THE CULTIVATOR 
Cheese Making from a Small Dairy. 
We have received requests from several of our lady 
correspondents, to write a short article on cheese making, 
especially in reference to that large class of farmers who 
keep but few cows. It always gives us pleasure to com¬ 
ply with the requests of the ladies, especially of those 
who are good housekeepers—know how to milk a cow, 
make good butter and cheese, and cultivate a small 
flower-garden. 
First rate cheese can be made from a few cows, but it 
is attended with more labor in proportion to the amount 
made, than in a large dairy, inasmuch as the curd has 
to he made every morning and placed aside till you have 
sufficient to make a good-sized cheese. The milk is 
placed in a tub, and warmed to the proper temperature, 
(95 deg. Fahr., or about as warm as when taken from 
the cow) by adding a portion of heated milk. The ren¬ 
net is then added, the milk well stirred, and afterwards 
let alone till the curd is w r ell come. The time this oc¬ 
cupies varies from fifteen minutes to two hours, accord¬ 
ing to the amount of rennet, the temperature, &c.—the 
hotter it is put together, and the more rennet is added, 
the quicker will the cheese come. As a general thing, 
the longer it is in coming, the tenderer and sweeter will 
be the curd. If it comes too quickly, it is owing to an 
excess of lactic acid being formed from the sugar of 
milk; so that the curd has that hard, tough, white ap¬ 
pearance, that is the case when the curd is precipitated 
by vinegar, or any other acid; but, if there is a very 
slow formation of lactic acid, the curd is gradually pre¬ 
cipitated in flocks, is less dense, and very sweet and 
tender. It is then broken up quite fine, either by hand 
or a curd-breaker made for the purpose, which cuts it 
into very small pieces. After this, it is allowed to 
stand and settle. The whey is then drawn off and 
passed through a sieve, to remove any curd there may 
be in it. The curd is then placed in a strong cloth, and 
well pressed, to remove the whey. It is then placed in 
a cold place, and the operation repeated daily—or every 
other day, if the milk will keep sweet, as it will in the 
fall—'till there is curd enough to make a cheese of the 
desired size. When the right quantity is obtained, the 
curd is all broken up very fine, salted and well mixed. 
In putting the curd in the vat to be pressed, a cloth 
sufficiently large to cover the whole cheese is placed in 
the vat, and into this cloth the curd is put. When the 
curd has filled the vat, a u fillet ” (usually made of 
sheet tin, and from three to six inches wide, and suffi¬ 
ciently long to lap over four or five inches when placed 
round the cheese) is placed inside the vat for an inch 
or so, and the cloth drawn up straight, so that when 
being pressed the fillet will not cut it. The whole of 
the curd is then put in, the cloth turned over the top of 
it, a smooth board placed over this and then it is ready 
to press. After it has been pressed for some time, it is 
taken from under, and punctured all over with a skewer, 
either of wood or iron. Place it in the press again, 
until it has become sufficiently consolidated to take out 
of the vat without falling to pieces. It must then be 
turned, or inverted in the vat, and a clean cloth put 
round it. Place it again under the press, occasionally 
turning it and putting round it fresh cloths, till the 
cheese when pressed does not wet them. It is then all 
right, and should be kept in the dairy, or other cool, 
damp place, for a few days, placing a little salt round 
it, when it may be taken to an upper room, where it 
will require turning very frequently, or the side next 
the floor will mould. Let the room be dark and well 
ventilated .—Western Agriculturist. 
Experiments in Making Butter. 
A board of commissioners has been appointed by the 
Belgian Government, to examine various agricultural 
implements. The commissioners made also experiments 
with Lavoisy's churn, with cream of one and the same 
quality, temperature, and under like circumstances. 
In one experiment, a small quantity of cream was 
much churned; in another the cream was slightly 
churned; and in a third experiment, a large quantity 
of cream was much worked by the paddle of the above 
named churn; and they found that much churning, at 
fifty-four degrees Fahrenheit, had no influence upon 
the quality of butter; that the slower rapid forma¬ 
tion of butter, or, in other words, the longer or shorter 
duration of churning, had no influence upon an in¬ 
crease or decrease of the quantity of butter in a given 
quantity of cream.— Ag. Praesician , Oct., 1852. 
|kral & D-omMic (feottomg. 
Drying Vegetables for Long Keeping. 
At a late meeting of the New-York Farmers’ Club, 
specimens of various vegetables were presented, and 
soup made from them exhibited, which had been dried 
by a secret process, so that they could he kept for an 
indefinite length of time, with a perfect retention of 
flavor. They are cut into thin slices before subjected 
to the drying process, but this is all the information on 
this point that we are favored with. The process ori¬ 
ginated in France, where for some years it has been 
in successful practice. It has been tried with satisfac¬ 
tory results on all common vegetables, except potatoes 
and beets. The New-York Agricultor says: “We 
tasted (imported) cabbage, and found it as good as new 
—to our taste.” Cabbage loses about fifteen parts of 
water out of sixteen, by the operation,—carrots about 
nine parts out of ten. , The cost of preparation is said 
to be about two cents for each pound of the dried arti¬ 
cle. They have already remained uninjured during a 
four years sea voyage. Vegetables dried in this way, 
we should think, would form an excellent accompani¬ 
ment for meat biscuit. 
White Sheep Skins for Door Mats. 
Take two long-wooled sheep skins, and make up a 
strong lather of soap; the sign of proper strength is when 
the lather feels slippery between the fingers. When 
the lather is cold wash the skins carefully in it, squee¬ 
zing them between the hands so as to take all the dirt 
out of the wool. When this is accomplished, lift out 
the skins and wash them in cold water until all the soap 
is extracted. Have a vessel of clean cold water ready, 
to which some alum and salt (about half a pound) which 
have been dissolved in a small quantity of hot water, 
are added, and the skins left to steep all night. They 
are taken out in the morning and hung over a pole to 
dry. When all the alum \yater has dripped off they 
are spread out on a board to dry, and carefully stretched 
with the hand from time to time. Before they are 
thoroughly dry, a composition of two table spoonfuls of 
alum, and the same of saltpetre, are ground to powder, 
in a mortar or otherwise, and sprinkled carefully on the 
flesh side of each skin. They are then placed the one 
on top of the other, leaving the wool outside, and hung 
upon a rack of salts, in a barn, shed or dry, airy place, 
for about three days, or until they are dry—they should 
be turned every day. After this they are taken down 
and the flesh side scraped with a blunt knife, and each 
skin trimmed for a mat. The flesh side may then be 
rubbed over with pipe clay, beat with a switch, and will 
then be found supple, of a beautifui white color, and fit 
for a door mat for a mechanic or prince.— Sci. Am. 
