curtailment of the use of fermented milks in Eastern Europe,
and the methods of preparation at the present day are those which have
been carried out from time immemorial. A local observer states that in
Bulgaria yoghourt is made in nearly every household, especially in the
spring and summer. The method of preparation is very simple: The milk is
boiled until a quarter of its volume has evaporated, it is then cooled
to 45 deg. C. and the ferment added. This ferment is a portion of the
yoghourt of good flavour and is called "Maya" or "Zakvaska." The vases,
a kind of earthenware pot, are enveloped in woollen stuff or sheepskin
and placed in a warm place near the chimney. In ten hours the yoghourt
is made, and it is preserved in a cold place. The great reputation that
the yoghourt has acquired in Western Europe has caused this "Maya" to
become an article of commerce. It is sent out by rail hermetically
sealed in tinplate boxes. According to a Sophia chemist, the "Maya" is
employed in the following manner: For a litre of milk it is necessary to
take about 10 gr. of the ferment. This ferment is diluted with three
times the amount of water and put into a bowl previously heated with hot
water and dried. Into this bowl the milk, previously boiled and cooled
to a temperature of 75 deg. to 50 deg. C., is poured; it is then covered
over and put in a temperature of about 30 deg. C., and, in default of a
stove of constant temperature, the bowl is wrapped round with flannel or
a plaid, and left to curdle for eight to ten hours. It is then ready for
consumption. During winter, curdled milk keeps for several days, and in
summer it becomes sour in from twelve to twenty-four hours.

A similar food to the yoghourt is prepared in the Balkan mountains from
sheep's milk under the name of "Urgoutnik."[38] The milk is poured into
a goat-skin or sheepskin bag, and a little of the fermented milk added,
and is then left for some hours in a warm place. The milk consumed is
replaced by a fresh supply. In some of the Balkan countries, they are
not content with the fermentation of the milk, they add a little alum,
which, under the name of "typsa," is well known for this purpose. The
milk attains such a solid consistency that it can be put into a cloth
and carried to market.[39]

The various forms of sour milk which have been described in the
foregoing pages may be said to be of the traditional kind, and with the
light of modern knowledge, it has been