Cheddar.

It is tolerably certain that of the larger varieties of cheese which are most suitable for manufacture and exportation to Great Britain the Cheddar stands first. The next most popular British make is the Cheshire; but if the opinion of large London merchants is entitled to any weight at all—and there can be little doubt that great weight should be attached to it—the market for Cheshire cheese is in no way comparable to that for Cheddar. Opinions differ in England as to the two varieties, but the great majority of the people with whom I have come into contact are consumers of a mild nutty Cheddar, in preference to either the somewhat faulty American Cheddars or to the higher-coloured and stronger-flavoured but delicious cheese made in Cheshire. My investigations lead me to believe that colonial Cheshire cheese would find but a poor market in England. It is, however, a too common practice to describe a pale cheese as a Cheddar, whether it comes from Somerset or Gloucester, Canada or the United States. Cheeses which are similar in size and in colour, but from which the characteristic flavours are absent, are often described as cheaper makes, whereas they are in reality makes which are imperfect, either on account of the want of skill of the maker, or because the milk was partially robbed of its cream during the process of manufacture. A cheese cannot properly be called by the name of Cheddar unless it is of the true type, but the word is made to cover a multitude of failures, and to assist in the sale of cheese in retail shops, although, as may be supposed, it certainly does not impose upon the wholesale buyer. Cheddars are usually pale—i.e., uncoloured; their texture is fine, mellow, and salvy. An expert judge can generally give a fairly-good guess as to the nature of the cheese by the pressure of his thumb and by the entrance of his tasting-iron. In practice, after the withdrawal of this implement he is content to smell the plug of cheese which he has removed, to feel its texture between his fingers, and to examine the back of the iron, which usually gives page 42 some indication of the richness or fatness of the cheese, by the presence of a greasy or buttery coating. The perfection of a cheese is not, however, dependent entirely upon either its texture or its flavour, but a combination of both. A hot or strong flavour, and the flavour of toasted cheese, although both too characteristic of the great majority of cheeses in the market, are not what is required. It is necessary that the cheese should be mellow, partially melting upon the tongue, mild, and containing a pronounced taste of the hazel-nut a flavour which is entirely absent in cheeses of second-rate quality. We may, however, have the mildness and the mellowness without the flavour, and we may have an extremely agreeable example of the flavour without the mellowness. This is owing, in a general way, to lack of skill in manufacture as much as to the carelessness of the conditions under which the pressure was given to the cheese in its primitive form, or to the conditions as regards the temperature and humidity of the apartment in which the cheese has been ripened. Even to a practical maker it is somewhat difficult to describe the exact nature of the article required by the British cheese-merchant. I therefore propose that samples, not only of Cheddar, but of other varieties of cheese the manufacture of which is recommended in the report, should be sent out to New Zealand, in order to convey more accurate information to those who are engaged in the industry, and who will probably be allowed to examine them and to form their own judgment.

If there is one thing more than another which it is important to prevent, it is the practice of skimming milk which is to be made into cheese for export. It is quite impossible to obtain two profits, the one through the medium of butter skimmed from milk which ought only to go into the cheese-vat, and another from the cheese which, intended to be sold as a first-rate article, barely approaches second quality, consequence of its deficiency in butter. Another important feature to remember is that without the most perfect cleanliness, both the cowhouse and the dairy, there can be no perfect flavour in the cheese. Science has pointed out many details during the past few years, chiefly bearing upon the presence of ferments in milk, and of organisms which are especially present in dirty cowhouses and dairies, and which, coming into contact with milk under certain conditions, multiply to an enormous extent and entirely changing nature as a medium for making the highest class of cheese. Investigations by biologists are being conducted in the life-history of these microscopic organisms, and the cheesemaker will, it is to be hoped in the near future be placed in a position to understand them more definitely, and consequently to control the work which they perform—in some cases for good, and in others for the destruction of the milk. He knows, however, that there are dangerous organisms, and that it is to his interest to minimise their number and their influence as much as possible; and he can do this by no better means than the sanitation of his cowhouse on the most approved plans, by giving page 43 Battle the purest of water to drink as well as the most wholesome of food, and also by taking care that the dairy and every utensil which is used in connection with the milk should, in the process of regular cleaning, be invariably scalded. Another important factor in the success of a dairy is found in the possession of the most perfect of modern appliances and arrangements both in the cheese-and milk-rooms. For cheese-making I strongly recommend the rectangular vat upon wheels, running upon a tramway. With this vessel the milk can be passed from the outside of the dairy, through a funnel and strainer, directly into it; or it can be carried and poured into the vat in one apartment, the vat being subsequently run along the rail into the other The milk may be cooled with the assistance of cold water, which can be passed within the jacket provided both at the bottom end sides, or it can be heated by the aid of steam or hot water. The Be process can be conducted within the vat, from the cutting of curd to the salting and grinding. The position of properly-constructed ripening-rooms is a matter of importance. These may be situated over the cheese-making room, and whatever temperature is adopted may be communicated to this apartment by the aid of [unclear: hot]water pipes, which by surrounding the ripening-room will give it a equable temperature.

