FARMER'S ASSISTANT. 53 



greater or less. Stir the curd till it is gathered ; put it in 

 a strainer, and with your hands work out all the whey ; 

 then lay it in a clean linen cloth, put it in the hoop, and, 

 covering it with the cloth, put it in the press, and let it 

 stand there two hours ; then take it out, rub it over with 

 fine salt, put it in another dry cloth, and put it in the press 

 eight hours; then take it out again, put it in another dry 

 cloth, and put it in the press again, where it is to remain 

 till the next cheese is ready. 



When taken out of the press, put it in brine twenty-font 

 hours, and let the brine have as much saltpetre in it as will 

 lie on a shilling. Some little additions ot salt and saltpetre 

 must be occasionally made to the brine ; and let it be 

 cleansed as often as necessary, by heating it and taking off 

 the scum. When you take the cheese out, dry it with a 

 cloth ; bind it round with a long string to make it keep its 

 shape, which must be kept round it for some days, and let 

 it be daily turned on the shelf, for two months. 



Let the evening milk be put with that of the morning ; 

 and, to make the best cheeses, let none of the cream be 

 taken away. If the evening milk, however, be skimed, and 

 added to that of the morning, it will make tolerable cheese, 

 Skim-milk cheeses are also made ; but they are not worth 

 much. 



The method of making the much-admired Stilton cheese, 

 in England, as communicated by Mr. Monk y is as fol- 

 lows : 



< Take the night's cream and put it to the morning's 

 milk with the runnet. When the curd is come, it is not to 

 be broken, as is done with other cheeses ; but take it out 

 with a soil-dish altogether, and place it in a seive to drain 

 gradually, and as it drains keep gradually pressing it, till it 

 becomes firm and dry; then place it in a wooden hoop; 

 afterwards to be kept dry on boards, turned frequently, with 

 cloth binders round it, which are to be tightened as occa- 

 sion requires. The Dairy- maid must not be disheartenedj 

 if she does not succeed perfectly in her first attempt. 



4 In the dairies which I visited (says Mr. Monk) the 

 cheeses, after being taken out of the wooden hoop, were 

 jound tight round with a cloth, which was changed every 

 clay, until the cheese became firm enough to support itself, 

 Alter the cloth was taken off, they were rubed every day 

 all over, for two or three months, with a brush, and, if the 

 weather was dump or moist, twice a day ; and, even before 

 the cloth was taken off, the top and bottom were well rub- 

 ed every day. 



There is no doubt (says he) but those cheeses require 

 a great^deal of attention, owing to their richness and thick- 

 They run from eight to eighteen pounds, 3 



