Report of the Steward of Damjing andPouUrij at Nottingham. 635 
The BuTT£R-]\rAKiNG Competition. 
Mention has been made above of the competition of butter- 
makers which had been arranged by the Council to take place 
during the Show, and which it was hoped would attract a large 
number of candidates for the prizes offered. This was the first 
actual competition that has been held under the auspices of the 
Society, though in each of the three preceding years a "practi- 
cal examination "' of dairy-workers had been held in connection 
with the country meeting, though before the actual Show days. 
Perhaps I may be permitted, before speaking of this year's 
competition, briefly to summarise the previous action taken by 
the Society to encourage the proficiency of dairy workers, since 
this happens to be the one feature of the Dairy Department that 
has yet received no formal notice in the pages of the Journal. 
In the report to the General Meeting of Members held 
on December 11, 1884, it was announced that the Council had 
decided to apply a portion of the Educational Grant to the 
practical testing by an examiner of the skill of cheese and 
butter-workers, in the hope, as expressed in the next report of 
the Council, that " a scheme of practical examinations may tend 
to the benefit of the dairy workers who obtain the Society's 
cei'tificate of efiiciency, and at the same time lessen the difficulty 
which dairy farmers find in obtaining competent persons to 
make butter and cheese." 
The examination took place in the Working Dairy at 
Preston in July, 1885, during the week preceding the Show, 
For the certificate of proficiency in cheese-making, no daiiy- 
women, and only two young dairymen, competed. The ex- 
aminers reserved their awards until after the cheese made had 
become fully ripe ; and eventually reported that they did not 
feel justified in recommending the grant of a certificate to either 
competitor.^ For the Butter-making Certificate there were five 
competitors, and the Examiners awarded the first prize of bl. to 
a dairymaid, the second prize of ol. to a lad of fifteen, and the 
third prize of 21. to a dairyman, commending another (female) 
competitor. 
At the Norwich Show in 1886, prizes and certificates were 
offered for both Cheese and Butter Workers, subject, as re- 
gards the former, to the entry of six candidates. As suflicient 
competitors did not present themselves, there was no examina- 
tion of cheese-w^orkers. But, as regards butter-w^orkers, there 
' The full Report of the Judges will be found on pp. 333-36 of the Journal 
for April ]88G— Vol. XXII., Part I. 
