MILK SUPPLY AND WAINUI TUNNELS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 114, 31 January 1918, Page 7

MILK SUPPLY AND WAINUI TUNNELS

Sir,—ln your issue of januarv 23 your correspondent "Paying for It" is good enough to as]; my opinion upon, the milk, embroglio. Surely you must all nave expected what has occurred? A four hours' train journey from Wairarapa or West Coast, with its many present delays, must mako milk stale, unless_ it lias been pasteurised. But the deviation of the Rimutnka railway, via the Wainui-o-mata, would give Wellington, as I lfavo always pointed out, an early milk train of about 1} hours, from, say, Carterton -and Featherston (in place of the present 3}- hours), and supply the city also with the richest suburb, for a milk supply, in the lands bordering the Wairarapa Lake, within 30 to 40 minutps of tho town. Moreover, making that deviation and'constructing the first section of the East Coast line—Wellington to Auckland, from Wairongamai (Mr. Matthews's homestead), to Hawko's Bay, through Maryborough—would open up such a vast area of small dairy settlement that it would about double tho present sizo of. the city. You could then have a milk train twice daily. That is why I have addressed tho City Council in years past to go in for a forward policy.

It is no use blaming the City Council for Wellington's unfortunate geographical position ; separated as it is, 50 to 60 miles from tho Dalefield or Levin dairy factories; either of which could easily <give a city five times its size all tho milk it requires. Tho whole question resolves itself into one of transit, and my contention has been, and is, that the Waimii tuunels must be constructed so as to give the city an early milk train.

You have hcen killing the goose that kid the egg, viz., the Hutt milk vendor. When I first proposed the cooperative system of dairy farming the milk supply of our large towns was in my mind, as I felt it would suffer. The dairy fanners would become independent as they have done. I have therefore heen aghast at the prosecutions by the Health Department against milk vendors, in this province. It has been altogether -unnecessary and too drastic, and has only driven Hutt fanners into erecting cheese factories.

The Act itself is wrong. I specially imported Ayrshire and Dutch Friesian cattle for dairy farmers' use; quickly abandoning the Ayrshire for the Friesian, which only gives a very low-grade milk, but the very best for children and cheese-making. Some of my herd at the Knoll often gave me milk below- the requirements of the Health Department, yet it was good milk and the very best for children. I presume I ought to have been prosecuted. Perhaps so; perhaps not! The Jersey 1 always had a horror, of, as its use has simply ruined the dairy herds of New Zealand. We sent away last season about twenty thousand tons of butter and forty thousand tons of cheese; and Jersey milk is the very bane of our cheese industry. Wo should not export a single pound of butter—it should be all cheese, as I suggested in 1880. If the City Council would like me to explain the reasons for all this I shall be very pleased to do so. But it would take too long in a letter. Neither would it be right to take up so much of your space.

Seeing your difficulty in Wellington, I thought of asking the directors of the Featherston and Daleffeld Dairy Factories to pasteurise a vat (600 gallons) ; and each of them to send one to you by the present morning dolayetl train service. But how was I to bo assured they would not he prosecuted by the Health Department? And' again, could they fit in their supply with the constantly altering train services, and tho stoppnges and delays on route? So I did nothing, leaving you to go on prosecuting those who could supply you, until tho bubble burst, as it bns now,'and Wellington is thoroughly up a tree. Tho Health Department has been doing its utmost to injure and retard an industry upon which' the prosperity of the colony depends, in forcing the mistaken use of the Jersey upon our farmers. Further, it baa blindly carried out tho regulations under the Dairy Industry Acts without considering Wellington's geographical position. As to Hip town supply of milk the City Council is to blame, as Wellington has not, pursued n forward policy. You have simply stood on tho edgo of a precipice for years past, and now you havo fallen in. I bpggcd of you to doviato thoßimutnlca line, and provide tho , capital in exactly tho

same way as tho Manawatu line was built. You would not listen. And then came tho war. But tho work should have been undertaken, and a great new rich milking suburb added to Wellington, war or no war. And now the dairy farmers who have supplied the city aro all going out of supplying, as fast as ever they can, in consequente of tho too harsh prosecutions of the Health Department. So it look,- to me I had better ask the Featherston and Dalefield dairy factorres directors to come to your help, if they wiil. I will also put the matter to the Levin dairy factory people. And if two vats won't do, they can send you font, the City Council to buy the milk, and see to its proper- distribution. Tho basic principle of foundation for tlin dairy factories was to be co-operaticn, and I must ask the dairy factories of tho Dominion to include the supply of milk to tho great 1 towns in their sphere of operation. To get tho. Rimutaka line deviated via the Wamui (a most easy thing, costing onlv £400,000, as Mr. Dodson's survey of 189 s ) shows)), it appears to me that I ha--' better come m; stand for "Wellington North, give tho city a shake iti>, and get tho work done. For twenty years now the survey and estimate;- for deviation have been before you, and no forward policy undertaken. Why doesn't the city look more ahead ? Mr. Morton is constructing a two-mile tunnel, to throw the Orongo Orongo water into the _ Wainui reservoir, which I strongly advised the council to do. so that you might not be short of water, as well as milk. I do not blame Mr. Massey's Government. (It is a mistake blaming his Government, which is only doing its best to win the war; and doing it a thousand times better than Australia.) Milk supply is' entirely a city question, and the deviation ought to have beeu undertaken twenty years ago, when it was first asked for. Nor can Mr. Luke be blamed, as there have neen many other mayors ad interim. Tho Wellington people have simply not dono justice to themselves, by not pursuing an absdutelv necessary forward policy. The whole city has been asleep.

Wellington housewives need not fear , a shortage _of cream supply, as I do i not intend Interfering with those dairy- " men round tho town:who wish to reI tain their private milk rounds. All I ask is not to prosecute them, as they have been lately.' A supply of pasteurised- .... cream can bo sent m from Wairarapa and Levin almost -equal to Devonshire cream. , Unless -one has kept a winter dairy [ herd he can have no idea of its dis- . comfort. _ No wonder that Wellington. ( is losing its milk supply. However, the I matter must be remedied, as all things , can if reasonably approached.. ! lam not inclined to trouble the Hon. ' Mr. Horries-over this matter, as the , railways are doing their best. under . their reduced man-power. The pastour- ; ised milk will get to town by 11.30 a.m , and be delivered straight away. Of ! course-the dairy companies'will have to [ put in -larger pasteurisers than they '■ use at present. This the city must be, prepared to allow for. Pasteurising tho milk consists of heating it- to boiling point, and then rapidly cooling it. This is what any careful housewife does when she receives her daily supply of impasteurised milk. At the same, time the regulations governing tho mill: supply of such great cities as- New York and Chicago should not be overlooked, but I think they can be better insisted upon directly the Wainui tunnels are made, can draw its unscalded milk supply direct from the rich lake suburb lands, so adjacent to it. Meantime, my idea is to select a few Wairarapa or Levin farmers with scrupulously clean milking sheds (everything depends upon that: the machine milking is far cleaner than hand milking), pasteurise their milk, and send it daily into town, just as much as you require. It will not be as rich as the pure Jersey, milk, but the supply will be amplo, cheap, and good; perhaps clearer than you have now.-— I am, otc, COLEMAN PHILLIPS. Carterton, January 29, 1918.