248 SCIENCE AND PRACTICE OF CHEESE- M AKIXG 



larger proportion of cheese than the casein should 

 be treated in the same way, and worthless constit- 

 uents in any product should have the same value 

 as the mixture in which they occur. It is absurd, 

 on the face of it, as it gives entirely different values, 

 to the same constituent according to the product 

 considered. It makes the casein, water and fat 

 worth each about one cent per pound in milk, the 

 same constituent worth 30 cents per pound in but- 

 ter and anywhere from I to n cents per pound in 

 cheese, according to the proportions in which they 

 are mixed. Whereas, the relative value plan gives 

 consistent values in all. 



"Again, it is said that the life-sustaining power 

 of a pound of casein is about the same as a pound 

 of fat, and that they should therefore have about 

 the same value; but it must be borne in mind that 

 the nutritive value and the market value of foods have 

 no relation to each other. You can buy nutrients 

 in corn meal cheaper than you can in wheat flour. 

 Maple sugar costs you two or three times as much 

 as beet sugar, although the two have identically 

 the same effect. All of these things are con- 

 trolled by the universal law of supply and demand, 

 and have nothing to do with their relative food 

 value. 



"When any article has a high value for any 

 special purpose, that fixes the price which must 

 be paid for it for all other purposes. You cannot 

 afford the use of rosewood or mahogany for fuel, 

 not because they have less heat-producing power 

 than maple or birch, but because they command a 

 higher price for piano cases or other articles of 



