The Milk.

Cows should be milked as nearly as possible at the same hour morning and evening. Treat the cows kindly, and be as quiet as possible; do not get them excited. For these reasons a woman is the best milker. A cow, like a human being, has idiosyncrasies, and the milker must study them.

Before milking sponge the teats and udders, and thoroughly wash the hands. In some dairies it is the rule to wash the hands after milking two cows. Never dip the fingers into or moisten them with the milk. Currycomb the cow daily.

Milk into tin pails, and scald them thoroughly after use. Strain the milk through three thicknesses of butter-cloth, and immediately tool and aerate it. A good and simple apparatus for this purpose is made of two tins, one above the other. The bottom pail is the cooler, for holding the cold water or ice; the pail on top is the milk reservoir, with a strainer inside. This pail should contain page 102 about 5 gallons of milk and have a pressed concave bottom, with small holes 1/16 in. around the outer edge and ¾in. apart. The holes act as a distributer, and the milk passes over the outside of the lower pail in a thin sheet, and falls into a circular trough a few inches in size attached to the base of the cooler or lower tin, and out of a spout into the milk-can. Neglect to aerate the milk will increase the quantity of milk required to make a pound of cheese.

Where the milk is delivered for cheese-making only once daily the evening's milk should be kept in a tin thoroughly protected from rain, odours, &c., at a temperature of 55° to 60°, though if well aerated it may go to 65° or even 70°. The milk must be absolutely sweet—a whole batch of cheese will be spoiled by a small quantity of stale or tainted milk. It should be kept a certain time at a certain temperature to have it matured, so as to begin the cheese-making process properly.

We have merely indicated the points to be looked at, and now come to the making, presuming that the milk is fresh, and without: taints from the causes we have hinted.

Every utensil must be absolutely sweet and clean; all pails, milk-cans, receiving-cans, faucets, and spouts, and all implements used, must be thoroughly scalded with water (not merely hot) daily, and directly after use. Impure water, the smallest particle of stale milk clinging to any utensil, or milk exposed to any odours, either one of these will cause an open and tainted curd.