Cheshire Cheese. 
117 
press of this weight, made of a block of red freestone, would be 
3 ft. 2 in. long, 2 ft. 8 in. wide, and 3 ft. 2 in. high. 
On the fourth day, it is usual in most dairies to discontinue the 
pressing, but in others it is continued for a day or two longer. 
The cheese is then removed to what is called 
The Saltinff and Drying Room. — Sometimes these are distinct 
aparlmenis, but more generally one room suffices for both pur- 
poses. The salt can now, of course, be only applied externally : 
and the good, if any, effected is to harden the coat of the 
cheese. The cheese I have before alluded to, as having been 
made with three-quarters of a pound of salt, and which irMS vmch 
above an average in quality, was removed, as an experiment, direct 
frovi the press to the cheese-room. I am inclined to think this is the 
better system, or at least that a great deal of the present labour of 
the salting-house might be dispensed with. 
It is, however, only right to state that in most of the dairies of 
this county the practice of external salting still obtains. I will 
therefore describe the process usually adopted. 
The cheese is taken out of the vat, and a strong bandage called 
a "fillet," about 2 inches broad, and long enough to go three 
times round the cheese, is used. As this bandage is put on, salt 
is applied underneath it, to the coat of the cheese. The bandsige 
is fastened with strong pins, the cheese placed on stone or wooden 
shelves or benches, and salt spread on the top to within an inch 
or two of the edges. The cheese is turned daily, and fresh salt 
and a clean bandage applied. In some few dairies it is the prac- 
tice, before the salting above described, to half immerse the cheese 
for two or three days in strong brine kept in a shallow tub for 
that purpose. The salting process above described is continued 
for various periods : by some for five or six davs, by others as long 
as three weeks. I will give the rule followed by the farmer who 
furnished me M'ith the particulars of his salting of the curd (p. 113). 
It is as follows : — 
From the beginning of the season (about March) to the time 
of the cows being turned out to grass (I2th May), the cheese 
remains in salt four davs ; from thence to the end of J uh , ten 
days; in August, eight days; September, six days; and the rest 
of the season four davs. 
It is obvious, from the practice in this dairy, that it is considered 
necessary for the cheese to remain in salt longer in the middle of 
summer thari at other seasons. 
After this salting, the cheese is well wiped or washed, has a 
clean bandage put round it, and continues in the same room, or 
an adjoining c-ne, on wooden shelves, for the purpose of being 
dried. It is turned once a day, and remains until it is considered 
sufficiently dry for being removed to the chcese-rcom. The length 
