The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1897-09-18
CHEESE-BOX MAKING.


An Idea Of the maRnitnde ot the
cheese industry In this country Il given
by the fact t}pt the boxes In which the
cheess< is shipped represent : cost oi
nearly haA . million dollars annually.
It Il not many years, says the New
York Sun, 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 protec.
ton, while dairy cheese was sent ia
market destitute Of any covering other
than Its own roughly bandaged rind,
which In most cases proved iuvulner-
able. Competition among mAnufactur-
ers has changed all this. and 1t present
the manufacture Of boxes gives employ
ment to . large number of hands and
neceasitates the use Of powerful and
expensive machinery.
1t was customary in the early days Of
the business to saw the hoops. - the
large body OF the box IL called, out OF
the log in planks about one-lifth Of an
inch in thickness. The waste Of mate
rial was . most serious objection to this
plan, fully fifty per cent. of the timber
going In sawdust. The invention Of
the rotary cutting machine has pre-
vented this waste and at the same time
produced better hoop than the sawed
article. The chief timber used in mal-
inG cheese-box hoops Il the common
swamp elm. No other timber seems
to possess the Same qualities Of light
ness, toughness and elasticity, 20 re-
quisite for cheese boxes, as this once
despised product Of American forests.
The logs, after being cut in the proper
leugtha, generally ave feet for an ordi-
nary cheese box Of fifteen and half
or sixteen inches diameter, are thrown
into long vats filled with water, where
they are boiled from fifteen to twenty
hours. The time required to soften the
timber, or cook 1t, - the operation Il
called, varies according to the sixe 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 fnd the
center Of log stu frozen after fifteen
hours Of boiling. Experience il the
best guide In this part Of the business,
and to know when the timber il thor
oughly cooked and not overdone l. one
Of the things acquired only by con-
slant observation. When sufficiently
boiled the logs are lifted In iron Crap
ples from the vats and Laid on slkids,
where the bark II removed. Then .
log Il lifted by crane and swung into
place In the machine, where IL 10 held
In horizontal position by chucks or
doRs that center It 1t each end.
In this position the log revolves like
. roll Of paper In printing press The
knife which does the cutting 10 very
heavy and Il bolted to . heavy head
called . carriage, which II fed for
ward by screws toward tho revolving
log. In the most approved machines
the knife has IN end or oscillating -
veal @ . forward motion. This reduces
the strain On the machine and permits
the cutting Of soft, uusound and shaky-
hearted logA Az the knife comes In
cootac4 with the timber the inequali-
tl,s OF tho log arc DIRT shorn Oh. and
gradually the log becomes perfectly
round and yields IN unbroken sheet OF
like the unwindiug of roll OF
cloth. This sheet Of wood Il broken
OF In convenient lengths, which are
passed under dividing knives that cut
them into uniform widths, correspond
Ing with the required depth Of the box.
"a - 1A 4
once the hoops are bent around iron
cylinders 70 give them the form OF the
box. after which the bottom Il pressed
In and nailed in place. Comparatively
few boxes are put together In the
larger millA In most cesea the product
il dried and shippsd to the cheese man
ufacturin9 centers, where the boxes
are completed. The boxes In the
Anished state are too bulky for eco0om-
ical handling.
enough for hoops are used for the cover
band and for the narrow hand that
Roes around the bottom OF the box
The boxes vary in sise both - regards
depth and diameter. The most COM
mon size will hold . cheese OF from
sixty to sixty-dve pounds. Such > box
n ten inches deep and dfteen and one
half inches in diameter. This = the
sixe Of cheese most In demand Tor ex-
mort. The sixe for home consumption
4 - . rule much smaller and requires
. box from ave to nix inches deep, but
Of the same diameter - the other.
VARIOUS kinds Of timber are used 70
form the heads OF the box. but elm -
the accepted material Tor the hoopA
Owing TO peculiarities Of the soil, the
timber In sosna localities II inclined 70
be shaly, tho checks or shakes running
around the log and following the grain
OF the timber. Such timber was use
Ices when the hoops wcrc sawed. ous
IN the rotary process much OF u can oe
turned to rood account. The bulk Of
the elm timber used In this business -
broueht In from Canada
The western peninsula Of Ontario
lyine north Of Lake Erie contained one
Of tho largest tracts Of elm timber On
the oootinent. e has been greatly de-
pls4ed In recent years The loeS sre
taken out IN winter when the swamps
- frozen and nre slddded near the
rnilwayp o. On the lake shora. The
hnlk of them ere. taken 70 ths mills y
weaes b TOW Of powerful steam tugA
4 o,RL 3 NOBLE ACT.
ne,s.ss THres Ressss ~ aaaas
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