254 FINE COAT. — VARIETIES. 



pieces, and to every hundred weight of curd add one 

 and one quarter pounds of salt ; grind it twice, and stir 

 it so that it shall be properly mixed with the salt ; then 

 put it into well-perforated turned vats, taking care to 

 press it thoroughly whilst the vats are filling, to prevent 

 the accumulation of air, to the presence of which is to 

 be attributed the honeycomb appearance so often ob- 

 served in cheese when cut. 



When the cheese is put into the press let the press- 

 ure gradually upon it. After it has been in press 

 one and a half hours, take it out and examine it, and, 

 should there be any curd pressed over, cut it round 

 and put it into the middle of the cheese, carefully break- 

 ing it up in the middle. Wash the ends of the cloths 

 out in a bowl of warm water, squeeze them, and cover 

 the cheese up, and, if there should be any not sufficiently 

 fall, it will be necessary either to put a follower upon it, 

 or to put it into a smaller vat ; in the evening let them 

 be dry clothed. The following morning salt them all 

 over and dry cloth them, and repeat this three suc- 

 cessive mornings ; after which, put them in vats, placed 

 one on the other, and allow them to stand, if possible, 

 a fortnight, occasionally wiping them. The cheese 

 will get matured much sooner by these means, and the 

 tendency to cracking and bulging be prevented. 



The way to get a fine coat upon cheese, after the first 

 coat has been washed and scraped off, is to put the 

 cheese on shelves, nail thick sheeting to the ceiling from 

 one of the shelves to the other, and let it drop closely 

 to the floor. If put over the floor, cover them over 

 with thick sheeting, or rugs. 



The varieties of cheese are almost infinite in num- 

 ber, and are often dependent on very minute details of 

 practice. The general principles involved are the same 

 in all ; but it would be next to impossible to find any 



