SECRETARY'S REPORT. 



83 



considered with us one of the severest burdens of the household. 

 Are there not many localities in Maine where such factories might 

 be put into successful operation ? If one was located in the centre 

 of a township six miles square, no one residing in that town would 

 be obliged to go a very great distance to carry their milk, and if 

 each acre in town would average a pint of milk daily, the amount 

 would suffice for several establishments like the one just described. 

 To secure uniform good quality is a great point. Some Ameri- 

 can cheese which has been sent abroad is good enough to com- 

 mand a high price, and the only obstacle to a very great and very 

 profitable export demand is the lack of this same uniformity. This 

 lack however is, happily, growing less every year. It will do no 

 harm to see what our neighbors over the water say of American 

 cheese. In an article on cheese in a recent number of the Journal 

 of the Royal Agricultural Society, Dr. Voelcker, of the Agricultural 

 College at Cirencester, writes as follows : "Of late years a good 

 deal of cheese has been imported into England from America, some 

 of which is by no means bad ; indeed, one or two specimens which 

 came under my notice were excellent in quality. The majority, 

 however, are inferior, and are sold at a low price, being generally 

 badly made and deficent in flavor. The following table gives the 

 composition of American cheeses : 



No. 1 was as nice a cheese as could be desired ; in flavor it 

 much resembled good Cheddar, and was found to contain even a 

 higher proportion of butter and rather less water than good Ched- 

 dar. 



The second cheese, though rich in butter, was retailed at 7d (14 

 cents) per pound, and the third at only 6d per pound. Both were 

 deficient in flavor and badly made. 



