THE CULTIVATOR. 
wives are said to have a peculiar method of their own, 
and who, I believe, obtain a high price for their cheese 
in the Manchester market; chiefly from the tendency 
of the cheese to green mould. I know little of the sys¬ 
tem which these parties adopt, but I understand they 
make their cheese “cold”—that is, set the milk to¬ 
gether at a low temperature; and I am also inclined 
to think they use less salt than others. I have not 
solicited the privilege of prying into the mysteries pur¬ 
sued in these dairies, nor could I expect to have been 
so indulged, if I had, especially if they supposed it was 
for publication. It is said these parties get a greater 
price for their cheese than many of their neighbors, 
which I have no reason to doubt; and I think, from 
what I have seen, they make quite as great a quantity 
per cow. But the real price obtained, and the precise 
quantity made in any particular dairy, is seldom known 
beyond the farmer's own family and the factor. 
I ought, perhaps, to state that I have tasted some of 
these cheeses, and find them generally very good, fair 
toasters, and without coloring; but in some I have de¬ 
tected a slight sourness; from this cause, or, what is 
more probable, from too little salt being used, the cheese 
will not keep long before decomposition takes place. 
To the farmer this would only be of consequence in the 
event of his not being able to sell the article at the 
time he wished. In the dairies where I have been per¬ 
mitted to take observations, the lowest heat of setting 
the milk together was 77°. I am disposed to think 
those who make a so-called cold-cheese do not adopt 
much lower temperatures, even in summer, than 74° or 
75°; since a much longer time would be occupied in 
gathering and compacting the curd, and considerable 
risk incurred of having what is termed a sour cheese. 
The evening's milk in the tub being at or about 75°, 
as before stated, and the milk which is brought from 
the cows 90° or 95°, the temperature of the whole is 
then found_to be somewhere between 80° and 85°; and 
I am of opinion that the heat at which milk ought to 
be and is commonly coagulated ranges between those 
two temperatures.* 
When coloring is used, which is not so extensively 
the case as formerly, it is put into the milk immediately 
before the rennet. The nature of the article used for 
this purpose, I propose to investigate under a distinct 
head in the Appendix. The quantity of coloring is in 
some degree regulated by the quality of the milk; if a 
considerable portion of the cream of the evening's milk 
has been taken out for making butter, a greater quan¬ 
tity of this coloring matter will be required to give the 
cheese that appearance which is found necessary to 
please the eye of the consumer, and particularly of those 
residing in London or at a distance. Annatto (or rather 
a coloring matter which goes by that name ) is the arti¬ 
cle used; 1 lb. of it for each ton of cheese is a mode¬ 
rate calculation; this would be after the rate of half an 
ounce to 75 lbs. The present retail price of the “best 
real Spanish annato ” is 4s. per lb. The coloring is 
prepared and applied in different ways, but the most 
common is to take a piece of the requisite size, to fold 
it in a small bit of linen, and put it in half or a quar¬ 
ter of a pint of warm water the previous night. By 
this means it gets sufficiently dissolved. When the in¬ 
fusion is poured into the milk, the linen bag containing 
it is clipped in, and rubbed betwixt the fingers until the 
coloring is all discharged. The dregs, if any, remain 
in the bag. 
The rennet , or steep as it is commonly called, is next 
added. I have already stated in the introduction, that 
this is an infusion made from the preserved stomach or 
maw of sucking calves, thence called maw-skins or bag- 
shins. A recipe for preserving the skins will be found 
* Since writing- the above, I have met with a farmer in 
Eddisbury Hundred, who says he used the thermometer du¬ 
ring the year 1841, for the first time, and that the heatheuni- 
formily adopted was 84°. I also found a thermometer at an¬ 
other dairy near this, but it was not in use. I was allowed 
to test the heat of the milk with it. and found it 78°; this was in 
June. The precise heat at which milk oughl to be coagu¬ 
lated is a matter of vital importance in cheese making, and 
can only be ascertained by a series of careful and judicious 
experiments made by seientific and practical parlies. 
^=== -^- = 7 ^ . ~ 
in the Appendix. To define the quantity of rennet 
sufficient for coagulating a given quantity of milk is a 
very difficult matter, as the maw-skins vary so much in 
quality. When the farmer is laying in a stock for the 
year, he generally calculates upon a dozen of skins to a 
ton of cheese. In using them, it is the practice often 
to cut two skins at once. Three square inches taken 
from the bottom (or strongest part) of one, and one or 
two inches from the top (or weakest part) of the other, 
is generally found sufficient for sixty gallons of milk. 
These two pieces of skin are put into a cup containing 
about half a pint of luke-warm water, with the addition 
of a tea-spoonful of salt, some part of the day pre¬ 
vious to being used. The water thus impregnated with 
the maw-skin is passed through the sieve in to the milk, 
but the skin itself is generally, though not always, kept 
out. The rennet cup is well scalded before being used 
again. I have been told that some farmers make a 
sufficiently large quantity of rennet to last several 
weeks, and find it to answer better than making a small 
quantity daily. The question is, will it keep siccet ? 
The coloring and rennet having been put in, the milk 
is well stirred and left to coagulate. It is usual to in¬ 
vert the skimming dish on the surface of the milk—a 
practice of doubtful propriety’, for this reason, that the 
curd immediately under it does not attain the same ad¬ 
hesiveness as the other, and is one of the causes of 
what is commonly called slip curd. The tub is now 
covered up, either with a wooden lid, or with cloths sup¬ 
ported by the “cheese ladder;” these assist in preser¬ 
ving the heat of the milk, and protect it from dust and 
dirt. 
The coagulation (or “ coming ”) is generally effected 
in an hour or an hour and a half. As far as my own 
observations extend, I am led to think that an average 
of these two is sufficiently long, if the proper means are 
used in effecting the formation of the curd; for it is 
well known that, ccctcris paribus, the warmer the milk 
is at the time of setting together, or the stronger the 
rennet, the sooner will the coagulation take place, but 
the curd will in consequence be tougher, and less in 
quantity; on the contrary, the cooler the milk, or the 
weaker the rennet, the longer will the curd be in form¬ 
ing, and the more tender its quality, but its quantity 
will be greater. Bj r attention to these results the cheese- 
maker may soon decide when too much or too little ren¬ 
net has been put in the milk, and correct the quantity 
the next time. It may be proper here to state that too 
much rennet has a tendency to impart an unpleasant 
flavor, or bitterness, to the cheese. 
It may generally be expected that the heat of the 
curd when formed will be four or five degrees less than 
the milk was when set together; and it is desirable, 
particularly in cool weather, that this difference should 
not be greater, otherwise the subsequent labor will be 
more difficult. To determine exactly when the curd is 
in a fit state for what is called “ breaking,” requires 
some practical knowledge; with attention this is soon 
acquired. The point is generally determined by gently 
pressing the surface of the milk with the back of the 
hand, or by lifting up the skimming dish, beneath 
which the curd and whey will distinctly appear if the 
coagulation is complete. Another criterion is the color 
of the whey, which should be of a pale green, 
a* [To be continued.] 
Profitable Cow.—I give below the product of my 
cow for six months and a half, commencing the first day 
of April, 1852. The account was most accurately kept. 
The amount of butter made, 301 lbs., at 17c,. $51 17 
Milk used by family,..... 7 00 
Calf,.. 2 00 
$60 17 
Cost of keeping in pasture,. 5 00 
$55 17 
The cow is five years old, a cross of the native and 
Durham. She has the appearance of doing better thi3 
year than last. C. C. B. Oswego, May 9, 1853. 
