But in Cheshire, so celebrated for its superior cheese, the contents of the stomach are frequently salted by themselves, and after being a short time exposed to the air are fit for use; while the well-known and highly-esteemed Limburg cheese is mostly made with rennet prepared as in Ayrshire, the curd being left in the stomach, and both dried together. The general opinion is that rennet, as usually prepared, is not fit to use till nearly a year old. Perhaps the plan of making a liquid rennet from new and fresh stomachs, and keeping it in bottles corked tight till wanted for use, would tend still further to secure this end. The use of annatto to color the cheese artificially is somewhat common in this country, though probably not so much so as in many other countries. Annatto, or annotto, is made from the red pulp of the seeds of an evergreen tree of the same name, found in the West Indies and in Brazil, by bruising and obtaining a precipitate. A variety is made in Cayenne, which comes into the market in cakes of two or three pounds. It is bright yellow, rather soft to the touch, but of considerable solidity. The quantity used is rarely more than an ounce to one hundred pounds, and the effect is simply to give the high coloring so common to the Gloucester and Cheshire cheeses, and to many made in this country. This artificial coloring is continued from an idle prejudice, somewhat troublesome to the dairyman, expensive to the consumer, and adding nothing to the taste or flavor of the article. The annatto itself is so universally and so largely adulterated, often by poisonous substances, such as lead and mercury, that the practice of using it by the cheese-maker, and of requiring the high coloring by the consumer, might well be discontinued. The common mode of application is to dissolve it in hot milk, and add at the time of putting in the rennet, or to put it upon the outside, in the manner of paint. [Illustration: Fig. 82. Cheese-press.] The cheese-presses in most common use are very different in construction, and each possesses, doubtless, some peculiar merits. The self-acting press, Fig. 82, is the favorite of some. Another form of this is seen in Fig. 83. [Illustration: Fig. 83. Self-acting cheese-press.] One of the most extensive and experienced dealers in cheese, in one of the largest dairy districts of New York,--Mr. Harry Burrill, of Little Falls,--has placed in my hands the following simple directions for cheese-making.