1865. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
189 
The Dandelion and its Uses. 
Most persons look upon the Dandelion as a 
■weed to be exterminated rather than as a plant 
to be cultivated. Though not a native of this 
country, it has kept pace Tvith civilization, and 
is to be found almost everywhere. Every mead- 
ow and grass plot is studded with its bright 
yellow blossoms in spring, and those who look 
upon it as a troublesome weed will have to 
content themselves with trying to crowd it out 
by better plants, for unless they can bribe the 
winds to not blow about the seeds, they have a 
hopeless task in attempting to exterminate it. 
The Dandelion is so common a plant that we 
are accustomed to overlook its beauty, yet our 
engraving shows that its" leaves are not inele- 
gant, while its flowers are quite as pretty as 
many we cultivate for ornament. Nor is the 
globular head of ripened fruits the least inter- 
esting part of the plant. Each little one-seeded 
fruit has a delicate little long handled parasol 
made up of hairs attached to it ; a contrivance 
well adapted to aid in its distribution by the 
winds. The leaves vary greatly according to 
the situation in which the plant grows, but they 
are all marked with strong tooth-like notches 
which suggested one of the French names of 
the plant, Dent de Hon (lion's tooth), from which 
is derived our word Dandelion. The leaves of 
the Dandelion are much used as greens, and 
when blanched they form a salad not unlike 
endive. The root is employed medicinally, and 
is one of the many articles used as substitutes 
for, or to mix with coffee, The plant is botani- 
cally related to both chicory and endive, and is 
used in a similar way. Those who value it for 
greens will find it much better to cultivate the 
plants than to depend upon those which grow 
spontaneously, as they are superior, and are 
always at hand. When the root is required, 
it should always betaken up in the fall, as then 
it contains most of the milky juice upon which 
its properties depend. The seed is sown in 
May or June, in well prepared ground, in drills 
12 or 15 inches apart. Thin to 3 or 4 inches and 
keep the plants well cultivated through the sea- 
son, and they will be fit for use in the following 
spring. According to Burr, if the Dandelion is 
cultivated for its root, the sowing is made in 
October, the plants thinned the following June, 
and kept free from weeds during summer, and 
the roots harvested the next October by plow- 
ing them out. The roots are prepared for 
market by washing, slicing and drying them. 
Liebig's Food for Children. 
It is stated that the distinguished chemist, Liebig, 
finding that one of his grandchildren must be raised 
upon other food than his mother's milk, and know- 
ing that cow's milk was not a sufficient substitute, 
devised a compound which, under the name of 
" Liebig's Soup," is now considerably employed in 
Germany. It is prepared as follows : " Half an 
ounce of wheaten flour and an equal quantity of 
malt flour, seven grains and a quarter of bicarbon- 
ate of potash, and one ounce of water, are to be well 
mixed ; five ounces of cow's milk are then to be 
added, aud the whole put ou a gentle fire ; when 
the mixture begins to thicken it is removed from 
the fire, stirred during five minutes, heated and 
stirred again till it becomes quite fluid, and finally 
made to boil. After the separation of the bran by 
a sieve, it is ready for use. By boiliug it for a few 
minutes it loses all taste of the flour." The malt 
flour can be prepared by pounding or grinding malt 
obtained from the brewers. The bicarbonate of 
potash is added to give the necessary alkaline qual- 
ity ; it may be had at the druggists, and should be 
the fti'carbonate in transparent crystals, and not the 
ordinary carbonate in dull white grains. 
Cheese Making from a Few Cows. 
It is probable that the great majority of the 
readers of the Agriculturist keep less than half a 
dozen good milch cows, — enough for good cheese- 
making. "A Farmer's Wife," of Guernsey Co., 
Ohio, sends us the following account of her simple 
method, which we commend to our readers ; — 
"Cheese making is more profitable than butter mak- 
ing in the hot summer months, for those who have 
not a good place to set milk or cream. We seldom 
keep more than four cows ; and from that number 
we make a cheese daily, weighing from 8 to 10 
pounds. The morning's milk is strained iuto a 
kettle with the night's milk, and warmed. Then, 
after having the rennet soaked a day or week pre- 
vious, pour in as much as will curdle it in 15 or 20 
minutes, but not sooner, as too much makes the 
cheese dry, aud apt to crack. A. little erperience 
here, however, is all that is necessary, as it would 
be impossible to tell the exact amount of renuet 
to the quantity of milk, owing to the great difler- 
enee in the quality of rennet. Stir it together, and, 
when curdled, let it stand five or ten minutes. Then 
cut the curd in slices with a knife, about one inch 
thick, and cut crosswise in the same manner. 
Place the kettle again on the fire ; put the hand iu 
down to the bottom, stirring it gently, so as that 
the whole shall be heated evenly, considerably 
more than milk warm. This will separate the 
whey from the curd. Remove the kettle from the 
fire, and let it stand a minute. Dip, or ponroff the 
whey on the top, aud pour the curd into a large 
butter-bowl. Salt to suit the taste. Then cut fine 
with a knife, and put it in a crock, and set it in a 
cool place. If you have not such a place, put in 
salt enough for the next curd, which will preserve 
it until the next morning. Then make another 
curd in the same way, and mix well together, and 
put to press. I prefer this method, for two reasons. 
First, while making cheese, the family can be pro- 
vided with milk and butter. Secondly, the cheese 
needs some attention after putting to press, which 
can better be attended to in the morning. I use 
the lever press in preference to the screw, because 
the weight is constantly pressing, whereas the 
screw presses strongest at first. The weight 
should be light at first and gradually increased ; 
and, if desirable, the cheese may be taken out the 
same evening and turned, after washing the cloth 
(which should be of linen), and put back to press 
until morning, when it may be taken out and rub- 
bed well with butter, and placed on an airy shelf 
and turned and rubbed daily. I prefer letting it 
remain until morning before turning, as the cloth 
will then come off readily, leaving the cheese per- 
fectly smooth. It should then be put back to re- 
main until next morning. Cheese made after the 
above directions, and pressed in this way, will 
seldom crack, or be injured by the cheese-fly ; but 
if any should crack, rub them well with flour. 
" Cheese, but little inferior to the best quaUty, 
may be made from the milk of two or three cows, 
by straining the night's milk altogether iuto a 
vessel suflSciently large to hold it, as but hltle 
cream will rise when a large quantity of milk is 
contained in a deep vessel. Whatever does rise 
should be removed, as it will run off in the whey. 
Add the morning's milk, and proceed as above. 
A very simple, but rude press may be constructed 
by any farmer's wife in five minutes, which will 
