162 
British Dairy Farming. 
tion for the salting and refinement, lasting some months ; special 
apartments, and a milk which is not too rich in fat, for it some- 
times happens that when the milk contains too large a quantity 
of butter it is necessary to cut the curd into fine particles, in 
order that some portion of it may drain away in the serum. 
When the cheese is made in the Gorgonzola district from curd 
supplied by the cowherds, called Bergamini — the term being 
derived from the province of Bergamo — the cows are milked in 
the open air, being tied to stakes or stones fixed in the ground, 
as is the case upon the pastures in Holland. While the milk is 
still warm, at 95 to 97 degrees, the rennet is added. This rennet 
is in the form of paste, and is similar to that commonly used in 
the cheese industry throughout Italy. It is composed princi- 
pally of the stomach of the calf chopped fine, and has a most 
disgusting smell. A small lump, at which the cowherd guesses, 
is placed within the corner of a cloth and dipped in the milk. 
The rennet is then continually squeezed by the hand in the 
railk, until only a few particles of fibrous matter remain. The 
milk is then well stirred, and the curd is brought in a very short 
space of time, especially if the weather is at all cold. Where 
the cheese is made in a well-constructed dairy or factory, this 
term being generally applied to Italian farms, the milk is set at 
a much lower temperature, from 80 to 85 degrees, but the curd 
is brought equally quick. When it is fit for manipulation it is 
very gently broken up by a wooden utensil, called pau7narilo. 
This breaking up is a very delicate affair, lasting some fifteen 
minutes. The green whey is then seen to appear at the sur- 
face, and wherever the utensil has been. Pails made of wood 
are lined with strong hempen cloths about a yard square, the 
four corners lapping over their sides. The curd is then very 
carefully poured into the pails, the ends drawn together, and the 
curd suspended upon a stick or rod. In the case of the curd 
from the evening's milk it is allowed to remain all night, indeed 
until some little time after the morning's milking, the tem- 
perature in the apartment in which it hangs being in some 
instances 60, and in others 65 degrees ; but where the curd is 
prepared by travelling cowherds it is often found to be as low 
as 55 degrees by the morning. In all cases a vessel is placed 
beneath each lot of curd, in order to catch the whey, which is 
generally set for butter-making. The curd of the morning, 
which is treated in the same manner as the curd of the evening, 
is only suspended for a very short time, and in some instances 
it is not suspended at all, being left in the pail for a quarter 
of an hour, during which time a large quantity of the whey 
is removed. It is considered very important by the bes 
makers that the locale, or room in which the curd hangs 
