+Surface contamination:+ Mold________________________________________ Oidium______________________________________ Yeast_______________________________________ Bacterial___________________________________ +Wrapping:+ Date_______________ Material____________________ Condition of cheese_________________________ +Ripening:+ Rapidity of_________________________________ Texture_____________________________________ +Flavor:+ Ripened curd________________________________ Unripened curd______________________________ +Special treatment and reasons for same:+ Record of treatment by days____________________ Room__________ Date__________ Observations.____________________ 1 D_____ 16 D_____ 2 D_____ 17 D_____ 3 D_____ 18 D_____ 4 D_____ 19 D_____ 5 D_____ 20 D_____ 6 D_____ 21 D_____ 7 D_____ 22 D_____ 8 D_____ 23 D_____ 9 D_____ 24 D_____ 10 D_____ 25 D_____ 11 D_____ 26 D_____ 12 D_____ 27 D_____ 13 D_____ 28 D_____ 14 D_____ 29 D_____ 15 D_____ 30 D_____ 31 D_____ +149. Ripening the cheese.+--The cheese is now ready for the ripening rooms (Fig. 20). For this process temperatures between 52° and 58°F. are desirable; lower temperatures only delay the process; higher temperatures favor undesirable fermentations. The cheeses rest upon coarse matting (Fr. clayons) consisting of round wooden rods about the size of a pencil separated 1-1¼ inches and held in position by wire strands. Assuming cheeses of optimum composition as indicated above, the relative humidity of the ripening rooms should be 86 to 88 per cent. Higher humidities produce too rapid development of slimy coatings; too low humidity is indicated by drying, shrinkage and the growth of green molds on the surface. A slight and very slow evaporation is demanded; by this the water-content of the cheeses is reduced 3 to 6 per cent in two weeks. During the first two weeks of ripening, the cheeses commonly show some growth of yeast and _Oidium lactis_ first, followed by cottony white areas of Camembert mold (_Penicillium Camemberti_). This mold must be introduced by inoculation in new factories but once firmly established in the factory will propagate itself if conditions are kept favorable. Climatic conditions in most dairy sections of America have been sufficiently unfavorable to make more or less continuous use of pure cultures desirable. At the end of two weeks, Camembert cheeses should show a well-established rind, consisting of a well-matted felt work of mold hyphæ through the outer 2 mm. (1/12 inch) of the whole surface of the cheese. More or less of the pale gray-green fruit of the characteristic _Penicillium Camemberti_ can usually be seen. Beginning