Dairy Factories.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IX, Issue 34, 10 January 1885, Page 2

Dairy Factories.

(Opunako Correspondent of the Hawera Star.) ' A woll-attenrloil meeting was hell m the Town Hall on Friday evening to hear a lecture by Mr Crawford, the subject being Dairying on the Factory System. Mr Pcttigrew (Chairman of the Town' and District Committee) having read the notice convening the meeting, introduced the lecturer. Mr Crawford commenced his lecture with, a few general remarks as to the importance and extent of the manufactured products of the cow, and the necessity of the farmer looking to dairying, amongst othor things, as the source of his profit, instead of continuing the old system -of cropping without any variation. Mr Crawford proceeded: — "I have been, .^during the past two years,- amongst other things, engaged m planning and building the machinery for a number of extensive dairy factories iri the Waikato and districts'; surrounding Auckland, also down the East Coast,, .Every, one, of. those factories has turned out an unqualified ' success, bptrh-jin, regard to the quality pf 'their prdducej ahfl their great profitableness to the/ jfarmers who supply milk. ; When I .went toihe Waikato. the belief . ■ was e'xpresseflj'by'abinbs't'eve^faifin'erl ' had an-dpportrunitty of conversing ''with, 1 that < the factory • would . not got a suf--1 nbient supply » of milk : ; one factory .at. Hamiljipn^ißiatpy.esoijit receiving 80(3 to 9|)o gallorfs df milk :"each'day, and there are now working within driving distance of the same factory four" other factories of 'like' importance and capacity,' woll supported^ and ■ giving, as ; the fanners now say, without exception a substantial cash: benefit-that nothing.;else. would* give. As a proof of the enthusiasm with which these institutions are regarded, m their immediate vicinity, there are about half ai 'dozen projected for Waikato; 'I believe nryselt that a compara- - tively short time will see. several hundreds of.-these lactories m the Norjih -Is* land alone. This may seem to you (a very, sanguine statement of opinion, but. when one considers that m the State of New York alone there are 3000 dairy f^ctofies, it. seems that iihe people of this country will be very much wanting m that grit that moves our Yankee brother : to exertion, if they, with their advant-' ages,, fail ;tp haye 1 , at least as many hundreds pf such ( institutions as our* x Amencah .cousins have thousands m. one State: ..However, time wut show./ it£fias_ been feared by. many who are not sufficiently acquainted with 'the -matter that if a large number of factories were esta ; bliShed .m £his /country that .no market •would be found for the cheese'and' butter" = made ; but when, I tell 5 you that one port \ (Liverpool) iri England receives 3000 tons •'of cheese every week, and tha,t this is a mere .atom of. what is received m England from various countries, and when I -mention that the production of butter m ;ithe United States -is said to be one *tho\isand ; 'twohundred and . fifty million 1 pounds annually*; you.willj fullyappreciate how for ..a, long time .New Zealand prpductioii will be the merest " aroji'in the pceaji bf supply, and wduld hot 11 affect the market m the slightest • degree I > except thatjCohsidermg themagnificenceof • I the pastures of the West Coast and other- < parts of these islands, it is probable that "with . care m .manufacture New ; Zealand dairy produce would • top ' the English market m the matter of quality. If such ! a thing could' be brought about, 'you would then have no lack of settlers frdrn 1 the old country, 1 attracted by the value i and importance of your products. Make an export— you enrich yourselves and attract new settlers ; go on as you have been doing, importing largely and, exporting nothing* wherewith to pay ' for your imports, and the result is very cvi- • dent to the most simple." . MrCrawfordi then went on ;to say that: m starting/a. : factory,, the first tlnng to be considered • was whether, -the' factory would "work.' The factories m Waikato had bebh profitable from a farmer's point of vidw'and One or two instances""to the shareholders. This lsitieiyllicwGyex, he considered 1 not so important. The factory at Bnkuhia had reduced their overdraft by m one year, besides having made a profit. t)uring the last,two/years he had had to do with the fitting machinery, &c, of nineteen large factories, the whole of which as far.as hekni&w were an unqualified success, the 'farmer's being thoroughly satisfied) receiving hard cash for their milk monthly ; as illustrating the favor, m. which ,the factories? were now held, he had heard of a farmer who b^nfe'd 1 ieif cows? but could not take 'any" share m the company s gelling two of his . bows for the. purpose of investing the ■ proceeds m 'buying' shares 5 m the company • thatihe might 'send liis milk to tfie jfactory. All these factories were suppled wi%machj ner y to do away ;with ajl,^ori except one maja, who could imanitfulate 1200 gallons . daily, ja, boy feln tbldof Ml th'e 1 erigfiW w6uia" f ? n'dt ' jbe necessary. . Witbrthe American .ma'cbihery* he 1 ( considered an' unqualified' rperson could make cheese, as scarcely tany skill was necessary. The cost of ithe Cambridge, factory, whichis 10, : t teet ilong, and entirely lined with T and Gr, !and has a concrete and cement floor, ;was' 1£ ; 3.5&, and ' fee machinery, 1 ' •wnibh iwas 1 the riidst' 'complete' Si -New Zealand 1 , : .'