278 On Cheese-making in Home Dairies and in Factories. 
first daily, afterwards at longer intervals. They are ready for 
sale in six or eight weeks. It is the practice in this dairy of 40 
to 48 cows to take about 25 lbs. of milk-butter a week, and the 
whey yields 10 or 12 lbs. in addition. The difference in quantity 
and quality of cheese, owing to this quantity of butter being 
taken, is more than balanced, in Mrs. Bennett's opinion, by the 
receipts for the butter thus made. 
The annual make of cheese varies, of course, from year to year, 
rarely amounting to 4 cwt. per cow, while 3 J cwt. would be con- 
sidered a poor yield. The prices realised, when the best cheese 
of the summer months has commanded 70s. per cwt. (112 lbs.), 
have varied from 565. for " fodder" cheese, made in March and 
sold in May, to 60s. or 62s. per cwt. for April-made cheese, sold 
in May and June, and 66s. or 68s. per cwt. for summer-make. 
The whey on this farm is not considered of much value, and 
Mr. Bennett would gladly part with it for the 11. per cow, at 
which it is generally valued. 
4. The Derbyshiee System does not differ materially from 
that which obtains in Gloucestershire in making a thick (double 
Gloucester) cheese. It is usual to make but once a day, unless 
in very hot weather, when it may be doubtful if the milk can 
be got cool and kept sweet during the night, in which case 
cheese is made in the evening as well as morning. In general, 
however, the evening's milk is put in thin layers in the cheese- 
tub and other vessels to cool during the night, tin vessels of cold 
water being put to stand in it in order to subject it to as large a 
cooling surface as possible. In the morning, if much cream has 
risen, it is partly skimmed, and, if necessary, warmed up with 
some milk and added to the morning's milk, so as to bring the 
whole to about 80°. In the summer-time, however, the rennet 
has often to be added when the milk is naturally warmer than 
this. Enough fresh-made rennet is added to set the whole in 
an hour or less. After the curd has been broken with the common 
sieve curd-breaker, used gently for a sufficient time, a presser 
is used — a sort of heavy metallic sieve follower — which sinks 
gradually through the whey and ultimately lies upon the curd, 
enabling the baling out of the whey. After this has been for 
the most part taken out, this follower is forced hard down on 
the curd so as to squeeze and still further separate the whey 
from it. The curd may then be slightly salted, though this is 
not always done at that time. It is broken by hand into a vat 
and pressed ; taken out and broken up again, re-vatted and 
again pressed ; and this may be done more than once, as often, 
indeed, as seems to be required. It is at length finally vatted, 
in sizes of about 4 to the cwt. ; its whole surface is made to 
