The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1895-07-31
CHEESE BOX MAKING
AN EXTENSIVE INDUSTRY OF WHICH
LITTLE is KNOWN.


chinery-How the Logs Are Cooked and
Then Cut Into Unbroken Sheets.
An idea Of the magnitude of the
cheese industry in this country is given
by the fact that the boxes in which the
cheese is shipped represent a cost of
nearly 100000 annually. 1t is not
many years since cheese was shipped in
any kind of barrel or box which would
hold from one to half dozen good sized
forms, packed in straw TO keep them
from being bruised or broken in the
handling. It was only factory made
cheese that received such protection,
while 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 at present the
manufacture Of boxes gives employment
to large number of hands and necessi-
tates the use Of powerful and expensive
machinery.
1t was customary in the early days of
the business to saw the hoops, as the
large body Of the box is called, out of
the log in planks about one-fifth Of an
inch in thickness. The waste Of materi-
al was most serious objection to this
plan, fully 80 per cent of the timber
going in sawdust. The invention Of the
rotary cutting machine has prevented
this waste and at the same time pro-
duced q better hoop than the sawed arti-
Gle. The chief timber used in making
cheesebox hoops is the common swamp
elm. No other timber seems to possess
the same qualities Of lightness, tough
ness and elasticity so requisite for
cheeseboxes as this once despised prod
uct Of American forests. The logs, aft
er being cut in the proper lengths, gen.
orally feet for an ordinary cheese
box Of 15k or 10 inches diameter, are
thrown into long watts filed with water,
where they are boiled from 12 to 20
hours The time required to soften the
timber, or cook it, as the operation is
called, varies according to the size of
the timber and the season. Large logs
require to be cooked longer than small
ones, particularly when the logs are
frozen. 1t is not uncommon to find the
center of log still frozen after 10 hours
Of boiling.
Experience is the best guide in this
part Of the business, and to know when
the timber is thoroughly cooked and not
overdone is one Of tho things acquired
only by constant observation. When
sufficiently boiled the logs are lifted in
iron grapples from the vats and laid ON
sxids, where the bark Is removed Then
log is lifted by crane and swring in
to place in the machine, where it is held
In n horizontal position by chncks or
dogs that center it nt each end.
In this position tine log revoives like
roll Of paper in printing press. The
knife which does the cutting is very
heavy and is bolted to n heavy head
called carriage, which is fed forward
by screws toward the revolving log. In
the most approved machines the knife
has an end or oscillating as well as a
forward motion. This reduces the strain
on the machine and permits tho cutting
Of soft, unsound and shalxy hearted logs.
As the knife comes in contact with the
timber, the inequalities of the log are
first shorn off and gradually the log be-
comes perfectly round and yields an un-
broken sheet Of lumber, like the unwind
ing Of roll of cloth. This sheet of
wood is broken off in convenient
lengths, which are passed under divid-
ing knives that cut them into uniform
widths corresponding with the required
depth of the box.
II the boxes are to be made up at once
the hoops are bent around iron cylinders
to give them the 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 the cheese manufactur-
ing centers, where the boxes are COM
pleted. Tho boxes in the finished state
are too bulky for economical handling.
An ordinary freight Car will not con-
tain more than 500 complete boxes,
while 5000 can be carried If shipped in
the bale.
The remnants which are not wide
enough for hoops are used for the cover
band and for the narrow band that goes
around the bottom of the box. The box
es vary in size both as regards depth
and diameter. The most common size
will hold cheese of from 60 to 85
pounds Such box is 10 inches deep
and 151s inches in diameter. This is
the size of cheese most in demand for
export. The size for home consumption
is as rule much smaller and requires