CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



taken out of the vat, it is' put into a wooden hoop 

 or girth of the same breadth as the thickness of 

 the cheese, and is placed on the salting-bench, 

 where it stands about eight days, being well salted 

 during that time. It is then washed and dried, 

 and rubbed with sweet butter. 



The double Gloucester cheese, which is held in 

 such high repute, is almost wholly made in the 

 vale of Berkeley in Gloucestershire. Its excel- 

 lence is said to depend much upon the quality of 

 the land, and the great attention that is paid to 

 the management of the dairies. It is usually 

 made in the months of May, June, and July. 



The single Gloucester is half skim-milk cheese ; 

 'the double Gloucester or best making cheese, is 

 manufactured from the pure or unskimmed milk; 

 although it is not unusual in a large dairy to set 

 aside sufficient milk to afford cream and butter 

 enough for the family, and afterwards to add it to 

 the next day's milking.' 



Stilton cheese is made by putting the night's 

 cream, without any portion of skimmed-milk, into 

 the next morning's milk; but those who wish to 

 make it very fine, add still more cream ; and thus 

 its richness depends upon the quantity of cream 

 made use of. Butter is also said sometimes to be 

 used in its manufacture. The rennet is then 

 added without any colouring ; and when the curd 

 has formed, it is taken out without being broken, 

 and put whole into a sieve or drainer. In the 

 drainer it is pressed with weights until all the 

 whey is extracted, and when dry, put into a 

 hooped chessel. The outer coat being salted, it 

 is then put into the press, and when sufficiently 

 firm, it is taken out of the chessel, and bound 

 tightly in a cloth. This cloth is changed every 

 day until the cheese is quite dry, when it is 

 removed ; and the cheese requires no further care 

 except occasional brushing and turning. The 

 Stilton cheeses, although small not weighing 

 more than twelve pounds require two years to 

 bring them to full maturity. 



Dunlop cheese, although nowhere so well made 

 as in the parish in Ayrshire from which it derives 

 its name, is now manufactured in the dairy dis- 

 tricts of Scotland generally. The cheeses are 

 made of various sizes from a quarter to half a 

 hundredweight. Sometimes the entire milk is 

 used, but generally the cream is removed from 

 the evening's milking. 



Of late years, a very great improvement has 

 taken place in the manufacture of cheese in Ayr- 

 shire, Lanarkshire, Wigton, and Kirkcudbright. 

 It is a disputed point to whom this improvement 

 is chiefly due. Mr James Caird, late of Baldoon, 

 was certainly one of the first to draw public atten- 

 tion to the matter ; but what with visits of Scotch 

 farmers to England, and the introduction of 

 English dairy-maids into Scotland, the cheese 

 made in the important counties mentioned above 

 is now equal to the best made in England. The 

 money value of this improved quality is con- 

 sidered to be from 30 to 50 per cent The annual 

 competition for cheese and butter, which takes 

 place at the Kilmarnock Fair, has also aided not 

 a little in producing better quality of both butter 

 and cheese. 



Parmesan cheese is manufactured in that part of 



640 



Italy which lies between Cremona and Lodi, 

 comprising the richest portion of the Milanese 

 territory. The cows are kept in the house nearly 

 all the year round, and fed in summer with cut 

 grass from the rich irrigated meadows of the 

 country. Some of the cheeses are so large as to 

 contain nearly 180 pounds; and the milk of 100 

 cows is required to produce one of this size. This 

 cheese is made from the milk of the evening, 

 which is skimmed in the morning and at noon, 

 and the milk of the morning, which is also 

 skimmed at noon. The milk is heated to about 

 120 degrees. The rennet is then added. 



Swiss Cheese. The finest cheese made in Swit- 

 zerland is that of Gruyeres, in the canton of Frei- 

 burg. It is rich in quality, and generally fla- 

 voured with a powdered dry herb, the Melilotus 

 officinalis. The cheeses weigh from forty to 

 sixty pounds each, and are exported in large 

 quantities. 



Dutch cheeses are sold under various names in 

 this country Gouda, &c. Holland exports annu- 

 ally about 30 millions of pounds of cheese, the 

 greater portion coming to England. 



American and Canadian Cheese. The imports 

 of cheese from these countries is now immense, 

 and gradually increasing in favour. This has 

 been greatly assisted by the establishment of 

 large cheese factories, both in the United States 

 and in Canada. As yet, we believe there is only 

 one cheese factory, which has been lately estab- 

 lished in Derbyshire, on this principle in Great 

 Britain. Of the ultimate adoption of cheese fac- 

 tories in this country there cannot be a doubt. It 

 is almost impossible to obtain hired servants to 

 manage a dairy successfully, and it is invariably 

 found that the farmer's wife or daughter must 

 perform the duties of head dairymaid. Mr Mac- 

 Adam, in his excellent treatise on Domestic 

 Dairying, makes the following remarks : ' At 

 present there is heard from many quarters a loud 

 and earnest appeal for sufficient rest and leisure, 

 and fewer hours of labour, and no class has better 

 cause to turn this appeal into a demand than 

 those employed in cheese-making. It is no un- 

 common thing to find them engaged from five 

 o'clock in the morning till after eight at night, in 

 milking, making and turning cheese, or cleaning 

 the dairy and utensils ; and this Egyptian bond- 

 age is seldom lightened by the repose and 

 sanctity of the Sabbath, for the thoughtlessness 

 or prejudice of landlords and farmers, or a false 

 motive of economy, often compels them to con- 

 tinue their drudgery on that day. Surely such a 

 state of affairs is worse than a want of profit, and 

 far more reprehensible than a lack of success. 

 Must these have no leisure, no recreation, no 

 culture, nothing save the protracted hours of 

 labour, and a stinted allowance of rest? Must all 

 their energies of mind and body be directed to 

 the accomplishment of such tasks as selfishness 

 or apathy is pleased to impose, and which cir- 

 cumstances compel them to perform?' 



When Mr MacAdam penned the above, he 

 was an advocate for ' domestic dairying.' He and 

 his sons are now managing several American 

 cheese factories, and he advocates their adoption 

 in England with still greater prospects of success. 



