Composition of Cheese. 5 



heard a word about chemistry. 9th. Although much mystery 

 is thrown around this art, all that is mysterious about it is purely 

 accidental : the process in itself is very simple, and accords well 

 with scientific principles so far as these have been ascertained ; 

 but skilful management is perhaps rather the exception than the 

 rule. 1 Oth. Even good practice may be considerably improved, 

 or, more correctly speaking, simplified, by the application of 

 scientific principles to cheese-making. llth. With respect 

 to the recent mechanical improvements which have been in- 

 troduced in the dairy districts, Keevil's and Coquet's appa- 

 ratus, and others which have been described at some length in 

 a former volume of our Journal, save indeed a great deal of 

 labour and time, but otherwise effect nothing which may not be 

 done by skilful hands. 12th. Milk, as I have ascertained by 

 numerous analyses, varies much in its composition, for which 

 reason great differences must also be expected in cheese. 13th. 

 Considerable loss both in quality and quantity of cheese was 

 found to arise from careless management. 14th. In studying 

 the action of rennet on milk I find that misapprehension, if not 

 altogether wrong statements, prevail in what has hitherto been 

 said and written respecting its action. I shall have presently 

 to advance proofs in confirmation of this assertion. 15th. I 

 would observe, that generally the scientific principles involved 

 in the manufacture of cheese are either misstated by scientific 

 writers on the subject, or but imperfectly recognised by practical 

 men. 



These are some of the principal conclusions at which I have 

 arrived in the course of my investigation. As it is not my 

 intention to write a complete essay on cheese-making, I shall 

 at present only endeavour to point out 1st, some of the chief 

 errors made in the process, stating my reasons for speaking 

 of them as such ; and 2ndly, to suggest some remedies and safe- 

 guards. But, in order to make my subsequent remarks a little 

 more intelligible, I must briefly allude to the composition of milk, 

 which, as is well known, is not a uniform white liquid, but a 

 fluid owing its opaque character to a number of little cream 

 globules. Seen under a miscroscope of no very great power, 

 milk appears as a colourless fluid in which there are float- 

 ing innumerable little white globules or small bags contain- 

 ing fatty matter. The butter is encased in these microscopic 

 bags or cells, which themselves are composed of very much 

 the same material as the curd of milk. These, being lighter 

 than water, rise on standing, and are removed as cream. If it 

 were possible to separate the cream completely by standing, the 

 milk would be almost colourless ; but inasmuch as a certain 

 number of milk-globules always remain suspended in milk, 



