The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, APRIL 22, 1872.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 96, 22 April 1872, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, APRIL 22, 1872.

The settlers in the Tokoroairiro district, Otago, have determined upon making an experiment which, although in America it has proved successful iu ihe highest degree, is as yet untried in New Zealand. We allude to the principle of co-operation in dairy farming, which of late has been so much talked ol' and written about that the first attempt to put it in practice will be watched with much interest by country settlers in all parts of the colony. At Tokomairiro it has been determined to erect a factory where the milk of 300 cows may be received and converted into butter and cheese, and it has been calculated that such a building may be erected with all the requisite fittings for the sum of £400, but it is doubtful whether this is not rather. an under-estimate, as we find in a lecture on this subject, delivered at the Maine State Agricultural College by Mr. K. A. Willard, that in America, where both timber and labor ate cheaper than in New Zealand, the cost of erecting n factory, with all Its appliances, capable of receiving the milk of 400 co'vs cannot be set down at less than £800. The following is the description he gives of such a factory : — " The main building is a cheap, two-storied structure, arranged on a plan similar to tbat of the cheese factories. On the ground-floor are tbe milk vats, presses, and other appliances for making cbeese, while the secoud-floor is entirely devoted to the dry room or department for storing the cheese during the process of curing, &c. Tbe spring-house is built out upon the end of this structure, forming a wing, and is one story high. It is divided into two rooms, one 12 feet by 16 feet, and the other 14 feet by 24 feet, and stands opposite the spring-room, with a narrow alley between. This alley is used for a horse-walk where the teams deliver milk and cart away the products of the dairy. Connected with the packing and churning department there is a horse-gear for churning, and an ice-house and store-room. This factory is intended to take the milk of 400 cows. The churning at the large establishment is done by horse-power. There are a variety of powers ; but tbat most commonly used is simply a large circular platform or wooden wheel, built about an upright shaft, the lower end of which turns iu a socket. The wheel sits upon an incline, so that the horse, by walking constantly on one side, keeps it in motion. At the upper end of the shaft, gearing is arranged so as to give motion to the churns. Quite recently a small engine in connection with the heating arrangements for the cheese department has been used to supply power for driving the churns. The latest invention for supplying power for churning consists in a system of gearing, driven by a heavy weight attached to a stout rope, which it wound about the cylinder of the machine. Sixteen feet of rope will run the power half-an-hour, carrying the churn-dashers at the rate of 50 strokes to the minute, which is the rate of stroke best adapted for producing good butter in the dashchurn. It is adapted to any size of churn, and has a regulator to vary tbe dash without changing the weight."

Tbe Auckland Herald which has for some time been continually urging upon tbe settlers in that province the desirability of co-operation in dairy farming, gives the following brief account of the receipts and expenditure of oue of these small American factories where a portion of the milk was sold : — " The quantity of milk received at the factory from the 10th of April to the Ist of December was 547,174 quarts, of which a portion was sold as new milk and some as cream, realising altogether about £500. In addition to this there were sold 31,630 lbs. of butter, 15,908 lbs. of whole milk cheese, and 81,778 lbs. of skim milk cheese, realising altogether a sum of £5,823 4s. l^d. Against this sum we have the expenses, amounting to £647 ls. 4d ; which deducted from the proceeds leaves a sum of £,5176 2s. 9|d. to be divided amongst the contributors of the 537,174 quarts of milk, or at the rate of over twopence farthing per quart — and this, be it remembered, without any additional trouble to the farmer supplying the milk than the hauling of it to the factory. Even this operation is often simplified by the establishment of a line of milk teams which takes up the milk at the several farms, and conveys it to the factory."

These figures appear satisfactory, and we trust that those who are about to make the experiment at Tokomairiro will prove them to be correct, or if any error exists in them, that it may be found to be in the direction of an under-stateraent of the profits.