from some other source—perhaps electricity. 
That some plants have the principle which 
will coagulate milk has long been known ; 
but we have no record of any extended ex¬ 
periments as to their application for the pur¬ 
pose of cheese making. 
LlNiVAKUs says the coagulated milk of the 
Laplanders is prepared by passing it, warm 
and fresh from the cow, over a strainer in 
which fresh leaves of the Pinguicula vul- 
it stated that Mr. Isaac Richards, at a late 
meeting of tlie Randolph, Vt., Farmers’ 
Club, said : 
Mr. Morgan came to this town on a visit 
riding an English mare, smoothly and hand¬ 
somely built, and a good trotter. In a pas¬ 
ture adjoining the one into which ho turned 
this mare, was u French stallion, of no partic¬ 
ular repute. During his stay, the mare and 
steed got together, and the mare proved in 
foal to the great sorrow of Mr. Morgan. This 
was in the days when money was scarce and 
stock was used as a circulating medium. 
Young Morgan was appraised at $10 the fall 
after lie. was foaled, and was taken at this 
price by Mr. Juslin F, Morgan, in payment 
of a debt due him from bis father, the elder 
Mr. Morgan. At the usual age he was east 
for castration, having up to this attracted 
very little attention. Home one standing by 
thought, however, that, he saw in the colt 
many good points, and finally indue*' ! the 
owner i.d let him up mid keep him for lock. 
This was the father ol’ Vermont Morgans; 
by mere chance, us it were, saved to bless 
the human nice. As nil know, his fame 
increased with age, until at the age of thirty 
or thereabout', he came to hi death by being 
kicked by another horse. 
Amman 
RENNET-ITS OPERATION IN CHEESE 
MAKING. 
HARNESS AND HORSES 
A writer, over the signature “Agricola,” 
gives the following advice about fitting har¬ 
ness to horses, and the treatment of the team 
at the beginning of spring work : 
We have a number of theories concerning 
the nature of rennet, and the peculiar prin¬ 
ciple on which its virtue In cheese making 
depends ; but it is a question whether any of 
the theories are strictly correct. Indeed, 
there is so much difficulty involved in the iu- 
vestigatiou of this subject, that we am not 
likely to have all queries satisfactorily an¬ 
swered for some time to come. The cheese 
maker has learned a few things of much 
practical utility concerning the etTeet of ren¬ 
net in cheese making ; but it is evident his 
knowledge is far too limited, and that were 
he better acquainted with its true nature, it 
would subserve an important purpose in pro¬ 
moting improvement in his art. We now 
know that to make good cheese, the quantity 
of rennet—of a given strength—must vary 
according to the quality of the milk. Thus, 
for instance, when milk is thin and impover¬ 
ished, more rennet should be used than when 
the milk is rich ; because, in rich milk the 
buttery particles induce a more rapid action 
of the rennet. When too small a quantity of 
rennet is used, the curing process goes on 
slowly, and the cheese is liable to be hard, 
crumbly and sour, and, perhaps, will begin 
to leak whey when two or three weeks old. 
On the other hand, if too much rennet is used, 
the cheese cures too rapidly, and the texture 
will be tender, soft and salvy. Such cheese 
is ripe early, and must be consumed soon, or 
it will depreciate in tlavor, and is liable to be 
lost from too rapid decomposition. It will 
be seen from this, that discretion and judg¬ 
ment must be. used by the cheese maker in 
the employment of rennet, according to the 
quality of the milk he has to manufacture. 
To what extent cheese may be improved, by 
the use of the exaet proportion of rennet re¬ 
quired, is not generally understood ; but our 
best cheese makers have learned the fact 
that an improper use of rennet causes the 
cheese to turn out a very inferior product. 
Every one knows, says Herr Martino, 
in a recent number of the Milch Zeitung, 
that rennet is an essential in the prepara¬ 
tion of cheese from sweet milk. But its mode 
of action is one of the observant points in 
daily work. We use it empirically, with a 
sort of blind reliance on its unknown agency, 
and always with a degree of uncertainty as 
to the precise result? obtainable in each indi¬ 
vidual operation. A near acquaintance with 
it might put us in a position to employ it ra¬ 
tionally, instead of empirically. Almost all 
we know concerning rennet, as yet, is that 
its efficiency depends upon a peculiar active 
power, which is destroyed at a temperature 
of about 50' C. (123° Enin 4 .), is most energetic 
at blood heat, and gradually lessens as the 
temperature declines from that point. 
We have yet to inquire 1. Does this active 
power belong to a certain peculiar principle, 
or does it proceed from organisms living in 
the rennet ? 
2. What would be the chemical and phys¬ 
ical properties of such a principle ? 
Of what kind are the organisms referred 
to ? Are they animal or vegetable strue- 
tures ! Whence are they derived, of what 
are they composed, and what becomes of 
them ? 
4. In either ease, how is the action of the 
renuet to be explained ! 
e. How should the preparation of the ren¬ 
net be conducted l 
0, IIu w can the goodness— i. e., the activity 
and freshness—of rennet be estimated com¬ 
paratively in the same way as the degree of 
sweetness or of acidity in a given solution ? 
i. V\ hat influence does the addition of a 
greater or less amount of rennet to milk, ut. 
different temperatures, and of various de¬ 
grees of futuess, exercise on the quality of 
WESTCOTT’S RETI 
yiirin, or Gouk’s hose—a plant belonging to 
the family of Butternuts—has been laid. The 
milk, after passing among them, is left fora 
day or two to stand, until it becomes sour. 
