THE OX. 
41 
THE DAIRY. 
The next great cheese-manufacturing district is Cheshire, which has been earlier distinguished for this production than any 
other part of England. The cheese of Cheshire is prepared from the milk of the morning, to which is added that of the previous 
evening, with its cream. It undergoes a more laborious manipulation than that of Gloucester, and it is more largely saturated with 
salt. It is not only salted when in the state of curd, hut it is rubbed externally and steeped in brine. The cheeses are made very 
large, weighing from 60 to 100 lb. and more. They are not regarded as matured for use until they are two years old. They have 
a strong taste, which increases with age, and are altogether different in texture and flavour from the mild and fragrant cheeses 
of Gloucester and the adjoining districts. But they keep admirably well, and are more largely carried to other countries than any 
of the other cheeses of England. The same kind of cheese is largely produced in Shropshire on the south, and likewise in Lan¬ 
cashire on the north. 
Turning to the eastern counties, the extensive district stretching from the Humber northward, and comprehending the counties 
of York, Durham, and Northumberland, necessarily yields a large quantity of milk, and all the products of the dairy. But this is 
rather a breeding and fattening than a dairy district, and the cultivation of Cows for milk is subordinate to the other purposes of 
the grazier. The main productions of the dairy are milk and butter, which, with the cheese produced, are chiefly, though not 
exclusively, destined for the supply of the numerous population of the country itself. The cheese of this part of England differs 
greatly from the strong and harsh cheese of Cheshire; but it is inferior in delicacy and flavour to that of the south-western counties. 
In contact with Yorkshire to the west, is Derbyshire, in which numerous dairies are established. The cheese of Derbyshire is 
known in the market by its own name; the butter used in the same district is chiefly derived from whey. 
Crossing the Humber to the south, we enter the district where the richer cheeses, with an excess of cream, are produced. 
They are termed Stilton, from the market-town of that name where they first became known. They are chiefly produced in 
the county of Leicester, and especially in the villages round Melton Mowbray; but they are likewise manufactured in the coun¬ 
ties of Lincoln, Huntingdon, and Rutland, still retaining the name of Stilton. These cheeses, it has been said, are formed 
from the morning’s milk, with the addition of the cream of the preceding evening. They are in great request, from their superior 
richness and agreeable flavour; but, from their high price, their consumption is limited to the more wealthy classes, and their 
economical importance is therefore greatly inferior to that of the more common kinds. They are not reckoned sufficiently mellow 
for use until they are two years old, when they are in a state of incipient decomposition. In the county of Cambridge are pro¬ 
duced the rich cheeses of Cottenham and Southam. Another kind of cheese is produced in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and many 
paits of England, formed wholly of coagulated cream. This must be used in the recent state, and is merely the subject of house¬ 
hold luxury. 
Scotland, although abounding in milk, is greatly inferior to England with respect to the production of the finer kinds of 
cheese. The cheeses of Scotland are, for the most part, meagre and deficient in richness, flavour, and aroma; but with the pro¬ 
gress of the dairy this manufacture has been long in a state of improvement. The district of Cuningham, in Ayrshire, became the 
first distinguished for the manufacture of cheese, which is known by the name of Dunlop, and has long been much esteemed, and is 
laigely used in the western counties of Scotland. It is mild and well tasted, hut wanting in the peculiar pungency which distin¬ 
guishes the finer cheeses of England. It has, however, been continually improving with the enlarging demand and more extended 
practice of the dairy. Similar cheese is produced in the neighbouring counties of Renfrew and Lanark. In general, the practice 
m the Scotch dairies is economical, simple, and efficient; but the manual processes are less carefully executed than in the practice 
of the superior dairies of England. Ireland is in no way distinguished for the manufacture of cheese. The principal destination 
of the dairy in that country is butter and buttermilk, which better consists with the state of the poorer tenants and the divided 
possessions of the country. 
The manufacture of skimmilk cheese is not confined to any part of the kingdom, but is carried on wherever the dairy is 
established. As the food of the working classes, this kind of cheese is deserving of much attention. But from the greater demand 
for the richer cheeses which exists m England, and the consequent inferiority of the price of the other kinds, it has happened that 
the manufacture of skimmilk cheese is often performed in a too careless and imperfect manner. On this account the skimmilk 
cheeses of England are inferior to what the experience of other countries shows they could he rendered. 
With respect to the produce of the dairy, the ordinary computation is, that from 7 to 8 pints, or nearly a gallon, of new milk, 
will produce 1 lb. of cheese. When the cream is removed, the residuum or skimmilk will produce in about the proportion of 25 
per cent, less of cheese than if the cream had remained. Somewhat more than 2 gallons of milk, with its cream, will produce 1 lb. 
of butter; but if the cream be removed and churned separately, about 3 gallons of milk will he required to yield 1 lb. of butter. 
The price of full-milk cheese may be estimated on a medium at 6d. per lb.; that of skimmilk cheese at from 3d. to 4d.; that of 
butter at from lOd. to Is. The quantity of milk yielded by a Cow varies greatly with the breed and properties of the individual. 
L 
