EDITORIAL. 803 



cases were found to be practically perfect. Under these conditions of 

 curing bacterial activity is practically inoperative, and these experi- 

 ments furnish an independent proof of the enzym theory. 



Not only are these experiments of interest from the scientific point 

 of view, as throwing light on the obscure processes of cheese curing, 

 but from a purely practical standpoint they open up a new field for 

 commercial exploitation. 



The inability to control the temperature in the ordinary factory 

 curing room results in serious losses on account of the poor and uneven 

 quality of the product, and the consumption of this dairy product has 

 been greatly lessened thereby. All of these conditions may l^e avoided 

 by this low-temperature curing process, and it seems quite probable 

 that the cheese industry is on the eve of important changes in methods 

 of treatment. 



With the introduction of cold-storage curing, and the necessity of 

 constructing centralized plants for this purpose, the cheese industry 

 will be difi'erentiated into the manufacture of the product in factories 

 of relatively cheap construction, and the curing or ripening of the 

 cheese in central curing stations. In this wa}^ not only are the losses 

 which occur in present practice obviated, but the improvement in 

 quality of the cured product will be more than sufficient to cover the 

 cost of cold-storage curing. It is important to note that this latest 

 advance in methods as applied to commercial practice is the outgrowth 

 of scientific studies on the theoretical side of the subject of cheese 

 ripening, and well illustrates how dependent practice is on the pursuit 

 of pure .science. 



The passage of the agricultural appropriation act for the 3'ear 1901- 

 1902 marks an epoch in the histor}- of the development of the national 

 Department of Agriculture. Not only does it carry the largest appro- 

 priation ever made for the Department and provide for further exten- 

 sion of its work in various lines, but it inaugurates a scheme for the 

 partial reorganization of the scientific branches of its work. Three of 

 the present divisions are raised to the grade of bureaus, and a number 

 of other divisions are associated into one large Bureau of Plant Indus- 

 try', corresponding in a general way to the present Bureau of Animal 

 Industry. 



Starting first as an appendix to the Patent Office for the distribution 

 of seeds, the Department of Agriculture was formall}'^ organized in 

 1862 as an independent department in charge of a commissioner, and 

 in 1889 was raised to the dignity of an Executive Department. The 

 passage of the Hatch Act providing for agricultural experiment stations 

 about that time increased its responsibilities and extended its field of 

 usefulness. 



The growth of the Department has been steady and uninterrupted. 

 The importance of its work has been recognized by steadily increasing 



