and placed in small wicker baskets, through which the superfluous moisture drains. The pulp is then moulded into shape by being put in small pots, in which the cheeses are allowed to dry in the shade, during about fifteen days, after which they are put in store. The older they are, the better they become; and if kept dry, they will keep for a number of years. Three kinds of this cheese are made: the first, or most common, according to the above proportions; the second, with four parts of potatoes, and two parts curdled milk; and the third, with two parts potatoes, and four of milk. Ewe milk is employed for this purpose, as well as that of

COWS.

Cheeses, when well salted, and thoroughly cleared of whey, will keep for years. And if in the course of time they become hard and dry, they can be restored (if rich in quality,) by being washed several times in soft water, and then laid in a cloth, moistened with wine or vinegar. They will gradually lose some of their saltness, and will become mellow and agreeable. This is a plan commonly pursued in Switzerland, where cheese is stored for many years.

From this short account of the general round of dairy work, it will be seen that there is full and constant employment for those concerned in it, and that it requires, neatness and cleanliness in a high degree, as well as regularity, early rising, and good temper. It is therefore calculated greatly to benefit the persons employed in it, by making it a matter of necessity with them to cultivate these good habits. The only reasonable objection to the work of the dairy, is, that it can never, on any occasion, be set aside; that the time of sickness or domestic calamity does not bring any respite; and that even the sacred hours of the Sabbath witness the same toils. This is certainly an objection, from which most other employments are free. But with respect to the Sabbath, it must be remembered, that the early hour in the morning at which dairy-work is performed,

DAIRY-WORK INCESSANT.

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leaves the most important part of the day free for attendance on Divine worship, while the evening labours may also be so arranged as not greatly to interfere with the rest, which is the privilege of both master and servant, on that sacred day. As to the week-day toil, cheerful labour always brings its own reward; and even the humblest menial, if he serve a good master, may lead a happy and useful life, and may be able to describe his own condition as a "farmer's boy" once described his, in the following lines :

66** ** meek, fatherless, and poor:

Labour his portion, but he felt no more;
No stripes, no tyranny his steps pursued ;
His life was constant, cheerful servitude.
Strange to the world, he wore a bashful look ;
The fields his study, Nature was his book;
And as revolving seasons changed the scene,
From heat to cold, tempestuous to serene,
Though every change still varied his employ,
Yet each new duty brought its share of joy."

BLOOMFIELD.

HAYMAKING is the most delightful of all rural occupations. It is carried on in the " very spring and playtime of the year," when the fields and meadows, and lanes, are covered with a rich carpet of grass sprinkled with wild flowers; when hedges are blushing with dogroses, and fragrant with woodbine; when young oaks are clad in tender green, and the rest of the trees are every day getting richer and deeper in their colouring; when crops are springing and flourishing, and groves are resounding with the song of birds; and when the cuckoo's mellow voice blends pleasingly with all the lovely sights and sounds of nature.

Haymaking is as healthful as it is delightful. The heat is not oppressive; the smell of the new-mown grass and flowers is refreshing to the labourers, and the soft greensward is pleasant to their feet.

"The grateful sweetness of the new-mown hay,
Breathing refreshment, fans the toiling swain."

Their labour also is not so excessive but that they can indulge in merriment. Wherever you see a group of haymakers, you may also hear the merry laugh go round; especially when they rest beneath some spreading oak to take their noonday meal, or when in the midst of their work they pause for a moment, to quaff the welcome draught of ale.

The mower is abroad at early dawn, and before the day has closed he has made wide havock among the herbs and flowers of the field. At each sweep of his scythe hundreds of blossoms are laid low, and thousands of springing blades are cut down in their youthful prime. There lie the cardamine, the buttercup, the cowslip, and many a flower besides, half buried in the dewy grass that forms the principal portion of the swathe. And among the grasses themselves there are blossoms of great beauty and variety. When you come to examine them as they lie thus heaped together, or when you gather them in their freshness from the unmown portion of the meadow, you find a greater difference than might be expected in plants which are so much alike in the earlier stages of their growth. There is the Sweetscented Vernal Grass, which forms part of the herbage in almost every situation. This grass, more than any other, gives the delightful scent to new-mown hay, and though it does not thrive well alone, it combines with other grasses to advantage. This is one of the early flowering grasses, blossoming in April or May, and ripening its seed early in June. It is a beautiful and wise provision respecting these early grasses, that they continue to increase in nutriment up to the time of the seed