212 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST:. 
to give you a correct idea of the rapid growth 
of trees and plants in these irrigated grounds. 
Lemon buds set last May, have shoots to¬ 
day measuring ten. eleven, and twelve feet 
high—the first four feet large enough for a 
cane—and thickly covered with large leaves. 
The growth of the pomgranate is more rapid. 
Planted near together, in two years they 
form an impervious hedge. Orange trees 
grow quickly, and bear the second and third 
years after engrafting. Here they greatly 
excel in size and flavor the best Sicily or¬ 
anges. Jaffa is only a few days sail from 
Messina, where American vessels come for 
fruit, and we are persuaded that they would 
realize a much greater profit by loading at 
Jaffa. An intelligent German friend informs 
me that he could furnish vessels with the 
choicest varieties, and largest-size picked 
oranges, packed in boxes on the wharf, for 
$5 per thousand. Paper must be furnished 
for wrapping, which should always be white 
and soft. Vessels should be here the middle 
of October. 
Our citron trees present a most beautiful 
sight, heavily laden with their enormous fra¬ 
grant fruit. They are not yet full grown, 
but one just plucked, now on the table beside 
this sheet, measures one foot in length, and 
one foot three and a half inches round. Also 
one of the largest oranges, still green, on 
our trees, measures 14£ inches in circum¬ 
ference, and the same lengthwise from the 
stem. The lemons are accordingly large, 
but neither kind, the citrons nor oranges, 
would average this measurement. The me¬ 
dium size of marketable oranges is about 11 
inches round. 
Before closing, we wish to inquire what 
would be the expense and size for shipment, 
of a small-sized threshing machine, of the 
most simple easily-worked kind. Threshing 
here is one of the most formidable labors, 
and occupies most of the summer, where 
there is much wheat raised. We have told 
the Arab about them, but they can not un¬ 
derstand the possibility of such an invalua¬ 
ble improvement. 
The spring wheat that you so kindly sent 
us, arrived too late last spring to sow, but 
we shall spare no pains in giving it a trial 
the coming season. We can not express 
how greatly we appreciate the many favors 
we have received from you, and how invalu¬ 
able, in our arduous toil, the tools and seeds 
that we have received have been. We re¬ 
joice that our weak effort has not been in 
vain, as others are now encouraged by our 
success, and the no longer contested fact of 
the practicability of such a benevolent work, 
to commence on a more permanent and ex¬ 
tended scale. Principal Jews in Europe are 
organizing societies to carry out a similar 
enterprize, perceiving that it is not a bad 
plan to set their poor here to earning their 
livelihood, instead of continuing the entail- 
ment of their destitution, by supporting them 
in idleness, at so great and increasing ex¬ 
pense to themselves. 
yi. Dear Sirs, to you justly belongs a good 
share of their benevolent joy, in the intro¬ 
duction of improved agriculture into this 
desolate land, as, without your implements, 
little could have been accomplished in our 
first doubtful onset. 
Very truly and respectfully, 
C. 3. MINOR 
He who expects a friend without faults, 
will never find one.A foolish friend does 
more harm than a wise enemy.It is not 
by saying, *• Honey, honey,” that a sweet 
comes to the mouth.A friend is more 
valuable than a relative. [Irish Proverbs. 
When the light of thy hope has departed, 
look not after the sun that has set, but turn 
to that which is to rise. 
GLOUCESTER CHEESE-MAKING. 
The following is taken from the published 
report in the North British Agriculturist of a 
deputation from Ayrshire, which lately vis¬ 
ited the dairy districts of the South of Eng¬ 
land : 
Few if any of the Gloucester cheese are 
what we would call full-milk cheese. It is a 
common practice in the valley of Berkeley 
to take the cream from a considerable pro¬ 
portion of the milk. In the dairy at Water 
End very little cream is taken off; and this, 
together with the general carefulness of the 
management, accounts for the superiority of 
Mr. Leonard’s cheese. He has 36 cows this 
summer, and previous to our visit 8 lbs. to 
9lbs. of milk butter, in addition to the cheese, 
were weekly made. As cheese is made 
twice a day, the hours for milking are early. 
In the morning it is commeuced a little be¬ 
fore 5 o’clock, and in the afternoon at 3. As 
the milk is brought in it is put into the 
cheese tub, and great care is taken to free it 
from impurities. A cloth is thrown over the 
tub, and above it is placed the ladder with 
the hair sieve through which the milk is 
poured. A table spoonful of nitre is put 
over the cloth, and is left to mix with the 
milk as it flows through into the tub. The 
coloring matter, composed of a solution of 
annatto, and the rennet are then added, and 
stirred carefully through the milk. 
The thermometer is not used in Mr. Leon¬ 
ard’s dairy, and on that account we can not 
speak precisely as to temperature. During 
the time of milking there is, of course, a 
considerable loss of heat; and as the small 
quantity of skimmed milk is added in sum¬ 
mer without being heated, the temperature 
of the whole, we would suppose, may be 
from 85 to 90 degrees when the rennet is 
added. 
About an hour is allowed for coagulation. 
