CONCERNING CHEESE 221 



the qualities made in the district are ' Cheddar ' or 

 ' Caerphilly,' provided they get the same bulk and 

 (which is also the case) the same rate. But, in the first 

 place, the Caerphilly cheeses weigh only about 5 pounds 

 each, against the 50 pounds of the Cheddars, so that 

 a ton of the former represents a good deal more 

 handling than a ton of the latter. Then, whereas the 

 Cheddar cheeses can be piled up on top of one another 

 without detriment being so hard that one could (as it 

 was put to me) ' walk on them ' the Caerphilly cheese 

 is essentially a ' soft ' variety. Made, say, on a Friday, 

 it can be sent to market on the following Tuesday an 

 arrangement which suits the farmers better than the 

 prolonged storing and the special care necessary in the 

 case of Cheddar cheeses. But the Caerphilly cheeses 

 offer such bad loading that if, in the summer, four of 

 them (sent loose) are placed on top of one another in 

 the railway waggon, the one at the bottom will be 

 crushed out of shape before the end of the journey is 

 reached. The result is that not more than about 

 25 cwt. of these Caerphilly cheeses can be loaded into 

 a railway truck having a nominal carrying capacity of 

 8 tons. In other words, whereas one railway waggon 

 would suffice for 2 tons 10 cwt. of Cheddar cheese, two 

 railway waggons are necessary for the conveyance of 

 the same quantity of Caerphilly. Whether or not the 

 farmers are getting more advantage out of the latter 

 cheese than they did out of the former especially con- 

 sidering the substantial saving in time and trouble is 

 a matter of detail on which I have no evidence before 

 me ; but, in any case, they have not been asked to pay 

 any higher railway rate, although their change in 

 method has so substantially increased the amount of 

 rolling-stock required for the transport of their consign- 

 ments. 



