82 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Mrs. Smith, formerly for eight years at Williams', had entire 

 charge of the manufacture. In cutting and working the curd she 

 had the assistance of two girls, probably learners, and in the salting 

 and putting to press, of two or three men also. Eight or nine 

 cheeses were made daily. When the curd of to-day is nearly ready 

 for the press, those of yesterday are taken out, weighed, (about 

 1350 lbs. the day I was there,) the weight and date marked on 

 each, and removed to the curing room. This was a two storj'^ 

 building, twenty-six by one hundred feet, with tables arranged the 

 whole length, on both floors, and contained at the time from 75,000 

 to 100,000 lbs. of cheese. To look at such a parcel was worth a 

 Maine farmer's going a long way. They were of uniform size, 

 twenty-three inches broad by nine inches deep, weighing from 150 

 to 160 lbs. each,* and so nearly alike that not the slightest differ- 

 ence could I perceive, except according to age. Several Herkime- 

 county dairymen, who visited the place with me, pronounced it the 

 most uniform parcel they had ever seen. As manufactured this 

 year, a hundred pounds of curd made eighty-six pounds of cheese 

 as it came from the press, and this would shrink in curing only 

 four and a half per cent. Last year, eighty-eight pounds to the 

 hundred was made, which shrunk six and a quarter per cent, in the 

 curing. Their cheese took the first premium the year before, and 

 commanded the highest price in the markets. It was mostly sold 

 for exportation to England. 



The advantages presented by such establishments,! it is easy to 

 see, are very considerable. Inasmuch as large quantities can be 

 made with greater comparative ease and facility than small ones, 

 (]ie saving of labor is no small item, and of itself gives a handsome 

 profit. At the same time, a high degree of excellence in the product 

 is veiiy uniformly attained. Some of the cheese made in families is 

 as good as any made in factories, but not all ; in fact, but a very 

 small proportion. As nearly as I could learn, the farmers above 

 referred to generally received from fifteen to forty per cent, more 

 than if they had manufactured their cheese at home. We have 

 here, then, a most remarkable improvement in quality, accompanied 

 with enhanced value, and also with an entire release from what is 



* Those at Williams' were larger, being twenty-eight inches broad by twelve deep, 

 t Associated dairies have been in successful operation in other States also, especially 

 in Ohio. 



