96 REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURE OF AYRSHIRE. 



smell, injurious of course to the flavour of the warm milk, if not 

 very frequently scrubbed with hot water. The Cheddar tin tub 

 is made with a convex bottom, which facilitates the separation of 

 the whey, and having a spigot soldered in by which the under- 

 whey is run off, — a wire strainer being placed across the vent 

 inside, to stop small pieces of curd from escaping. Consumers 

 who prefer the Cheddar-make must ascribe much of its su- 

 periority in quality, — either real or fancied, to the superior im- 

 plements and vessels used by the Cheddar makers, along with 

 the superlative accommodation for manufacturing and storing, 

 now generally prevailing in Cheddar dairies, and in most cases 

 recently fitted up ; for we suspect, that were some of our more 

 careful Dunlop makers to send out their cheeses of the same 

 size, shape, and colour, as Cheddars, it would take a preci- 

 ous good judge to tell which was which ! All of our Cheddar 

 makers belong to the class of larger dairy farmers, and are yet 

 more or less new fangled with their system, giving much more 

 heed to the manufacture, &c, than previously they did under the 

 old mode, and constant vigilance in details, doing everything at 

 the proper nick of time, is a sure cause of success in any art or 

 manufacture whatever. 



The next and main peculiarity in the Cheddar system is that 

 part of the process technically termed " slip-scalding." This 

 practice though called a " recent improvement" — vide Harding's 

 prize essay to the " Eoyal Agricultural Society" — is nothing of 

 the sort, as it has been in existence in England for 60 years or 

 more, and in Italy for much longer. Nothing similar obtains in 

 the Dunlop mode, if we except the custom of hot bathing the 

 newly made-up cheese on its first remove, and the raising of the 

 ground curd to a high heat ere putting to press. The end desired 

 is to get the whey thoroughly expelled, and to effect that, heat 

 must be used ; and the theory is, that too much heat at the time 

 of thickening dissipates the fat, but a much higher degree applied 

 after coagulation does not. 



The curd being allowed an hour to form, — more or less as 

 necessary according to weather, &c, — is broken up with the 

 " revolver" by Joseph's disciples, or otherwise by the Nortonites, 

 and after standing a short time to subside, as much of the top- 

 whey is lifted off and heated in the boiler to as high a tempera- 

 ture as will raise the whole contents of the tub to an uniform 

 warmth of 100° when again poured back — the whole mass being 

 constantly stirred until the required heat is attained, and the 

 curd separating into small lumps like beans. The curd is then 

 suffered to calm down and settle at the bottom, and afterwards 

 the larger quantity of the whey is lifted off the top with a 

 vessel, and the remainder run out at the spigot. The whey thus 

 drained off, the curd is cut from round the sides of the tub, and 



