40 REPORT OF THE BACTERIOLOGIST OF THB 
It did not form an enzym capable of producing a visible change 
in the consistency of the milk and when grown in pure culture 
no bitter flavor was produced even when kept for some weeks. 
The formation of bitter flavor by this organism seems to be in- 
timately associated with the exposure of the curd to the air; since, 
under any of the conditions that were tried, the bitter flavor 
appeared slightly or not at all when a soft, poorly-drained curd 
was prepared; while in a dry, friable curd the bitterness was 
very evident. Although it was grown almost continually in 
milk the organism lost the power of producing bitter flavor after 
about six months and further experiments were necessarily dis- 
continued. 
In this particular instance of the bitter cheese the trouble 
having been found to arise not from the factory but upon the 
farm it would have been of considerable interest to locate more 
closely the source from which these germs gained access to the 
milk. However on being informed of the results of our work 
the producer became highly incensed at the idea that there could 
be anything amiss with his milk and the investigation was not 
carried any further. As a result we could not aid him by sug- 
gesting practical means of ridding himself of the trouble nor 
have we the data upon which to advise others. 
III. SWEET FLAVOR IN CHEDDAR CHEESE. 
WHAT IS MEANT BY SWEET FLAVOR. 
As was intimated in the introductory chapter on flavor there 
is a class of off-flavors which appears especially during the 
spring and fall in the output of many of the factories in this 
State and bears the ceneral title of “ sweet flavor.” p 
A conservative estimate places the annual loss from this 
source at $10,000. , . 
When cheese experts are questioned concerning the matter 
they usually agree in dividing this trouble into at least two 
classes—“ fruity” and ‘sweet ”—while in individual instances 
many other terms are used. When samples are selected and 