^66o. Local jealousies were a'" great' ! stumbling block to associations of this ikind, more especially m the choice of 'site,, ; several ■ companies having jfallei^ I through after having ' b'een^ formed, ' a i quarrel having occurred on the question 'ofthe site, and. he considered it would' be) :best td. have such a question settled by an unbiassed person, and a good way to deJcide this matter was t to put. down :- ; .on.,a ; plan the number of cows settlers would j milk to supply the.factory, and choose a ; ' site as near; as possible fcb suit ,all parties, ; j the largest. ; suppliers, he cpflsidered, the ; first consideration. per annum : spent m the district was a great help,.aff had been tbie case at Te Awamutu. By | co-operation; eabhindividual was enabled to place. his produce m themarkelj ,at: ; small expense; and'with'regard to export-" | ing, the main thing was- to turn out a \ good article, and then there would be no Ifear of rits being a drug m the London ' market, and, besides* which '* the -colony ! coujd not have a better advertisement. | Okh^i industries followed the startirig^of ': one industry, that pf pig-growing being one which would follow che&se-making. I There was a large consumption of condensed milk m the colony, the machinery : for which was, however, rather expensive, and could not be laid down m New Zealand under 4>12Q0, being nearly all of copper, and. following m the wake of manufacturing condensed milk would be the industry of making the tins* . In the Waikato, the companies were simple limited liability companies, with a capital of £2500, half of only wa^aUed up, being sufficient to carry oh for one year. With regard to purchase of milk, the best plan for the company was to buy atlmperialf gallon to contain not less-jthan seven pet cent, of cream, which, latter was a very important question. The milk was tested on arrival at the factory to ascertain" the percentage of cream, and also if any water foreign to the milk had been added. Mr Bowronhad stated . that cheeses of about 841bs were the best for the London market, and he was no dpiibt correct. For the carriage of butter : for short distances a refrigerator -butt(sp package has recently been invented, which , contains two coats, an inner and.an outer, ; the, space between for chloride pjF; soda of chloride pf calcium, which kept the butter coolfor'l2 or "14 days without, machinery. Butter' could be sent m these j paelcages -to 'Auckland fe'r shipment' ; andi as the packages were expensive, it could be. arranged to.h.ave $em returned. ; The, question would nepd to be decided whether , it was iilfended to make butter or cheese: only, or butter and skimmed cheese. As, : would require the same motive pow,! ! >:..••■'■.!■•!.«! , ' .•■:,- .' :.{;■■ •-■'■:„,.;< !

and the coat ofthe machinery for skmimed milk and butter plant was not relatively much greater. If a butter factory alone were started, it would be wise to have the building erectcl sufficiently large to enable the cheese-making plant to be added, and vice vzrm. The question had often been asked, What would become of * the calves ? In the Waikato, farmers did not consider the ctdf worth rearing, and it was killed : but the question must be decided \>y local circumstances. Farmers outside the range of factories found a difficulty m soiling their butter, as the storekeepers preferred the factory butter; and he thought that those farmers would find it profitable to reaYthe' calves. "In ' order to secure success the thing must bo gone into with a proper spirit—^a strong co-operation was; nearly.;.alw,ays_ successful. No time was to be lost if it was in-" tended to start a' factpry and, have it m order by next spring. Farmers made a mistake m. starting to form companies, when their cows were coining" into' milk/ ' m which case the factory would not be ready m time td receive the milk. If a factory were started here he would* like it to be jfch-e factory |df the, coast, and would be pleased to come down for a few days and start it himself: He would leaye;with the secretary; all particulars. r-as to cpst, ,th.c! matter being , too long %o \ go into at this. time, ". ' l ' ' t ■■ :. • *phe lectute'r having espi^sed hiß\vll- ' ' linjjhess to answer any' questions, replied 'as' fallows:— •'-'■'.'