Year: 1860




exercised on the question, and the only con-
clusion that he can come to is, that either
cheese must be made on Sunday the same
as any other day, or Christians must |
stop making cheese and butter. He has |
stopped, and declares that he will eat no
cheese while the world stands, rather than |
his brother should offend. His description |
Of the dairy process is interesting and ar
rives al the same conclusion that we did in |
our articles on this question; that is, that if
milch-cows are kept, the milking is absolutely
necessary, and this comprises the greater part
of the work; the balance being trifling, but
still necessary to save the product. We ex-
tract from the article;


In discussing the question, am inclined
to put it on this broad, perhaps you will say
ultra, basis: Is it right for Christians to eat
butter and cheese2


1t is not right. The consumption involves
the manufacture, and the manufacture in
wolves the violation of the Sabbath, which
is violation of the law of God, and there
fore it is not right.


To this begging of the question some will
perhaps demur, and satisfy their conscience
for eating the articles by craving the bless



the wicked men who violate the Sabbath in
making them. Good men do feel
constrained to make cheese on the Sabbath,
and while l can not approve Of their course,
| wish, loving them as | love myself, to put
the most charitable construction upon their
conduct that am able.


That you may do the same thing, Mr.
Editor, suppose you call with me on one Of
my parishioners 1t is waxing toward the
close of balmy day in June. He has just
let dewn the bars which separate the pasture
from his yard, and some thirty sanity COWS
if there is an order of saints among the
brutes there is no mind on earth but will
yield il to the cow-are pressing round and
past him, into the inclosure where they
come to be relieved of the burdens which fill
their spacious udders. He takes his pail and
proceeds to his work. He must attend to
Brindle first. She is mistress of the herd, and
her aching udder will constrain her, unselhsh
as she is, to push away whatever animal he
may set down to, and put herself in the place.
Selfish as he may be, every attribute of his
mind, whether kind or selfish, will prompt
him to relieve them as soon as possible of the
treasures they have been all day gathering
for him. 1t is merciful to do so. He has his
helpers, each of whom will milk COW in
five minutes. In the aggregate, not less than
three hours is spent in milking, carrying in,
and strsining the milk, at each milking.
The milking is, of course, repeated night and
morning. Each COW is MIXED in order,
twelve hours, as nearly as convenient, being
allowed to elapse between each milking.


We will step in and witness the process of
straining. There is vat which will hold
from 100 to 200 gallons or upward, as the
size of the dairy may require. 1t consists of
vat within O vat, a vat of tin standing
within vat of wood, with the space be-
tween them filled with cold water in the
evening, for the purpose of cooling the milk,
80 connected with g small furnace that it is
economically and rapidly heated in the
morning, for the sake of bringing the milk
to the necessary temperature fer setting the
curd. Into this vat the milk is poured
! through wiTe-straineI attached to one of
| the pals. In the morning, what cream has.
risen during the night is taken off and placed
in a vessel, to be made into butter, and the
avails of the mornings milk added to what
| is already in the vat. The fire in the fur
mace is then lighted, which, if tho wood be
in its place the previous evening, requires
! but little more time than the lighting of q
candle. When the milk is at sufficient
temperature, the rennet is dropped in, and
! in few moments the whole is a mass of
curd. This requires working for some min
utes, during which the whey is drawn off by
simply opening faucet, the curd salted,
placed in hoop and put into the press.


By this process the work of milking the
cows constitutes at least fiye-sixths, and
probably nine-tenths of the labor necessary
| to place the cheese at rest for the day. If
cows are kept at all, the work of milking
them on the Sabbath is a work of necessity
and mercy. This, suppose, none will deny.
| The question is, what shall be done with the
milk taken from the cows on the Sabbath
Shall it be thrown away2 Those who feel
that ii is right to save property from fire or
food on the Sabbath, will hardly maintain
| that it should be so disposed of Shall it be
fed fresh to swine2 This involves the rails
ing of meat for market on the Sabbath, and
makes no perceptible diminution of the
labor. As good men as we have among us
think it is the least labor to run the curd up
to its resting-place in the press. If cheese is
made at all for market, such, in my opinion,
| is the wisest course. After the cheese is
taken from the press, much labor is required
to preserve and prepare it for market, but
not ofa character that is positively neces-
sary to be done on the Sabbath. If cheese
be made for the market that link in the
chain of labor which connects the milk in
the vat with the cheese in the press, seems
! justified by necessity on the Sabbath. But
the supplying of that link completes the
chain Of labor, and, with the exception of
oiling, turning, &C., which is also quite apt
to be done on the Sabbath, renders the
dairyman's labor on the Sabbath the same
! as on any other day, hence the Sabbath is
practically annihilated.


Every dairyman must of course have
farm, and much work, aside from the milk
ing and the manufacture of the milk into
cheese and butter, is required. This, except
the feeding of stock when the season re-
quires, can be refrained from. But curtail
his other labors as he may the dairyman
comes up wearied, hurriedly and late to the
sanctuary, and says to the minister and to
the Sabbath-schoolS superintendent 'Do be
short, for / must get back to attend 10 my
dairy. Necessity and mercy require, in this
hot weather, that milk my COWS in season"
So the minister kindly hurries through his
services, but is compelled, Notwithstanding
his brevity and haste, to look down through
the major part of his exercises upon the
wilted heads of his drowsy dairymen When
his discourse is ended he feels like throwing
away his manuscript as one that awakened
no interest and is likely to do no good, and
thinks, perhaps, that a suitable subject for
the next Sabbath would be NJ


"oheese versus the Gospel"


The righteousness of keeping any amount
of stock that man may choose, has, | sup
pose, never been questioned, though his win
ter Sabbaths might be wholly consumed In
feeding them and attending to their comfort
The morality of keeping great number Of
cows that require milking, and whose milk.
TO prevent waste, requires attention on the
Sabbath, has, perhaps, been fully discussed,
but neither the detail nor the result, nor the