438 
The Practice of Stilton Cheese Making. 
and the result was a high standard of excellence. The best 
Stiltons made in the houses of the small farmers and graziers of 
thirty or thirty-five years ago are not excelled, if equalled, in the 
present day. The general standard of Stilton cheese ought not 
to be lower to-day than it was thirty years ago, with all the 
appliances and instruments in the shape of thennometers and 
hot water heating apparatus now at the command of the cheese- 
maker. If the same steady attention and time were given to 
the manufacture now as were given in the time spoken of, the 
general standard would be considerably higher than it was then ; 
and it behoves cheese-makers, in face of the keen foreign 
competition, to make Stilton cheese of the best quality only. 
To do so four things are absolutely necessary — viz. proper 
buildings, utensils, constant supervision in the manufacture, and 
perfect cleanliness. 
Buildings. — There should be four separate apartments : — the 
dairy, for setting the milk and draining the curd, which should 
have a temperature of never less than 55° or more than 60°. It 
must be fitted with a stove, or hot water heating apparatus, to 
keep the temperature up in cool weather — 12 feet by 14 feet is 
a nice size. 
The next apartment is the draining-room, where the curd is 
taken immediately it is put in the mould (called by cheese-makers 
the hoop), until such time as it is ready to put in the binder. 
This room must have a temperature of never less than 63° or 
more than 67° ; 65° is the proper heat. During April and, say, 
the first two weeks in May, if the heating apparatus is not very 
perfect, it will be advisable to increase the temperature in these 
two rooms from 3° to 5°, as the outside temperature varies. 
It must be borne in mind that a cheese in the hoop if once starved 
is spoilt. The dairy and draining-room must have cement floors 
and trapped drains; there must be no crevice for the whey to 
get in, as the odour from stagnant whey is very objectionable, 
and all offensive smells must be carefully avoided. The size 
should be 8 feet by 12 feet, and it should have one entrance only, 
as it is important to keep the temperature of this room very 
even. 
No. 3 is the drying-room, where the cheese is taken after 
the binder is taken off and the coat is formed. This room (size 
14 feet by 10 feet) must have a temperature of from 50° to 55°, 
and be fitted with windows to open or shut as the draught is 
required. All windows must have small perforated zinc as well 
as glass, also inside shutters to exclude the mid-day light. This 
direction applies to all windows throughout the buildings. 
No. 4 is the storing-room (size 14 feet by 24 feet), which 
