CARE, SHIPMENT AND SALE OF CHEESE 73 



milk or skimmed milk. Brass stencils for this pur- 

 pose are usually sent to factories by the state de- 

 partments of agriculture, which keep a record of 

 the number of each factory, and this particular 

 number appears as part of the brand. This is to 

 protect the manufacturers of whole-milk cheese 

 from dishonest competition with those who remove 

 part or all of the fat from the milk before making 

 it into cheese. In Canada many factories stamp 

 the name of the factory on the cheese. In many 

 instances, this is a good plan, if the quality of the 

 cheese is good, but disastrous if the cheese is defec- 

 tive in quality. 



WHEN CHEESE SHOULD BE SHIPPED 



The age at which cheese should be shipped from 

 the factory depends on several conditions. If the 

 curing-room is one in which the temperature and 

 humidity cannot be controlled at all, the cheese 

 should be shipped within a few days to some place 

 where it can be kept under proper conditions. In 

 some places, central cold storages are located 

 where cheese, either before or after selling, is sent 

 to ripen. If the temperature in the cheese-factory 

 can be controlled, the cheese should not be shipped 

 so soon. Cheese 10 days old is young enough, and, 

 if for export, two weeks will be much better. An 

 export cheese is not very palatable in less than one 

 month. A home-trade cheese containing a high 

 percentage of moisture may be ready at an earlier 

 date (p. 62) 



During the past few years, complaints, in increas- 

 ing number, have been made by foreign cheese 



