40 
Composition of Cheese. 
tlic j)o()r condition of new or badly-made cheese referable solely 
to a deficiency of butter. One of the chief tests of the skill of 
the dairymaid is the production of a rich tasting- and looking;, 
fine-flavourrd, mellow cheese from milk not particularly rich in 
cream. That this can l)c done is abundantly proved by the 
practice of good makers. One of the finest Cheddars which 
I have ever examined is that mentioned as No. 4 in the above 
table. This was made by Mr. Harding, Marksbury, Somerset- 
shire, and analysed by me when about six months old. Like all 
good cheeses, it of course contains a large amount of butter ; 
though, as I found by experiment, not nearly so large an amount 
as its appearance, rich taste, and fine mature condition seemed 
to imply. Though only six months old, it had a much more 
mature a])pearance than the Cheddar cheese No. 1, which was 
at least eleven months old when analysed ; and, thanks to Mr. 
Harding's skill and experience, had a much fatter and more 
mellow appearance and richer taste than a specimen which 
actually contained 2i per cent, more butter. 
Thus we see that the proportion of butter does not entirely 
determine the value of cheese, since a high-priced Cheddar or 
Cheshire cheese does not necessarily contain more butter than 
another which fetches 8.9. to 10s. less per cwt. in the market. 
In the opinion of good judges the Cheddar cheese No. 1, not- 
withstandixig the larger amount of butter, and the smaller amount 
of water, which it contained, was worth less than No. 4 by Id. 
per lb. — no inconsiderable difference in the returns of a dairy 
to remunerate careful and skilful management. The peculiar 
mellow appearance of good cheese, though due to some extent 
to the butter A\'hich it contains, depends in a higher degree upon 
a gradual transformation which the casein or the curd undergoes 
in ripening. The curd is hard and insoluble in water, but by 
degrees it becomes softer and more soluble, or, speaking more 
correctly, gives rise to products of decomposition wliich are 
soluble in water. 
Now if this ripening process is badly conducted, or the ori- 
ginal character of the curd is such that it adapts itself but slowly 
to this transformation, the cheese when sold will be, compara- 
tively speaking-, tough, and appear less rich in butter than it 
really is ; whilst in a well-made and properly-kept cheese, this 
series of changes will be rapidly and thoroughly effected. 
Proper ripening thus imparts to cheese a rich appearance, and 
unites with the butter in giving it that most desirable property 
of melting in the mouth. On examining some cheeses defi- 
cient in this melting property, and accordingly pronounced 
by practical judges defective in butter, I nevertheless found in 
them a very high percentage of that substance— clear proof that 
