Comjmition of Cheese. 
65 
4)orlj, or acquire that fine flavour, which depends upon the fer- 
mentation proceeding in a suttic'iently active degree. Too much 
salt, by checking this chemical activity, is thus injurious to the 
proper ripening of cheese. The saline taste of old cheese, as 
already explained, is not due so much to the common salt used in 
its preparation, as to certain ammoniacal salts which are formed 
during the ripening process. It sounds strange, but it is never- 
theless the case, that over-salted cheeses do not taste nearly so 
saline when kept for six or eight months, as under-salted cheeses 
kept equally long. If the milk is very rich, somewhat less salt 
should I)e used than when it is poor. On no account, however, 
should more than 2 lbs. of salt be used per cwt. of cheese ; Ih lb. 
in most cases is quite enough, and even 1 lb. will be found a 
sufficient quantity when rich cheeses are made. 
8. Lastly, an inferior quality of cheese sometimes is produced 
when it is imperfectly salted; that is, when the salt is not properly 
applied to the cheese. I have often seen the salt put upon the curd 
in rough bits ; more often proper care is not taken to mix the curd 
with the salt, and the cheese becomes unequally salted. The 
consequence is that some particles of the cheese ferment too 
much, others too little, and that the portions which are too much 
salted do not stick Avell together, and acquire a dry and crumbly 
texture. The salt used in dairies should be of the finest descrip- 
tion, and should be sifted evenly tlirough a fine sieve on the 
curd, after the latter has been passed through the curd-mill, and 
thinly spread in shallow leads to cool. This plan of spreading 
the salt saves a great deal of labour, and is greatly to be pre- 
ferred to the system of pickling the cheese in brine after it 
is made, or of rubbing in salt. When salt is applied, either in 
solution or by rubbing it into the cheese after it has been in the 
presses, the outside is apt to get hard, and close up too much. 
It is, of course, desirable to get a good and firm coat, but, at the 
same time, the pores should not be too much closed, so that the 
emanations which proceed from the cheese cannot escape. Thin 
cheeses may be salted after they have been in the press ; but, in 
making thick cheeses, it is far better to salt the curd before it is 
put into the vat. 
A rather novel way of salting cheese has lately been made the 
subject of experiments in America. As the following communi- 
cation to the pages of the ' Country Gentleman and Cultivator,' 
an American agricultural paper, may have some interest, I take 
the liberty of inserting it here : — 
" Important Experiment in Cheese-making. — The diary season is about 
commencing; again, and I desire the privilege of a corner in your paper, to 
VOL. XXII. F 
