CHE 



CHE 



black ; but the most economical way- 

 is to introduce cruslied hones into 

 iron retorts and distilling ; by this 

 moans a stronn t'ctid ammonia is ol)- 

 tained from ihcm, which is very val- 

 iiahle in the arts, and the hones yield 

 more bone black. Common animal 

 charcoal contains 80 to 85 per cent, 

 of phosphate of lime and mineral 

 matter. Tiie refuse of the sugar re- 

 finers is a very valuable manure, and, 

 mixed with composts, much superior 

 to the recent bone black, from the 

 mixture of blood and other putres- 

 cent matters used. In France it is 

 so highly esteemed, that purchases 

 are made in New-York city for ex- 

 portation to Havre, and the refuse 

 is imitated by artificial mixtures of 

 powdered charcoal and bullocks' 

 blood. It is of great service in pro- 

 ducing vigorous growth, strong plants, 

 and fine seeds. From 150 to 200 

 pounds, in compost, are sufficient for 

 an acre of land in high order : in gar- 

 dens more is used. 



CHARD. A variety of Beet, which 

 see. 



CHARLOCK. Several weeds of 

 the Cruciferous family ; difficult to 

 extirpate except by mowing before 

 Ihev flower. Thev are annuals. 



CH.\RRING. Burning so as to 

 produce a crust of charcoal. It is a 

 good way of preserving the butts of 

 posts inserted in the ground or wet 

 places. 



CHASE. A row of trees or hedge 

 plants. 



CHAT POTATOES. A term in 

 England for the small, imperfect po- 

 tatoes, fit only for liogs. 



CHEAT, or CHESS. The Bromus 

 sccalinus (see Bromus). Supposed to 

 be degenerate wheat by the ignorant. 

 It is a troublesome grass, only to be 

 extirpated by cleaning the grain thor- 

 oughly of the chess seeds. It is 

 called Darnel occasionally in Eng- 

 land. 



CHEESE. In making cheese 

 there are certain general principles 

 which are essential, hut slight varia- 

 tions in the process produce cheeses 

 of very different qualities ; and al- 

 though the most important eircum- 

 N 



stance is the nature of the pasture on 

 which the cows are fed, yet much 

 depends on the mode in which the 

 ditTcrent stages of the fabrication are 

 managed ; and hence the great supe- 

 riority of the cheeses of particular 

 districts or dairies over those of oth- 

 ers, without any apparent diffijrence 

 in the pasture. By skill and great 

 attention excellent cheeses are made 

 in places where the pastures are not 

 considered so well adapted to pro- 

 duce milk of a proper quality ; and in 

 those countries where the cows are 

 chiefly kept tied up in stalls, and are 

 fed with a variety of natural and ar- 

 tificial grasses, roots and vegetables, 

 superior cheese is often made. 



The first process in making cheese 

 is to separate the curd from the whey, 

 which may be done by allowing the 

 milk to become sour ; but the cheese 

 is inferior in quality, and it is diffi- 

 cult to stop the acid fermentation and 

 prevent its running into the putrefac- 

 tive. Various substances added to 

 milk will soon separate the curd from 

 the whey. All acids curdle milk. 

 Muriatic acid, or spirits of salt, is used 

 with success for this purpose in Hol- 

 land. Some vegetables contain acids 

 which readily coagulate milk, such as 

 the juice of the fig-tree, and the flow- 

 ers of the Galium vennn, or yellow 

 lady's bed straw, hence called checsc- 

 rcnnct. Where better rennet cannot 

 be procured, they may be substituted 

 tor the most natural curdler of milk, 

 which is the prepared stomach of a 

 sucking calf This rapidly coagu- 

 lates tlie milk ; and the only difficul- 

 ty is in keeping it from putrefaction, 

 which begins from the instant the 

 stomach is taken from the calf. The 

 preparation of the ren7icf, as it is call- 

 ed, is a most important part of the 

 process of cheese-making. The fol- 

 lowing may be considered as the sim- 

 plest, and perhaps the best. As soon 

 as a sucking calf is killed the stom- 

 ach should be taken out, and if the 

 calf has sucked lately, it is all the bet- 

 ter. The outer skin should be well 

 scraped, and all fat and useless mem- 

 branes carefully removed. It is only 

 the inner coat which must be prc- 



145 



