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CHAPTER XV. 
I 
Of Reed Straw and Hair Cloths to lay the Cheese—Of the Use of Wooden, 
Shoes . 
One may lay the cheese, with reed straw after our custom, 
cr make use of hair cloths, after that of Herefordshire. Reeds, 
which have been well preserved, communicate no bad taste 
whatever to the cider, a fact which is proved by experience; 
but there is no person who can be ignorant, that a single 
handful of bad reeds is enough to spoil a whole cheese; on 
the contrary, there are very few of our growers who are ac¬ 
quainted how much cleanliness hair cloths require. Unless 
tltey are washed as soon as the work is done, (except, in case 
they are to be used again immediately) they heat, «jet sour, 
and operate like leaven on the next cheese. In manual pro¬ 
cesses, which are not attended with serious inconveniences, 
one is often obliged to abide by the practice of the country ; 
because, if he attempts to depart from it, when his situation 
in life is such as to require the work of others, he must expect 
to be under the necessity of never losing sight of his labourers. 
Let us now make an analysis of each practice. As the 
grower is, in general, provided with the reed necessary to lay 
his cheeses, he has nothing to disburse; he takes, indeed, on 
the income of his farm ; but, as the supply of this article goes 
even with his want of it, and is at hand, he finds the expenses 
less burthensoine, than if he was obliged to procure it all at 
once. 
But it is a matter of importance, to which few persons at¬ 
tend, that unless the cheese knife is kept clear and well wiped, 
it is very subject to turn the cider black. From the want of 
tracing this effect back to its origin, it is often attributed to 
causes which have no reference to it. The extreme divisibi¬ 
lity of bodies, proves that a very small portion of iron, de¬ 
composed by the acid of the fruit, is sufficient to colour a 
considerable quantity of liquor.* 
As 
* Odoriferous substances, as we have already seen, establish this prin¬ 
ciple. Fire is another striking instance of it. In a dark night, a lighted 
eandlQ 
i 
