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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



ON PRODUCING CHEESE PROFITABLY. 



THE PRIZE ESSAY OF THE STAFFORDSHIKE AGKTCULTUllAL SOCIETY. 



BY WILLIAM T. CAKRINGTON, OF CHOXDEN ABBEY. 



(Pablished with the author's permission.) 



Mr. Bass having offered a premium of £25 for an essay 

 on the most scientific and practical mode of producing 

 cheese profitably' in the counties of Stafford and Derby, I 

 have been induced to compete for it; and, with the aid of 

 Buch information as I have been able to obtain from the 

 managers of some of the finest dairies in the two counties, 

 I hope to compose a treatise which will j)rove of some be- 

 nefit to my brother-farmers. 



The subject which Mr. Bass has selected for his premium 

 is one the importance of which, to most of the farmers in 

 this neighbourhood, can scarcely be over-estimated. There 

 is nothing which, with proper management, is so profitable 

 in this grazing district as cheese-making ; but (he great va- 

 riation in price between fiae and inferior cheese, amounting 

 in some cases to ^20 per ton, makes all the difference be- 

 tween its being a profitable pursuit, and the reverse. 



It is surprising that there are so few really fine dairies of 

 clieeBe to be met with ; but I believe this arises mainly 

 from defective management, and is, therefore, capable of 

 being remedied. 



It is important that the masters and mistresses should 

 be themselves thoroughly acquainted with the manufacture 

 of cheese; for gtrod dairymaids are yearly becoming more 

 scarce. Where large dairies of cheese are made, it is de- 

 sirable to get the men-servants to turn their attention to 

 cheese-making, as they are better suited for it, in some re- 

 spects, than the women. There is a good deal of lifting 

 and heavy work connected with it, which would be more 

 easily done by men ; and it generally happens that, as soon 

 as a dairymaid thoroughly understands her business, she 

 gets married, and is disqualified for her situation : a man- 

 servant might continue to hold his situation after such an 

 event. 



Before proceeding to explain in detail the manufacture 

 of cheese, I will endeavour to show some of the priuripal 

 causes that prevent success. One great cause of the inferior 

 quality of cheese is, that the managers will not allow it to 

 retain its natural quantity of butter ; but, by the vigorous 

 application of the skimming dish, they rob the cheese of its 

 quality. In my opinion, this is a most short-siglited 

 policy ; for the amount of butter obtained rarely compen- 

 sates for the great deterioration of quality and loss of quan- 

 tity of the cheese. At the latter end of the year, or wben 

 the cows are eating oilcake or other artificial food, and the 

 milk is consequently very rich, it may perhaps be done, to 

 a small extent, to profit ; but as a general practice it should 

 not be adopted. A great deal of the inferiority of cheese 

 arises from its not being properly cured, when it is termed 

 by the factors " sweet cheese," meaning that it is short of 

 salt. Great care is requisite over the salting, in the summer 

 time ; for if any fermentation takes place before the salt is 

 applied, the cheese will never be properly cured. For this 

 reason, 1 think it better to salt it, to a certain extent, in 

 the curd, whilst undergoing the process of grinding, 

 which I shall describe hereafter. 



It is a great mistake to apply too great pressm'e to tlie 



cheese, especially in the first instance : it seals the outside 

 of the cheese, prevents the whey from coming out, and 

 makes it too close and waxy. A light lever piess is the 

 best to use during the making process ; and the weight 

 should be applied gradually. The presses under which 

 the cheese is kept whilst it is being salted are generally 

 blocks of stone, which are raised by a screw. These 

 should not be too heavy. The first presses should not 

 be more than 7 or 8 cwts. ; but the one which is used 

 last of all may be as heavy as 15 cwts. 



All the vessels used to contain the milk, and all the 

 utensils used in the manufacture of the cheese, must be 

 well washed with hot water after each time of using, so as 

 to keep them perfectly clean and sweet : the least sourness 

 materially affects tlie cheese. 



A regular supply of hot water is required during the 

 cheese-making season : and a furnace of water should be 

 kept constantly heated. 



It is important that the dairy in which the milk is 

 kept and the cheese is salted, should be in a cool situation, 

 and be perfectly ventilated. 



It is better Avith a north aspect, so as 'o be out of tiie 

 sun ; and, in summer, there should be a draught of cold air 

 direct through it. 



The temperature of the place where the cheese is made 

 should be varied according to the heat of the weather. At 

 the spring and latter end of the j'ear, it should be made in 

 a room in which there is a fire, or it gets too cold before 

 it is finished, is more trouble to make, and does not close 

 properly. In the summer time, the cooler the place the 

 better. 



The room in which the cheese is first kept, after it is 

 salted, should be close and warm : it is better to have 

 it heated with hot air, which is conveyed in pipes from the 

 back of the kitchen fire. All holes or crevices in the 

 window or door should be carefully stopped, as the young 

 cheese is very liable to crack if it is at all exposed to a 

 draught. Cheese should be kept warm from the time it is 

 made til) it is ready for sale : it ripens so much faster, and 

 the quality is also much superior, when it has been kept 

 warm from the commencement. In cold weather, the cheese 

 rooms will require heating, either by a stove or some other 

 means. The cheese rooms are better with boarded floors, 

 which are warmer than plaster, and ripen the cheese faster. 



Before cheese-making commences in the spring, the 

 cheese rooms should be thoroughly cleaned, the walls 

 should be whitewashed, and the floors washed with hot 

 water, so as to destroy the mites, &c., which, without 

 cleanliness is observed, increase very fast, and spoil the 

 appearance of the cheese. 



In the summer, care must be taken to destroy the 

 small flies which blow in the cheese, or they will become 

 very tioublesome : the best specific to destroy them is an 

 infusion of quassia chips, A little of this liquid, put on 

 plates in several places in the room, will be found very 

 effectual. Many dairymaids darken the cheese rooms, to 



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