With regard to the cost of making Cheddar cheese, it will be possible to append numerous sets of figures derived from different [unclear: series], but the mean of the information gleaned from these will probably prove equally useful. I am acquainted with numerous English makers who prefer to make cheese during the summer months, from April to October, in preference to selling their milk and Bring net per gallon of about 10¼lb. There are two or three considerations to be remembered in connection with this decision, by the sale of the milk the whole of the fertilising properties which contains are removed from the farm. There is an expense enabled by the daily conveyance of milk to a railway-station, sometimes miles distant, necessitating the employment of a horse-and-[unclear: hot] man, who is often required to undertake the journey both morning and evening. The farmer is required to find his own rail-way-churns; to refrigerate his milk, which requires a constant apply of very cold water in summer; to maintain its quality to the [unclear: hiet] of some 12 to 12½ per cent, of solids; to maintain a certain quantity, which necessitates the frequent purchase of cows even then they are expensive; to refrain from sending the milk of newly-[unclear: asked] cows until the expiration of a certain day; to take milk back, [unclear: to] make allowance for it, when it arrives at its destination partially [unclear: ane]; to keep it at home altogether when any members of the herd is attacked with cattle-ailments, or when any of his milkers or his [unclear: heily] are attacked with dangerous and communicable diseases. [unclear: The] cheese-maker has few troubles of this kind to contend against. It is true that the fertilising properties which remain in the whey are [unclear: and] of much value, but there is a feeding property, of great im- page 44 portance to the pig-stock of the farm, the whey containing a considerable quantity of sugar, together with some fat and casein or curdy matter. On the other hand, there is the daily labour of cheese-making, which is all-important, and which either occupied the chief part of the time of the farmer's wife or of a competent dairy maid employed at a cost of from £50 to £100 a year, together with 3 assistant, whose duty it is to do the washing-up and rougher work. In dairies of a hundred cows, where two cheeses are made daily the work is usually done by these two persons. Where three to four cheeses are made daily from three to four persons are employed, but in some instances they are also required to assist in milking the cows and in feeding both pigs and cows. The cost of production of cheese is therefore, from this point of view, and from the fact that the cattle producing the milk are fed from the produce of the farm, a comparatively unknown quantity. It is frequently estimated that the larger class of dairy cows cost the farmer in summer 6d. per head per day for the grass they consume, in addition to the purchased foods, such as cotton-and linseed-cake, which are given them at the rate of from 4lb. to 81lb. per day, not only with the object (and this should be strongly borne in mind) of increasing the flow of milk as well as its richness, but of increasing the saleable value of the animal, and assisting in the maintenance of the fertility of the land—for both cotton-and linseed-cake materially assist in enriching the manure. As regards the of winter-feeding, the amount is often put at from 1s. 1d. to 1s. 5d. per day, inclusive of purchased feeding-stuffs, such as grains (which are not recommended for cheese-making), bran, cake, maize-meal rice-meal, bean-meal, and pea-meal.

