310 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. 



the entire stomach, and to pour upon them from one to three 

 quarts of water for each stomach, and to allow them to infuse 

 for several days. If only one has been infused, and the 

 rennet is intended for immediate use, the infusion requires 

 only to be skimmed and strained. But if several be infused, 

 or, as is the custom in Cheshire, as many as have been pro- 

 vided for the whole season, about two quarts of water are 

 taken for each, and, after standing not more than two days, 

 the infusion is poured off, and is completely saturated with 

 salt. During the summer it is constantly skimmed, and fresh 

 salt added from time to time. Or a strong brine may at 

 once be poured upon the skins, and the infusion, when the 

 skins are taken out, may be kept for a length of time. Some 

 even recommend that the liquid rennet should not be used 

 until it is at least two months old. When thus kept, however, 

 it is indispensable that the water should be fully saturated 

 with salt. In Ayrshire, and in some other counties, it is 

 customary to cut the dried stomach into small pieces, and to 

 put it, with a handful or two of salt and one or two quarts 'of 

 water, into a jar, to allow it to stand for two or three days, 

 afterwards to pour upon it another pint for a couple of days, 

 to mix the two decoctions, and, when strained, to bottle the 

 whole for future use. In this state it may be kept for many 

 months. 



In making rennet, some use pure water only, others prefer 

 clear whey, others a decoction of leaves, such as those of the 

 sweetbriar, the dogrose, and the bramble, or of aromatic 

 herbs and flowers, while others again, put in lemons, cloves," 

 mace, or brandy. These various practices are adopted for 

 the purpose of making the rennet keep bettor, of lessening 

 its unpleasant smell, of preventing any unpleasant taste it 

 might give to the curd, or finally of directly improving the 

 flavor of the cheese. The acidity of the lemon will, no 

 doubt, increase also the coagulating power of any rennet to 

 which it may be added. The rennet thus prepared .is poured 

 into the milk previously raised to the temperature of 90 or 

 95 F., and is intimately mixed with it. The quantity which 

 it is necessary to add varies with the quality of the rennet, 

 from a table -spoonful to half a pint for 30 or 40 gallons of 

 milk. The time necessary for the complete fixing of the 

 curd varies also from 15 minutes to an hour or even an hour 

 and a half. The chief causes of this variation are t.'ie tem- 

 perature of the milk, and the quality and quantity of the 

 rennet employed. 



