New YorK AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 47 
WORK AND RESULTS AT FACTORY NUMBER FOUR IN 1902. 
Method of making test cheese.— Encouraged by the results of 
our preliminary trial in October, 1901, we devoted considerable 
time to studying the method of making small cheeses in fruit jars. 
This method was introduced to the dairy industry about twenty 
years ago by H. A. Rees, of Lowville, State Cheese Instructor, 
as a means of determining the quality of patrons’ milk. The 
same method for determining the same point was more recently 
rediscovered at the Wisconsin Dairy School and called the Wis- 
consin Curd Test. 
In applying this method to the determination of the presence of 
Bacillus rudensis in the patrons’ milk we first carefully washed 
and steamed the fruit jars to destroy the germs which have 
remained from previous tests. Samples were collected in these 
jars as the patrons’ milk was being emptied into the weigh can, a 
few drops of rennet added, the cover screwed down tightly and 
the can stood up in a bath of warm water. When properly 
thickened the curd was broken by shaking and the whey expelled 
by agitation and heat. When the curd was dry enough the can 
was opened, the whey poured off, and the curd salted and pressed 
by hand in small cheese-cloth bags. <A quart of milk produced a 
cheese slightly smaller than a base ball. 
Up to the time the can was opened to remove the whey the 
curd was entirely protected from contamination. Some chance 
for contamination was unavoidable during the pressing process, 
which was accomplished with the hands. The hands were washed 
before handling each cheese, and in order to determine whether 
B. rudensis was carried in this way, a record was kept of the 
order in which the cheeses were pressed. On comparing ‘this 
order with the results of the examination of the cheese it was 
found that in only a small number of cases could red spots be 
found in the cheese handled next after those abundantly seeded 
with Bacillus rudensis. 
The point of prime importance in the preparation of these 
cheeses was to remove a sufficient amount of water from the curd 
before enough acid had formed to cause the curd to “ string ” on 
the hot iron. The formation of greater quantities of acid for 
some reason prevented the development of spots. Since the work 
