CAROLINE. Why then is not wine, or alcohol, made from whey? MRS. B. The quantity of sugar contained in milk is so trifling, that it can hardly answer that purpose. I have heard of only one instance of its being used for the production of a spirituous liquor, and this is by the Tartan Arabs; their abundance of horses, as well as their scarcity of fruits, has introduced the fermentation of mares’ milk, by which they produce a liquor called _koumiss_. Whey is likewise susceptible of being acidified by combining with oxygen from the atmosphere. It then produces the _lactic acid_, which you may recollect is mentioned amongst the animal acids, as the acid of milk. Let us now see what are the properties of curds. EMILY. I know that they are made into cheese; but I have heard that for that purpose they are separated from the whey by rennet, and yet this you have just told us is not the method of obtaining pure curds? MRS. B. Nor are pure curds so well adapted for the formation of cheese. For the nature and flavour of the cheese depend, in a great measure, upon the cream or oily matter which is left in the curds; so that if every particle of cream be removed from the curds, the cheese is scarcely eatable. Rich cheeses, such as cream and Stilton cheeses, derive their excellence from the quantity, as well as the quality, of the cream that enters into their composition. CAROLINE. I had no idea that milk was such an interesting compound. In many respects there appears to me to be a very striking analogy between milk and the contents of an egg, both in respect to their nature and their use. They are, each of them, composed of the various substances necessary for the nourishment of the young animal, and equally destined for that purpose. MRS. B. There is, however, a very essential difference. The young animal is formed, as well as nourished, by the contents of the egg-shell; whilst milk serves as nutriment to the suckling, only after it is born. There are several peculiar animal substances which do not enter into the general enumeration of animal compounds, and which, however, deserve to be mentioned. _Spermaceti_ is of this class; it is a kind of oily substance obtained from the head of the whale, which, however, must undergo a certain preparation before it is in a fit state to be made into candles. It is not much more combustible than tallow, but it is pleasanter to burn, as it is less fusible and less greasy. _Ambergris_ is another peculiar substance derived from a species of whale. It is, however, seldom obtained from the animal itself, but is generally found floating on the surface of the sea.