is the next process. This usee! fonaorU- to be 

 done by means of the hands and skimmin.ar-tliFh 

 (a practice still continaed in some dairies) ; bat 

 the curd-hreaker is now srenerally made use of 

 for this purpose (see Y\s. 1). It is made of 

 ■WTre-"woA, in an oval form, and has a tin rim 

 round it aboat an inch and a half broad. This 

 vrire-'work cats the curd, by being passed 

 through it perpendicularly very, very gently at 

 first, and in difierent directions, so that the whole 

 mass is separated into very small portions. The 

 length of time required for the operation de- 

 pends upon the quantity of curd: for a 60 

 pound cheese the operation often takes twenty 

 or twenty-five minutes. After this the curd 

 is left for a qnarter of an hour to separate 

 {iom the whey. and. if the v\-eather be cool, 

 the tub is covered to retain the heat The curd 

 having separated, which it does by sinking, a 

 portion of Uie whey at the top is then taken out 

 by the portable brass or tin pan before alluded 

 to, being pressed into it, and emptied into the 

 set-pan. The curd is then gently broken by the 

 dairj-maid and her assistant pa-sstng their hands 

 down to the bottom of the tub. and buoying up 

 a portion of the curd at each time to the surface, 

 or by again using the cord-breaker. The curd 

 having been brought to the top, is easily seized, 

 and separated into smaller portions, and the 

 •whey thereby released. This operation takes 

 about half an hour. After the expiration of an- 

 other half hour for so soon as the curd is con- 

 sidered sufficiently settled — ^for there is no say- 

 ing to five or ten minutes how long each partic- 

 uJar interval of rest should be), more whey is 

 taken out, and the curd afterwards drawn as 

 much into one half of the bottom of the tub as 

 its loose texture w^Ul admit of* Upon the curd 

 is then placed a semi -circular board adapted to 

 the size of the tub, with a -weight of about 30 

 pound placed upon iL This board is peribrated 

 with boles, about half an inch in diameter, to 

 allo>*" the whey to escape through. The tub is 

 now set three or four inches atilt to drain the 

 w-hey more readily fironi the curd, and to admit 

 of its being collected and carried off. The skim- 

 ming-dish is again required to lade out the 

 whey. The whey, on its way to the set pan, is 

 passed throush a sieve, to collect any curd 

 ■w hich may happen to be floating in it. Tliis 

 curd is what is called slip cyrd. which by .eome 

 is not returned to the tub, for the rea.=on I have 

 ijefore stated. The weight and board are shortly 

 taken off. and such part of the curd as has been 

 squeezed from tinder them is again collected on 

 one side, and a heavier weiffhi (say 50 or 60 

 poundi applied as before. As the whey escapes 

 from the curd it is laded out. In the course of a 

 quarterof anhour the board is airain removed, the 

 curd cut in intersections of six or eight inches 

 apart, to assist the discharge of the whey, and the 

 board, witli additional weights 'about double 

 the last], again applied- Some dairy-maids now 



' Ax, this stase, it is the practice with some dainr- 

 maids, when they suppose the cord is colder or mere 

 tender than it ought to be, to return a few gailcms of 

 whey afaar it ha? been heated over the boifer in the 

 brass pan JEto the tub aiain. to assist the discharge of 

 the rf-maining whey. It on the contrary, the cnrrt is 

 found warmer than i.- intJ-nded or desirable, which is 

 e-imetrme; the case in hot weath«T or during thundr r. 

 a few gjilluns of cold wai»ir are appSedto prevent the 

 curd becoming toaah. These inconveniences would, 

 in my opinion, seldom if ever happ«-n if a thermi.ra- 

 eter was used at £rn, and the proper hmax at that 

 tane adhered to. 



add the slip curd. The weights are asain in- 

 i creased if it be thought necessary : observicg 

 ! always to let the pressure ickich' is applied be 

 ; gradual, and 7-eg-ulated by the degree of cirni- 

 j pactness of the curd, for it this is not attended 

 I to now, as well as afterwards, a considerable 

 ■ portion of butyraceous matter wiU be forced out 

 I and the cheese of cotirse deteriorated. 

 j The curd is again cut into square pieces, taken 

 I out of the cheese-tub and broken a little by the 

 i hands as it is passed into the '• thrusting-tab ' 

 j (a. Figs. 2 and 3). [In some dairies a large-sized 

 cheese-vat, in others a wUlow basket is substitu- 

 ted for the thrusting-iub.] In this the extraction 

 j of the vshey is afterwards continued by the ap- 

 i plication of •• the screw," of which there are two 

 or three kinds, but all on the same principle 

 ' (see Figs. 2 and 3 1. The old plan of thrusting — 

 ' and from which the term is no doubt derived — 

 was by means of a pole four or five yards long, 

 j iixed at one end into an upright post, \\hilst at 

 I the other was seated a lusty lad or a man. who 

 I kept regularly pressing down the pole upon the 

 curd, the pole acting as a lever. Both poles and 

 men are now almost entirely expelled from the 

 Cheshire dairies ; and the screw is al.«o likely to 

 be superseded by the "lever press" (Fig. 5). 

 The advantages of this over the screw are, that 

 it sinks by its own action with the curd — any 

 degree of pressure required can be applied and 

 gradually increased, a/idless attention is neces- 

 sary : whereas the presstire from the screw is 

 sudden and uncertain, and having no self-action, 

 requires the dair}.--maid's assistance every five 

 or ten minutes to render it effectual. 



The •■' thmsting-tnb." in which the curd has 

 now to be pressed, is round, and is perforated 

 with holes at the sides and bottom for the whey 

 to escape tlirough (see a, Figs. 2 and 3). Be- 

 fore the curd is put in, a •• cheese-cloth " of the 

 coarsest kind, about one and a half yard long, 

 and a yard wide, (or of dimensions sufficient to 

 contain the cardi. is placed in it* In this the 

 curd, after being broken, as before stated, is en- 

 veloped, and a " sinker." or stron? circular 

 board, which fits the inside of the tab. placed 

 on it [b. Figs. 2 and 3!. Upon this the screw Jor 

 lever press, if used] is let down, and the power 

 gradually applied. 



To assist still farther the discharge of the 

 whey, long iron skewers are introduced through 

 the peribrations in the tub, -with their points 

 directed npward.=, so thatwhen the skewers are 

 ■withdrawn there is a drain made for the -whey 

 to follow. These skewers do not remain in 

 more than five or ten minutes ; the pressure is 

 continued a little longer. The curd is now cut 

 through, in intersect ions of two or three inches 

 apart, -with a large dull knife, so as not to injure 

 the cheese-cloth, and the edtre or comer of the 

 card is cut off all round, and placed in the cen- 

 tre. After this the pressure is again applied, and 

 gradually increased, and the skewers introduced 

 ! and '.vithdrawn as before, after the lapse of about 

 i fifteen or twenty minutes. The curd is then 

 taken completely out of the mb. cut into four or 

 five pieces, and each piece broken separately 

 with the hands to about the size of two or three 

 inches square. A clean dry cloth is made use 

 of tl.'e curd folded in it, and asain pressed and 

 skewered. These operations arc repeated until 

 the wbey is sufficiently extracted to admit of the 



' ChetfecJotk* are Irnm, of a rather closer texture 

 than canvass, and made for the pDrp<>s<: The coaree 

 kind are sometimf-^ termed screte-clotiif. 



