 

 killed. The rennet .should he carefully removed, 

 the curd taken out, and skin or stomach turned 

 wrong side ont ; the specks of dirt removed by 

 picking from the skin and curd, if there is any ; 

 but hy no means rinse the sJ:in, as that removes a 

 j)ortion of the mucus in a free state, which is the 

 only active principle of any value contained in the 

 rennet. Put the cnrd intQ|^he skin, add a pint of 

 fine salt, and more if the rennet is a very large 

 one. The whole should be placed in a cloth bag, 



and hnng up in a cool, dry place till wanted 1 

 use. Old rennets are considered better than ne 

 as being stronger. When wanted for use, soak t 

 rennet in warm water two or three days, strain 

 the liquor, add as much salt as will dissolve, ke 

 in a cool i>lace. This process must be repeal 

 once or twice before the whole strength will 

 extracted. 



In the manufacture of cheese it is important 

 have the room and utensils sweet and clean. Ni 

 to this comes the necessity of keeping the id 

 sweet. If the milk or curd becomes " change 

 or begins to ferment before pnttingin the press, • 

 cheese will be very likely strong. 



The milk, after it has been strained into 

 tub, should be warmed to a proper teraperatur 

 which is about 90 Fah., or nearly as warm as wl 

 taken from the cow — by adding a portion of bea 

 milk. If the milk gets too warm the cheese ■■ 

 be hard. The rennet is then added, the milk ^ 

 stirred, and left till the curd has come. The qt; 

 tity of rennet depends upon its quality, as wel 

 upon the quality and temperature of the miUc. 

 is difficult to determine the exact amount. ' 

 richer the milk in cream and cheese, the grei 

 must be the quantity of rennet ; therefore mor 

 required in summer than in winter. The war 

 the milk the less rennet. Experience is the ■< 

 guide in this operation. 



The time necessary to produce perfect coag 

 tion is from thirty to sixty minutes. Better ox< 

 sixty minutes, than to get in too much rennet, 

 is much better to get in too little than too m 

 rennet ; and should the milk not curd with: 

 proper tiine, it requires only an addition of ■« 

 rennet to eli'ect a perfect coagulation. As a ger 

 thing, the longer it is coming the tender 

 sweeter will be the curd. 



When the curd is formed sufficiently, it is brc 

 up quite fine, either by hand or curd breaker, n 

 for the purpose, which cuts it into very s 

 pieces. The whey is tlien separated from the 

 by passing through a strainer previously place 

 the cheese basket. The curd is then placed 

 strong cloth, and well pressed to remove the w 

 It is then put in a cool place, and the opers 

 repeated till there is curd enough to make a cl "^ 

 the desired size. When the right quantit 

 obtained, the curd is all broken up very fin 

 water, heated sufficiently to make the curd 

 warm, when ready for the press. The objee 

 thus warming is to made the difTerent curds i 

 readily, or as it is termed, ' close' well. When 

 'scalding' is completed, drain off the water as 

 as possible, and keep the curd broke up fine, f 

 the better to mingle with the salt. Care shou'. 

 taken not to mash the curd so violently at 

 time a.s to start the white whey, as that det 

 from the richness of the cheese at once. 



When the cnrd has drained sufficiently, add 

 at the rate of one pound to every thirty of 

 curd. After the salt has been thoroughly ii 

 I)orated, a strainer sufficiently large to covei 

 whole cheese is placed in the hoop, into whici 

 curd is put. The pressure should be modcra 

 first, increasing gradually for two or three h 

 The cheese is then taken from the press, tu 

 anil a dry cloth put around it. Place it aga 

 the press and subject it to a powerful im 

 sion thirty-six hours, turning once or t 



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