1849. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
183 
JBoimsttc (Sconcing, Ilmpeo, 
Manufacture of Cheese. 
(Continued from page 154 ) 
In raising heat to scald the curd, it is not proper at 
all times to raise it to a given point with the same ra¬ 
pidity, beeause, sometimes when the curd appears ready 
to scald, a rapid increase of heat will soften instead of 
hardening it, owing to the rennet not having time to 
perform its office properly. At other times it may be 
necessary to raise heat speedily, in scalding, to keep 
pace with the effect of rennet, which is accelerated by 
the milk being nearly sour. The slower rennet acts 
upon curd the longer time is required to raise and hold 
a scalding heat, never exceeding one hundred degrees, 
Fahrenheit, except to suppress a speedy action of rennet 
with sour milk; then, an excess above blood heat will 
retard its operation and keep pace with its effect. The 
cheese-maker should bear in mind, that heat and rennet 
are the principal agents used, and success depends 
much upon their action being properly combined 
throughout. 
u Are any other than calves’ rennets used, and what 
is the best method of preserving and preparing them 
for use ?” 
Swines’ rennets were formerly used, mixed with those 
of calves, to make a cheese soft and tender, and those 
of sheep and beeves were used to harden curd and 
keep cheese in a pressed shape; but I know of no 
dairyman that now uses them. 
Whatever plan is adopted to preserve rennets for 
future use, care should be taken that the decomposing 
properties of the stomach do not continue to act, and 
the strength evaporate. When salted and dried the 
rennets should be kept in a dry atmosphere, or the salt 
in them will attract moisture, and soon destroy their 
best properties. It is argued by many experienced 
dairymen, that the stomach, with all its contents pick- 
led together in salt, will make more cheese, and ol as 
good flavor, as when dried without the curd. But I 
would ask, if meat were salted with all the blood and 
animal fluids in it, would it be as good flavored at the 
end of a year, as if well dressed and salted ? And 
would not a quantity of food, half digested, salted with 
the stomach, materially effect its flavor, if kept a long 
time ? Beef and pork are sold in market, after being 
in salt one or more years, at a reduced price, as “ old 
meat,” having lost its best flavor. 
The flavor of cheese depends much upon the flavor 
of the rennet used. Therefore, I think splitting the 
rennet, and stretching it with sticks, so that it will be 
of a single thickness, and will dry quickly, is the best 
and surest way to preserve a good flavor. 
To prepare Rennets for use. —Take as many gal¬ 
lons of water as rennets in number; put them in the 
water, blood warm; soak them twenty-four hours; stir 
them frequently in the time; strain the liquor and let 
it settle; make it as salt as possible; if any skum rises 
it should be skimmed off. While this liquor lasts a 
uniform strength may be relied upon. It should be 
stirred to the bottom before being used. 
“ Is milk more apt to sour from the effect of electri¬ 
city, in tin vessels, than in wood ?” 
The ease with which tin vessels are kept clean, 
makes them preferable to wood. An opinion conceived 
by many, that tin vessels have a tendency to sour milk, 
at a season when thunder showers are frequent, is not 
an objection to their general use. There are other 
causes for milk’s becoming sour, to be taken into ac¬ 
count first. Excitement of cows from any cause will 
affect their milk, and they are more excitable in change¬ 
able weather, than when the weather is steady, cool 
or warm. In hot, damp weather, more cows will be 
in heat, and give bad milk, which if mixed with other 
milk at evening, will be a more direct cause for sour 
curd than any effect of electricity upon milk, after it 
is taken from the cow; and in such weather, milk ves¬ 
sels are not thoroughly dried, after being used, in which 
state they often get foul. An old barrel, put up in 
form of a leach, near the dairy room, and ashes thrown 
into it occasionally, and leached, and the lye used freely 
about cheese-cloths, press, &c., will remove one cause 
for sour curd. I use no wood vessels in my dairy. 
11 Is there danger of pressing a cheese too hard ?” 
Not any. If it has been over heated in the milk 
or curd, it may be pressed so dry that it will be a life¬ 
less (tasteless) cheese, and so it would be if it were 
pressed lightly. 
e< Should the animal heat be allowed to pass off from 
the morning’s milk ?” 
The most perfect affinity should be maintained among 
the constituent parts of milk that is curded or worked 
together, throughout, that it may not waste in work¬ 
ing, and plague in curing. It is, therefore, necessary 
that all should be cooled and warmed alike. A. L. 
Fish Litchfield , Herkimer Co., N. Y. May , 1849. 
Cheap and Valuable Paint. 
Eds. Cultivator —The Ohio mineral paint has been 
offered to the public as something very valuable, parti¬ 
cularly to the farmer, for its durability and cheapness. 
I send you below, the detail of some experiments which 
I caused to be made a year or more since, for cheap 
paint. I believe it equal to the Ohio article in all par¬ 
ticulars, and superior from its greater cheapness, it be¬ 
ing within the reach ol almost every one. 
Experiment No. 1, was the mixing of water-cement 
with oil to the consistency of paint, and putting it on 
immediately. Any drying article used with oil paint, 
may be put in, if it be desirable to have it dry at once. 
No. 2. Cement mixed with coal tar, or gas-tar, as it 
is sometimes called, I putin, in the same manner, with¬ 
out any drying mixture. You can vary the color by the 
addition of any mineral substance. The paint I have 
put on, is now as hard as stone, and was put upon rough 
boards that had been exposed to the weather for ten 
years. I have just had painted a small building of 
rough boards, battened sides and roof. The roof is co¬ 
vered with No. 2—the sides with No. 1. The color of 
both is stone. No. 1, nearly that of free stone, with a 
shade of handsome drab, and gradually becomes a 
little lighter. No. 2 is considerably darker, but this too 
becomes lighter by exposure to the air. I intend giv¬ 
ing to the body of the building another coat, when 
sharp clean sand will be thrown against it, and I doubt 
not, but I shall obtain a rich imitation of free stone. 
The water cement used was from Southington, Con¬ 
necticut, known as “ Moore’s Cement.” 
It is not, like the Ohio paint, patented. Charles 
R. Alsop. Middletown, Conn., April 27, 1849. 
Proper Selection of Stock. —At a late agricultu¬ 
ral discussion in Derbyshire, Mr. G. Greaves remarked 
that the choice of a breed of stock was as important 
as the management. It seemed to him that enough at¬ 
tention was seldom paid to the particular kind of pro¬ 
duce it was intended to obtain from stock. The same 
breed did not answer for feeding and for the dairy too; 
for the early maturity of stock and the propensity to 
fatten, were most observable when the generative func¬ 
tions were not so perfect, whereas the good milker was 
almost always a good breeder. For early feeding stock, 
it would always be advantageous to mix good nursing 
dams with sires that had a great tendency to fatten. He 
agreed in the opinion that feeding stock should be kept 
well when young; but calves intended for the dairy, 
and ewe lambs for the breeding flock, should not bo 
made fat. 
