SCIENTIFIC WORK OF HARRY LUMAN RUSSELL 17 



by the patrons for harmful types of bacteria. This method 

 furnished the cheese maker a reasonable way of overcoming 

 the most frequently occurring and most important trouble 

 that confronted him. 



The field of enzymology was a relatively unexplored one 

 in 1897, when a report was made by Dr. Babcock and Dean 

 Russell on the presence in milk of a proteolytic enzyme to 

 which the term galactase was applied. A study of the oc- 

 currence of this enzyme showed it to be present in the milk 

 of various species of animals. The study of the properties 

 of this enzyme and its role in the ripening of cheddar cheese 

 led to a modification in the curing of cheese that has become 

 of the greatest importance to the cheese industry. The 

 ripening of cheese at low temperatures was held by men of 

 long practical experience to be impossible. The results of the 

 experiments made at Wisconsin showed that at much lower 

 temperatures than had been used in the curing rooms, the 

 occurrence of abnormal flavors was much less frequent than 

 at the higher temperatures. The experiments in the cold 

 curing of cheese were extended in 1901 and 1902 and later 

 were carried on in cooperation with the Dairy Division of 

 the IJ. S. Department of Agriculture and the New York Ex- 

 periment Station at Geneva. This work has served to revolu- 

 tionize the entire business of curing cheese. It has saved and 

 is saving every year large sums of money to the industry 

 through the prevention of abnormal cheese. It is an ex- 

 cellent example of the practical results that may follow from 

 work that apparently can promise no practical results. 



In the early years of this century the presence of cellular 

 elements in milk was attracting the attention of health officials. 

 Rules were being formulated that meant the rejection of a 

 large part of the milk produced. The rules had been for- 

 mulated out of a clear sky. Their authors thought that milk 

 should contain not to exceed a certain arbitrary number of 

 cells. They had not taken the trouble to determine by a study 

 of milks anything concerning the normal content in these 

 elements and some of the factors that influence their number. 

 Work done on the University herd showed that the standards 



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