CURING AND SHIPPING THE CHEESE. 107 
207. Scale Boards. 
That the rinds of the cheese may be well protected ‘‘scale 
boards,’’ or very thin basswood or whitewood boards, are placed 
in the box. Two or three are placed on each end of the box, and 
two or three between twins. This number is more than is gen- 
erally used, but cheese in, this way keep better when placed in 
cold storage. If flats are put together without scale boards, 
and left for any great length of time, they will stick together so 
tight that they can only be pulled apart with difficulty. The 
rinds sweat and are easily broken. They therefore need plenty 
of scale boards. The boxes should be trimmed to one-eighth of 
an inch less than the height of the cheese, so that it will hold its 
place and arrive in the market in good condition. They should not 
be more than a quarter of an inch larger in diameter than the 
cheese; if there is too much room in the box the cheese will be 
likely to shift around and break the box. On the other hand, the 
tox should not be so tight that the cheese will stick in it. 
Boxes that are split or poorly nailed should be rejected, as 
they will be sure to arrive in the market in a dilapidated condi- 
tion. Cheese makers do not realize that boxes that may be in 
fair condition when filled may be entirely useless at the end of 
the journey. 
When the cheese is hauled to the depot the boxes should be 
covered with blankets to protect it from dust and the hot sun. 
208. How Cheese are Weighed. 
In weighing cheese nothing but full pounds are counted. 
For instance, if the weight is 6034 pounds, it is recorded as 60, 
or if the beam barely rises at 61. pounds, it is recorded as 60 
pounds, as it would likely lose weight in transportation and be 
cut in weight when in the hands of the buyer. In the large 
warehouses, where hundreds of boxes arrive in a single day, they 
cannot stop to weigh every box, but weigh a few boxes, and if 
the weight falls short the whole lot is docked accordingly. Such 
weighings are referred to an official weighmaster. 
209. Marking of Weights. 
The weight should be stenciled, or plainly marked, on the 
box (not the cover) next to the seam, where it can readily be 
