From the scientist’s standpoint, though, only a beginning had been made; the real cause of the trouble was as yet unknown; nor was any satisfactory solution reached even after a long investigation. The flavor could hardly come from the food, for all the cows were fed alike and no objectionable weeds were found in their pasture. The cow seemed perfectly healthy and no evidence of inflammation or disease could be found on the udder or in the milk. Neither could any form of bacteria be found in the milk, which, in cultures or introduced into the udder of a healthy cow, would reproduce the fishy smell. [Sidenote: =Rare fault.=] At least two other cases of similar flavor have been known; but no cause was evident in either case. The trouble is very infrequent, at worst, and is here discussed mainly to show how easily a trouble due to one cow can be located by taking individual samples of the milk; and how cheaply gotten rid of by leaving out the objectionable product. BITTER FLAVOR IN NEUFCHATEL CHEESE. [Sidenote: =An uncompleted study.=] A little better result than that in the study of fishy flavor was reached in the investigation of a bitter flavor in Neufchatel cheese; but this study also had to be left incomplete. The trouble in the factory was easily remedied; and the germ responsible for the outbreak was obtained in pure culture; but full study of the fault in all its bearings was hindered by the refusal of the herd owner to admit that the trouble was due to his milk. The investigation had to stop with the guilty herd; it did not locate the original source of infection. [Sidenote: =Method of detection.=] This bitter flavor is not the same as the bitterness quite common in milk and cream at certain seasons of the year; as the milk itself tasted and smelled all right until well along in the process of cheese-making when the curd was being ærated and drained. The flavor was noticed in the factory in October and could not be checked, though the maker took great pains to wash and scald all his utensils and everything which touched the milk after it came from the farm. To locate the trouble, samples were taken of the milk of each patron and the cheese-making process started with each sample. In 18 hours all the samples of curd appeared normal but two, which were gassy and bad-smelling; and one of these, when drained and exposed to the air, showed a pronounced bitter flavor. This sample proved to be from the dairy which had furnished the milk for making the Neufchatel, a milk specially selected because of its high fat-content. This furnished direct proof that the fault lay in the milk, not in its factory handling; and rejection of this milk ended the trouble in the Neufchatel. As already stated, the study could not be carried into the herd to see whether one cow, wrong stable surroundings, a stagnant pool of water or contaminated dairy utensils were to blame for the trouble in the factory. [Sidenote: =Bacteria blamable.=]