THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE 



227 



is not kept properly stirred whilst the water is on, 

 it soon sustains injury ; and thus, on the first use 

 of the apparatus, it frequently happens the cheese 

 is badly made. But " practice makes perfect ;" and 

 where the apparatus has been in use for a time, it 

 is preferred by some, whilst by others it is not 

 considered any improvement on the old system. 



It has not been very extensively adopted. In 

 the lower part of the country and the borders of 

 Somersetshire it is more in use than anywhere else. 

 I know it is used by some parties who have immi- 

 grated from Somersetshire, and these parties have 

 also introduced the Somersetshire method of 

 making cheese with the use of this apparatus, and 

 have succeeded remarkably well. There is one ad- 

 vantage I have omitted to mention, and that is 

 the heating of the cheese rooms by the same appa- 

 ratus — the hot water being forced through pipes 

 laid round the room. 



The great recommendation claimed for Keevil's 

 apparatus is a larger amount of curd from the same 

 quantity of milk, " a great saving of labour," and 

 the process rendered more simple and cleanly. 

 From the published testimonials given by persons 

 who have used it, these recommendations seem to 

 be warranted. It has been proved by experiments, 

 the particulars of which 1 cannot enter into here 

 (but which may be had on application to the 

 patentee, or Messrs. Griffiths, of Birmingham), 

 that a greater quantity of curd is produced, 

 in some instances to the extent of 12 per cent 

 and the fatty matter is retained in the cheese instead 

 of being carried off in the shape of whey butter ; 

 and if we are to believe all that was said on its first 

 introduction, this it does most efl^ectually, as it was 

 said that the pigs literally starved on the whey 

 instead of fattening as in other dairies -, but either 

 from such alteration or improvement in the manu- 

 facture or the management of the apparatus, I be- 

 lieve the pigs now fare much the same as in other 

 styes, where they get the whey that has been set up 

 in leads, and a little whey-butter made. There is 

 no question but a saving of labour is effected by 

 its use. The breaking up of the curd is done more 

 easily and better by the knives than either by the 

 hands or stirring-stick ; the manner of letting off 

 the whey and pressing the curd in the vessel saves 

 considerable labour ; the latter is probably the 

 hardest part of the operation when done by the 

 hands. For my own part I do not see that the 

 process is more simple or cleanly than the old 

 system, when due attention is paid to it ; but, from 

 what I have seen, the evenness of the quality of the 

 cheese made by it forms one of the chief recom- 

 mendations : the regularity of the process, the use 

 of the thermometer and the regular pressure in ex- 

 tracting the whey, tend to keep the cheese even 

 in quality. Notwithstanding all these recom- 

 mendations of the new systems, the dairy farmers 

 of Wilts have been slow in adopting them. Either 

 from prejudice, or from want of further proof of the 

 superiority of the new invention, or the expense 

 that would be incurred in changing to the new, 

 the old system still holds sway : those who have 

 generally succeeded in making good cheese are 

 content " to let well alone." 



No doubt improvements might l>e made by 



many who hold to the old method, by the use of 

 the theremometer, and working to regular time ; in 

 short, to reduce it more to a system. We should 

 not then hear so many complaints of the uneven 

 quality and the value of cheese, as we frequently do 

 at the present time. 



I fear what I have said will not enlighten you 

 much on dairy management generally, from want 

 of personal experience in this matter; and from 

 my time being so fully occupied, I have not been 

 enabled to enter into statistics or scientific accounts 

 of cheese-making by the new or old method ; but 

 we shall hope to see from some able pen, in the 

 course of next summer, that the Royal Agricultural 

 Society of England has offered a prize for the best 

 essay on the subject. I have only been enabled to 

 offer you a plain statement of the management of 

 our own district, collected chiefly from my own 

 observation. 



WAKEFIELD FARMERS' CLUB. 



PRESENTATION TO THE SECRETARY. 



The Annual Dinner of the Wakefield Farmers' Club 

 took place on Wednesday, March 8th, at the George Hotel, 

 Wakefield. The repast, which was provided by Mr. 

 Haworth, of the George, was of an excellent character, and 

 was well served. The chair was occupied by the President 

 of the Club, W. Belton, Esq., of Chevet, and the vice-chair 

 by T. C. Johnson, Esq. 



It was arranged that a testimonial should be presented to 

 Mr. Barratt, for his services as honorary secretary during a 

 period of eight years. The testimonial, which consisted of 

 a silver tea and cofifee service in four pieces, was placed 

 upon the table. The pieces are a coffee-pot, a tea-pot, a 

 sugar-basin, and a ere am- ewer, the whole weighing nearly 

 one hundred ounces, and being in the Louis Quatorze style, 

 richly embossed. The service was supplied by Mr. Loveday, 

 and its cost was £C0. The coffee-pot bore the following 

 inscription : " Presented to Mr. William Barratt, by the 

 members of the Wakefield Farmers' Club, in token of his 

 services as honorary secretary for eight years. Wakefield, 

 Feb. 8th, 1860." On each of the other pieces was engraved 

 a somewhat similar inscription. 



After the usual loyal toasts were given, 



The Chairman rose and said : I have great pleasure in 

 presenting thia very handsome testimonial to our worthy 

 secretary, Mr. Barratt. I say worthy secretarj', and I 

 make use of that word because a great many people who 

 have subscribed to the testimonial have said to me "Will 

 you receive my subscription towards the testimonial ? for 

 Mr. Barratt is a worthy man." He came forward at a time 

 of great need. [A Voice : He did.] We were going down 

 very fast indeed ; and but for him, we should not be in the 

 position we are now. (Addressing Mr. Barrett) In the 

 name of the Club, I have great pleasure in presenting to 

 you this very handsome testimonial, which I doubt not will 

 stimulate you in your future exertions ; for had I thought it 

 would cause you to relax, I should not have favoured its 

 presentation. The Chairman, in making the presentation, 

 alluded also to Mr. Bayldon, whom he called " the father 

 of the Club," and said that it would give them pleasure to 

 see him more among them. 



Mr. Barratt rose to acknowledge the gift. He said 

 often as he had stood up in that club to try to speak, he 

 was quite sure that he spoke the truth when he said that he 

 never felt so unable to speak as he did at that time. 



The Chairman : You will mend as you go on. 



Mr. Barratt continued : Since the testimonial had been 

 named to him, he had, as it was natural he should, thought 

 a great deal concerning it ; and he had come to the conclu- 

 sion that it lodld not be attributed to the sevices which he 

 had rendered the club, but to the personal good feeling and 

 kind-heartedness of its members. He did but express wha 



