18 BULLETIN 1171, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
used in connection with drying Swiss-cheese cloths and Roquefort- 
cheese mats. However, this dryer can be designed to suit the require- 
ments of a factory of any size and it can be erected at a very moderate 
expense. 
The dryer at Grove City is 10 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 3 feet 
high. At the front is a hole 17^ inches in diameter, just large enough 
for an electric fan to fit snugly into it so that the hot air which 
comes from four rows of 1-inch steam piping placed perpendicularly 
in front of the hole can be fanned among the racks where the wet 
mats are hung on wooden rods to dry. The racks are 3^ feet long 
and open from the top by means of hinged covers. The front of the 
dryer where the fan and steam pipes are located is lined with galvan- 
ized iron to keep the hot air in. The rest of the dryer, except frame 
and covers of drawers, which are made of wood, is wall board. 
THE RIPENING OF CAMEMBERT CHEESE. 
In most factories the cheese is made on the ground floor and then 
carried to a second-floor room or the basement for ripening. The 
manner in which the cheese is made is probably as important a factor 
in regulating the proper surface vegetation as the curing conditions 
themselves. When the cheese is made b}^ the uncut-curd method 
more difficulty is experienced in removing the excess moisture from 
the cheese, and ample means must be provided for ventilation. If 
the curd is broken, less precaution is necessary in drying, but more 
difficulty is experienced in developing the needful Camembert mold. 
Sometimes the cheese is held for one day in the drain room after 
salting: at other times it is salted and taken to the curing room at 
once on the day after making. If salted in the morning, it is allowed 
to remain at room temperature for a few hours and is then carried 
to the curing room. Because of the repeated turnings (Fig. 7), a 
considerable proportion of the moisture should have escaped from 
the cheese, and it should have acquired considerable firmness due to 
the salting. At this time the cheese should appear somewhat moist, 
although the condition should not have developed to such a point that 
the cheese is greasy or ill smelling. It should have an acid but 
clean odor. 
After salting, the cheese remains on open ripening boards. If no 
difficulty is experienced from an overdevelopment of mold, it may 
be allowed to remain on the cane bottoms throughout the entire curing 
process. With the cane bottoms it is not necessary to turn the cheese 
so often as with the smooth boards, for there is less danger of break- 
ing the surface. 
OIDIUM RIPENING. 
Oiditim lactis is a type of organism that may spread over the 
surface in 24 hours and is the one organism more responsible than 
any other for giving the Camembert cheese a putrefactive tendency. 
When the rooms are very warm, 75° F. or over, and the humidity is 
high and there is little or no ventilation, this organism develops very 
rapidly, and may spread itself over the cheese before salting. Organ- 
isms of this type are nearly always present in milk products, and in 
limited quantity may not be harmful, but a vigorous development of 
tli is growth is to be avoided. If the milk is old, or if the cheese 
