THE DAIRY. 601 



" Cracks or blemishes upon the surface of the cheese, caused 

 '' either by sourness, accident, flies, or mice, should be carefully 

 " filled up with a bit of cured cheese, and a piece of thin manilla 

 ** paper put over the spot to keep out the flies. Flies are a source 

 *' of serious trouble during a portion of the season, and unless the 

 "cheeses are most assiduously watched, considerable injury will be 

 *' done. When the mites have secured a lodgment in the cheese, 

 *' they can be brought to the surface by placing a cloth or paper 

 "over the orifice so as to entirely exclude the air. In some cases, if 

 " they are very numerous and have been at work for several days, 

 **the knife must be freely used, and the affected portion cut away. 

 " Then refill with cured cheese. Cayenne pepper put into the 

 " grease, is thought to be a protection against the depredations of 

 " flies. And alcohol, in which red-pepper pods have been soaked 

 '* for some days, applied to the surface of checked cheese, will 

 " keep off flies for a time. Some persons put beeswax into the 

 *' grease, believing that this better prepares the surface of cheese 

 *' to resist the attacks of flies. 



" It is to the curing-room that the cheeses are brought for per- 

 " fecting and ripening, and it is here they are inspected by the pur- 

 " chaser. Any blemish or imperfection will here be brought to 

 *' light. It is true that if cheeses are not properly made, no 

 " amount of care in this department can atone for this deficiency. 

 " It is also true that cheese, to which justice has been done in 

 "the manufacture, may be very much injured and depreciated by 

 *' want of judicious care and attention while curing. 



" Nicety in small things will pay ; not alone in the satisfaction 

 "of admiring them, but in dollars and cents," 



Concerning the manufacture of cheese in domestic dairies, very 

 complete directions are given in Flint's " Milch Cows and Dairy 

 Farming," to which the reader is referred, as it would be difficult 

 to condense within the narrow limits of this chapter, so much as 

 would be necessary for the practical information of cheese- 

 makers. 



The principle upon which the manufacture of cheese is based 



