140 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



the udder, are able to remain tliere for a considerable len^'th of 

 time, thus becoming- a constant source of contamination. 



Lloyd's investigations in this direction interest us particularly. 

 In his report of nine years work tmdertaken at the instance of the 

 Bath and West of England Agricultural Society in conjunction with 

 the Board of Agricultin-e, he concludes that gassy and pin holey curds 

 are caused by the colon baccilli. He set to work to ascertain why 

 certain farm's and certain paddocks had the reputation of producing 

 milk that could not be made into good cheese, and in many instances 

 proved that the reason was that the milking cows used to drink in 

 dams where they had to walk right into them and the approaches to 

 which were very muddy. The cows' droppings got mixed with the 

 mud, and on to the udders and teats and then dried on, afterwards to 

 be rubbed and shaken off into the milk in the bucket and so produced 

 tainted curds, and when these water holes were fenced off and the 

 water for them to drink was pumped into troughs, the trouljle in- 

 variably ceased. Another trouble that had to be investigated was 

 that in connection with cows grazing on what were known as scouring 

 lands, that is, lands which, on the soil being analysed were found to 

 contain a high per ceutage of sulphate of magnesia or Epsom salts, 

 an excessive jjroportion of which was taken up by the grass which 

 caused the cattle to scour. The milk from these cows would produce 

 tainted curd, unless very great care was taken. Lloyd said : — 

 " Investigations soon proved that during the making of a cheese there 

 were other than chemical agents at work, namely, bacteria, whose 

 influence for good or bad might be quite as powerful as, if not 

 more powerful, than the skill of the maker." Some of these bacteria, 

 which played an injurious part in the manufacture of cheese, were 

 gradually discovered and one or two were traced to their source. It 

 was ascertained that trouble invariably resulted from contamination 

 of the milk with dirt prior to its reachnig the dairy and that inferior 

 cheeses were frequently due, not to any want of skill on the part of 

 the cheese-maker, but to want of cleanliness on the part of the ndlkers. 

 Dirty hands to milk with, and dirty cows to milk, probably caused 

 more inferior cheese than all other causes put together. When the 

 cows were fed on these scouring lands, it almost invariably resulted in 

 tainted curds. When they were given a change of food, when they 

 were first given cake, it was productive of taint in the curd. As is 

 well known a change of diet is jjroductive of a certain amount of 

 scouring, though it may last only a day or two. It was universally 

 stated that it was impossible to make good cheese off the scouring 

 land. 



We learn from these facts that anything which causes cows to 

 scour will spoil or deteriorate the cheese. It will introduce faecal 

 organisms into the milk, cause a faecal smell in the curd and only the 

 very greatest care will enable the cheese-maker to produce good 

 cheese under such circumstances. The only reinedy that can be 

 suggested at present is scrupulous cleanliness, which though necessary 

 at all times is indisjiensalile when the cows are relaxed, be the cause 

 what it may. 



