REMARKS ON THE SUPPLY OP MILK. 165 
and colouring of dietetic drinks. It has taken the place of 
albumen in the textile factories, and has been found useful 
in the hands of the calico printer. In pigment-printing the 
colours have to be laid on the face of the fabric in an in¬ 
soluble condition, so as to give a full, brilliant appearance. 
Lactarin, obtained from butter-milk, is more economical 
than the expensive egg-albumen. When the prices of olive 
and other oils were high, the woollen manufacturers and 
spinners mixed milk with the oil. It did not, however, 
amalgamate well with the oil; and an inferior texture of yarn 
and cloth was said to be the result. Besides, the milk 
undergoes chemical changes, which leave a sour smell about 
the fabrics, that make them less saleable; and the acid of 
the milk corrodes the combs and other machinery used in 
the processes of manufacturing the wool into yarn and 
cloth. 
The Kalmucks, and most of the shepherd tribes of Cen¬ 
tral Asia, prepare from the milk of their cattle two kinds 
of beverage; one is called e( koumis,” and is sour milk which 
has undergone a certain degree of vinous fermentation. It 
corresponds with the “ pinna ” of the Laplanders, which is 
made of reindeer milk. The other beverage is an 
intoxicating and agreeably flavoured liquid, obtained from 
koumis by distillation. . Good koumis cannot be obtained 
from every kind of milk; that made with the milk of cows 
or sheep is bad. The milk of camels, and of mares par¬ 
ticularly, yields twice as much. The koumis is prepared by 
mixing six parts of warm milk with one of warm water, 
and some old koumis as a ferment, then fermenting with 
frequent agitation. The fermenting quality of milk depends 
on the saccharine matter which is held in solution by the 
whey, in the proportion of about 5 per cent. Sugar of milk 
is obtained after cheese is made, by evaporating the whey. 
When dissolved in four times its weight of water, clarified, 
and evaporated to a syrup, white crystals are obtained, called 
lactic acid. Milk boiled w T ith a little sugar keeps a consi¬ 
derable time. In Switzerland milk-sugar is made somewhat 
largely, and used for food ; and it is also used medicinally 
in this country. 
Thus much for the milk of our breakfast-tables. This 
brief inquiry shows us under how many various aspects even 
one product may be viewed by different persons and in 
different countries .—Farmer s Magazine. 
XXXIII. 
22 
