COI,L,ECTIVE DAIRIES 1 5 



These large dairies are not however numerous in Italy. Besides a 

 few others in this same province of Cremona (Piadena, Acquanegra, etc.) 

 and a few in the Milanese and the province of Treviso, the only types fotind 

 are those of the dairy of average importance and the small co-operative 

 cheese-factory (i). 



§ 4. Societies for the ripening and the sale of cheese. 



In order that the products of the dairy may conquer the markets 

 they must fulfil certain very definite conditions. As regards cheese, in 

 order that the various kinds may be commercially recognized, form, weight, 

 composition and colour and the content of fat must be preserved unchanged. 

 In order that they may sell well the cheeses must also be well ripened. 

 But the processes necessary to giving them these necessary qualities 

 are not always easily practised in isolated collective daries or dairy 

 farms ; whereas they can be effected profitably by special organizations 

 (federated dairies) which concentrate the products of members, inspect 

 and classify them, distribute them in various groups according to their 

 quality or the needs of the market, undertake the ripening process on suit- 

 able premises, and sell them at opportune times, etc. 



These ideas were first developed at the National Congress of the Milk 

 Industry at Turin in 1911 (2). Some societies have already attempted 

 something of the kmd in Italy for the ripem'ng and the sale of the products 

 of cheesemaking Thus the Societd Caricatori d'Alpi of Morbegno (Son- 

 drio), constituted with a capital of 17,000 liras, has formed a collective 

 industry for ripening Bitto cheese. This aims : a) at collecting and preserv- 

 ing in special storehouses the cheeses produced by members ; h) at faci- 

 litating their sale ; c) at promoting the granting of advances in cash, at low 

 rates of interest, by credit institutions to members applying for them, 



their threshing and also provides them with the lubricators they use for their agricultural ma- 

 chines. It has founded a co-operative chemical depot which first provides members with all 

 the chemicals they need and secondly sells all manner of remedies to the public at low prices. It 

 has set up essicating ovens for cocoons and grants the use of these to its members in return for 

 a mere repayment of the expenses it thus incurs. It has organized lectures for the instruction 

 of employees in members' byres, and it employs inspectors who watch over the production of 

 the milk, the quality of forage, etc. 



(i) In the province of Milan efforts have been made to iustal large dairies, especially in the 

 lower district (Casalpusterlengo, Melegnano, etc.) and in the district of Pavia (Robbio, Candia, 

 I/Dmellina), but no good results have been obtained. Initial errors, especially those of too ex- 

 pensive installations and of the application of mistaken criteria of technique, made important 

 initiative in favour of the dairy industry m the I<ombard district abortive. Other efforts have 

 been made in Piedmont, but outside events which cannot be narrated here caused the dairies 

 which were installed to pass into the hands of business-men and individual capitalists. 



(2) See in this connection the report presented to the congress by Dr. P. Montanari which 

 is cited among the sources of this article. 



