114 
Cheshire Cheese. 
It has generally been considered that a gallon of milk (suppos- 
ing little or no cream has been taken from it) will produce upon 
an average of the season lib. of saleable cheese; that is, when 
the cheese is four or five months old. In autumn there is always 
more curd from the same quantity of milk than at any other part 
of the season. 
During wet weather there will sometimes be more milk than 
usual, though not a proportionately greater quantity of curd. An 
experienced dairy-maid soon detects these different results, and 
makes allowances accordinjjlv. I have met with no dairv-maid 
who regularly weighs the salt; but a highly-respectable farmer, 
whose wife mnkes a first-rate cheese, has given me the weight 
used in his dairy, as near as the same can be computed. It is as 
follows : — 
lb. lb. oz. 
In March and April their 
cheeses average about 30 and about 0 10 of salt is used. 
In Mav, June, and July .70 „ 2 0 „ 
In August ... 60 ,, 1 12 „ 
In September ... 50 „ 14 „ 
In October and November 30 ., 0 10 „ 
In the above instance it will be seen that more in proportion 
was used in summer than at other times, and that the average is 
1 lb. of salt for 40 lbs. of dried cheese (or say forty gallons of 
milk). 
I was favoured with an account from another dairy in which, 
to oblige me, the salt^or once was weighed. For a cheese which 
weighed 46 lbs. a few days after making (say 42 lbs. at four months 
old) 1 lb. 1 oz. was used. This is also after the rate of 1 lb. of salt for 
40 lbs. of dried cheese, and was said to be the quantity uniformly 
used throughout the year in this dairy, which consisted of about 
forty cows. 
A third account is from a dairy of sixteen cows : the quantity 
of salt used was generally about 1 lb. for 45 lbs. of cheese; but 
the dairy-maid made a trial last year with one cheese, using only 
three quarters of a pound. The cheese was made at the begin- 
ning of June, and when weighed in the middle of Septembty was 
42 lbs. This cheese was admitted to be better than the others in 
the same dairy.* 
The salt termed the " middle srained'' is the kind gfenerallv 
used; but some use " fine." Eefore applying it the curd is cut into 
three or four equal sized pieces, and each of these is broken into 
* It may not be out of place here to state that at Northwich, which is 
about the centre of the county, and where the principal salt-works are 
found, salt is at present bought for 8f/. per bushel of 5G lbs. In large 
quantities the price is considerably lower. 
