DRAWING THE WHEY—DIPPING AND MILLING THE CURD. 67 
enough (60 inches) to come up over the sides of the vat. The 
surplus cloth is then tucked under the lower end of the rack, 
and the curd piled onto it and broken apart to allow the whey 
to escape. 
It should be stirred over several times, and then left to mat 
evenly about six inches deep. The space, formerly occupied by 
the curd that has been put onto the racks, is now clear, and 
the second section of the rack can be placed in the vat. This 
is put inclose to the first section, and the cloth that had 
been tucked out of the way, is drawn over it and covered with 
curd, care being taken to stir out the whey, as on the first sec- 
Fig. 31—The Herrick Curd Knife. 
tion. The sides and ends of the strainer cloth are then wrapped 
over the curd, and the vat covered with a heavy cloth cover to 
keep the curd warm. The temperature must be maintained, to 
keep fermentation going on. 
140. Cutting the Curd into Blocks. 
After ten or fifteen minutes, the curd will have matted to- 
gether, and can be cut into large blocks, which are turned over. 
The best apparatus for cutting the curd that the author 
has seen is an instrument invented by Mr. B. B. Herrick, assist- 
ant in cheese making in the Ohio Dairy School. It is a trun- 
eated piece of heavy tin or galvanized iron, ten inches wide by 
sixteen inches long. It is folded at the ends and has a bead 
turned on the back to stiffen it. By taking this in both hands it 
can be pressed down into the curd cutting it quickly without 
damage to the strainer cloth. 
