Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-07-26
CHEESE BOX MAKING.
AN EXTENSIVE INDUSTRY OF WHICH
LITTLE is KNOWN.

LII LIZ 10 hNOWN.
Half . Million Dollars Worth OF Cases
Turned Out Yearly by Expensive Ma
chinery-How the Logs Arc Cooked and
Then Cut Into Unbroken Sheets.
An idea of the magnitude Of the
cheese industry in this country is given
by the i.cs that the boxes in which the
cheese {. .hipped represent 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,
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 at present the
manufacture Of boxes gives employment
to a large number of hands and necessi-
tates the use of powerful and expensive
machinery.
1t was customary in the eally 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 so per cent Of the timber
going in sawdust. Tho invention Of the
rotary cutting machine has prevented
this waste and at the same time pro-
duced a 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
net Of American forests. The logs, aft
er being cut in the proper. lengths, gen.
orally 8 feet for an ordinary cheese
box Of 151s or 10 inches diameter, are
thrown into long watts filled with water,
where they are boiled from IL to 20
hours The time required to soften the
timber, or cock 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 tho
center Of a log still frozen after l 3 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 the things acquired
only by constant observation. When
sufficiently boiled the logs are lifted in
iron grapples from the watts and laid ON
skids, where the bark is removed. Then
log is lifted by a crane and swung in
to place in the machine, where it is held
in a horizontal position by chucks or
dogs that center it at each end.
In this position the log revolves like
roll Of paper in a printing press. The
knife which does the cutting is very
heavy and is bolted to u heavy head
called a carriage, which is fed forward
by screws toward the revolving log. In
the most approved machines the knife
has an end or cscillating as we'll rs q
forward motion. This reduces the strain
on the machine and permits the cutting
of soft, unsound and shaky hearted logs.
As the knife comes in contact with tho
timber, the inequalities of the log arc
first shorn off and gradually the log be-
comes perfectly round and yields an I'M
broken sheet Of lumber, like the unwind
ing Of a 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 tho required
depth of the box.
If the boxes are to be made up OF once
the hoops arc bent around iron cylinders
to give them tho form Of the box, after
which the 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. 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 shipped in
the bale.
Tho 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 tho box. The box
es vary in size both rs regards depth
and diameter. The most common size
will hold cheese Of from GO to 65
pounds. Such box Is 10 inches deep
and l5R 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
box from 8 to G inches deep, but Of the
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 the soil, the
timber in some localities is inclined to
be shaky, the checks or shakes running
around the log and following the grain
of the timber. Such timber was useless
when the hoops were sawed. but In the
rotary process much Of ii can he turned