Report on the Dairy-Farming of the North-west of France. 321 
given me the following account of his first experiment in this 
direction, which is at any rate sufficiently encouraging to stimu- 
late further attempts based on more exact knowledge of the 
French processes : — ■ 
" Having visited some dairy farms in France, where Bondons, Neufcliatel, 
Camembert, Petit Suisse Creme, and other small cheeses are made, 1 saw no 
reason why such cheese sliould not be made in this* country. These cheeses 
are made from 'soft or uncooked paste' (pate), as distinguishing them 
from the hard or cooked curd, from which cheese is principally made in 
England. 1 took good ordinary fresh milk, as received in Loudon from the 
country, and without heating it, added a small quantity of rennet. 1 left the 
milk to stand in a moderately warm temperature, until curd had formed, from 
12 to 18 hours. I had a crate made, similar to those I had seen in France, 
about 3 ft. 6 in. long, 15 in. wide, and 18 in. deep. I tied the corners of a 
coarse cloth to the corners of this crate, allowing the cloth to form a bag in 
the crate, the bottom of the bag being some inches from the bottom of the 
crate. Into this bag I poured the curdled milk, and allowed it to remain 
until the whey had fairly drained from it. The corners of the cloth were 
then loosened, and the mass of curd, still in the cloth, allowed to fall to the 
bottom of the crate ; the edges of the cloth were then folded over the curd, 
thus making it into ' a parcel,' as it were. A piece of board was placed upon 
the lumps of curd, and upon this a weight, so as to squeeze out more whey. 
This draining process occupied some twelve hours. On opening the cloth the 
curd was found in a solid, but not too hard mass. This was broken up with 
the hand and worked into a smooth paste. It was then moulded into tin 
rings, about four inches in diameter, and an inch deep. The paste was squeezed 
into the ring, and the small cheeses thus made were shaken out on to a board. 
The boards were cut so as to take three dozen cheeses in three rows. The 
cheeses were then put into a vault to dry and ripen. The Fi'ench farmer who 
gave me the most information on the subject, told me that there was but little 
difference in the paste from which the various cheeses are made, the great 
difference being the manipulation, especially in the treatment of the cheese 
during the drying and ripening process. This I found to be the case with me. 
Having but little time to spare for my experiments, and the attention 1 could 
give being very irregular, I obtained all sorts of results, some of my cheeses 
turning out very fair specimens, closely resembling Camemberts, others of 
quite a different character, more like the Bondon or Neufchatel. These 
differences were mainly brought about by variations of temperature, both 
during the period of curdling and while the cheeses were drying. The state of 
the atmosphere had also much to do with the ditJ'erences of production. Of 
one thing, however, I am fully convinced as the result of my trials, viz., that 
these sott cheeses can be just as well made in England as in France, and that 
much of the money now paid to our neighbours for that product of the dairy 
might be put into the pockets of our own farmers ; but, to succeed, great per- 
sonal and minute attention must be bestowed upon the manufacture, and it is 
in this alone that the Frenchman has the advantage over the Englishman, an 
advantage which need not exist. 
" I may mention that the delicious cream-cheese, sold in Paris as Fromage 
Gervais,* is made by adding to the ' fiaste,' as described above, as much cream 
as the paste or curd will cany or absorb. This is done by the hand ; the 
paste is sent from the farm at Gournaj' to Paris every evening during the 
season, the cream is then worked up with it and the cheeses are made up and 
* This is the ''Suisse double creme" described on p. 37, "Gervais" being 
the name of one of the largest and best-known makers. — H. M. J. 
VOL. XV. — S. S. Y 
