8 
BULLETIN 669, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF .AGRICULTURE. 
For the first two hours the coagulum is left undisturbed, in order 
that the free whey may escape and that the curd may acquire a con- 
sistence that is not readily broken to pieces. Finely broken curd is 
unfavorable for drainage. During the last hour the curd is worked 
toward the center of the cloth by means of a tin or wooden ladle. 
The ends of each drain cloth are then loosened and the cloth and its 
contents placed in a boxlike rack which rests upon a wide, flat board, 
after which first the sides and then the ends of the cloth are alter- 
nately folded over the curd. The end pieces of the cloth are then 
tucked in, giving each drain cloth and contents a baglike appearance. 
Fig. 2. — Draining equipment in a modern factory. 
After the preliminary draining just described the manner of han- 
dling the curd in the bags will depend upon how soon they are to 
be pressed. If the cheese is to be pressed the same day the pro- 
cedure is as follows: After draining for 30 minutes the bags are 
piled one upon another in a rack, where they remain for about half 
an hour, after which the bags from two racks are placed in a single 
pile. Usually two or three racks are placed one above another ^d 
the bottom sticks are removed. For about an hour the three or four 
dozen bags remain undisturbed, save for a rearrangement which 
occurs once during the period, when the position of the bags is 
reversed. 
When the curd is not pressed until the following day. the bags of 
curd are placed on ice at once. 
