J 80 THE OX AND THE DATKY. 



duce six pounds of butter per week in summer, and half that 

 quantity in winter, allowing from six weeks to two months for 

 her being dry before calving ; that is, 1201bs. in twenty weeks 

 after calving, and 80 Ibs. in the remainder of the time till she 

 goes dry, in all about 200 Ibs. in the year. If she produces 

 more, she may be considered as a superior cow ; if less, she 

 is below par. To produce this quantity the pasture must be 

 good, and if we allow three acres to keep a cow in grass and 

 hay for a year, which is not very far from the mark, the butter 

 made will produce about 10, at the distance of fifty miles 

 from London, if it is sold in a fresh state, and the calf about 

 15s. at a week old. This does little more than pay the rent 

 and expenses ; the profit must be made by feeding pigs, or 

 making skim-milk cheese. 



The quality of the butter produced in England and in 

 Holland is considered the best. A considerable quantity of 

 Dutch butter is exported, but all that is produced in England 

 is consumed at home, in addition to large quantities imported 

 from Ireland and the continent of Europe. The quantity 

 imported has been for some time progressively increasing. 



CHEESE. 



In the making of cheese there are certain general principles 

 which are essential, but slight variations in the process pro- 

 duce cheeses of very different qualities; and although the 

 most important circumstance is the nature of the pasture on 

 which the cows are fed, yet much depends on the mode in 

 which the different stages of the fabrication are managed ; 

 and hence the great superiority of the cheeses of particular 

 districts or dairies over those of others, without any apparent 

 difference in the pasture. In those countries where the cows 

 are chiefly kept tied up in stalls, and are fed with a variety of 

 natural and artificial grasses, roots, and vegetables, superior 

 cheese is often made. 



The first process in making cheese is to separate the curd 

 from the whey, which may be done by allowing the milk to 

 become sour ; but the cheese is inferior in quality, and it is 

 difficult to stop the acid fermentation and prevent its running 

 into the putrefactive. Various substances added to milk will 

 soon separate the curd from the whey. All acids curdle milk. 

 Muriatic acid is used with success for this purpose in Holland. 

 Some vegetables contain acids which readily coagulate milk, 

 such as the juice of the fig-tree, and the flowers of the Galium 



