80 REPORT OF DEPARTMENT OF BACTERIOLOGY OF THE 
A distinct difference in the quantitative flora of these two cheeses 
is evident. Cheese 4.6 IV is credited with but 6.5 millions per 
gram at 2 days. This is the average of the counts from 10 plates 
on medium 2.22 of which 7 were closely accordant while 3 gave 
markedly higher counts. This exceptionally low germ content may 
be connected with temperature conditions experienced in shipment 
or with variations in the method of manufacture of which nothing 
is known. 
While the germ content of this cheese remained low during its 
entire history it ripened quickly and satisfactorily, receiving a score 
of 98% at 49 days. The germ content at 41 days, when it was 
practically ripe from a commercial point of view, was about 6 mil- 
lions per gram; and at 55 days there were still 3.5 millions germs per 
gram alive in the cheese. At 92 days when the cheese had passed 
its best and begun to deteriorate in commercial quality there were 
over I million germs per gram present. 
Cheese 4. 6 V differed in that it had more than double the germ 
content found in Cheese 4.6 IV during practically the whole of the 
ripening period. However it ripened distinctly more slowly and 
did not attain its best until 92 days when it scored 98%. At this 
time it had a germ content of over 7 millions per gram. The ap- 
parently anomalous count at 24 days is based upon the results from 
g plates all of which were fairly accordant. 
It will be observed that while the total germ content of the rapid- 
ripening Cheese 4.6 IV is uniformly low, it contained a consider- 
able number of liquefying forms. On the contrary the slow ripen- 
ing Cheese 4.6 V with its much larger total germ content con- 
tained few liquefiers. , 
The quantitative relations of the types present at each examina- 
tion of the two cheeses are shown in Table XI. 
This table makes it clear that representatives of the charac- 
teristic lactic-acid groups, Str. lacticus and Bact. lactis acidi, were 
only one-half to one-tenth as numerous in the rapid ripening Cheese 
4.6 IV as in the slow ripening Cheese 4.6 V. After carefully con- 
sidering these two cheeses it is hard to escape the conclusion that 
although the lactic group is of the first importance in the first stages - 
of cheese ripening there are other more important factors con- 
trolling the rate of ripening during the later stages. 
