PRACTICAL PAPERS—THE CHEESE PRODUCT. 
207 
of Shropshire, where a good deal of the so-called Cheshire 
cheese is made. But makers of these secondary and inferior 
qualities held for full prices, therefore when compelled to sell, 
had quite an accumulation on hand, and were forced to accept 
much lower rates than they might have obtained had they 
freely met the market. At every September fair and market 
in the Cheshire district there was a large pitch of medium and 
low quality cheese, which was sold at from 48s. to OOs. These 
sorts, being lower than even the commonest kind of American 
cheese attracted the attention of dealers, and for a month or 
six weeks, in October and November, engrossed a large share 
of the consumption. The bulk of it has now been disposed of, 
and for what remains, greatly increased prices are asked. 
These facts seem to me to convey at once a warning and an 
encouragement to you, the cheese-makers of America. This 
county of Cheshire, which for very many yesirs boasted, and 
boasted truly, of making the finest cheese in the world, has 
now become notorious for the badness of the quality atid flavor 
of the bulk of its make, and for an absolute scarcity of really 
choice dairies. It is true that the cattle plague fell upon this 
county, with its most desolating force, but that trouble has how 
been got over. The cows have now all been replaced, and I 
fear this deterioration in the quality of Cheshire’s staple pro¬ 
ductions, must be attributed, rather to the carelessness of her 
cheese-makers, and to their want of system and application, 
than to any local or temporary cause. A most competent au¬ 
thority writes me as follows: “ For all the other districts of 
England, including Somerset, Wilts, Derby, Leicester and the 
smaller cheese-making counties, Ido not find any one knowing 
anything about the business, who can say, that the dairy farm¬ 
ers are making any progress towards improvement.” 
The conviction of some of the best judges of these matters, 
appears to be, that the energy, intelligence and perseverance, 
which have been combined with and partly grown out of your 
factory system of cheese-making, is fast putting you in a posi¬ 
tion to completely distance the English dairymen in the pro¬ 
duction of fine cheese in large quantities, and unless the cheese- 
