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AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE. 



make 10 to lllbs of sound cheese, always acceptable upon 

 the farm table. We do not use all the cheese we might 

 with advantage to the food supply of the family. A.nd if 

 we don't want it, then a lOlb. cheese soon finds a customer 

 in a neighbour, or storekeeper. The appliances necessary 

 for making small cheese for home use are a deep pail or 

 milk can, a tub big enough to set the pail in surrounded 

 by water, a hoop or hoops big enough for from 7 to 141 bs. 

 of cheese. Suppose we take the evening and morning 

 milk for our purpose. The former can be put to cool 

 during the night ; the morning milk can be cooled in the 

 pail, set in cold water. Mix the two, stirring thoroughly ;. 

 and, by pouring hot water round the pail, we can raise the 

 heat of the whole mass of milk from 80 to 90 degrees; 84 

 degrees is a safe temperature for milk made ready for 

 cheese. To thicken the milk into curd, use the fluid 

 rennet, directions for which are given on the bottles ; or 

 that sold in lozenges will do. One lozenge, of the 

 strength purchasable for a shilling a box, is reckoned as 

 enough fcr 10 gallons of milk. Dissolve the lozenge in 

 water, and stir it into the warmed milk, then cover with 

 blanketing. The milk thickens in 12 to 15 minutes from 

 the time of adding rennet, and should be ready to cut in 

 from 30 to 40 minutes from the time of thickening. It is 

 found to be workable in practice to allow double and 

 one-half the time taken to thicken to secure curd ripe for 

 cutting. The curd should then be tough enough to be 

 readily lifted with the finger, and fit to be cut by a long 

 blad- d knife into squares of an inch. This liberates the 

 whey or watery part of the milk. The whey is run off 

 with a syphon, or dipped off by means of a shallow dish, 

 put inio a vessel, and heated to 100 degrees, and poured 

 over the curd, which is again covered to keep in the heat. 

 After half an hour the curd will be tough enough to lift 

 with the hands, and can be heaped upon a table to permit 

 the remainder of the whey to drain off. The curd is then 

 broken as small as beans, by rubbing with the hands, the 

 whey being so carefully pressed out, that no cream may 

 escape with it. The broken up curd is then covered on the 

 table, and thus left until decided acid action sets in, when- 



