1849. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
377 
There area number of smaller improvements of great 
convenience, as the adoption of English names instead 
of French, whenever practicable, for the best sorts—a 
glossary explaining terms, and others which my limits 
preclude noticing; besides which the book contains all 
the recent and important discoveries in relation to fruit 
culture, posted down to the present time. 
Respectfully yours, R. R. 
domestic (ffconomjj, ftscipw, Ut. 
Preserving Fruit—Bread. 
Eds. Cultivator —As the season has returned 
in which it is time to be packing away dried fruits, 
I am reminded of a notice in the last year’s Culti¬ 
vator, of a method of preserving dried fruits from 
the depredations of insects; which was by sprink¬ 
ling them with brandy. Now, as I am decidedly 
opposed to laying a temptation, even before a rep¬ 
tile, to drink brandy , I will give you my method, 
which I have practiced with perfect success many 
years. As soon as the fruits are sufficiently dried, 
I spread them upon tins, and set them in an oven 
(hot enough to bake bread,) about two minutes,* 
and then pack them in tight papers or cloth bags, 
and they require no further attention if kept several 
years. 
I noticed also that brandy would prevent bread 
from becoming heavy, which was made of flour 
from grown wheat. I think I can recommend a 
better specific. I have never had occasion to try 
the experiment myself; but a lady showed me some 
very light bread, which she said was made from the 
flour of grain that was sprouted very badly. She 
said, after it was risen, she made it stiff enough to 
mould with buckwheat flour, and though not quite 
as white, it must be more wholesome than that 
which is made light with brandy. Yours respect¬ 
fully, F. S. C. Canaan , Ct., September , 1849. 
Manufacture of Cheese. 
The committee appointed by the Jefferson County 
Agricultural Society, to examine cheese dairies, 
say, in their report:—We endeavored to collect in¬ 
formation from those best qualified to instruct, and 
to compare the different opinions upon the subject, 
and briefly point out the defects, (or the reasons 
for them,) which we noticed in our examinations. 
When a thermometer was used we found great uni¬ 
formity as to the temperature at which the milk was 
set, as it is termed, for cheese, generally from 84 
to 86°, the extremes being from 80 to 90°, and 
scald from 100 to 106°, and a common sized tea-cup 
full of salt to from twelve to fifteen pounds of 
cheese. But where the figures for setting, scald¬ 
ing, and salting were the same, we found the re¬ 
sults widely different. The most prominent reason 
for this difference, in our opinion, is the length of 
time that the curd is scalded, and the time that it 
is salted; if scalded at 100° and scalded one hour, 
it will be as hard, and make as firm cheese—all 
other parts of the process being the same—as it will 
scalded 30 minutes, at 104, or perhaps 106°; and 
in salting, it requires much judgment. If the salt 
is put into the curd before the whey is sufficiently 
drained off, it will drain off with the whey, leaving 
a lack of salt, consequently a soft, and, to use a 
dairy term, the huffy cheese; and if not put in suf¬ 
ficiently soon, it will not be properly mixed, making 
it uneven or knotty. 
* The small kinds need not stand in the oven over one minute. 
Chesse should be made pretty firm. It is now air 
article of export, and if made too soft is not only 
liable to loss in transportation, but a very smart 
cheese, bordering upon strong, does not suit the 
market, a milder article being preferred. We no¬ 
ticed several dairymen making mistakes in this 
particular-endeavoring to make their cheese quite 
too soft, supposing it to be more marketable. 
We will only add, if your cheese is too soft, scald 
higher and longer, and add a little more salt, and 
be careful not to have too much of it run off with 
the whey. If hard and knotty, put in your salt 
sooner, almost as soon as you get it in the sink; if 
this does not remedy the matter, scald less. 
The following is given as the method of making 
cheese pursued by Mr. McAllister, to whom the 
first premium was awarded. The committee say, 
the cheese was very firm and sound on the outside, 
but soft and rich within: 
“We set our milk immediately after skimming at 
about 85 degrees, mix the rennet perfectly, let it 
stand 45 minutes, then break it up carefully and 
coarsely, let it stand 15 minutes, break it finer, let 
it stand and settle 15 minutes, and then dip offf the 
whey, and then heat to 90 degrees; let it stand 30 
minutes, dip off the whey again and then heat to 
95 degrees; let it stand 30 minutes and then break 
the curd very fine, then heat to 100 degrees, let it 
stand 30 minutes and then dip the curd into the 
sink; salt soon while the curd is wet and warm—a 
tea-cup full of salt to 12 pounds of cheese—press 
very hard.” 
Hams. —The Southern Cultivator notices some 
hams exhibited at the Georgia state fair, which 
were one, two, three, and four years old. The 
writer says-.—“ The owner refused to divulge his 
secret; but as we have fortunately become pos¬ 
sessed of it, we here give it. Procure some good, 
clean hickory ashes, have them perfectly dry; draw 
your meat from the pickle on a dry day; sprinkle 
the ashes over the meat pretty thick, being careful 
not to knock off more salt than what must fall off; 
then hang up your meat as high as possible; smoke 
it with cool smoke, made by hickory wood; be sure 
to take it down before the skipper-fly makes his ap¬ 
pearance, being generally in this climate, first 
of March; pack it away on a dry day in casks: 
1st, a layer of hams in perfectly dry hickory ashes; 
2d, a course of corn cobs, &c.; cover your cask 
snug and tight, and you may rest easy about your 
hams.” 
Agricultural Song. 
The following was sent to the officers of the Nor¬ 
folk County (Mass.) Agricultural Society, at their 
meeting in October last, by Tristram Burgess, 
Esq., of Rhode Island: 
With the Pioneer Axe, what a conquest is made; 
What a field from the forest is won! 
What regions, reduced from the wilderness shade, 
Are now warmed in the beams of the sun. 
From the rock where our fathers in exile first landed, 
Their clearing, from river to river, has spread; 
And mountains, and plains, by their sons are commanded 
Till now on the beach of Pacific they tread. 
What farm for a nation to cultivate now! 
And gather the wonderful harvest it yields; 
’Tis an Empire, reduced to the Sickle and Plow, 
An empire of gardens, and orchards, and fields. 
The Plow and the Sickle shall shine bright in glory, 
When the Sword and the Sceptre shall crumble in rust; 
And the farmer shall live, both in song and in story, 
When warriors and kings are forgotten in dust. 
