284 MARKET DAIRYING 
inate over the lactic acid kind. It is under the latter 
condition that the gassy curds result. 
Preventive Measures. The trouble from gas organ- 
isms can almost entirely be overcome by instructing the 
patrons to cool their milk thoroughly and by the use of © 
a good lactic acid starter. The cooling of the milk holds 
the gas producing bacteria in check and will give the 
cheesemaker milk sweet enough to enable him to use a 
reasonable amount of starter. 
In many cheese factories, during warm weather, the 
milk arrives at the factory too ripe to permit the use of 
starter. Where this is the case a high quality cheese is 
hardly possible. If there is no trouble from gas organ- 
isms there are usually other taints present. 
The use of one pound of good starter to every 100 
pounds of milk will almost entirely eliminate trouble from 
gas germs and will also eliminate taints that are likely to 
develop where no starter is added. Where the sweetness 
of the milk permits, it is desirable to use more starter 
but care must be taken not to overripen the milk with 
too much starter which might result in an acidy or sour 
cheese ; but at least one-half pound to the hundred pounds 
of milk should always be used. 
Handling Gassy Curds. <A good starter is the best 
means of combating gas-producing bacteria. The latter 
cannot survive in the presence of a large number of lac- 
tic acid organisms. Every cheesemaker knows that gassy 
milk ripens slowly and this is so because the gas organ- 
isms seriously hamper the development of the acid bac- 
teria. It is for this reason that milk that is known to 
be gassy should be ripened further before adding the 
rennet than normal milk. Also more acid should be 
developed in the whey than with normal curds. 
