CHEESE-PRESS CHEESE-TONGS. 



perforated with holes, through which the whey may 

 run off as the cheese is pressed. In every consider- 

 able cheese dairy there ought to be vats of various 

 sizes in readiness, in order to adapt those used to 

 the quantity of curd which the cheese-tub may con- 

 tain, and to avoid the addition of overplus, which, 

 kept from meal to meal, frequently spoils a whole 

 cheese. 



The CHEESE-PRESS, which forces the whey from 

 the curd, should be skilfully constructed, and with 

 sufficient power. This power may be either derived 

 from a SCREW (at present most in use), a LEVER, or 

 DEAD-WEIGHT ; but, under whatever form, the power 

 must be in proportion to the thickness of the cheese 

 to be made. Should it not press level or have too 

 much play, so as to incline, or become tottering, 

 leaning to the one side or the other, and not fall per- 

 pendicularly upon the cheese-board, one side of the 

 cheese will not only be thicker than the other, but 

 one side may be thoroughly pressed, while the other 

 is left soft and spongy. In the common dairies, 

 where both butter and cheese are made in the same 

 place, an exception should be observed with regard 

 to the cheese-press, which should never be fixed 

 where the milk and butter are kept, as they are 

 liable to be affected by acid evaporations from the 

 whey and curd. The CHEESE-TONGS, a kind of wooden 

 frame, are occasionally placed on the tub, when the 

 vat is upon it, and the whey draining from the 

 curd. 



Making fine cheeses, even from the best herbage 

 and the richest milk, is a critical business, dependent 



