practised on the four Prize Dairy Farms. 
39 
made by Mrs. Gibbons, who has been a cheese-maker from her 
earliest youth, being a daughter of Mr. Harding of Markesburj, 
a gentleman who most aided in extending the Cheddar system 
into Scotland, where some really fine cheese is now made. Mrs, 
Gibbons has good accommodation and the latest appliances ; 
and these, combined with skill and careful management, enable 
her to produce an article worthy of exhibition anywhere. The 
accommodation on this farm is superior to any that came under 
our notice. The dairy is commodious and well ventilated; both 
milk and curd are very sensitive to impure air and soon become 
tainted ; the curing- or cheese-room is over the dairy, and heated 
with hot air in winter, and the roof is whitewashed in summer ; 
the heat by these means is pretty much under control. The milk 
is put overnight into a circular tin vessel, with a cavity under- 
neath for running cold water wherewith to cool it. The water 
used for the dairy is pumped by the hydraulic ram noticed in the 
Report by Mr. Beard, and is conveniently laid on to the 
whole of the dairy, saving considerable labour in pumping 
and carrying water, a good supply of which is most essential. 
The vat, or the vessel in which the milk is put, is fixed on a 
wooden frame, with a contrivance for tilting to assist in running 
off the whey. It has also a gauge for registering the milk ; the 
morning's and evening's milk are mixed together, and raised to a 
temperature of 80° Fahr., by heating a portion of the evening's 
milk in a boiler of hot water. About 5 drachms of Hansen's 
rennet is added to 11 gallons of milk, which coagulates it very 
regularly in an hour, much more so than when the veils were 
used, and the rennet made daily, by steeping a small portion of 
veil overnight in water for use in the morning ; and Mrs. 
Gibbons thinks the milk yields a larger amount of curd with 
this rennet. When the milk is coagulated, the curd is cut dia- 
gonally with a large knife, and left until the whey begins to 
separate, when the scoop-breaker is used, gently moving it at 
first through the curd, great care being taken not to bruise the 
curd, so that it may net lose the fatty matter which it would do 
if broken roughly ; the motion is gradually increased until the 
whole is very finely broken. Some of the whey is then drawn 
off and heated, and when near boiling is poured into the whole, 
which raises the temperature up to 90^, stirring at the same 
time to prevent the curd packing, and to heat it regularly. This, 
to use the local term, is the first scald ; and after about 10 
minutes the same is repeated, and the temperature raised to 
about 100° Fahr. Mrs. Gibbons prefers raising the heat at 
twice and heating the whey, to applying the heat underneath 
the tub ; the whole is still kept stirred until the curd becomes 
more tenacious, offering quite a resistance when placed between 
