THE CAMEMBERT TYPE OF SOFT CHEESE. 49 
Factories near enough to a large city to supply the demand 
with cheese always ripened to exactly the prime condition, 
should easily be able to control their home market if they can 
once control their product. It seems possible that there will be 
an advantage, nearer the small cities at least, in their produc- 
tion by individual dairymen who could dispose of their own 
product in a restricted market. 
The great difficulty in the way of the successful development 
of the soft cheese industry is in the difficulty of controlling the 
ripening so as to produce a uniform product. Even in the 
localities where these cheeses are made in Europe their treat- 
ment seems to be purely by ‘‘rule of thumb’’ methods handed 
down as a result of more or less successful experience, rather 
than to involve an actual knowledge of the reasons for the 
various steps inthe process. Asa natural consequence the results 
are to a large degree irregular and utterly unexplained failures 
of every kind are at least very familiar. Recognizing the difh- 
culties in their manufacture in Europe it is not strange that the 
troubles increase when attempts are made to transplant such 
industries into a new country, where the practicable rules ap- 
plicable in the old locality are vitiated by new sets of conditions, 
in atmosphere, temperature, flavors of milk, and other factors. 
So great have been these troubles that there is a belief that the 
American product cannot be made equal to the imported. It is 
said that the difference in food which the cows eat produces a 
differently flavored milk, thus making domestic cheeses flavored 
unlike those imported. Whether this be true or not it is cer- 
tain that little success has been reached by American. makers 
in trying to reproduce the higher, more delicate grades of Euro- 
pean soft cheese. When they have succeeded it has been by 
importing their help from Europe, and in these cases the 
makers have carefully preserved their methods as trade secrets. 
Even in the successful factories many failures occur. Little 
attempt has been made apparently, and no successful attempt 
to overcome the new difficulties arising in the new conditions. 
As a result the home product has commanded an inferior price 
and is less esteemed than the imported cheese. For this reason 
the American makers have disguised their goods by French 
labels, and have not tried to make a market for an American 
product. The market varieties show great irregularities. Com- 
