62 CHEESE AND CHEESE-MAKING 



duced entirely from milk, and is an important 

 industry among the very small farmers and cot- 

 tagers of that part of France. Once, upon a visit 

 to a large farm in the district, I was taken to see 

 the dairies of a number of the smaller occupiers, 

 whose wives my conductor systematically but 

 fraternally kissed, and who were really the makers. 

 Bondon, like Gervais, is extremely small, and 

 from seven to nine cheeses are made from one 

 gallon of average milk. The milk is set at a low 

 temperature, and the curd takes a long time in 

 coagulation. It is removed when firm to a 

 strainer-cloth which has been stretched by the 

 four corners over a vessel somewhat resembling 

 an ordinary washing-tub. Here it gradually parts 

 with its whey, being occasionally and gently 

 moved, when the curd forms a coat which 

 prevents the passage of the whey through the 

 cloth. At a certain stage it is removed into a 

 clean cloth, which is folded over it, covered with 

 a board, and gently pressed. The right con- 

 , sistence having been obtained, the little cheeses 

 are moulded by hand in a most expert 

 manner, the mould being a small copper 

 cylinder some three inches in length by an 



