A NEW BUTTER BOX

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 116, 10 February 1919, Page 5

A NEW BUTTER BOX

4 — BIG SAVINCt IN TIMBER CLAIMED. The rapid depletion of the supplies of white pine timber in the country has for eorne time been agitating the producers and exporters of butter. Up till the present no other timber has been found in New Zealand or Australia which is absolutely free from taste or smell, and which will, therefore, not impart any taint to the ibutter. Experiments with other timbers havo been made from.' time to time, but they have not been persevered with, chiefly for the reason that it did not appear that there were any other timbers in such plentiful supply that they could ho used instead of white pine. A new idea has been developed, at least int'o the advanced experimental Btage, by Mr. Joseph Butler, managing director of the Kauri Timber Company, Auckland. He has made a box which he claims will be quite i.fficient, strong enough for a butter package, and much more economical than the old pattern box in timber. The box looks very much like a solid wood box of the old type, but as a matter of fact the sides, bottom, and top of it are hollow.- Although it appears that the box is made of ordinary boards, it is in reality made of two thicknesses or veneer, cue-sixteenth of an inch thick, cemented on to nailing pieces at the ends, and to reinforcing.pieces at intervals. The box. is light, but it is claimed that it is quite as strong as the old pattern box, and that it will .stand all the knocks that would be given to it in the process of stowage and handling at ports. These are matters that are to be tested at once. .Mr. Butler ie supplying; the Agricultural Department with 20 boxes, in which a trial shipment of butter is being seut away. If those boxes stand the test, the new scheme will be given a trial on a commercial basis. One of the advantages claimed for the new box is that, being hollow in all parts, the new 'box is insulated. This may not prove to be a matter of importance in practice, but it may be that it will be some advantage. Another advantage is that the box is light, and the saving in weight will mean saving in freight on rail. Mr. Butler went into this idea of making the box of veneer because he had observed that there was much loss of timber in converting it from logs into boxes. There was the heavy waste of timber in saw cuts, and- also there was the fact that only about 40 per cent, of the timber was suitable for the making •if butter boxes. Then there was the loss of timber in.seasoning, and the loss in dressing it. He calculated that a 1 hundred foet of timber would make about twelve boxes. He hit upon this veneer idea at first with the idea of saving timber only. It should be understood that the veneer is out with a very slinrp knife from a rapidly turning log. It is etripped off like a shaving, at least as fast as a man can walk. It is as light and as pliable as paper, but it is surprisingly tough, oven as it conies from the green log. It is hung up to dry, and it is soasoned in a couple of days, whereas box boards of the ordinary sort have to be cut from timber which has been in stack at least six months. A great deal of time is saved at. this point. A great advantage of the veneer is that In the making of it there is no waste at all. The surface of it is smooth enough, so that no dressing is necessary, and as the slice is taken off the log on its gradually diminishing circumference the veneer is free from streaks such as. must appear when logs are cut with the saw. The general appearance of the box when it is mado up is very like that of th'o, present box, ano it is considered to be a point of some importance that the character of tho New Zoaland butter box should bo preserved. Another advantage of the veneer process «s against the old-, fashioned saw process is that with tho' peeling machine, small loss can be used. The machine will strip them down to a diameter of, four inches, and the core can be used for the nailing pieces and tho reinforcement of the two sheets of veneer of which the ,box boards aro made. These pieces are put in nosition with a machine, so that there will he no loss in expensive hand labour. It is calculated that at least 17 times as many boxes can bo taken from a given quantity of logs as'can be cut by tho present sawing process.