RELATION OF BACTERIA TO DAIRY INDUSTRY. 93 



fident that in the future more practical results 

 will be obtained along this line than in the past. 

 If it is true that cheeses are ripened by bacteria; 

 if it is true that different qualities in the cheese 

 are due to the growth of different species of bac- 

 teria during the ripening, it would seem to be 

 possible to obtain the proper kind of bacteria 

 and to furnish them to the cheese maker for arti- 

 ficially inoculating his cheese, just as it has been 

 possible to furnish artificially cultivated yeasts to 

 the brewer, and as it has become possible to fur- 

 nish artificially cultivated bacteria to the butter 

 maker. We must, however, recognise this to be 

 a matter for the future. Up to the present time 

 no practical results along the lines of bacteria 

 have been obtained which our cheese manufac- 

 turers can make use of in the way of controlling 

 with any accuracy this process of cheese ripening. 

 Thus it will be seen that in this last dairy 

 product bacteria play even a more important part 

 than in any of the others. The food value of 

 cheese is dependent upon the casein which is pres- 

 ent. The market price, however, is controlled 

 entirely by the flavour, and this flavour is a prod- 

 uct of bacterial growth. Upon the action of 

 bacteria, then, the cheese maker is absolutely de- 

 pendent ; and when our bacteriologists are able in 

 the future to investigate this matter further, it 

 seems to be at least possible that they may obtain 

 some means of enabling the cheese maker to con- 

 trol the ripening accurately. Not only so, but 

 recognising the great variety in the flavours of 

 cheese, and recognising that different kinds of 

 bacteria undoubtedly produce different kinds of 

 decomposition products, it seems to be at least 

 possible that a time will come when the cheese 

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