THE CHEESE INDUSTRY IN AMERICA 313 



was open and soft. The method of caring for the cheese 

 and marketing was entirely different from that practiced 

 at the present time. All the cheeses made during the 

 entire season were held until fall and marketed at one 

 time. They were packed in casks four to six in a package, 

 one on top of the other. The earliest date when single 

 boxed cheeses were on the market was 1841. 



Between 1820 and 1840, a small export trade in cheese 

 was started. As this demand for cheese increased, partic- 

 ularly in England, it became necessary to change the 

 methods employed in manufacture. The farm dairy 

 cheese was rather an open-textured sweet curd product. 

 If not, it was due more to accident than to any intention 

 of the cheese-maker to improve the quality. One of the 

 early complaints from England was that the cheeses were 

 too small and uneven in size. The practice of making 

 on the farm continued until about 1851, when the factory 

 system was started, although home manufactures con- 

 tinued after that time. Following are the reasons for the 

 change from the farm to factory system : (1) England 

 demanded larger cheese; (2) the farm product was not 

 uniform ; (3) the quality of the farm cheese did not suit 

 the English trade ; (4) factories saved much labor on the 

 farms ; and (5) could secure higher prices. 



297. The factory system. Where and by whom the 

 first Cheddar cheese factory in America was started is 

 not definitely known. Jesse Williams of Oneida County, 

 New York, is supposed by many to have been the first to 

 build and operate under the factory system, in 1851. 

 Cheese factories were opened in Ohio and Wisconsin about 

 1860. In the period 1860 to 1870, a large number of 

 cheese factories were built in the various states, especially 

 New York, Ohio and Wisconsin. 



