BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 87 



creameries in that State, there was great improvement in the uni- 

 formity and quality of butter marketed. Butter-scoring contests held 

 in connection with the "Western Dairy Products Show have also 

 helped in standardizing and improving the product of the creameries 

 in seven Western States. 



CHEESE FACTORIES IN THE SOUTH. 



In the mountainous sections of the South efforts have been made 

 to increase cheese production, and the establishment of cheese facto- 

 ries has been encouraged in those regions where climatic and other 

 conditions render their operations feasible. The work is necessarily 

 limited to districts where the summer nights are cool and cold water 

 is abundant. 



Work was begun in September, 1914, when the first cheese factory 

 was built in North Carolina. At that time a cheese expert was as- 

 signed to that region, and since then factories have been mcreasing 

 rapidly. At present there are 34 cheese factories in the southern 

 mountains, of which 20 are in North Carolina, 9 in Virginia, 4 in 

 Tennessee, and 1 in West Virginia. Twenty-six were organized dur- 

 ing the last year. 



Every factory established has been successful and has shown a 

 rapid growth from the day it opened. The cheese factories furnish 

 outlets for milk in localities far distant from railroads and centers 

 of population, and in that way have proved of great benefit to isolated 

 regions. More requests for help have come from promising localities 

 than can be attended to by the men now in the field. In 1916 the 

 mountainous region of North Carolina alone produced $30,000 worth 

 of cheese, and the output for 1917 is estimated at $100,000, of which 

 $75,000 will be newly created wealth. 



CHEESE WORK IN THE WEST. 



The western cheese work, begun in July, 1916, with one specialist 

 in the field, has resulted in 12 new cheese factories. By improving 

 the milk supply of these and other factories a better quality of cheese 

 was produced and greater yields obtained. One factory has already 

 reported that the improvement of the milk supply alone increased 

 the net income from the cheese at least $3,000 a year. The possibili- 

 ties for the expansion of cheese work in the West are almost without 

 limit, yet care is being taken not to encourage the establishment of 

 factories where there are not cows enough or where other circum- 

 stances would prevent successful operation. The cheese from Idaho 

 factories is now of such a uniform quality that it is pronounced by 

 eastern buyers to be the equal of any seen in that market in recent 

 years. 



GBO^^E CITY CBEAMEKY. 



The creamery at Grove City, Pa., operated under the management 

 of the Dairy Division, is an excellent example of the influence of a 

 well-managed creamery upon a locality. Begun in 1915 with only 54 

 patrons the first month, the creamery at the close of the last year had 

 579 patrons, from whom 378,000 pounds of butter fat were purchased 

 during the year at a price well above that generally prevailing. In 



