The Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on tne West Coast. FRIDAY. AUGUST 28, 1885. EXPORT OF DAIRY PRODUCE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 76, 28 August 1885, Page 2

Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on tne West Coast. FRIDAY. AUGUST 28, 1885. EXPORT OF DAIRY PRODUCE.

With the increase of the production of " dairy produce " that must necessarily follow the establishment of factories all over the Colony, the question naturally arises what markets are to be found m which butter and* cheese can find a profitable sale. It is very clear that m course of time the Colony will be producing a very large quantity of tbe two articles which enter so. largely into general consumption m every portion of the civilised globe, but the market of which so materially alters m different localities. That New Zealand possesses special natural facilities for the production ot both butter and cheese m vast quantities and exceptionally good quality, will be generally admitted, as m this Colony both climate and soil are peculiarly favourable to the various branches of dairying industry. We have an equable climate, and our pastures for richness of verdure may be said te be unsurpassed. The expensive housing of cattle during the winter months which m some countries is a work of necessity, under the glorious New Zealajjd-eUfliafeis' npt required r and'"tHerby a great expense and diminution of labour and trouble are effected. But although New Zealand can produce such excellent butter aud cheese, the industry has hitherto not been attended with profitable results. Farmers maintain that as a rule dairy work does not pay, and the experience of many of the dairy factories which were established under favourable and encouraging auspices has been of a similar character. On the other hand, some farmers who have made a speciality of butter and cheese, and have taken pains to produce an article of firstrate quality, find a remunerative sale (chiefly local) for all they can make. But their case is the exception, the reverse the rule. What is wanted is a paying outside market, which could be depended upon by producers of a good saleable article. No doubt New Zealand butter and cheese have suffered a good deal from, prejudice on the one hand, and from the bad repute which attaches; to the too common production of an article of inferior, unsaleable ; and unwholesome quality. Many ; thousands of tons of dairy produce have been shipped from New Zealand to Australia and other parts of the world resulting m heavy, loss to tbe exporters, who appear to take it for granted that because market quotations rule high for a speci fied commodity there js certain to be a sale for it, irrespective altogether of the essential conditions of quality. The consequence is that New Zealand dairy produce has acquired a bad "name m many places, and now .even a good article is with difficulty disposed of. Some of tfie butter which has been shipped from New Zealand was only fit for lubricating purposes, and much of it not even fit for that. Of cpurse, on the oth,er hand^ other shiptnents of excellent quality, which, should have commancjed a ready sale m any market m the world, have resulted m heavy loss to the shippers. In our opinion the chief factors m New Zealand's future prosperity must be its frozen meat and its dairy produce. We do not think there is any probability of either, grain or wool attaining higher values than at present for the simple reason; that there is every liklihood of an increased rate of production from other countries. But withfrozen meat and dairy produce the case :is different^ and there is reason to expect that with her unsurpassed soil and climate; and other favourableicdnditions, this Colony should to export frozen meat and 'dairy produce m large quantities, of excellent quality, and- at prices remunerative to the producer. The great difficulty with regard to butter is the fact that m all its stages of manufacture and distribution, unless great care is exercised m order to export it m an attractive and wholesome form, its value is seriously depreciated. No doubt what under different conditions would have been good 'butter has, by careless handling either m the manufacture or packing, suffered to such an extent as to materially damage its sale, and cause considerable loss to. the exf>orter. The carriage of butter m kegs or firkins has the disadvantages, m so far as carriage m a "cool chamber I is concerned, of. bulk, .extra, freight, and frequeit'try tainting and colouring through insufficient, seasoning of the timber of whiclvthe keg"B^di* firkins are made. I We are therefore pleased to learn that a .seneg of experiments recently inadeiiFvAuckland with the object : discovering some better mode of packing butter m a " cool chamber 1 ' so as to avoid the drawbacks referred to above, has resulted m a discovery which may be considered congratulatory m a high degree. AMr BiiKA'ST, of Onehunga.. has been giving the subject some considerable attention, and after many tentative experiments, has designed a square form of package, which could be put together yhen the butter was

mjade, and the cost of carrying •' empties" would thus be reduced to a minimum. One difficulty still remained viz., the taint or flavour imparted by the wood, especially after the butter had been packed m it for some time. Here seemed to be a stumbling block. He tried again and again m a small way, but m every instance and whatever wood he- used, he found that when the butter was packed m it for several months some taste was imparted to it. He satisfied himself on one | point viz., that the butter presented a less attractive appearance on being scooped out of a firkin,. than it would have by being, packed m boxes, say twelve inches square inside, which could be knocked to pieces and leave the square block of butter standing on the bottom part. He found m these experiments that a twelve -inch j cube of butter, firmly pressed, would weigh exactly 561bs, but how to i present the effect of the wood puzzled him for a long time. Many different methods were resorted to for closing the pores of the. wood m the inside of the box, but all resulted unsatisfactorilY:, .At length chemical science was catted into requisition, and finally after innumerable experiments, perseverance, with skill and knowledge, overcame the difficulty. A chemical solution was discovered capable of accomplishing all the conditions required, and, to make the success more complete, machinery was arranged to apply the solution to the inside of the boxes under extreme pressure and with a very great degree of ! heat. The result is that when the board comes from between the rollers the dressed surface is quite smooth and hard, and is found to be quite impenetrable to any ordinary application of chemical agencies. The boards, , thus, prepared will be made into butter boxes by machinery, so that perfectly fitting points will be secured. The packing process will take place under pressure sufficient to force out butter-milk, _wa.ter, air-cavities, &a, and- when 1 the purchaser m London or elsewhere knocks the sides of his case off, he will have standing, before him a twelve-inch cube of butter weighing exactly half a hundredweight. The timber used will be kahikatea, which ha 3 be*en found by successive experiments to absorb the protecting' chemical solution better than kauri, or other colonial woods, and has also the advantage of being inexpensive. The invention, which we regard as a most important one, has been patented, arid will, we trust, eventually exercise a beneficial influence on the butter export trade of this colony. We may add that the package while measuring twelve inches square inside, the outside measurement will be 14 inches square, and will thus pack with a great economy of spac& m the "cool chamber" of a steamer: With this latest new invention one of what has hitherto proved a great drawback to the profitable export of butter from H&vr Zealand "will have been removed. It now remains for our producers to lay themselves out to make only a first rate article, and to exercise care m the packing, using the specially, prepared boxes, and an improvement m the tone of outside markets may be speedily expected to take place. With cheese it is different, arid if properly made and carefully handled it can be sent Home with a minimum of risk of loss m flavor and quality. TherV are numerous paving v markets for New Zealand butter,, such as Australia, India, Ghina, Great Britain, and the Continent, but to command a remunerative trade and -ensure, shipments beings well received, special pains must taken m manufacture and packing; Not-, withstanding; the disheartening experiences of recent, months, we still regard dairy factories as most important factors of prosperity, and we look forward with perfect confidence to the time when their practical utility and beneficial influence will be universally recognized as an irrefragable proof of the substantial benefi ts of cooperation as applied to mechanical industry. Were* it made clear to the paying markets for New Zealand butter and cheese that are known to exist that it would be- to their advantage to foster the "trade by giving a- fair price for samples of uniform quality, and that a constant supply would be available . if the market could be depended . uporiv; the certain result would be the successful establishment of dairy factories m all directions, proving a source of wealth to the district and enhancing the collective and individual prosperity of aH sections of the mercantile as well as the agricultural and pastoral community.