66 CHEESE MAKING. 
this was, that it is impossible to stir the curd to the same degree 
of dryness from day to day, and some day the curds would be 
drier than another. 
138. Curd Rack. 
In the Cheddar system, which we follow, the curd is drained 
on racks, which are placed either in the bottom of the vat or 
in a curd sink. The racks are made of hard wood, preferably 
maple. They are constructed of strips rounded on the top, 
three-fourths of an inch thick, two inches wide, screwed onto 
ABIBIBIBUE IEE 
Fig. 30.—Curd Rack. 
two other pieces, two inches high, three-fourths of an inch thick, 
and four feet long. The slats are three-eighths of an inch apart, 
extend crosswise of the vat, and are long enough, so that not 
more than a quarter of an inch of space is left between each end 
and the sides of the vat. The racks are usually in two four-foot 
sections. 
139. Racks—How Used. 
When the whey is drawn down, so that there is tut very 
little whey left in the vat to interfere with operations, the vat 
is tipped so that one end is five or six inches lower than the 
other, and the curd is shoved down to the lower end till about 
five feet of the upper end is cleared. The first section of the 
rack is then put in, and a linen strainer cloth thrown over it. 
This strainer cloth should be about twelve feet long, and wide 
