NEW ZEALAND CHEESE IN LONDON.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VI, Issue 527, 2 August 1881, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND CHEESE IN LONDON.

Thii folio 'wing reports on a ot" a ;::nalJ p;uc«i oi ehre.io from "Wei- j lingtoa by the North , : bui'iivnJ Lavo i-jceri I placed at ouv dir/.-.0,-ul by Mr A. H. Wostt-ni , ?.. The first id n report by tbu Now Zealand .Loan 'in-.l Idoreantile Agency Company, to whom Uio parcel wad coi>. I signed, and tbo liioJoßsirs a 3psoiaJ report made by a firm ?:, i!.c trader. TLviro are .many l:in(s in tlu: paaovs which may be oi' servico to our local <!: iry fftnntrs, uiid i a iaujii:»rv ol : the ■

has already appoared in our columns, we think it better to present it to our readers in full :—

LONDON, MAY 6th 1880. The 4 cases cheese ex s.s. Northumberland were landed at Brewer's Quay, where all onr butter an! cheese consignments are warehoused, two days ago, and were then inspected by the writer. The captain of the s.s, Northumberland stated that they were carried in tlio ice house of that steamer. As to this we have no means of obtaining conclusive proof. In whatever part of the steamer the cheese waa stowed, the fact remains that it had beon somewhat heated on. the voyage. Of this there was evidence in the moisture of the husks in which the cheeses were packed, and in their adhesion to the coverings'. The sweating process had extended itself to the inside of the cases, which presented the appearance of being grease-stained ; such stains were found to be working their way through the wood to the outside of the packages. In copy of Messrs Samuel Page and Son's special report herewith the shippers enquiries will be fully answered. On examining and tasting the cheese, the- writer valued it at about 60s per cwt; and whilo some hopes were entertained of making a little more for it after every effort, 52s was the best oiler that could be obtained, at which figure a sale was yesterday effected as per copy of contract herewith, While the result of this small venture may not be considered satisfactory, it must be borne in mind that unless an article like cheese arrives in perfect condition it has to enter the lists against so many medium and inferior parcels from other sources of production, that a much lower range of values must be accepted in order to effect sales. Before the parcel in question can be worked off into retail consumption, trouble and expense will be incurred in making it thoroughly merchantable. In Messrs S. Page & Son's report there is evidence of the range of prices between prime and inferior American or Canadian cheese. While the finest commands 68s to 725, and medium to good 56s to 665, there is plenty of inferior selling at 42s to 50s. The American method of packing is found admirably to suit the requirements of consumers, but, as you are aware, the circumstances of the voyage are very different and it would not be possible to import cheese from New Zealand cheeso packed in the same way as American shipments, unless arrangements were made to have the boxes, each containing a cheese and fitting tightly, sent in refrigerating chambers, where the package. , * would not be exposed to undue pressure, and their contents would be free from the influences of the surrounding cargo. Until these appliances shall have been made available, on your side, we fear that with a promiscuous cargo, of which wool forms a part, it will be impossible so to ship cheese as to avoid its becoming heated on passage, and thereby reaching this market out of condition. It may perhaps be well to add that unless supplies of an article are constant it cannot find a place in this market. Setting aside, therefore, the question of condition, the sale of small casual parcels sent for tentative purposes, such as the one under review, must not be taken as a precise index of the value of cheeso of saiwe quality and condition sent regularly in large lots, by which means its merits would becomo better known.

London, May 5,1881. C°py °f Special Report wit to Wellington, The Manager, New Zealand Loan and Mer-

cantile Agency Company. Limited,

Dear Sir, —We hnvp examined 4 cases cheese ex s.s. Northumberland and iind them to have bei-n ail'eeled by heat, some being , sunken in the middle. They aro dry and of poor quality most probably caused by having been heated as the hubks in which they aro packed aro quite soaked with fat that has exuded from them. The flavor in fairly clean, also the shape and s-ize are conect, and the color (rather pale) although some of our buyers prefer a straw owlor, but it must not be red. i The mode of packing is no doubt tho best that could have been adopted under the circumstances, but if your friends sent them in ships fitted with refrigerators the best package would be a bo:c to fit each cheese as used for American. The cheese would not improve by keeping , longur. Finest American cheese ia worth 725, but there are plenty on fcho market at 42s to sGs.—- Yours truly, Samuel Pags and Son.