MANUFACTURE OF CHEESE. 385 



ecieutific process is employed, and one by winch not oul}- fine quality but 

 uuitbrmity also is more easily attained than by any other method. The name 

 '•Cheddar" is from the village in Somersetshire, where it was first made. 

 Improvement has, perhaps, been more marked in this than in almost any other 

 section in either England or Scotland ; for we find that a hundred years ago 

 the cheese of Somersetshire was inferior to that of North Wiltshire. Edward 

 Liiiie, esq., in his "Obsen'ations on Husbandry," says: 



"Being with Stephens, about East Lydforcl, near Somerton, in Somersetshire, anri havino- 

 business with a great many farmers, I found by Stephens, and by the confession of those 

 farmers, that nonvithstanding their lands were much richer than those of Nortli Wiltshire, 

 they could not pretend to make such good cheese as was made in North Wiltshire, and that 

 cheese of the same sort would outsell the Somersetshire by three or four shillings on the 

 cwt. It was allowed, also, that the Somersetshire women could not make a cheese with a 

 yellow coat like those of Njrth Wiltshire; wherefore the Somersetshire women, to disguise 

 it, put saunders into their milk to give a yellow color to the coat of their cheese, which, 

 giving a yellow color also to the inside, when people put in tlie taster they found out the art, 

 and upon discovery they made exceptions, for the inside of the North Wiltshire cheese is 

 white; and it was confessed by all and agreed that down further westward, though the land 

 was better, the cheese was worse than in those parts of Somersetshire which I speak of. 

 Tliey allowed, also, that at Winchester fair, if the fair was dull, the Somersetshire men must 

 stay a day or two longer than tne Wiltshire men before they could sell." 



Time has changed since Mr. Lisle wrote, for we now find the Cheddar from 

 Somersetshire holding the first rank as an aristocratic cheese, although large 

 quantities of Cheshire, ]3unlop, Gloucester, and others are still disposed of. 

 It may perhaps be doubted by some whether there be any acknowledged 

 standard of quality by which to decide whether one cheese is better than 

 another or not. The tastes of people difter very much ; one would have cheese 

 new, mild, soft ; another wants it- old, hard, strong, or perhaps mouldy, and so 

 on; one may even prefer it made of skimmed milk and got up in true white- 

 oak style. We maintain that there must be a standard, and one aside from 

 occasional prejudices ; if not a standard for all persons and places, certainly one 

 for the English market taken as a whole, else how should dairymen know what 

 to aim at? How should buyers know what prices to offer or what to select? 

 How should judges at cheese shows decide where to awai-d premiums? What 

 is the standard ? 



Mr. Willard, the author of several excellent papers on the subject of dairy- 

 ing, says of a Herkimer coimty cheese forty days old lying on the table ready 

 to be boxed for market : 



" It is of a rich, creamy, or golden color, with a firm, smooth, and elastic rind; it is ot 

 good proportions, its circumference gently swelling out, giving it an appearance of plump 

 ne.ss and completeness ; it is free from cracks, mould, or outward imjKirlectious. Under the 

 hand it lias that peculiarly iirm, yet soft, velvety texture, which, to the expert, is always 

 satisfactory evidence of its quality ; it is neither hard nor too soft, but will feel mellow 

 rather than elastic when pressed by the finger. This cheese, since it came from the press, 

 has never leaked whey ; it has never liutfod even during the hottest weather, and can, at 

 such time, be safely sent to market. Uurc it with your tryei', and you will find it mellow, 

 firm, and solid, with a mild, pleasant Havor, rich, buttery, and melting in the mouth — a 

 cheese which will sell in the market for the highest price." 



Now see what our transatlantic cousins say. At the great cheese show in 

 Cheshire, in 1S5S, one of the judges, Mr. Corderoy, of London, says: "We 

 want cheeses rich, solid, fine-flavored, true colored, that is, of even color through- 

 out, firm, sound, handsome, and that will go on to improve for twelve months, 

 or longer, if required." 



Mr. Harding, of Somersetshire, says: "A good cheese is close and firm in 

 texture, yet mellow ; in character or quality it is rich, with a tendency to melt 

 in the mouth; the flavor full and fine, apparently that of a huzlenut." Mr. 

 Bate, of Cheshire, says : "The characteristics of a good cheese arc mellow and 



31 A 



