406 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. 



held where desired by :i cold-air line and radiator automatically 

 controlled. 



In the attic only the east half has been finished off and these rooms 

 are used for photographic work. These consist of a gallery 36 by 34 

 ft., lighted by an 8 by 10 ft. skylight and a large double dormer win- 

 dow, a dark room, and a finishing room. 



In the west half of the attic is the chamber containing the large 

 ammonia expansion coils and brine tanks. This chamber is insulated 

 with great care by air spaces on all sides and by thick double-air-spaced 

 walls, so that very little heat from without can enter. 



It will be seen that the facilities offered by this new building are 

 exceptional for the study of dairy problems, and especially those con- 

 nected with cheese making. The details of the process of curing cheese 

 are very imperfectly understood at the present time, even by scientists, 

 who differ in their theories as to the nature and cause of the changes 

 which take place and the conditions which influence them. The sub- 

 ject is an intensely practical one, and the more so from the fact that in 

 practice the curing process receives relatively little attention from 

 cheese makers. "The watchful eye of the maker is too often diverted 

 from the cheese as soon as it is placed upon the shelves. An inspec- 

 tion of the conditions under which cheese is cured in this country 

 almost without exception shows that the details of the curing process 

 receive little or no attention. Curing rooms are built in the cheapest 

 possible manner. oSTo attempt is made to control the temperature or 

 the moisture content of the same. It is not at all uncommon to find 

 cheese stored in places the temperature of which is subject to almost as 

 much fluctuation as the outside air." 1 



This is possibly too strong a statement as applied to the whole 

 country, but it undoubtedly represents a condition of affairs which 

 prevails in a large majority of cheese-making establishments, resulting 

 in a "monetary loss amounting to many millions of dollars." 



The arrangements in the new building for controlling the temperature 

 of the cheese-curing rooms, with additional arrangements to be pro- 

 vided for controlling the humidity, will afford exceptional means for 

 studying this phase of the ripening process. The services of a bac- 

 teriologist, who entered upon his duties with the beginning of the new 

 year, will be an additional element of strength. 



It is a matter for congratulation that the important investigations in 

 cheese making which the station has made in the past are to be resumed 

 under such favorable conditions. 



1 Babcock and Russell. 



