138 THE DAIRY OF THE FARM. 



strainers. This process is conducted twice daily after each 

 milking. The curd which has been dealt with in the 

 morning, and which is placed in round wooden flexible 

 moulds, in which a cloth is first laid, is placed upon an in- 

 clined table, upon which the chaff of some rye has been 

 laid. By the time the evening's curd is ready that of the 

 morning is naturally cold, but the cheese is composed of the 

 two, the cold curd being placed in the centre and the warm at 

 the top and bottom. Thus each cheese is made up of three 

 layers, and as the hot and cold curd never properly combine, 

 two sets of interstices are, as it were, created, in which, as 

 it matures, the well-known green mould forms, and adds to 

 the cheese the delightful flavour which is so much approved 

 of in this country. During the first day of manufacture the 

 curd is turned three times, and on the next morning it is 

 put into a clean cloth and salted, this process being con- 

 tinued for at least a week, sometimes more, and 1 ounce of 

 salt generally used to about 8 pounds of curd. In some 

 cases the salting operation is conducted by a special process 

 of turning and pressing against a salted surface, this giving 

 a better crust to the cheese. The wooden mould within 

 which the curd was placed in the first instance is not re- 

 moved until the fourth day, when the cheese has commenced 

 to ferment. At the end of 25 days a good cheese is gener- 

 ally a pinkish white in colour ; but if it is inferior it becomes 

 nearly black, the crust in this case being soft, and the body 

 of the cheese rapidly deteriorating. If, however, the crust 

 is hard, washing in brine will improve it. The temperature 

 of the cheese-room is usually between 57 and 67 F. 

 The ripening commences in April and frequently continues 

 until August. One gallon of milk usually makes 1 Ib. of 

 Gcrgonzola cheese. 



