78 THE DAIRY OF THE FARM. 



The Formation of the Curd is effected by any agent 

 which will set the casein of the milk free from the solvent 

 "by which in fresh milk it is held in solution. And the 

 subsequent treatment, which it receives in the processes 

 of cheese-making, has for its object simply the separation 

 of this water, together with the addition throughout it of 

 such a quantity of salt as may check any tendency of the 

 curd to decay. The artificial ferment used is called rennet. 

 A calf's stomach, called a " veil," either with or without its 

 content of curdled milk, is salted and packed away for 

 months, with others, in a jar. "Water which has stood 

 upon it, after this, is rennet; and a certain portion, varying 

 according to the exact recipe of its preparation, from half 

 a pint upwards, is added to, say, 100 gallons of the milk 

 to be " set." 



Notwithstanding that a general definition of the process 

 may be given in these terms, yet upon the niceties of the 

 various recipes adopted in the preparation and use of this 

 rennet depends much of the varying quality of the cheese 

 produced by it. In practice, these prepared " veils" 

 are purchaseable of the grocers in all cheese-making 

 districts, who keep them in a salt pickle. They are pur- 

 chased a year old or more, in winter, at the rate of about 

 two for every cow, that quantity being used according to 

 Gloucestershire practice in the preparation of the rennet 

 needed by the milk which each cow will yield. These veils, 

 according to one method, being delivered in a wet state, 

 are placed in a saturated brine, 6 to every 2 gallons, and a 

 30 to 40-gallon cask (old olive jars are very suitable) is 

 prepared at once. The liquid is ready for use in about 

 2 months, and it improves with age, unless diluted by the 

 addition of more brine, in which case fresh veils must 



