114 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



wooden frame and sink, from which the whey is carried by a pipe 

 to the whey tub in another building. When tolerably firm the 

 curd was cut in slices with a knife, the cloth drawn closely about 

 it, and a heavy flat stone placed upon it. It remains here for sev- 

 eral hours, when it is put away in a large wooden bowl until next 

 day. 



While the curd of to-day was making, that of yesterday was first 

 cut in slices, and then run through the curd mill in order to divide 

 it finely. This consists of a frame work holding two cylinders, one 

 above the other, both of which as well as the sides near them were 

 studded with numerous small, sharp, steel blades, those in the 

 lower cylinder being much closer than in the one above. The curd 

 s finely cut was then put in a large tin tub and the whey a lit- 

 tle before dipped ofi" for the purpose, having been heated as hot as 

 the hand can be borne in it, is poured over it, and the whole thor- 

 oughly stirred with the hands. In about ten minutes the warm whey 

 is removed and cold water poured upon it. As soon as cool, the 

 water is poured off and the curd salted ; thirty-two pounds are then 

 put into a hoop eleven and a half inches in diameter and moder- 

 ately pressed for two or three hours. It is then turned, the cloth 

 changed, and it is again pressed till evening. The cloth is then re- 

 moved, the edges pared, and a cloth and bandage cap of thin un- 

 bleached cotton made for the purpose, covering the whole cheese, 

 put on, when it is returned to receive heavy pressure for thirty-six 

 hours longer. This makes a cheese seven to eight inches thick 

 and about twelve inches broad. Curing requires two or three 

 months, and they are generally sold in autumn. The cheese pos- 

 sesses a rich high flavor, and close texture, is very firm and well 

 adapted for exportation. 



The process employed by the best dairymen of Herkimer county, 

 New York, is nearly identical with that indicated in the preceding 

 pages as the best known. It differs but little from the Cheddar 

 method frequently referred to in the course of my remarks, and 

 which, originating in Somersetshire, is now rapidly spreading and 

 displacing other methods in various parts of England and in Scot- 

 land. One point of difference, namely, the use of sour whey, not 

 often needed here, is alluded to on page 96 ; other differences are, 

 that in the Cheddar process, the milk is set at a temperature of 80° 

 or 82°, with rennet suflRcient to coagulate it in fifty to sixty min- 

 utes ; and the curd is not always salted when the whey is first 



