AND RURAL ECONOTVIIST. 93 



floor of the cheese room is generally prepared by rubbing it 

 with bean or potato tops, or any succulent herb, till it ap- 

 pears of a black wet color. On this floor the cheeses are 

 placed, and turned twice a week ; their edges are wiped hard 

 with a c^oth once a week, and the floor is cleansed and rub- 

 bed with fresh herbs once a fortnight. They must not lie 

 too long or they will stick to the floor. This preparation of 

 the floor gives the cheese a blue coat, which is considered of 

 great consequence. 



Stilton Cheese, hoio made. ' The Stilton cheese, which 

 may be called the Parmesan of England, is not confined to 

 Stilton and its vicinity, for many farmers in Huntingdon- 

 shire, and also in Rutland and Northamptonshire, make a 

 similar sort, sell them for the same price, and give them the 

 name of the Stilton cheeses. 



' Take the night's cream and put it into the morning's new 

 milk with the runnet ; when the curd is separated, let it not 

 be broken, as is done with other cheese, but take it out, dis- 

 turbing it as little as possible, and suffer it to dry gradually 

 in a sieve ; and as the whey separates, compress it gradually 

 till it has acquired a firm consistence ; then place it in a 

 wooden hoop, and suffer it to dry very gradually on a board, 

 taking care at the same time to turn it daily with close bind- 

 ers round, and which must be tightened as the cheese ac- 

 quires more solidity. 



Cheese, Skippers in. ' Wrap the cheese in thin brown pa- 

 per, so thin that moisture may strike through soon ; dig a 

 hole in good sweet earth about two feet deep, in which the 

 cheese must be buried about thirty-six hours, and the skip- 

 pers will be found all on the outside of the cheese ; brush 

 them off' immediately, and you will find your cheese sound 

 and good. 



To prevent Cheese having a rancid nauseous flavor. ' Put 

 about one table-spoonful of salt to each gallon of milk, when 

 taken from the cows in the evening, for the cheese to be 

 made the next day ; put the salt at the bottom of the vessel 

 that is to receive the milk ; it will increase the curd, and pre- 

 vent the milk from growing sour or putrid, the hottest nights 

 in the summer.' — Massachusetts Agricultural Repository. 



[The following is from the pen of a friend, to whom we are indebted 

 for several valuable articles, written expressly for this work.] 



' To make Cheese. A person whose dairy enjoys a high 

 reputation gives the following directions for making cheese : 



