Dairy Legislation 345 



careful and strict regulation. These laws have not 

 resulted, as was fondly hoped by many dairymen, in 

 absolutely stopping the manufacture of imitation but- 

 ter, but have resulted in a great improvement in the 

 quality of the imitation goods and in securing inno- 

 cent purchasers against fraud in palming off upon 

 them a spurious for a genuine article. At the same 

 time, the cheaper imitation butter has crowdei out of 

 the market the poorer grades of genuine butter, and 

 so improved the general average quality of genuine 

 butter. 



More recently the manufacture of so-called filled 

 cheese has been regulated in the same way, by the 

 passage by the National Congress, in 1896, of a 

 law similar to the oleomargarine act, placing a rev- 

 enue tax upon all filled cheese manufactured, and a 

 license tax upon the manufacturers and dealers. 

 This filled cheese is made from skimmed milk, to 

 which has been added a certain amount of neutral 

 animal fat. 



Within the past twenty years the practice of mak- 

 ing cheese from skimmed or partially skimmed milk 

 has spread widely throughout the United States. The 

 result has been that the reputation of American cheese 

 has greatly fallen in the market, both abroad and at 

 home. A remedy has been sought by the passage in 

 several states, notably New York and Wisconsin, of 

 laws authorizing the use, on cheese made from whole 

 milk, of "State Brands" guaranteeing the quality of 

 cheese so branded. While cheese -makers were at 

 first not inclined to take advantage of these laws, 



