574 Typical Farms in Cheshire and North Wales. 
The Early Ripening Process. 
The night’s milk is sieved into the vat in the dairy, and left until 
morning ; the cream is then skimmed off, and the morning’s milk sieved 
into the vat, with the cream slightly warmed ; the heat of the whole is 
then raised to 78° or 80° F., and sour whey is added in the proportion 
of one quart to thirty gallons of milk, to promote the formation of the 
necessary acidity in the curd. Rennet is then added, and the curd should he 
ready to be cut in an hour ; the quantity used is larger by 50 per cent, on 
this process of making than on the other systems ; when it is ready the 
curd will break clean over the finger without adhering when dipped into it 
and raised sideways. The knives or cutters are then used and the curd is 
carefully cut, the operation ceasing when the pieces are the size of beans ; it 
is then allowed to settle, and the whey remains on until there is a decided 
development of acidity. The curd is then gathered to one end of the vat 
and the whey drawn ; then it remains for a short time on the bottom of the 
vat to drain ; it is then salted, in the proportion of one quart of salt to 50 lb. 
of curd, and filled into moulds (into which a cheese cloth has been laid), in 
moderate-sized pieces, without grinding. After standing twenty-four hours 
the cheese is turned into another hoop ; a clean dry cloth is used ; it is turned 
again the following morning, and put under light pressure, and pressed for 
two or three days, being turned each morning, and a clean dry cloth used. 
The cheese is then taken from under press whether the drainage has ceased 
or not, a thin calico binder is pasted round it, and it is removed to the ripen- 
ing room. For the first week it is turned every day, then every other day, 
and at the end of three or four weeks it should be ready for sale. 
The Medium Ripening Process. 
The practice usually adopted is to sieve the night’s milk into the vat 
and to cool it down (if necessary), so that it will be at a temperature of 66° 
to 70° F. in the morning ; this is regulated by the season of the year, the 
temperature of the dairy, and the quantity of the milk. Next morning the 
cream is skimmed off, the morning’s milk is added, and the cream, slightly 
warmed, passed through the sieve with it, and the temperature of the whole 
is raised to 86° or 88° F. by turning the steam under the vat. If coloured 
cheese is being made, the annatto is run in at this stage and well mixed with 
the milk ; the rennet is next added and another stirring given, and in an 
hour it should be ready to cut, being at that time elastic enough to break clean 
over the finger without adhering when placed in it and raised sideways. 
The top of the curd, which may have a thin film of cream on it, is then 
turned over with a skimmer, and the breaking down proceeds with the curd 
knives or breaker until the pieces are the size of an Indian corn. 
This takes from thirty- five to forty minutes, and should be carefully 
carried out. Good work is known by the whey coming off green and clear, 
while indifferent work is known by white-looking milky whey. The 
temperature is then raised to 92° or 94° F., the mass being kept well stirred 
until it is thoroughly and uniformly heated ; then the curd is allowed to 
settle to the bottom of the vat, and the whey is left on, until there is a slight 
development of acidity, tested by the sense of smell or by the acid reaction 
on blue litmus paper. The curd is then gathered to one end of the vat and 
the whey drawn ; two pieces of the draining racks are now put on the 
bottom of the vat and covered with cheese cloths, the curd is cut into 
cubical-shaped pieces of 5 in. x 5 in. and lifted on them, cut again, and 
tinned over several times for two or three hours, when it is ready to grind ; 
