46 STORRS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 
freq tedéle very penetrating and more or less offensive odors, as 
in the well known Limburger cheese. Because of the rapidity 
of the chemical changes going on in them these cheeses are 
more perishable than the true hard cheeses. ‘Their marketable 
period is very short. If placed upon the table at just the right 
period they are very appetizing. If insufficiently ripened they 
do not have the proper flavor or texture, and if even slightly 
over ripened they rapidly show a tendency to decay and are 
soon ruined. ‘To place them on the market in such a way as 
to reach the consumer’s table at the proper stage of ripening 
is one of the difficult problems of the industry. 
THE MARKET FOR SOFT CHEESES IN THE UNITED STATES: 
The home of these cheeses is continental Europe. No part 
of HKurope is without its types of soft cheese. There are 
several general types, like Limburger, Camembert, and Brie, 
that are widely distributed and made in different countries, 
and there are in addition many local varieties with a narrower 
reputation. From their centres of manufacture they are ex- 
ported to various cheese consuming countries, so that all of the 
chief types are found generally in the various parts of Europe. 
Importations of soft cheeses to the United States have not been 
very large. The American market in the past has been almost 
monopolized by the hard cheeses, principally of the type of the 
English Cheddar. Americans have known little of the great 
variety of soft cheeses common in European markets and there 
has consequently been very little call for them. Within the 
last generation a moderate demand for soft cheeses has been 
developed. This demand may be attributed partly to our in- 
creasing foreign population and to the desire of people of 
European birth for the types of cheese familiar to them at 
home. It is also partly due to the taste acquired by Americans 
who have traveled abroad, as well as to a growing appetite for 
them among others who have tried the new delicacies. This 
has led to the importation of several varieties of soft cheese to 
satisfy a market which is increasing every year. ‘This impor- 
tation has reached about a million pounds with a value of about 
$150,000 per year. 
There are many reasons why the total importations have 
not been greater. It is difficult to import the more delicate 
