126 THE DAIRY OF THE FARM. 



damp and too much air. The richest cheeses are made in 

 the autumn, the midsummer cheeses heing generally from 

 milk which has heen skimmed for butter-making. This 

 cheese has a tendency to harden, but this is prevented in a 

 great measure, by the addition of a little boiling water in 

 the milk when it is put together. Milk used for the 

 manufacture of this cheese in summer must not exceed a 

 lukewarm heat, or it will become too hard, whereas in 

 autumn and winter the makers prefer that it should 

 slightly burn the finger. 



In making the second quality of cheese, a litre of boiling 

 water is generally added to 6 or 7 litres of milk, a little 

 more being used in autumn than in summer. In making 

 the third quality the makers simply boil the water which is 

 poured into the milk, the latter not being heated at all. 

 Great care, however, is needed, as old milk is liable to turn. 

 This cheese must be eaten quickly, as it will not keep more 

 than about 3 months, but otherwise it is almost as fine as 

 cheese made from whole milk. It becomes a velvety blue 

 in 3 weeks, shewing that it is ripe, when it should be at 

 once marketed. To make a good cheese valued at Is. 3d. 

 4 litres of new milk are required ; and 5 to 6 litres for a 

 two-franc, or Is. Sd. cheese : thus 4 litres valued in 

 England at about Id. produces a cheese worth double the 

 money, in addition to the whey, which would increase the 

 return. The richest of these Pont I'feveque cheeses, 

 called " Bespoken " and made of two-thirds whole milk 

 and one -third cream, are seldom marketed, but reach from 

 30 to 40 francs per dozen, and are found upon the tables 

 of the rich in Paris, and other parts of France. Many of 

 the farmers in the district manufacture from 4,000 to 

 5,000 cheeses per annum. 



