

APPLICATIONS OF BACTERIOLOGY IN EUROPE. 97 
A study of this slimy whey shows that it is a culture of a 
number of varieties of bacteria and yeasts, and that prominent 
among them is a certain micrococcus which has the power of 
rendering the milk very slimy. When this organism grows in 
milk alone its effect is not very great, and it produces no slime. 
When, however, it grows in company with yeasts which con- 
sume the dissolved oxygen the milk becomes slimy. Al- 
though there may be several organisms together in this starter 
the slimy micrococcus appears to the primary one, for all 
instances of good slimy whey which are used in cheese-making 
contain this organism. In the last few years the use of this 
slimy whey in Holland cheese-making has increased until at 
the present time something like one-third of the cheese which 
is made in Holland is made by means of this artificial starter. 
The results of its use are both favorable and unfavorable. 
In the first place, the ripening is hastened and the cheese is 
ripened considerably sooner than is cheese which is ripened 
without such a starter. It is ready for market in four weeks 
instead of six. In the second place, the ripening is more uni- 
form, and the farmer that uses the starter is more sure of getting 
desirable results than the farmer who makes his cheese without 
it. These two factors, of course, are very desirable ones. 
But, on the other hand, the character of the cheese is some- 
what different from that of the natural cheese, its consistency 
varies slightly so that the expert can determine at a glance 
whether the cheese has been ripened with the slimy whey or 
not. Again, the character of the ripening is thought to be 
_ slightly inferior, the flavor obtained not being equal to that of 
the best cheeses obtained by a natural method; and, lastly, 
the keeping quality of the cheese flavor appears to be some- 
what less than that of natural cheese. The buyers who wish 
cheese for exportation buy almost wholly the cheese made by 
natural processes, while cheeses that are bought for immediate 
sale and immediate use are more likely to be those made by the 
artificial starter. The Edam cheeses that we obtain in ‘this 
country are, therefore, nearly all of them made by the natural 
process. In the use of this slimy whey the farmer is obliged 
to renew his stock culture frequently, for his starter runs out 
in the course of time. On some farms, indeed, it is found im- 
possible to keep these starters pure for more than a short time, 
and they must be constantly renewed, while on others, for 