These estimates, however, valuable as they are, are not really reliable as indicating the cost of the cow to the farmer, because he grows the principal portion of the food he prices, and in most receives a large profit upon them. Thus it will be seen that where the cheese-maker is a farmer the two businesses are so intimately connected that it is difficult to ascertain what profits are made upon the crops and what upon the cheese. If the crops grown upon the farm are, as it were, sold to the cattle at market-prices, or milk is sold to the dairy in the same way, then we get a tangible answer, but one which is similarly unfair. The person who farmer and cheese-maker undertakes the business because, by combining the two occupations, he expects to succeed, whereas he would be willing to make cheese if he were required to purchase the milk at the price given, nor would he be content to produce milk were required to pay the prices he had himself charged for the food for his cattle. The same may be said with regard to labour. In a good cheese-making family the most important portion of the work is done either by the wife or the daughter, or by the family combined. They practically earn high wages, for they save the payment of wages to a skilled maker and her assistant; hence the profits of page 45 business are increased. Now, if a Cheddar cheese-maker can depend upon the sale of his cheese made during the summer months at such a price as £310s. per hundredweight of 112lb., he may almost assume that he is receiving 7½d. per gallon for his milk instead of 5½d. However,—and this is naturally more common,—he receives £3 5s., he yet makes 7d. per gallon, which, in spite of the labour entailed, is far better upon a large farm than the sale of the milk. The quantity of cheese made per gallon of milk is sometimes under 1lb., but it aveages 1lb. during the principal portion of the season, and exceeds it towards the latter end—in proportion, in fact, to the length of time which has elapsed since the cows calved; for as they approach the end of their milking-season they yield milk which contains more solid matter, and which consequently makes more cheese per cent. It is, however, not possible at present even for the most skilled makers to manufacture the very highest type of cheese every season. Such people seldom if ever make an inferior article—they almost invariably sell their produce well; but in some seasons, without any ostensible reason, they fail to reach the same degree of excellence that they have achieved in the previous year, and perhaps fall off to the extent of from 3s. to 5s. per hundredweight. Merchants up to the present have always been willing to give £3 10s., and sometimes as high as £315s., for first-class cheese, such as sells in London and throughout England M from 9d. to 11d. per pound retail, the price varying in accordance with the district and the class of trade which the retailer conducts.

The season may be assumed to commence in April and to end in October. It varies with some makers, who do not commence until May, and cease by the end of November, but I give a sufficient margin.

The degree of humidity, taking the mean saturation at 100, was in April 75, in May 80, in June 72, in July 64, in August 66, and in September 80. These points are all-important to remember in comparison with the mean temperature and humidity of different parts of the islands of New Zealand.

The following figures show the rainfall and mean temperature for the twenty-three years, 1865-88, in the three British districts in which the chief dairy counties are situated:—

Rainfall.

Midland	Scotland,	England,
Counties.	West.	S.W.
29.2 in.	45.0 in.	44.6 in.

page 46

Mean Temperature.

Midland	Scotland,	England,
Counties.	West.	S.W.
48.4°	47.6°	50.4°

Rainy Days, April to September, 1888.

89

102

99

Rainfall during the same Months.

13.78in.

21.4in.

17.44in.

The mean temperature for the eleven years 1878-88 varied during the six summer months between 43.9° and 60.1° in the Midland counties, 42.9° and 57.6° in the West of Scotland, and 44.7° and 59.9° ill the south-west of England. The above data are obtained from meteorological reports which were derived from observations made among others, in the dairy counties of Leicester, Derby, Gloucester Devon, Somerset, and Ayrshire.

Although I am of opinion that in skilled hands cheese of almost all varieties can be made in any generally suitable country, assuming that the cattle are good and that the feeding is similar to that adopted in dairying countries, yet, for the guidance of those who prefer to ascertain the exact conditions in which they are placed as compel with the leading English cheese-making counties, I give some details of the acreage, number of animals kept, the nature of the soil, and the extent of grass-cultivation in Somerset, Cheshire, Leicester Bucks, and one or two of the leading dairy-counties of Scotland.