Report on the Dairy-Farming of the North-west of France. 315 
and that about one-fourth of the value of the make, not of its 
quantity, is sold in Paris, which takes the best of this as of every 
other kind of French dairy-produce. It is a moot point in the 
district of Livarot whether, on the whole, it is not more profit- 
able to make a large quantity of butter, and Livarot cheese with 
the skim-milk, than a small quantity of butter and Camembert 
cheese with whole or nearly whole milk. My observations have 
led me to the conclusion that unskilful or inattentive cheese- 
makers do best by adopting the Livarot system, because they get 
rid of the cheese about a week or ten days after it is made, and 
thus avoid the losses which would result from any mistake in 
the management of the delicate processes of curing the Camem- 
bert. On the other hand, a good manager of Camembert in all 
its stages would surrender some portion of the profit which is 
the payment for his skill if he made Livarot instead of Cam- 
embert, except perhaps in the middle of the summer, when the 
weather is too hot for the manufacture of really fine Camembert. 
As in the case of every other kind of skim-cheese, the quality 
of the Livarot depends upon the length of time which the milk 
has stood before being skimmed. This varies, according to the 
markets, from 24 to 48 hours. The skim-milk is warmed to the 
natural temperature of milk just ^rawn from the cow, and 
rennet is added sufficient to coagulate the curd in from half an hour 
to two hours, according to the season — the shorter time being of 
course in the height of summer. When fit, the curd is taken 
with a bowl out of the pail in which it was set ; it is spread 
upon a cloth placed upon a table-shelf, which is furnished with 
a gutter to carry off the whey, and is there broken up fine. The 
broken curd is then placed in perforated tin moulds upon the 
usual reed mats, and left to drain, the moulds being frequently 
turned at the commencement of the process, namely, every twenty 
or thirty minutes. By degrees the turning takes place less fre- 
quently, but the cheeses are kept in moulds, first of tin and 
afterwards of wood, until they are sold at the next available 
market-day. As a rule, the cheeses are thus kept by the farmer 
for seven or eight days, after which time they are sold " green," 
as we should term it, to dealers, who cure and otherwise prepare 
them for the market. 
At the establishments of the curers the cheese undergoes a 
variety of operations. It is first carefully salted on the outside, 
and then placed for about three weeks in the drying room, which 
is similar to that used for Camembert cheese. While there it 
is frequently turned, and at first rubbed with a strong solution 
of salt so long as it readily absorbs the brine. After about three 
weeks, it is moved to the " finishing room " or " cellar," also 
similarly arranged to that used for completing the curing of 
