106 REporT OF DEPARTMENT OF BACTERIOLOGY OF THE 
for its development awaits a satisfactory explanation. There is also 
evidence for the belief that the salt applied at the next step in the 
process of manufacture markedly reduces the germ content of the 
curd. Whether it acts as a germicide or mechanically, by removing 
the germs along with the moisture which leaves the curd by osmosis, 
is not determined. The mechanical difficulties of a bacterial analy- 
sis of the fresh curd are great and some of the observed variations 
may be attributed to this cause. This portion of the cheese-making 
process deserves a more extended study than it has yet received. 
In different cheeses the rate of increase, the maximum germ con- 
tent and the age at which it is attained, as well as the rate of decline 
after this point, vary greatly. The causes of these variations are 
only partly understood. Harrison and Connell?* have shown that 
the temperature has an important influence, the work of Marshall?® 
places emphasis on the associative action of the different members 
of the flora, while current belief among the cheese makers lays 
great stress upon the moisture content. All of the cheeses except 
Cheese 4.6 II were cured at 60° F. (15.5° C.) but with the excep- 
tion of Cheeses 4.6 VIII, IX and X the forms which were present 
in the milk are unknown and the moisture content was not deter- 
mined. . 
In Cheeses 4.6 I to VII the first sample was taken when the 
cheese arrived at an age varying from two to eight days. In five 
of these six samples the germ content was the highest recorded for 
the particular cheese. However it is improbable that this really 
was the maximum content attained in each case since two of the 
three cheeses which were studied during their manufacture attained 
their maximum within the first twenty-four hours. 
The maximum recorded germ content for each cheese with the 
age at which it was observed is given in Table XXIV. 

* Harrison, F. C. and Connell, W. T. A comparison of the bacterial 
content of cheese cured at different temperatures. lev. gen. du Lait, 3: 80-85, 
IOZ-FII, 120-137, 150-155, 173-160. Tood. 
* Marshall, C. E. A preliminary note on the associative action of bacteria 
in the souring of milk. Cent. Bakt., II Abt. 11: 739-744. 1903. Also, 
Additional work upon the associative action of bacteria in the souring of 
milk, Cent. Bakt. II Abts. 1a! 503-507. a100d. 
