16 MANUFACTURE AND CURING OF CHEESE. 
ascribed to variation in curing conditions due to inefficient methods 
of control. Of these curing conditions, temperature was by far the 
most important. With cheese cured at lower temperatures the effect 
of these factors was much modified, with reference not only to the 
conditions which occurred in the curing, but also to the variations 
in conditions of manufacture. The result showed that with a lower 
temperature the quality of the cheese is more uniform, and the product 
would naturally bring a somewhat higher price and be more sought 
after by the buyer. 
An interesting feature of the work carried on by the Wisconsin 
Station was the placing of cheese at a temperature below freezing, 
15° or 17° F. It has always been believed by people familiar with 
the handling of cheese under storage conditions, and it seems to be 
an opinion firmly held at the present time, that a temperature low 
enough to freeze is detrimental, if not ruinous, to the cheese. The 
first report of the Wisconsin Station seemed to support this idea. 
Cheese came from the low temperature in a very unsatisfactory con- 
dition; but further experiments along this line gave a slightly dif- 
ferent result, the cheese being handled differently after coming from 
the colder temperature. In the first experiment it was scored imme- 
diately after coming from the 15-degree room. In subsequent experi- 
ments the cheese was placed in a warmer room for a time, and, as has 
been previously noted, there was an immediate and constant improve- 
ment until it reached an almost perfect condition, showing that the 
bad effect of the freezing of the cheese was only temporary. While 
this fact is interesting from a scientific point of view, it is doubtful 
if under the present market conditions it can ever be put into practical 
application. It is true that the cheese kept much longer at this lower 
temperature, and it is also probably true that the cheese could be 
held indefinitely at 15° F., but it is difficult to see how this' could 
be applied to any commercial condition where it would be of any 
value. In short, it is doubtful if it is ever advisable to keep cheese 
longer than nine or ten months. Conditions may some time arise 
under which this would be desirable, but it is now difficult to imagine 
any future conditions to warrant this temperature being applied to 
any cheese as it comes into storage. 
CANADIAN EXPERIMENTS IN COLD AND COOL CURING. 
As has been already mentioned, the Ontario Agricultural College 
followed very closely the lead of the Wisconsin Experiment Station 
in curing experiments involving the effect of different temperatures. ° 
In the first experiments cheese was cured at 60°, 66°, and 69° F., 
and it was found that that cured at 60° F. was of higher quality, 
both in texture and flavor, than that cured at either of the other 
a Annual Report, Ontario Agricultural College and Experimental Farm, 1898. 
