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curd. As the whey recedes, push the curd with the rake head toward the upper end of the vat and then tip the vat down, so that the whey will flow out from the lowest corner. Make a gutter with your hands through the center of the curd mass and distribute it in an even pack on each side of the vat. Now, take a knife and cut it into strips eight inches wide, drawing the knife from the center gutter toward the side of the vat. Flop these strips upside down and, to farther facilitate drainage, cut a longitudinal canal next to the sides of the vat. Examine by the iron and see how the curd is working as to acid; if it is maturing slowly and the curd is not hot, shut off all draughts of air, cut the curd into "bricks" or blocks the size of a brick, and scatter them over the bottom of the vat. Then cover the vat up with the same cloth that you used when scalding. If, on the other hand, the curd is hot and maturing rapidly, cut into small bricks, scatter well and give it all the air possible, frequently turning the bricks over. Unless positively unavoidable on account of overplus of acid never grind curd until you have cooled it down to a temperature of 80°. Above that heat the fine texture of the curd is torn and mutilated so that it will give out white whey, and, as a consequence, waste of quality and substance ensues.
The curd being first well drained and cooled to 80° by subdivision of pieces and having also developed acid sufficient for the season, it is ready for the mill. Grind with deliberation, and if you have a self-salter, so much the better. Incorporate the salt into the curd by thorough, although not violent, mixing and then air your curd. This is one of the most important processes of all and yet the one most neglected by negligent makers. A curd requires airing, not so much to expel heat as to expugn the gaseous odors that have followed it down from its animal origin. Stir it well at frequent intervals and spread it out well over the surface of the vat. So calculate that it can lay twenty minutes or half an
