(3) Exposure.—The factory should be so located that the receiving room is away from the prevailing winds. This prevents dust being blown into the factory. The curing-room should be on the side not exposed to the sun as this will keep it cool. Fig. 59 shows a clean cheese factory of the ordinary type. When it is desirable to cure the cheese in a cellar, it is better to locate the factory on the side of a hill. Then the receiving and manufacturing room may be on the ground level and the curing-room, a cellar, back of the manufacturing room and yet all on the same level. This saves carrying the cheese up and down stairs.
(4) Accessibility to market should not be overlooked. Often the quality of the cheese is injured by long hauls. An important item in marketing both milk and cheese is the use of the automobile. By its use the products are not so long in transit, and losses from exposure in delivery are reduced. Both milk and cheese, when exposed to the heat of the sun for any length of time, become warm. This gives undesirable organisms chance to develop.
Fig. 59.—A cheese factory of neat appearance.
284. The building.—Details of construction or estimates of cost will be omitted in the present discussion. A local contractor can do this satisfactorily and also the cost of materials is constantly changing. Only general considerations as they apply to the manufacture of the product will be taken up.
The building may be constructed of wood, stone, various bricks or concrete. The kind of material will depend on the relative cost of materials in the local market and on the amount of money available for building.
285. Heating plant.—Many of the older factories have no heating plants and some are so poorly constructed that they cannot be warmed. Means of heating should be provided, either by steam or a stove. The loss due to freezing is an item which is entirely avoided in factories properly heated.
286. Curing-rooms.—The size of the curing-rooms will depend on the amount of cheese to be handled and its location on the variety of cheese to be manufactured. In every case, some provision should be made to control humidity and temperature. If the room becomes hot and dry, evaporation from the cheese will be much more rapid. In a hot curing-room, undesirable types of ferments are more likely to develop and to injure the quality of the cheese.
287. Light.—The importance of light should be emphasized. It acts as a stimulant to keep things clean. It also makes the factory more cheerful. There should be numerous windows to give plenty of light. A skylight may often serve both as a source of light and ventilation.