14 BULLETIN 1171, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Trucks. — Curdling cans rest upon trucks which are provided with 
base rollers that move in any direction. (Fig. 4.) Cleats or an iron 
rim are placed in the top of each of these trucks so that the cans may- 
be held in place. 
Drain mats. — Some form of reed matting is desirable in order to 
facilitate rapid draining. Substitutes made of cloths have not 
proved very satisfactory. Formerly the mats were all imported 
from France, but now they may be purchased in this country. They 
consist of rattan or Chinese reeds, about one-eighth of an inch in 
diameter, bound together by threads. The size of the mats depends 
upon the size of the boards used for draining; the most common 
sizes are 10 by 32 inches and 16 by 16 inches. The need of having 
numerous small mats instead of one large mat is obvious. With 
the use of the small mats there is much less danger of breaking 
the surface of the curd and several cheeses may be turned at once. 
Hoops or forms. — The number of hoops (often referred to as 
forms) should be the same as the number of cheeses to be made each 
day. with a feAv extra, for they occasionally become bent or otherwise 
unsatisfactory for use. If 500 cheeses are made it is advisable to 
have 600 hoops. Most manufacturers use a hoop 4J inches in diam- 
eter and 5J inches high. The diameter may vary one-eighth of 
an inch from these figures. Each hoop contains three rows of holes 
one-twelfth of an inch in diameter and 2 inches apart in the row. 
The edges of each hoop are turned and soldered. It has been found 
impracticable to use higher hoops because they are top-heavy and 
easily overturned. 
Half hoops are used in some factories. Such hoops are 2^ inches 
high and 4f inches in diameter, or just large enough to slip over 
the higher hoops easily. Each hoop contains two rows of holes 
one-twelfth of an inch in diameter and 1^ inches apart. The edges 
of these hoops also are turned and soldered. 
Drains and curing hoards. — Smooth, 1-inch yellow-pine boards 
10 by 32 inches have proved satisfactory for both draining and 
ripening the cheese. The length of the boards may be longer or 
shorter to meet local conditions. These boards are wide enough to 
carry two rows of cheese and smooth enough to avoid the tendency 
of the cheese to stick. Ordinarily the drain boards are covered 
with mats which are just a little longer and wider than the boards. 
In the plant at Grove City, Pa., these boards serve the double pur- 
pose of curing and ripening both Camembert and Koquefort cheese. 
In some factories corrugated boards are used without mats. These 
boards are 15J inches square. The grooves are about one-sixteenth 
of an inch wide and of the same depth and about one-eighth of an 
inch apart. These boards will hold nine cheeses, and while some- 
what more expensive and not so easy to clean as the plain boards, 
yet with their use no drain mats are required. 
Cane bottoms; open boards. — Because of the difficulty in obtaining 
" clayons " or mats, which were formerly used in order to favor 
development of the Camembert mold, cane bottoms or open boards 
have been tried and found to be satisfactory substitutes. The cane 
bottoms consist of square framework 15J inches square, made of % by 
1 inch material. The corners of the framework are dovetailed to- 
gether and covered with canework, as shown in Figure 5. Provided 
