OTHER VARIETIES OF FANCY CHEESE 55 



my application to the Monastery, although 

 backed by an introduction from one of the 

 highest officials in the French Agricultural 

 Department, was met by the response that no 

 outsider was ever allowed to see the process of 

 manufacture pursued ; that, in a word, the monks 

 could not trust their own friends, who under the 

 guise of curiosity had in previous years appar- 

 ently taken advantage of the privilege extended 

 to them to describe something of the system 

 pursued, and thus to place other people in 

 possession of a secret which is so jealously 

 guarded. Secrets of this kind, however, are 

 not long-lived, and it is impossible to prevent 

 those who are acquainted with the principles of 

 cheese-making from producing a variety of this 

 character if they care to take the trouble to 

 make a few thoughtful and well-arranged ex- 

 periments for themselves. The Port du Salut 

 cheese is not unlike a variety made in this 

 country and known as the Caerphilly ; it is 

 circular in form, flat, about an inch in thickness, 

 and partially pressed. The pate, or flesh of the 

 cheese, is extremely mellow or creamy, and yet 

 homogeneous and firm in consistence, although 