It throws up no cream, blit becomes compact 
and tenacious, and most delicious in taste. 
It is not necessary that fresh leaves should 
l>e used, and even a small portion of the 
solid milk will act upon that which is fresh, 
after the manner of yeast. 
It will be seen, from what we have said, 
that tho subject of rennet, in its relation to 
the coagulation of milk and cheese making, 
offers a wide lield for experiment and inves¬ 
tigation, and we hope the att ention of cheese 
manufacturers will be directed to this mat¬ 
ter, and that something useful may grow out 
of their investigat ions. 
IT HE COMING HIVE 
It is not infrequent that v/e receive inquir¬ 
ies for “ the best hive.” li anyone were to 
ask us to name the wise it man living, we 
could just about as confidently answer. Tlav 
ing these inquiries in mind, we were inter¬ 
ested in the following from a correspondent 
of tho American Bee Journal, which it is 
possible will furnish the reader-.Inf the Rural 
New Yorker some hints in making a se¬ 
lection ; 
Every hive, patented or not patented, re 
eeives from the owner thereof his unqualified 
assertion, enforced by vigorous language, 
that it is the very best hive in existence, and 
his theory of management perfection itself. 
Any person having the temerity to contra¬ 
dict these assertions, engenders irritation 
Which through the mighty pen supasses in 
virulence the venom of the most aggravated 
bee sting. 
Now from the many theories so positively 
advanced, perhaps the coining hive can be 
roughly outlined by the help of the shadow 
it- easts before It. 
Firxtly. We must have a large hive, to be 
worked as a swarmer or a non-swarmer, and 
arranged for obtaining - the greatest yield of 
honey, either box or extracted, or both, as 
the apiarian desires. 
Secondly. The frames will be. worked one 
story,—long, shallow frames in a long hive 
! with entrances either parallel or horizontal 
to the combs, as desired for different por¬ 
tions of the honey season, The f rames must 
admit of easy removal, either singly or in a 
body, and also admit of the use of the division 
board. 
Thirdly. Our bees in northern latitudes 
must be wintered in a special frost-proof, 
house, because it is more economical and safe. 
The coming hive is too large and cumber¬ 
some and occupies more room in the bee- 
house than necessary. The hive, therefore, 
must be left upon the summer stand, while 
the frames must be so constructed that the 
portion containing the brood nest can be 
easily removed and placed safely in the bee- 
house. 
Fourthly. Shall we winter our bees on 
sugar syrup i If so, in order to save time 
and labor, we must have a special feeder for 
each hive. It need not necessarily be a 
“ tea-kettle” or a patent feeder, but simply a 
tin milk pan (see Novice’s Gleanings for 
February), set either over or under the brood 
nest. 
Now, to obtain such a hive is at present 
impossible, though every patent hive man 
will tell you he has it, while but very few 
have anything that approaches it. A close 
fitting frame hive accomplishes the thing 
nearer than any other style. But in saying 
this, we arouse the ire of our loose frame 
friends. Now cannot a compromise be made 
between the two factions of our brotherhood, 
and a plan adopted that will enable us to 
work both loose and close fitting frames in 
the same hive ? We could then secure all of 
the advantages of both. 
Now, I have no axes to grind in this mat¬ 
ter, but as a candid looker-on, give my views 
of wliat I would like in a hive. But if I were 
to work my apiary for box honey, give me 
the close-fitting frame ; for extracted, the 
loose frame. 
WETSCOTT’S RETURN BUTTER PAIL 
Among the things essential to success in 
dairying, not only should the utmost care be 
exercised in producing good butter, but it 
should be. scut to market in packages that 
will meetthe approval of consumers. Thous¬ 
ands of dollars aro annually lost by dairy¬ 
men in the use of poor and Imperfect pack¬ 
ages, which invariably condemn their con¬ 
tents, and entuil loss upon the shipper. As 
a remedy for this evil we commend the 
Westcott Return Pate, manufactured by 
Silsby Bros., Belmont, N. Y., which has 
stood the test for five years, and maintained 
its reputation of being one of, if not the bust 
package in the market. While a *■ Return 1 ’ 
package involves a larger instrument at the 
outset than the ordinary firkin or tub, yet it 
is most profitable, in the long run, the in¬ 
creased prices realized for its contents offset- 
ting the cost of the pail the first time it is 
filled, beside xmtng the package. Whore fir¬ 
kins and tubs are given away, new ones must 
be purchased at every shipment. Dairymen 
or shippers using the Return Pail can also 
take advantage of every sudden rise in the 
market, being always in possession of pack¬ 
ages. It should be borne in mI ad, however, 
by all shippers, that only choice “gilt edged” 
butter should be packed in pails. The pail 
butter has won its reputation from its uni¬ 
form excellence, and every effort should be 
made to maintain it, and not from thought 
of present gain, put poor butter in choice 
packages, and thereby forfeit the confidence 
of the trade. Silsby Bros, also manufac¬ 
ture, extensively, 25-pound butter pails, fir¬ 
kins and half-firidn tubs, which may be found 
on sale by all reliable dealers throughout the 
dairy region. 
ORIGIN OF THE JUSTIN MORGAN 
HORSE. 
Not long since a correspondent of the 
Rural New-Yorker (see page 171 current 
volume) asked us to state whether the Justin 
Morgan horse was imported. We gave such 
facts as were in our possession. We now see 
