150 
Report on the Trials of Dairy Implements 
vat. No. 1512, Reuben Cluett, was mechanically on the same 
principle, but constructed internally of strong tin, and mounted 
on wheels. The bottom of the inner vat was sloped to the centre, 
with a fall to one end. The advantage gained by this arrange- 
ment is that the whey drains better from the curd. The curd- 
knife was of the ordinary shape, and exactly fitted the vat in width 
and form of bottom, and was worked by a handle attached to 
the centre ; the cutting edges were so arranged as to cut the curd 
into small cubes at one operation. The vat could be heated 
either by steam or hot water. The whey and the curd were 
easily removed, and it was equally available for the factory or 
the farmhouse dairy. The catalogue price of 15Z. 10s. was mode- 
rate. We considered this the most nearly to fulfil the Society's 
conditions, and awarded it the First Prize. 
Class VII. — Curd Knives. 
There were 7 competitors for this prize. Mr. R. Cluett's 
convex knife, already described, though fully answering the 
purpose for which it is constructed, is not generally applicable 
to every description of vat ; and the same remark applies to ^fr. 
VVilkins's rotatory knife. No. 6327. Practical cheese-makers 
differ in their mode of manipulating the curd. There is no 
doubt that the quality of the cheese may, to a certain extent, be 
deteriorated in value by the application of a wrong principle to 
the cutting of the curd. When a blunt instrument is used, it 
may be bruised, and a portion of the butter washed out, or it 
may be cut too coarse. When this is so, and the temperature 
is rapidly raised, a portion of the whey becomes hermetically 
sealed in the granules of curd, which no after pressure can expel. 
The quantity of whey so enclosed, however small, sets up a fer- 
mentation, which soon completely destroys the clean flavour of 
the cheese. The infant curd, when first cut, is excessively 
tender and easily injured ; it requires steel knives as thin as 
can possibly be made, and as sharp almost as a razor, and should 
be used by skilful hands to accomplish the work satisfactorily. 
The most satisfactory knives were No. 2123, shown by Mr. 
Ahlborn, and No. 2040, by Mr. William Oilman. These were 
no new inventions, but they have been somewhat improved. 
They were first introduced into this country from America, in 
1869, by Messrs. Schermerhorn, who came over to manage the 
Derbyshire cheese-factories. These knives are of cast steel. The 
vertical knife is made 20 inches long and consists of 16 blades, 
which vary from to ^ inch apart. This knife is passed lon- 
gitudinally through the curd in the vat, cutting it into columns. 
The horizontal knife is constructed of the same materials, and 
