Recent Improvements in Dairy -practice. 
75 
scparatin<r, the other for drawinjj off, the whej — ^may be an advance 
on former metliods, but they are now superseded by other im- 
provements. The whey can be separated by a more scientific mode, 
practised in Somersetshire and the neifrhbourinf; counties where 
Chechlar cheese is made. This is effected by the natural con- 
traction and precipitation of the curd, under tlie chemical action 
of heat applied in heated whey. In about an hour from the first 
breaking- up of the coag-vilum, a quantity of whey is drawn off 
into a pan and placed in a boiler containing boiling water. 
While this is being heated, the curd is again broken into 
minute pieces, preparatory to the introduction of the whey, which 
is heated to 140'', and as much of it is returned to the mass as 
will raise its temperature to 100^. During the pouring in of the 
whey — which should not be rapid — the mass is kept in motion 
with an agitator (which may consist of a piece of board or white 
tin, placed on the face of the revolving knives), to prevent any 
portion of the curd from being over-heated. When the mass is 
brought to the proper temperature, as determined by the thermo- 
meter, the motion is continued with the agitator more slowly for 
twenty or thirty minutes, or until the curd acquire a proper degree 
of consistency, Avhich is indicated by a certain elastic granular 
feeling-, on its being grasped in the palm of the hand. The agi- 
tator is then withdrawn, and the mass allowed to settle. In a short 
time the curd falls to the bottom, almost entirely separated from 
the whey, without pressure or mechanical force, Avhich is not 
employed or required until the last stage of the process, when the 
curd is made up in the cheese-vat.* By separating the whey in 
this way more curd, as determined by experiment, is obtained, 
than when mechanical force is used ; and as the Cheddar is the 
highest-priced Eng- 
lish cheese (Stilton 
excepted), it may be 
inferred that the qua- 
lity is also improved. 
This improved process, 
technically termed slip- 
scalding, is due to 
Mr. J oseph Harding, 
JMarksbury, near Bris- 
tol, and some others. 
The introduction of 
the use of the syphon 
(Fig. 1) for drawing 
the whey off the curd, 
T U B. 
* See Prize Report on making Cheddar Cheese, 'Transactions of the Highland 
and Agricultural Society,' 1st July, 1859. 
