It is hard to determine which is of the greater importance, good rennet or properly constructed curing-rooms; for both are necessary to the production of the best cheese, while the want of either is sure to injure if not to spoil it. The importance of controlling the temperature in curing has not yet taken hold of the popular mind. The best milk in the world may be spoiled by bad rennet, and the best curd in the world may be spoiled by a bad curing-room.

TEMPERATURE.

In a large majority of the curing-rooms of the country, the temperature ranges from 60 degrees Fahrenheit to 90 degrees and even above. Sometimes these extremes are realized within a few days. Think of setting a curd to fermenting at 80 to 90 degrees, when it ought to start at 60 to 65 degrees! Yet, this is frequently done; and to prevent the cheese from huffing and crawling it is proposed by some to make the curd so dry and sour in the beginning that heat will not soften it. In this way, is made what some buyers style a "firm" cheese. The best English Cheddars, according to the American Encyclopedia, are set to curing at a temperature of 60 degrees, and are never allowed to go above 70 degrees. Our observation and experience are that the range of temperature should never go above 75 degrees. Curing should begin as low as 65 degrees, and no cheese should be marketed under thirty days from the hoops. When the curing is slow, as it ought to be, the cheese will not be ripe in less than that time. If sixty days old before ready for market, the better. The hurrying process is everywhere bad for the product, and no amount of souring helps the matter, however hard it may make the cheese and however well it may stand up in hot weather. We want something else besides standing-up quality. With a low and even temperature for curing, we do not need to work all the goodness out of the curd to make a firm cheese. We do not have to cut the fats and phosphates out with acid, nor to dry all the moisture out by fine cutting and high scalding or long scalding. We can stop the cooking when the curd is evenly cooked through so as to be springy when pressed together by the hands, take it out of the whey before the acid develops, and put it to press without unnecessary delay.

AN EXAMPLE.

In the fall of 1884, we ate some cheese at Mr. N.L. Brown's, Gurnee, Ill., which was dipped sweeter and put to press softer than we ever thought of doing; yet the cheese was close-grained and fine-flavored, and one that would pass muster as a first-class cheese anywhere. But it was not cured in a hot curing room, nor in one where the temperature went up and down the same as it did on the outside of the building. It was placed in his cellar, at a temperature of 64 degrees, and there remained until it was fit to cut. Nor was it even rubbed, but occasionally turned over. When out, it looked like a cheese that had been kept in a box a year, covered with mold and mites. The superfluous moisture was dried out but the butter was all left. It demonstrated what can be done by temperature. Had this cheese been cured in an ordinary curing-room, it would have gone all out of shape in a few days—as soon as rapid fermentation set in—and been off flavor by the time it was ten days old. Several other cheeses were cured in the same cellar, in the same way, but none of them were put to press so soft or sweet, but all sweet-curd cheeses, and all buttery and fine. This particular one was the result of hurry, as other matters than the curd demanded attention. But the thought came that it would be a good experiment, as it was, and the result was satisfactory, though not different from what was expected. Cheeses made in the same way as the others that were cured in the cellar, and some cooked more and soured more, were made by the same gentleman and cured in an ordinary curing-room. In hot weather, they swelled and some of them got out of shape, while the flavor was sharp and rough. But those in the cellar, at 64 degrees, apparently never moved a hair's breadth out of shape, were as solid as old butter, yet firm enough for shipping even, and of the finest flavor. It is hardly necessary to say that the cellar was exceedingly clean and sweet, and was well ventilated. These cheeses were a demonstration, if not a revelation.

MOISTURE IN CURING.It should be remarked, by the way, that a curing-room does not want to be a dry room. We do not want to dry cheese; we want to cure it; that is, let it go through the proper chemical change. This it does best in a somewhat moist room, in which the surface does not dry and become hard and impervious, so that the gases cannot escape. It is better to contend with a little mold than a dry atmosphere.

BETTER CHEESE CAN BE MADE.

We see, on turning to Prof. Arnold's "American Dairying," that he says: "The temperature of a curing-room for whole milk should be 65 to 70 degrees; for part skims, 75 to 80 degrees." It is thus seen that fat plays an important part in curing. "The more fat," he says, "the cooler may be the room; and the less fat, the warmer may it be." Again: "Under the present state of things, a cheese that will stand a voyage of 4,000 miles can hardly be called a fancy cheese. * * * But a much fancier cheese than we are now producing, one that will stand shipping, can be made. To do this will require milk to be free from some of the imperfections which are now quite common; it must be transported to the factories in much better ventilated cans; it must be made with less rennet and less acidity; and it must be cured in an even and lower temperature." We mark the conclusion in italics, because we believe these are vital points. We insist that we cannot do ourselves credit nor realize the best financial results in cheese making until we build better curing rooms—rooms in which we can control the temperature without fail. We have not yet settled down to cheese making. We are still trying experiments and resorting to temporary expedients. We must build far more deliberately and for permanency. It is not necessary that we should point out just how a building may be erected so as to give control of the inside temperature. Architects know how to do it. When our cheese makers get to the point where they demand such buildings, they will get them without much trouble and at moderate expense. It is only necessary that they should have the "will." The "way" will speedily open.