CHEESE 315 



acrid as to make the lips sore. The cheese is then 

 a mere mass of putrefaction to be thrown on the 

 dung-hill. The rate of decay is proportioned to 

 the softness of the cheese and its permeability by 

 the air. Therefore, in order that it may keep well, 

 it must be carefully dried and also reduced to a com- 

 pact mass by strong pressure. That is why so much 

 force is exerted in pressing the large cheeses of 

 Gruyere and Auvergne in their molds. But it is 

 nothing in comparison with certain cheeses, called 

 Dutch cheeses, which are noted for their extraordi- 

 nary lasting qualities. They become so hard and 

 dry that before they can be eaten they sometimes 

 have to be broken up with a hammer and put to 

 soften again in a cloth wet, with white wine." 



" Those very hard cheeses, as solid as a rock, 

 can't be of much use/' commented Emile. 



"That is where you are mistaken. Cooks use 

 this hard cheese to season certain dishes, after grat- 

 ing it to a powder. It is also in favor on shipboard 

 as a valuable article of food on long voyages. The 

 Dutch cheese is round like a ball, and has a reddish 

 rind. It takes its name from the country where it 

 is made." 