■'• -ii-:v ;:■ :/ 'r >J ; The jfactdries; usually /open- toppeive. ■■■: milk.pnthe Ist October and pjose'ia^ the* { end of May. 'Of cqarse M&:^vid. '. Ac . en ;} .MPdn thq Jiocality/ No 'ihilk'" wasV-' received" at the facfc6ry J on-Siirid'ay; t]ie ' farmers made use of it themselves/"" '' iC • The best means .of conveying the milk Was m telescope cans, m which flieinuTi " could sustain no damiige.'i'ftom vibration, Tjhe practice usually was.for the company to buy the cans and sell tliera to the farmers, ttf be aeducted;from the milk ao»»\ count..'.') • V r .-' •" i '' '\J . J ■..? ; • The whey some factories sold back to 'the farmers at Is 4d per gallon. : '; The greatest 'distance milk was "carried to the Te Awamutu and Bukuhia factories was seven, miles; . on a" .^ra'Ve^ : road not nearly so good as the roads jn this district. '' ' ; ' - : -- ■•■:•'/.• : '- '-:-U; '■ Many would-be suppliers, who only had 10 or 15 gallons -of-ixulk, might consider this quantity .tod ;small?fcO;tak^fio a factory^ but m several cases settlers had arranged: between, themselyes; for the. settler who lived il fui:tiierest"along the' road jp, collec^.the milk ftpm* the others . * on hisway to tne.facfdry. t '"" k "':' ' ! ' : ,"''' i i&'lon^ strip df abqiit foiir' acres wduld ' ] ' be sufficient for'the fa'CtoryV the pigsties .being at the extreme end. I Milk' was. taken. <byjitheifacftoigii ©lily/! once a day, the, morning milk had td be kept, m seperate cans. This was the .only condition the factories { reqiured. .. " ■ ""v. «;.... j The manufecturing of butter nothav-^ ' ipg been tried he could notmakea statement whether ;it would rbe successful'; •the making of cheese _was aii undoubted success. If Is . shiliing.'per lb. could be rdbtained for factory J hutteri he tttoughlS it would pay well. • •'•'• ■^ lf i"' : r ; Hgs were always kept By; iihe. factory, 'j not 'by. private parties, i. The'- whey.. -.^fas !. Carried by ; pipes tothe. troughs frbmj the v ' ; It had, been proved; th^t'^pifip; '. > plaid the expenses of" the factory. • "''."" ' ' ; Theusualhour for defiyeiry of milk T td ; ,t]ne factory was eight d'cldok; 1 m' sdme ■ (jases nine o'clock, according to the condition > of 'the roads.' f< -;., -/.;••,,.> F j Double the size .the building would be required for cheese making than for butter making, jbhe, jpnqcipal ,dnTerence being, however, m cost of plant. " ri j "■' \ jThe^only^ injury milk could receive froirilbng carriage m telescope cans wbuld^ be from, heats- ' .j; :.:• -1;,., ; Work usually commenced about nine o'clock, and should be completed about.;. i p.m. A butter factory wduld not ' start work any sooner. The churner m i a DUtterfactory could be'atwork all day,' put he did not thinkit* would do to make gutter from milk carried during the heat of the/flay. { Gfldd/ water was indispenea •?" ble, either well of'ruhning water.' j The factories bought milk at a. standard per Imperial ga)lon, or by weight, Svith right to reject milk Containing less than a certain percentage of cream. | Steam power was either necessary for butter or cheese-making, j The capital requked^for a butter facjtory would be £600, orT'j-teOO, and about double that apiount fpt cheese-making. It would beM better to set about the jbusiness properly at first, mstead of starting m a small way and" adding to it .at a future time. ■■;' ( The American machinery was a great |saving of labor s as compared with the English/, /, . •.., . lf _ . k .. A^ i It would' he unreasonable for "sliare-' jholders to expect a" dividend the first jyear. The; factory which paid a "dividend I was now m its second year. " i Those who supp]^ed A good milk with a Ihigh percentage of cream were certainly 'under j,a disadvantage ; to xthose-^who aup^ •plied milk with a low percentage of cream* ibut it was at present difficult to alter the ! system of. paying for the milk. j 'Mr Breach prop^ed^a vote 'of thanks to Mr Crawfprd tor .his excellent address. | Seconded by Mr Ching, arid' carried! ' ' | In reply, IJ Mr Crawford -stated that he I would be glad to- start a factory here, : and. of started he hoped .it ■.■ would be. car- ; ried out witii.- energy., .Any , infprmation he could'get he would be happy to supi ply, without fee, at. any time il commumSc'ated'wrth: r!f : - !I - : ' r '; >! -' ■ • m-..-:- - the conclusion of' thtif meeting, a i good many settlers remained m the hall * to iKsoufss theft advisability iof forming a ; company, and a provisional directory ; consisting of the undermentioned were (requested to act: — Messrs Stevenson, i Breach, -_W*jght, -Knight, Mo'dre, Pettigrfew^jLuderspn, and'lßaylis. : Mr Crawford exprepsed his willingness ' to" take vtweiity-fivei shares 'm the comipAny. "'" V; ■.'■-- ■■■>