Lines Read at a Parsonage Opening at the Village where Ranney had once flourished, 1883.

        Some do boast of their pedigrees,
        But Salford's parent of the cheese,
        Ranney, industrious and wise,
        Here started this great enterprise.

        He did work on the dairy plan,
        While Farrington was factoryman,
        Both of these men it well did please
        To hear of progress making cheese.

        The farmers are in cheerful mood,
        For harvest all it has been good,
        And all the grain was sown this spring
        An abundant yield will bring.

        And you can scarcely stow away
        The yield of barley, oats and hay,
        Such pasture it is seldom seen,
        E'en now it is so fresh and green.

        This beauteous colour nature decks,
        While it insures you large milk cheques,
        And certes you've much cause to praise,
        For hogs and cattle that you raise.

James McIntyre

James McIntyre was a Canadian poet, most notable for his poetry concerning cheese, cheese-making, dairying, and dairy products. Often referred to as 'The Cheese Poet,' McIntyre's work is celebrated for its earnestness and unintentional humor, making him both a beloved and an infamous figure in literary circles. He emigrated from Scotland to Canada in 1851 and settled in Ingersoll, Ontario, where he became a successful businessman and community leader.

James McIntyre

Brantford.

James McIntyre, Simple Poetry

United By Steel Rails.

James McIntyre, Simple Poetry

Will Carleton.

James McIntyre, Simple Poetry

Fight With A Bear In The Northwest.

James McIntyre, Simple Poetry

English

Suggested Poems

Explore a curated selection of verses that share themes, styles, and emotional resonance with the poem you've just read.

Father Ranney, The Cheese Pioneer.

This is our earliest cheese ode. The Ingersoll factory has been removed to Thamesford.

        When Father Ranney left the States,
        In Canada to try the fates,
        He settled down in Dereham,
        Then no dairyman lived near him;
        He was the first there to squeeze
        His cows' milk into good cheese,
        And at each Provincial show
        His famed cheese was all the go.

        Then long life to Father Ranney
        May he wealth and honour gain aye.

        He always took the first prize
        Both for quality and size,
        But many of his neighbors
        Now profit by his labors,
        And the ladies dress in silk
        From the proceeds of the milk,
        But those who buy their butter,

James McIntyre

Ranney, 1856, Dairy System.


        Ranney began with just two cows,
        Which he in winter fed on browse,
        And now he hath got mighty herds
        Numerous as flock of birds,
        May he long live our hearts to cheer
        This great and useful pioneer.

James McIntyre

Dairy Odes.

        The sweet milkmaid of early days
        Her own household she ably sways,
        And her daughters now milk the cows,
        And her sons they now guide the plows.

        These pleasing changes on a farm
        Doth give to rural life a charm,
        Let occupation none upbraid,
        But honor plowman and milkmaid.

        For Burns with glory did endow
        And wove a garland round the plow,
        The source from which all wealth doth spring
        And happiness to all doth bring.

        Our muse it doth refuse to sing
        Of cheese made early in the spring,
        When cows give milk from spring fodder
        You cannot make a good cheddar.

        The quality is often vile
        Of cheese that is ...

James McIntyre

Lines Read At A Dairymen's Supper.

        It almost now seems all in vain
        For to expect high price for grain,
        Wheat is grown on Egyptian soil
        On the banks of mighty Nile.

        And where the Ganges it doth flow,
        In India fine wheat doth grow,
        And price of labor is so cheap
        That it they can successful reap.

        Then let the farmers justly prize
        The cows for land they fertilize,
        And let us all with songs and glees
        Invoke success into the cheese.

James McIntyre

Lines Read At A Dairymaids' Social, 1887.

Where the young lady waiters were dressed as dairymaids.

        Throughout the world they do extol
        The fame of our town Ingersoll,
        The capital of dairyland,
        To-night it seems like fairy land,
        The youth and beauty here arrayed,
        So sweet and neat each dairymaid.

        And worthy of a poet's theme,
        Sweet and smooth flows milk and cream,
        For song or glee what is fitter
        In this land of cheese and butter,
        But no young man should be afraid
        To court a pretty dairymaid.

        And far abroad he should not roam
        But find a charmer here at home,
        Find some one now your heart to cheer,
        Thus celebrate the jubilee year,
        Remember long this ...

James McIntyre

Oxford Cheese Ode.

        The ancient poets ne'er did dream
        That Canada was land of cream,
        They ne'er imagined it could flow
        In this cold land of ice and snow,
        Where everything did solid freeze,
        They ne'er hoped or looked for cheese.

        A few years since our Oxford farms
        Were nearly robbed of all their charms,
        O'er cropped the weary land grew poor
        And nearly barren as a moor,
        But now their owners live at ease
        Rejoicing in their crop of cheese.

        And since they justly treat the soil,
        Are well rewarded for their toil,
        The land enriched by goodly cows
        Yields plenty now to fill their mows,
        Both wheat and barley, oats and peas,
        But still...

James McIntyre