sell it directly to jobbers, who in turn sell it to the retailers. The wholesale grocers are the jobbers most widely represented in cheese sales, except in the largest cities. The dollar which the consumer spends for cheese is divided as follows, according to figures given by Hibbard.1 To increase the proportion of the dollar paid to the farmer the cheese factories of Wisconsin formed the Wisconsin Cheese Producers Federation, a co-operative organization for marketing. The cheese was sold, for the most part, to jobbers rather than directly to retailers. The Federation found that savings could be made in marketing expenses, but that with the high cost of retailing the gains were not what had been anticipated. However, improvement in the quality of the cheese made, and a consequently better market price for members, was a decided Federation service. This organization is comparatively recent, and its progress should be watched. QUESTIONS FOR INVESTIGATION AND DISCUSSION 1. What cheeses are available in your local market? What is the range in price per pound? 2. Is cheese a relatively cheap or expensive protein food, considering the edible portion? Should it be given a place in the grocery list of a family with a very low income? 3. What sanitary precautions should be taken by the dealer in selling cheese? Are these followed in your local markets? 4. Make suggestions for keeping cheese, if more than enough for one meal has been purchased. 1 Hibbard, B. H., Marketing Agricultural Products, p. 361. 5. If milk for cheese making cost the same as the milk used on your table, what would be the cost of enough milk to make one pound of "store cheese"? Assuming that this is only 52 per cent of the selling price, and that 48 per cent must be allowed for making and marketing, what would be the retail price per pound of the cheese? How does this compare with the price in your market? How do you explain the difference? 6. How close is the relationship between market prices for milk, butter and cheese? 7. Does this country produce sufficient cheese to meet its needs, or do we have to import for quantity? REFERENCES FOR FURTHER STUDY Bailey, E. H. S., and Bailey, Herbert S. Food Products from Afar, Chapter V. Crissey, Forrest. The Story of Foods, Chapter IX, Cheese. Doane, C. F., and Lawson, H. W. Varieties of Cheese, Descriptions and Analysis, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry, Bulletin 146. Frederiksen, Johan D. The Story of Milk. Hibbard, B. H. Marketing Agricultural Products, Chapter XXX, The Co-operative Marketing of Cheese and Butter. Langworthy, C. F., and Hunt, Caroline L. Cheese and its Economical Uses in the Diet, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers' Bulletin 487. Macklin, Theodore. Efficient Marketing for Agriculture, pp. 162, 276, 277. Pennell, Elizabeth Robins. A Guide for the Greedy, Indispensable Cheese. Sammis, J. L., and Bruhn, A. T. The Manufacture of Cheese of the Cheddar Type from Pasteurized Milk, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Animal Industry, Bulletin 165. Sherman, Henry C. Food Products. Short, Jenoise B., and Jones, Gladys B. To the Grocery for Cheese, Thom, Charles, and Fisk, Walter Warner. The Book of Cheese. La Cuisine et la Table Moderne. Compiled by Librairie Larousse, Paris. CHAPTER XXI CANNED FOODS Commercial Canning Is a Service Here to Stay. For the woman with a garden, or living where fresh fruits and vegetables are cheap, home canning is desirable and usually economical. But there will always be fruits and vegetables grown at a distance which will be cheaper and usually of better flavor if they are canned at points of production and shipped to the consumer. In buying canned goods observe the following points: 1. Ask for a Can of Definite Size. It is possible to know the quantity you receive, since sizes of cans are standardized. The weight of food in cans of the same size varies because some foods are heavier than others. The following list gives standard sizes of cans, their volume, and the approximate weight of contents: There are smaller cans used for specialties as lobster, deviled meats, minced clams, or sardines. These are numbered 4, 2, 34. There is also number 5, holding a little more than half as much as number 10. Numbers 5 and 10 cans contain larger quantities than needed ordinarily for an average family. Possible exceptions are fruits which may be purchased in the large cans, used in part, and the remainder reheated and sealed in glass jars. Cherries for pies purchased in number 10 cans often cost only half as much as in number 2 cans. Formerly we associated a can of certain size with certain products, as number I with salmon. The number I can may be tall, flat or oval. Number 2 was used for corn, peas, string beans. Number 21⁄2 was most commonly used for fruits, and number 3 for tomatoes. With the increasing use of small containers, however, nearly all fruits and vegetables may be had in number I or number 2 cans. 2. Ask for a Definite Grade of Fruits and Vegetables. There are five grades of fruit generally recognized among canners, as follows: Fancy is superlative quality, the very best. Fruit should be of very high color, ripe yet retaining its form, and free from blemishes serious for the grade; halves uniform in size and very symmetrical. Syrup, 55% of sugar when packed, for apricots, peaches or plums. For pears a lighter syrup is used and for loganberries or sour cherries a heavier one. Choice, sometimes called extra-standard, indicates fine quality. The syrup is not quite so heavy as for the fancy grade. Fruit should be of high color, ripe yet retaining its form, and free from blemishes serious for the grade; halves uniform in size and symmetrical. Syrup, 40% of sugar when packed, with variations according to fruit packed, as noted above under Fancy. Standard is the middle grade and is of good quality. The syrup is less sweet, but for many purposes a heavier syrup is not needed. Fruit should be of reasonably good color and reasonably free from blemishes serious for the grade; halves reasonably uniform in size, color and degree of ripeness, and reasonably symmetrical. Syrup, 25% of sugar when packed, with variations as above. Seconds, sometimes called Sub-standard. Fruit should be tolerably free from blemishes serious for the grade, halves tolerably uniform in size, color, and degree of ripeness. Syrup, 10% of sugar when packed. Fruit of the quality for seconds may be packed in water, and the grade is then known as Water, or among Michigan canners as Natural. Pie. Wholesome fruit unsuited for higher grades. As the name indicates, such fruit would be suitable for use in pie filling where appearance does not count for a great deal. Grades for vegetables in general use among canners are as follows: Fancy is the superlative quality as with fruit. Specifications vary according to the vegetables. For instance, fancy tomatoes are of uniform red color, free from pieces of skin or core, whole, with or without a few large pieces. For fancy corn, the corn is young, tender, of superior quality, and the kernels milky or creamy. For green beans and peas the vegetables are young and tender and of small size. 66 Choice or extra standard is of good quality, but not the best. For example, tomatoes of this grade are practically free from under-colored parts, from pieces of skin or core, and most of them whole or in large pieces." Not quite so attractive as the fancy, but extraordinarily good. Standard is a good all-round grade. To quote again specifications for tomatoes "reasonably free from under-colored parts, and from pieces of skin or core." There is less attention to size and color, although the food is wholesome and appetizing. Sub-standard is from sound wholesome vegetables, which because of appearance, size, or maturity are not up to specifications for higher grades. For example, sub-standard tomatoes are "from ripe, sound tomatoes, lacking in some respects the qualifications of the higher grades." 3. Buy the Grade Best Suited to Your Purpose or Needs. The specifications for different grades say nothing of nutritive values. In many cases flavor in the standard grade is quite as good as in the fancy. Wholesome foods are packed for all grades, and efforts made to have sanitary conditions good for all. Therefore cost and the purpose for which the food is to be used should be the determining factors. For |