174 
Report oil the Chee&e- Factory Si/slciit ; 
English farmers. Two causes combined to produce and foster 
this indifference : one was the bad quality of the article when first 
imported ; and the second, which was to a certain extent the conse- 
quence of the former, was the prejudice which induced consumers 
to buy, even at an enhanced price for worse quality, the native 
rather than the foreign production. But the cattle-plague com- 
menced and continued its ravages, and English cheese became 
not only dear and difficult to obtain, but also inferior in quality. 
Dealers were therefore compelled to purchase American samples, 
and thus the ice of prejudice was broken. It was soon found by 
purveyors and consumers that good American factory cheese was 
equal, and often superior, to any English produce but that of the 
very best dairies, while its price was considerably below that at 
which even moderate samples of English cheese could be sold. 
Hence at last arose a real demand for American cheese, and, 
as the demand increased, the price of the commodity rose in 
obedience to the economic law of supply and demand. American 
dairymen saw the tide turning, and, with the shrewdness cha- 
racteristic of their nation, watched and took advantage of every 
chip which showed the course of the current of public opinion. 
They also took every means in their power to ascertain the wants 
of the English cheese-markets, and especially to find out what 
were considered in England the defects of their produce. Their 
agents collected opinions on every imaginable point — the defects 
in size, shape, colour, flavour, &c. ; and, as each was indicated, 
every exertion was made to remedy it. By these means it is 
that American cheese in large consignments can now be sold at 
a price which comparatively few English dairies can command. 
In London at the present time (December, 1869) American 
Factory-cheese made in September is selling at from 70s. to 745. 
per 112 lbs. — equal to from 75s. to 79s. 3^d. per 120 lbs. — 
figures the importance of which dairy-farmers can easily ap- 
preciate. 
In the following pages I shall first describe the rise and pro- 
gress of the system by which the American dairymen have been 
enabled to achieve this result, and afterwards endeavour to esti- 
mate its adaptability to English dairy districts. The first part 
of my report will consist almost entirely of verbatim extracts from 
American publications ; and as the essays from which they are 
taken were written for the benefit of American dairymen by 
authors of the highest reputation, I believe that every reliance 
may be placed on their accuracy. As a pendant to these 
extracts I shall print without alteration four replies which I have 
received from eminent practical men in answer to questions con- 
tained in my letters to them. Finally, it will be my endeavour 
to place before the members of the Society the English view of 
