MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1098, 10 April 1911, Page 8

MINISTER FOR AGRICULTURE.

rOUEING THROUGH DAIRY LAND.

The Minister for Agriculture (the Hon. Thomas Mackenzie) was in Taranaki for more than a week, recently. After "doing" Egmont as Minister in charge of tourists' resorts, lie took a run through some, portions of tho. dairying districts in the capacity of Minister for Agriculture. Hβ was accompanied on some of his journeys by -Mr. C. J. Reakes, the head of the Live Stock and Meat Division of tho Department of Agriculture. Tho Minister was banqueted at Stratford, and in replying to a tsast, said that already ninety butter and cheese factories had got pasteurisation plants, and he was sure that in a short timo ninety per cent, of them would have the plants. He thought that in the raising of pigs no district would be better than Taranaki, and there was a market abroad for every pig which could be raised. He had the State forests under liis personal control, and he would do all he contu to conserve ivhito pine for tho making of butter-boxes. Mr. Swadling was right when he said the best butter in the district was made at Kaponga—they were the pace-makers, and ho liked pace-mak-ers. Reference had-been mack to his work in London, which, in his opinion, was the best work he had clone in his ll l ■». vras K' vcn t,le task of seeing that *<ev; Zealand producers got a fair and square deal. Tile frauds then practised were very great, and to an extent they still continued in connection with insurances.

{subsequently a visit was made to ElMum, and then the Minister left the railway line, and -neat on to tho JlangaJoai ami the Riverdalc dairy factories. One ot the objects of tho inland trip was to see the Cooper pasteuriser at work.

In an interview the Minister said that the object of his visit was to obtain a fuller knowlcdcto of the dairying industry in laranaki, and especially to sea now the. system of pasteurisation was rn^V-S?- 1 ' 3 results - Ho h «l bc ™ told that there would bo the same opposition to the pasteurisation of whey as they had last election to the dairy resfiila-t-ions. The motive.and intention of the nhango must bo explained to the people. Sif?W f nS f llg i th , e 1vl v y u ' b « a ««> more smtablo for food, less likely to cause disrtse, and would prevent depreciation of -W and pork. What ho had seen showed that the process can bo inexpensively earned our, and the results from POmt B of , Tls . w w "o highly satislsed much would bs done towards stamping out disease in stock. He said lie had inspected the pasteuriser at Mangatoki,. by which the temperature of the whey was raise* to 180 degrees and over, and delivered into the carts at a temperafuro of from 100 fo 106 degrees we!" viS' J, KaP ° nga and ' Mandia