A NORTH HOLLAND CHEESE MARKET 



By Hugh M. Smith 



Deputy Commissioner, U. S. Bureau oe Fisheries 



A LKMAAR, celebrated in Dutch his- 

 f\ tory for its successful defense 

 I \ against the Spaniards in 1573, 

 has been noted in modern times for its 

 cheese trade, which is the most extensive 

 in North Holland. The town, of 20,000 

 people, displays the neatness and cleanli- 

 ness typical of the country, but would 

 have little attraction for foreign sight- 

 seers beyond its quaint seventeenth cen- 

 tury domestic architecture were it not for 

 the great market in round yellow cheeses 

 with which, in America, the name Edam 

 is associated. 



The market is held every Friday, and 

 is participated in by the dairymen of all 

 the surrounding districts, some of whom 

 bring their cheeses in wagons and carts, 

 while others find it more convenient to 

 come in canal-boats. Preparations for 

 the market begin the day before, as con- 

 siderable time is required for the unload- 

 ing and arranging of the cheeses, and the 

 afternoon before a market day is an oc- 

 casion of much bustle. The intervening 

 night interrupts operations on the market 

 space, but bands of young peasants, men 

 and women, parade the streets all night 



THE CHEESE MARKET IN FULL SWING 



Photo by Hugh M. Smith 



A part of the golden field as seen from a window in the weigh-house tower. Each of the 

 piles contains from 500 to 900 cheeses 



