_Causes of excessive moisture:_ Cutting the curd coarse. Cutting the curd after it has become too hard. Setting the milk at a high temperature. Use of excessive amount of rennet extract. Low acid in the curd at the time of removing the whey. Not stirring the curd with the hands as the last of the whey is removed. High piling of the curd during the cheddaring process. Piling the curd too quickly after removing the whey. Use of a small amount of salt. Holding the curd at too low a temperature after the whey is removed. Soaking the curd in water previous to salting. Allowing the curd to remain in the whey too long so that it reabsorbs the whey. Heating the curd too rapidly. _Causes of insufficient moisture:_ Cutting the curd too fine or breaking up the pieces with the rake into too small pieces. Cutting the curd too soft. Stirring the curd too much by hand as the last of the whey is being removed. Developing high acid in the curd at the time of removing the whey. Insufficient piling of the curd during the cheddaring process. Using a large amount of salt. High temperature and low humidity in the curing room. +92. Relation of moisture to manufacture and quality.+--(1) _Flavor:_ If the cheese contains too much moisture, it is likely to develop a sour or acidy flavor. A cheese with a normally high moisture-content usually ripens or develops a cheese flavor much faster than one with a lower moisture-content, other conditions being uniform. A cheese with a high moisture-content is much more liable, during the curing process, to develop undesirable flavors than is one with a lower moisture-content. (2) _Body and texture:_ A cheese containing too much moisture is very soft and is difficult to hold in shape. Such a product breaks down very rapidly and is usually pasty and sticky in texture. If too little moisture is present, the cheese is very dry and hard, and cures or ripens very slowly because of the lack of moisture together with milk-sugar from which acid may be formed. Dry cheeses are usually harsh, tough and rubbery in texture. Such cheeses also have poor rinds. (3) _Color:_ If the ideal conditions exist, the moisture will be evenly distributed throughout the cheese. The spots containing more moisture will be lighter in color. If a cheese contains so much moisture that it becomes "acidy," the effect is the same as when too much acid is developed, that is, the color becomes pale from the action of the acid. (4) _Finish:_ A cheese containing too much moisture is usually soft. A good rind does not form. Such a cheese loses its shape very easily, especially in a warm curing room. (5) _Quality:_ A cheese with a high moisture-content is usually marketable for only a very short period. Such a product usually develops flavor very quickly in comparison to a dry cheese. It must be sold very soon because if held too long, the flavor becomes so strong as to be undesirable, and objectionable flavors