SECRETARY'S REPORT. 131 



ference in the condition of the. milk and the larger quantity oper- 

 ated upon. Thus, as for obvious causes, before alluded to, the 

 milk, when received at the factory, is nearer the point of sensible 

 acidity than when put into the family vat at home ; and also be- 

 cause five or six hundred gallons of milk in one vat will not lose 

 its heat so rapidly as a small quantity, it is set, i. e., the rennet is 

 added, at a lower temperature, say 82° or 83° instead of 88° or 90°, 

 as in family manufacture. 



At the factories the making of cheese is proceeded with more 

 leisurely* than is usual in families. It is their work for all day, 

 and no inducement exists to hurry through the process. The heat 

 used in cooking the curd is raised very gradually, and is never 

 allowed to exceed 98°. The curd is also handled with great care 

 throughout the cooking process, which saves any loss of butter in 

 it, while its long steeping in the whey is supposed to contribute to 

 that peculiar, nutty, sweet flavor which is considered indispensable 

 in a strictly first-rate cheese. This lack of hurry and its attendant 

 evils might properly enough be classed with the advantages of fac- 

 tories over private dairies, since in the latter there is ever a very 

 natural and almost irrepressible desire not to expend more time 

 on the process than can be afforded, or conveniently spared from 

 other pressing calls. 



Whether or not it is best for the farmers of Maine to engage 

 largely in dairying is for them to decide. I have endeavored, in 

 the last report and in this, to lay before them, fairly and fully, such 

 facts and suggestions as seem worthy of being weighed in arriving 

 at a decision. If this be in the affirmative, the next question is 

 whether it shall be mostly butter or cheese which shall be made. 

 At present, prices are altogether in favor of cheese. If cheese is 

 to be made a leading aim, the question next arises, whether it shall 

 be by private or by associated dairies ; and here the advantages of 

 the latter are so great in the case of those commencing the busi- 

 ness and unacquainted with its manufacture, as to admit of no hes- 

 itation ; since by employing a few persons who are skilled in the 

 art, and at a trifling expense, they may at once reach all the ben- 

 efits and advantages enjoyed by old dairying districts, and which 



* If there appears to be danger of the milk souring before the cooking can be 

 properly finished, the process is hastened somewhat, but only as a choice of evils, 

 because a too rapidly cooked curd is less objectionable than a sour one. 



