Dairy-Farming in the Netherlands. 
531 
thus remains in the tub as a cut but pressed mass, which is 
then re-separated into its component pieces by working with 
the hand, no curd-mill being used. It is then put into globular 
moulds divided into halves, and is pressed together as much as 
possible to get out the remaining whey. Afterwards the young 
cheese is enveloped in linen or other cloth, and placed in smaller 
moulds, which are subjected to pressure for 24 hours. After 
this process the cloths are taken off, and the cheeses are placed 
in semi-globular cups, in which they are turned upside down 
every day, after which operation a handful of salt is placed on 
the top of each. They remain salted in this way seven or eight 
days, and some makers salt them even ten days. The cheese- 
press in general use is of the lever-type, but it is in this district a 
most elaborate piece of furniture, carved, painted, and polished 
to a wonderful extent. Before the cheeses are sent to market 
they are soaked in tubs of clean water to cleanse them, and are 
then rubbed over with linseed oil. The outside colouring is 
done by the merchants, but annatto is used in the cheese-making 
process. 
As an example farm of a high class, I may take that of Mr. 
Sluis, who has 125 acres of land, only about 11 or 12 being in 
arable cultivation. Half the grass is mown and the other half 
fed in summer, every year in rotation. Thirty milking-cows 
are kept ; from 12 to 14 of the best calves are reared annually 
(the remainder being sold at a month old) ; and between 10' 
and 20 cast cows and oxen are fattened every year on the grass, 
with the following somewhat curious scale of allowance of arti- 
ficial food : — First month, 2 lbs. of linseed cake per head daily :, 
next three months, 4 lbs. of linseed cake per head daily ; and 
afterwards, for another month, 2 lbs. per head daily. Edam 
cheese is made with the milk ; from 15 to 17 per diem were 
being made at the time of my visit in October 1879. The 
cheeses weigh about 4^ lbs. each, and the price at that time 
was 57s. 6f/. per cwt., but the previous year it was only 52s. 
About 40 Texel ewes, crossed with Lincolns, are also kept. 
They generally give a crop of 60 lambs, which are sold fat at 
18 months old, realising in 1879 about 50s. a-piece, but in 1878 
from 60s. to 66s. In addition, these shearlings give from 10 to 
12 lbs. of unwashed wool each. The labourers on this farm 
were two men and two women, living in the farmhouse, and 
four living in cottages. Of the former, the men received nearly 
12Z. and the women lOZ. per annum and their food. The out- 
door labourers earned about 16s. %d. per week in summer, from 
April to November, and lis. 8c?. per week for the rest of the 
year. The rent of a cottage is from 2s. 6c/. to 3s. per week. 
All these figures are extraordinarily high for the Netherlands^ 
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