The time for breaking is judged by the touch 
of the finger. By allowing the curd to be¬ 
come pretty firm the whey comes off purer 
than it would do if the curd were earlier 
broken. Breaking the curd is an operation 
that must be carefully performed. The 
dairy superintendent, or in her absence a 
trustworthy person, must do this part of tl<s 
work. The hands are put gradually down to 
the bottom of the tub, and are brought slow¬ 
ly to the surface with the palm upwards, and 
the fingers extended. This is done repeat¬ 
edly ; and care is taken to avoid pressing or 
squeezing the curd, as a very slight pressure 
would cause the whey to come off white. 
After the hands have been passed through 
the whole mass in this manner, a circular 
wooden breaker, formed like a net is used to 
complete the operation of breaking. It is 
moved slowly and steadily until the whole of 
the curd is made very fine. The breaking 
usually occupies from 20 to 30 minutes. 
The curd is then left about 20 minutes to al¬ 
low it to settle at the bottom of the tub. 
It is next drawn gently by the hands to one 
side of the tub to admit of the whey being 
taken from the other side. The whey is 
lifted in a wooden bowl, and poured through 
a hair sieve into the leaden vessels, which 
are placed at the side of the dairy. The 
sieve retains any small portions of the curd 
that have been lifted in the bowl. When 
the greater part of the whey has been taken 
off, the curd is heaped on one side of the tub ; 
it is cut in different directions to allow the 
remaining whey to run out, and is generally 
pressed by the hands to accelerate the 
separation. The whey, as it flows from the 
curd, is lifted from time to time and put 
through the sieve into the whey leads. The 
curd is then put into vats with thin cheese¬ 
cloths, locally called whey-cloths, over 
them; and the vats are placed in the press, 
one above the other, for about 20 minutes. 
When taken from the press, the curd is 
cut into squares, and broken by the hand 
somewhat finely into the tub. A little 
heated whey is poured over it; the whey 
and the curd are well stirred together; the 
curd is drawn slowly to one side of the tub, 
and the whey is taken out as before. After 
the whey has been taken off, the curd is 
again broken down by the hands into the 
vats. It is easily broken, as it has not at¬ 
tained a firm state of cohesion. As the vats 
are filled, the curd is pressed into them with 
the hand, and they are piled one above the 
other in the cheese-tub. At this stage the 
curd is in a pasty state, and the fragments 
combine very easily ; the pressure from the 
weight on the vats brings the contents of 
each vat into a mass. When the vats are 
all filled, they are reversed, and the bottom 
ones placed uppermost. The top cheese is 
taken and a triangular paring, about an inch 
broad at the base, is cut off round the edge. 
It is then turned into a whey cloth, the vat 
is rinsed with a little whey, and the cheese 
is put into it with the cloth under. The edge 
that is now uppermost is pared round as 
the other had been, and a portion of curd, in 
the form of an inverted cone, is cut out of 
the center of the cheese. This is called 
“ cutting out the witch,” and we have been 
informed that the practice is seldom omitted 
by a Berkeley dairy-maid. Along with an 
old horse-shoe over the door it forms a per¬ 
fectly sufficient safeguard against witchcraft. 
The “ witch” is broken down by the hand, 
the paring from the edge is placed round the 
opening made by “ cutting out the witch 
as much more curd is put in as suffices to 
make the vat full enough ; the cheese is cov¬ 
ered over with the cloth, and is put into the 
press. The other vats are treated in the 
same manner, and are then put into the 
press. 
After being pressed an hour, or an hour 
and a half, the cheeses are put into dry 
whey-cloths, and returned to the press till 
evening. They are then rubbed over with 
refined salt, and put into thicker cloths, 
called “ salting cloths.” In the morning the 
cheese is again rubbed with salt, and re¬ 
turned to the press in the same cloth. Next 
morning it is rubbed a third time with salt, 
and the salting-cloth is put over it another 
day. On the fourth morning the cheese is 
put into the vat without a cloth, for the pur¬ 
pose of being made smooth. It is reversed 
in the vat on the fifth morning, and again on 
the sixth, and on the seventh morning it is 
laid on the shelf. The frequent rubbing of 
so many cheese with salt has a very severe 
effect upon the hands of the dairy-maid. 
It may be stated as a fair average of the 
amount of whey butter in Mr. Leonard’s 
dairy, that one pound is made weekly from 
the produce of each cow during summer. 
The cheeses are turned daily in the cheese 
room until they become firm, and afterwards 
they are turned about twice a week. Before 
being sold they are painted with coloring 
matter composed of Venetian red and water. 
There is no particular age of the cheese at 
which the painting should take place. They 
are painted just long enough before being 
sold to allow the peculiar bluish color. Which 
indicates a true Gloucester cheese, to show 
itself. This may be at the age of three or 
four or six months. In painting, the dairy¬ 
maid sits on a low stool, takes the cheese in 
her lap and scrapes it carefully. She then 
stains it over with a woollen cloth dipped in 
the paint. In some cheese-rooms, after the 
cheese is painted, a cabbage-leaf is placed 
upon it, to assist in imparting the desired 
color. The leaf is kept on a week, first on 
the one side and then on the other. A 
longer time of it would injure the color. 
