384 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



is in England. In Great Britain there are thirty millions of inhabitants, more 

 or less, who consume a great deal moie cheese than the same number of 

 Americans, and whom we cau siipply with manifest advantage to them and to 

 ourselves. The manufacture of cheese has long been pursued there exten- 

 sively, and the county of Chester has been specially famous for centuries. 

 It is said that not le.-^s than 200,000 cows are kept in this county alone for 

 the production of cheese, of which 14,000 tons are annually sold in London 

 alone. The northern counties of England and the neighboring counties of 

 Scotland have also been largely engaged in cheese-making. But the price of 

 land is so high that few, if any, farmers in England can produce a gallon of 

 milk at a less cost than sixpence sterling, equal to twelve cents of our cur- 

 rency when exchange is at par, and considerably more now that gold is at a 

 premium. Of course no dairyman there can sell cheese for less than the cost 

 of the milk and the pay for making it up. It is also a fact that meat sells in 

 Great Britain at much higher price than it does here ; and British farmers have 

 their hands full, and more too, to make meat enough for home consumption ; 

 large quantities of cured meats, such as beef, pork, and bacon, being annually 

 imported. What reason, then, can be imagined why we may not furnish them 

 all the cheese required with mutual advantage 1 Our facilities are such that we 

 can make it cheaper than they. There is no difficulty in sending it thither in 

 prime condition, and at a cost of only about one cent per pound, including 

 freight, insurance, commission, and all the charges attending transportation. 



It required a long time to create the demand which now exists in England 

 for American cheese, and to Herkimer county, New York, belongs the credit 

 of creating it and securing the trade. It was mainly efiPected by bringing a 

 high degree of skill to bear upon the manufacture generally, thus producing 

 not only a good article, but uniformly good, or as near uniform as is possible 

 when made in different families. Cheese had been sent abroad in small amounts 

 for many years, but when once by good quality and uniformity it had secured 

 a firm foothold, the amount exported increased with astonishing rapidity. By 

 gradual growth it had come to be nine millions of pounds in 1859 ; in 1860 it 

 amounted to twenty-three millions; in 1861 to forty millions, and the demand 

 and supply have steadily increased ever since. 



That this export demand governs the price of cheese in this country is 

 demonstrated by the fact that in June, 1862, prime cheese was bringing in 

 Herkimer county eight cents per pound, but as soon as specie payments were 

 suspended and gold bore a premium the price of cheese advanced with even 

 step. When gold fell, the price of cheese receded; when it rose again, cheese 

 advanced, and all the while just in proportion to the current rate of. exchange, 

 which proves conclusively that to cancel indebtedness, or to pay for goods 

 purchased in England, the cheese was as good as the gold, and answered th-e 

 same purpose exactly. With a market of such great capacity open to us, it 

 seems as certain as anything in this uncertain world cau be, that the manufacture 

 of cheese will increase annually, and I see no reason why all formers who 

 possess really good grazing land may not share in the profits of the manufacture. 



In order to make cheese a staple article of export, it is necessary to be able 

 to manufacture an article which Avill suit the market to which it is sent, and 

 also that it be of even quality so far as practicable. As this market is chiefly 

 in England, it will be well to inquire what sort is there in greatest demand. 

 The names of Gloucester, Leicester, Wiltshire, Dunlop, Cheshire, and many 

 others are familiar to all, but it may be less generally known that of late years 

 the sort known as the "Cheddar cheese" is rapidly displacing all others, being 

 generally acknowledged superior and bearing the highest price of any made 

 simply from whole milk. Stilton cheese sells at a higher price, but it contains 

 cream from other milk, and its manufocture is not supposed to be especially 

 profitable. The euperiority of the Cheddar is due to the foct that a more 



