The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-09-14
CHEESE BOX MAKING.
IAN EXTENSIVE INDUSTRY OF WHICH
LITTLE is KNOWN.


Then Cut Into UnbroIscn Sheets.
An idea Of the magnitude OF tho
cheese industry in this country is given
by the fact that the boxes i'll which tho
Cheese is shipped represent cost of
nearly 100000 annually. It is not
many years since cheese was shipped in
any kind of barrel or box which would
hold from ono to half dozen good sized
forms, packed i'll straw to keep them
from being bruised or broken in the
handling. 1t was only factory made
cheese that received such protection,
whilo dairy cheese was sent to market
destitute OF any covering other than its
own roughly bandaged rind, which in
most cases proved invulnerable. Com
petition among manufacturers has
changed all this, and ut present the
manufacture of boxes gives employment
ito large number of hands and necessi
tates the use of powerful and expensive
machinery.
1t was customary i'll The cary days Ct
tho business to SAW the hooDs. ~, the
largo body Of tho box is called out of
the log in planks about onc-fifth Of an
Inch iii thickness. The waste OF materi-
al EYas most serious objection to this
pla's fully so per cent of the timber
going Ill sawdust. The invention of tho
rotary cutting machine has prevented
tins waste and ut tho same time pro-
duced bette. hoop than tho sawed arti-
Gle. The chief timber used in making
chcesebox hoops is the common swamp
elm. No other timber seems 10 possess
the sano qualities of ightncss, tough
ness and elasticity so requisite for
cheoscboxos as this once despised prod
net of American forests Tho logs, aft
or being cut i'll the proper lengths, gen
orally feet for an ordinary cheese
box of 1873 or 1G inches diameter are
thrown into long watts filled with water
where they arc boiled from IL to 20
hours. Tho timo required to soften the
timber, or cook it, as tho operation is
called, varies according to tho size Of
the timber and the season. Large logs
require to DO cooked longer than small
ones, particularly when tho logs are
frozen. 1t is not uncommon to find the
center of Il log still frozen after 5 hours
of boiling.
Experience is the best guido III this
part of the business, and to know when
the timber is thoroughly cooked and not
overdone is ono of the things acquired
only by constant observation When
sufficiently boiled the logs arc lifted in
iron grapplcs from the watts and laid ON
skids, whore the bark is removed Then
log is lifted by crane and swung in
to place i'll the machine, where it is held
III horizontal position by chucl1s or
dogs that center it at each end.
In this position tho log rcvolvcs like
roll OF paper i'll Il printing press. Tho
knife which does tho cutting is very
heavy and is boltcd to heavy head
called n carriage, which is fed forward
by screws toward the revolving log. In
the most approved machines the lnife
has an end or Oscillating as we'll as a
forward motion. This reduces; the strain
on tho machine and permits tho cutting
Of soft, unsound and shaky hearted logs.
AS tho knife comes in contact with the
timber, tho inequalities of the log AFRO
first shorn off and gradually tho log be-
comes perfectly round and yields an I'M
broken sheet Of lumber, like the unwind
ing Of Il roll of cloth This sheet Of
wood is broken Off in convenient
lengths, which AFRO passed under divid-
ing knives that cut them into uniform
widths corresponding with tho required
depth of the box.
Ii tho boxes arc to DO made ND at once
tho hoops are bent around iron cylinders
to give them tho form of the box, after
which tho bottom is pressed in and
nailed in place. Comparatively few
boxes are put together in the larger
mills. In most cases the product is dried
and shipped to tho cheese manufactur-
ing centers where the boxes arc com
pletcd. The boxes in the finished state
are too bulky for economical handling.
An ordinary freight car will not con
tain moro than 500 complete boxes,
while 5000 can be carried if shipDcd in
the balo
The remnants which AFRO not vide
enough for hoops are used for the cover
band and for tho marrow band that goes
around the bottom Of the box The box
es vary in size both as regards depth
and diameter. Tho most common size
will hold Il cheese Of from &C to G5
pounds. Such box is 10 inches dccp
and Is = inches in diameter This is
the si2o of cheese most i'll demand for
export. Tho si@o for homo consumption
is as Il rule much smaller and requires
box from to inches deep, but of tho
Same diameter rs the other
Various kinds of timber are used to
form the heads of the box, but elm is
the accepted material for the hoops.
Owing to peculiarities of tho soil. tho
timber i'll some localities is inclined to
DE shaky, the checks or shakes running