Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-07-14
CHEESE BY THE CAR LOAD.
Wisconsin Makes Quarter of the
United States supply.

Monroe CwisJ Correspondence Chicago Chronicle
This city is one of the great centers OF the
Wisconsin cheese-making industry. WIS
ccnsin produces nearly one-fourth OF the
cheese consumed in the United States, and
of the foreign makes Green county pro-
duces three-fOurths Of Wisconsin's output
In other words, this county manufactures
fully one-ffth of the foreign brands OF
cheese used in the United States
The manufacture of cheese In Green
county easily takes precedence over all
other industries. The industry was begun
In a small way about thirty years ago, and
for fifteen years its growth was slow, but
during the last decade it has grown so
RAPIDLY that il has made the county rlch
beyond her neighbors- w nat mining was
to Denver or Leadville cheeSe-maklng Is 10
Green county and what baked beans are to
the good people of Boston, Swiss and Linn
burg are to the inhabitants of this section.
The traveller jourEeying to Monroe, the
county seat, is quite likely to be regaled
with highly coIored stories of the odorifer-
Gus character of the atmosphere hereaDouts
and the undue prominence given 10 the
local product upon the menus OF local no.
tells and restaurants. If his knowledge OF
the town Is limited to the vicinity of the
depots he may think the yarns of the fes-
tive brakeman not very much oVerdraWD,
for here are the warehouses and storage
cellars where hundreds of tons of cheese
are held awaiting shipment. But outside
of the railway yards there is but little in
the pretty little city to indicate its Chief
Just now the cheese season is fairly in
aUgurated. The different factories begin
operations at different times from the first
to the latter part of May, but within the
past week the last of them has opened and
they will not cease operations day, night or
Sunday, until November l or -.
A general idea of the Importance of the
cheese industry in Green county may be
obtained from the reports of the Wisconsin
dairy and food commissioner. According to
those reports there are in the county about
4O,Og0 milch COWS, an average of two for
every inhabitant, and a greater number
than can be found in any similar area or
any single county in the United States. The
annual production of cheese is about H.
100000 pounds, the value of which would
exceed 100000. Aside from this, there is
the butter production, both dairy and cream
cry, which would swell the total yearly
value of the dairy products of the county to
81 5OO.0 900. This for a county only twenty-four
miles square, and containing in the neigh
borhOOd of 10000 inhabitants, is surely a
prosperous showing. There are over 200
cheese factories in the county.
From November to May the factories are
closed During this interval the supply of
milk is utilized in butter-making. either at
some creamery or in the dairy of the
thrifty farmers wife AS these months are
the breeding season, the supply of milk is
very small compared to the summer yield.
The cheesemakers. or .'cheesers," the men
who have charge of the factory and make
the cheese, are almost to a native
Swiss The life of ''cheeser'' during the
season is anything but a sinecure. He gen.
orally sees the nrSt break of dawn while
preparing for his morning work, and it is
seldom that he finishes his evening task be-
fore midnight. He may snatch an 1Our OF
Two for 4 siesta in the early afternoon, bu
OF this he Is not certain This routine il
unhending for six months. The "cheeser'
kTowS no Sunday. no holiday Only at thu
end Of the season can he hope to enjoy the
nj ii
atOnes for his days and nights of toll by 3
season of revelry. The county seat is thu
Mecca to whieh he turns, and here. in thu
early days Of winter. is held the annua
cheeseTEakers' ball. a social function o
more than local fame. Time was wheI
this annual event was marked by trouble o
IuTid colOrs and divers forms. FolIowin;
the pretenuOuS annual there are cheese
makers balls galore in every town and vii
lage for the term of month or more. Be
fore January l the "cheeser'' has estab
lsEed himself for the winter He may hir
out TO farmer for winter work. He ma
stay in town and dissipate his summe
esrn'rSS in winter reVelry, or. as a conSiG
cradle number do, he may return to hi
Old hOme,an come back in the spring with
buXom helpmate who will relieve the lone
Nness of his isolated summer home.
70 the farmers of Green county tn
cheese industry is bringing wealth muc
more rapidly than they could hope TO obtai
ii by ordinary agricultural pursuits But
entails also a devotion TO duty that ma
appear almost s!avish. The dairy farme
must rise al daybreak, and before the usuS
duties of the agriculturist are begun til
milking must be attended to. On the ayel
age farm each hand is supposed to mil
ten cows night and morning. Sunday brine
No respite. nor may any rural sport
pleasure party be permitted TO interior
with the Sunday evening milking. of
crowd of 5000 farmers who NAV be vaIkiu
the streets of Monroe on a Saturday afte,
noon. not 100 can be seen later than
clock The arduous labor brings its r.
ward in regular habits and freedom fro
dissipation well as in pecuniary form.