We are now supposed to be working spring or fall milk that is obstinately sweet and very hard to cook. In summer or warm weather, milk is, of course, mature; this aids and hastens the cooking process while sweetness retards it. In cool weather and with good milk, having found that a minimum of 100° will not cook the curd after standing at that temperature an hour and a half, fix your standard higher and bring it within the rule prescribed. Be sure that your curd is thoroughly cooked. Thousands of boxes of weak, half raw cheese are thrown on the market every spring that are deficient in quality through a lack of heat in the vat. The most convenient and sure test of which I am aware, to tell that the curd is “done,” so to speak, is to grasp a large double-handful and compress it dry of whey; if it quickly, after pressure is withdrawn, falls easily apart on the palm of the outstretched hand, you may be sure that your curd is thoroughly cooked in every way. Now we come to acid. ACID. Acid microbes are inherent in the lacteal structure and come dormant in the milk from the udder. As soon as they feel the atmosphere they spring into spontaneous activity, however retarded by cold or fostered by heat. Acid in milk is a species of yeast fermentation and is the first step toward decomposition. It is the best servant the cheese maker has and is also his worst enemy when the relation is changed to that of master. In a temperate climate, in hay produced milk, in the spring of the year, acid is nearly dormant and there is but little use for it. Hay cheese are expected to be thrown on the market in cool weather when they will be quickly consumed; therefore, the additional firmness given by acid is not required to be applied as a safeguard against heat. If early hay cheese are cooked enough and salted about two pounds to the thousand, it is all that is desirable. On the border between hay and grass the weather is gradually moderating and there is torrid temperature in sight in the immediate future. Acid now begins to appear in the whey and curd you are working by the time you have it scalded. It has a right to be there for it is your friend and you now need its timely proffered assistance. If, through unusually good quality of milk, it does not come to the front, coax it a little in the following way: After the curd is cooked and before whey is drawn, turn on steam and re-warm the whole mass, then draw the whey and pack the curd in bulk as much as possible, covering it up with a cloth. This will soon set the acid to working in good shape. Always rely on the hot iron test to locate acid. It takes an expert to get the amount of acid even from mess to mess by an olfactory measurement. On March and the first half of April stock I do not care for any acid to show, but on later April and beginning of May goods acid should show on the hot iron clearly and perceptibly. When the curd is pressed to the metal, fine strings