142 WORCESTER SOCIETY. 



" On this subject," in the language of the orator at your first 

 anniversary, (our honored Ex-Gov. Lincoln,) " the ladies should 

 indeed be the helpers of our joy. Our societies, so far as may 

 be within the scope of their operations, should solicit that 

 countenance, which is more than the magical stores of genius 

 and science can lavish, — commerce or the coffers of wealth 

 bestow." 



Upon the importance of the subject before the committee, a 

 word or two may be desirable. The manufacture of cheese is 

 undoubtedly an invention of great antiquity. It is repeatedly 

 referred to in the Old Testament, — the ancient books of Job 

 and Samuel, — and is frequently mentioned in the works of 

 Diodorus Siculus, of Strabo, and other Latin authors. Early 

 in the Christian era, the Britons were celebrated for its manu- 

 facture, and England has preserved that reputation to the pre- 

 sent day. On the continent, the German and Alpine cheeses 

 made from the milk of the cow and the sheep, were held in 

 high esteem, as early as the second century. England, how- 

 ever, stands unrivalled for those products, in more modern 

 times. In the county of Cheshire alone, it has been estimated 

 that there are annually produced over 15,000 tons of cheese ; 

 while in the county of Warwick, which is more favorably 

 located for its market, over 30,000 tons are annually sent 

 to the cities of Birmingham and London. We are all 

 aware, too, of the famous qualities for which English cheeses 

 are remarkable. The celebrated Stilton cheese, manufactured 

 in Leicestershire, is regarded as one of the richest and most 

 highly flavored. It is not considered fit for cutting until two 

 years of age, and is generally unsaleable unless it be decayed, 

 blue, and moist in appearance. In Scotland the Dunlop 

 cheese is considered one of their best varieties, but otherwise, 

 that country is not particularly celebrated in its manufacture" 

 Modern Swiss cheese, especially that denominated Gruyere, is 

 held in high estimation by many; though your chairman, from 

 a somewhat recent and odorous acquaintance with one speci- 

 men of Swiss cheese, begs leave to differ in taste with its nu- 

 merous admirers. 



In regard to American manufactures of this important arti- 

 cle, I need not claim your attention. At the last exhibition of 

 this society, our farmers had an opportunity of examining spe- 



