DAIRY PRODUCE

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 2, 27 September 1921, Page 8

DAIRY PRODUCE

NEW ZEALAND BUTTER AND CHEESE - ON HOME MARKETS METHOD OF PACKING CHEESE CRITICISED From Our Own Correspondent Palmerston North, September 26. While in England recently, Mr. D. Buchanan, of Tiakitahuna, made special inquiries as to the standing of New Zealaid dairy produce on the Home markets. Speaking of butter, in an interview with ,» Dominion representative, Mr. Buchanan said that he was pleased to fin<l that the majority of the people at Home were of opinion that our product was quite as good as Danish, and many were proud to point to the fact they had on their tables butter from New Zealand. When he was in England our butter was fetching 2s. tri. per lb., while Scottish was in demand at 3s. 6d. Nep- Zealand cheese, however, was not as well spoken of as it deserved to he. Complaints were made bf bad methods of manufacture and packing. Many consignments were packed before they were sufficiently ripe, with the result that, owing to bad pressing leaving a ridge round the top, portions of tho cheese moulded and 'dropped off. Very often as much as 101 b. per cheese was lost, and the ribs of the crates left such impressions as to cause'' a good deal of mould and waste.\ There z was no dou'bt that this could be remedied by a littlo more care being taken here in tho preparation of the cheese for market. When he was at Homo our cheese was selling at Is. Sd. per lb. retail, while were fetching up to 3s. 6d. per lb. Mr. Buchanan saw no reason why New Zealand should not enter the market for fancy cheese, which wero commanding such high prices. Tho foil in tho price of meat was causing less cheese to bo eaten, and from what he could gather the prospects for our butter were better than for cheese. It was only in the hotels and restaurants that he saw margarine, which could be purchased for Bd. per lb. English and Scotch Shows. Mr. Buchanan visited quite a number of shows, tho majority |of which were little county gatherings at which no permanent grounds were provided, and they were naturally carried out in the most primitive style. The entries were small, while the parades were not n circumstance to those at any of tho Now Zealand shows. The Royal Show, held at Derby,, was quite an exception. There sho saw tho finest collection (of cattle ho had ever seen, including several -breeds almost unknown, here. He -considered that in the matter of Shorthorns/ Herefords, Holsteins, Jerseys, and Polled Angus we had all that we required, and had nothing to bo ashamed of as to quality. The pigs were a wonderful exhibit, both there and at the Highland Society’s show at Sterling. At' tho latter the Clydesdale liorseS were a particularly fine entry, and the horses seen in the streets of Glasgow wero undoubtedly tho finest nf the heavier class in the -world.

At the Royal Show Mr. Buchanan was much struck by the enterprise of South Africa, which had a huge pavilion where specimens of all the products of thAt country ivere displayed. Outside were a couple of men who looked like prosperous farmers, and who were touting for emigrants. The pSvilidn« was crowded during the whole-, of tho show, and quite a large number of young men with money were induced to go -out to that country. South Africa was the only country which took advantage of this form of advertising, and Mr. Buchanan thinks that -the New Zealand Government might do worke than turn its attention to advertising in thq same manner. ‘ Ayrshire S?uds Visited. Mr. Buchanan visited most of the big studs of cAttle in Ayrshire, including that of Mr. Thomas M’Grath, the celebrated breeder at Chailock, Newton Stewart, Wightonshire, wfiere lie saw the famous Ayrshire pull which had cost <£lo,ooo. Mr. Buehnnah secured a couple of bulls from there, one being twelve months and .the other six months old. The* lafeter he has re-gold to go- to Australia. They are of the "new” Ayrshire type, which are now all. tile fashion, and tho cows of which are putting up' all the records ,-in that pArt of the country for butter-fat. The mother of the bull, which he is keeping, took Second priza at the Highland Society’s show for cow in milk', with three of per progeny, and would have been first had she not lost five points for calving a fortnight late under the conditions, Cow Testing. Mr. Buchanan was very much interested in the manner (p which .testing is done in Scotland. There, instead of'testing an odd cow in any herd for 365 days, the whole of the herds have to be tested for 273 days, a jreal commercial test, which is of considerable value. Tho testing is carried out by county testing associations, and is done by women, their work being supervised by an official check tester. This had gone far to improve the herds for milk production. Air. (Bujche/ua.n deprecated the -system in vogue hero of a 365-day tost, for which only one or two of tho best coirs in a herd aro selected, as being of little use. He considered that the one in vogue in Scotland was much better in every way.