278 THE ox. 



of milk is prepared on the large scale, and forms the subject 

 of commerce. Whey is sometimes used as human food, but 

 more generally for feeding the animals of the farm. It 

 quickly becomes acid, and yields vinegar ; it passes likewise 

 through the vinous fermentation, in which state it has an in- 

 toxicating effect. 



Cheese, as formed by the common methods, is a mixture of 

 the caseous with the oily matter of milk, to which it owes its 

 richness. When the cream, therefore, is separated from the 

 milk before coagulation, the cheese contains less of oil, and 

 is of inferior estimation. When newly made, cheese is soft, 

 gelatinous, and mild, but after a time it undergoes a chemi- 

 cal change, and becomes strong- seen ted and stimulating. It 

 produces certain fungi, termed mould, and becomes the abode 

 of innumerable larvae, derived from the eggs of two insects, 

 the one a species of bug, the other a kind of fiy. It is when 

 in a state of decomposition, and inhabited by these disgust- 

 ing creatures, that it is the most valued as a stimulant to 

 the appetite. 



Milk then, it is seen, may be separated by easy means into 

 four parts : 1st, into Butter, which is obtained by simple 

 agitation, either of the entire milk, or of the cream separated 

 from the milk ; 2d, into Buttermilk, which is obtained by 

 separating the butter ; 3d, into Cheese, which is produced by 

 coagulation either of the whole milk, or of the milk after se- 

 paration of the cream ; and, 4M, into the liquid residue, or 

 Whey. The means of obtaining these several products are 

 so easy, that it is not surprising that they should have been 

 known from the earliest times, and practised by the rudest 

 people. In the more advanced stages of rural economy, the 

 art of the dairy is reduced to principles, and merits the highest 

 attention as a branch of public industry and domestic economy. 



The Cow goes with young about nine months, but with 

 great inequality of time beyond this period, dependent on 

 temperament, food, and treatment. The lacteal secretion is 

 observed previous to the birth, but only takes place in quan- 



