CHEESE-MAKING. 215 



to any in the world ; yet. as a whole, there can be no 

 doubt that American cheese is far inferior to that 

 made in England, and some parts of Holland, Ger- 

 many, and Italy. The causes of this inferiority 

 must be sought in the defective modes of making 

 practised in our country. We sometimes meet with 

 a cheese equal in quality to any that can be produ- 

 ced in any quarter of the globe ; but that, perhaps, 

 is the only one the dairy that furnished it can show 

 of a similar quality. Such would not be the case if 

 the business of the dairy were carried on upon fixed 

 and correct principles ; as entire uniformity in the 

 flavour and quality of their cheese is a marked char- 

 acteristic of the best foreign dairies. As the result 

 of some observation and experience, we give it as 

 our opinion, that the reason why so much ordinary 

 cheese is made in this country is, that little or no 

 attention is paid to the quality of the rennet ; and 

 the temperature of the milk, being left to chance, is 

 constantly varying from day to day, thus necessari- 

 ly affecting the quality of the curds. 



It is evident that the rennet must have a great ef- 

 fect in determining the good or bad qualities of 

 cheese ; yet in many, if not most of our dairies, it 

 is prepared in the most careless, not to say slovenly 

 manner. Everything relating to cheese should be 

 kept perfectly clean ; yet rennet is sometimes used, 

 the odour of which is anything but ambrosial ; and 

 it is well if a close inspection does not show living 

 proof that the invitation sent abroad on the tainted 

 air has not been in vain. Some of our dairy-wom- 

 en maintain that the quality or flavour of the ren- 

 net is of no consequence, as anything offensive 

 passes off in the whey ; but this is a great mistake, 

 as is well understood by those w'ho have paid prop- 

 er attention to the preparation of rennet. At the 

 celebrated dairy-farm of Heyward in England, the 

 rennet is prepared by putting two gallons of brine to 

 six calves' stomachs, at least one year old, to which 



