Argentine Republic.

Northland Age, 27 September 1904, Page 3

Argentine Republic.

Australasia’s Chief Competitor. Buttkr-makiho. • *** 8o far as the actual work of battermaking in the Argentine is concerned, the What different from ours in New Zealand. The bulk of the cream at most factories conges in in what I would call an overripe condition—that is, for the buttermaker to have control over it, Or in other words, for him to be able to ripen it ijkifarmly with a good starter. Be fact of the cream arriving at the JjadShrlm i„ this condition may be acijUpttfp for by the following reasons: Wnt, dirty milking-yards : second, dirty Tiulert ; third, dirty, rusty cans. And th most dangerous source of infection, in my opinion, is the carrying of milk and cream long distances by rail in these rusty cans. A great deal of the milk is brought to the creameries in small cans an heneback. Large quantities of cream •ro. also brought to the railway-stations Mtth..mp 11 astanciaa or farms in this; same maimer. It is an astonishing thing to see a native coming to a small riding or station with six or eight cans of cream slung from each side of the horse's back. They hUo very often take double that number of empty cans back with them. “ma(y few saddles sire 'used by the Moves in the Argentine. They have u sort of home-made arrangement which is composed of heavy bands around the body of the horse, and the top of which ia made of strong leather, two rolls of some material covered with leather arc faced on each side of the centre of the ■MB back, and a large hook on one Which permits of hitching the horse rtf a ’load of any kind by means of a chain or rope—a very handy arrangement indeed. New Zealand dairymen will understand that this is not a good system of conveying milk or cream to a butterfactory or skimming-station after reading my remarks on the methods adopted for churning butter for city and suburb sup- " Now, getting back to the butter-mak-ing process again: I found that the grading of cream would hardly be possible, for the reason that you got so many hundred different qualities of cream at all degrees of ripeness, particularly at a large fuctory like La Union, whore they turn out in the flush of the season about 20 tons of butter per day, and where they get the cream in from over fifty separating stations, mostly by rail, besides the many small estuncias that forward cream direct. The grading and ripening of cream with a starter in the Argentine is therefore not practised very much. In most of the factories, with the ycoption of two or three, the cream isUMred to ripen on what might be oaßedrthc self- or chance-ripening system. Most of the factories, are substantially built, and fairly- wfell equipped. The large factories have any amount of freezing-capacity. The chilling of the cream is done by means of movable coils,, through which cold water- or brine is circmlatod. The vats ure in nearly every case shallow, and the coils are worked up and down in the vat perpendicularly, not, like most of ours, on thu horizontal principle. Generally speaking, the cream is not churned at nearly as low a temperature as we work on in &ew Zealand, the result being loss of fat; in l the butter-milk and injury' to the texture of the butter in the working process. Most of the Argentine butter which I examined, both in the country and on the African markets, had the appearance of being overworked, and I was thoroughly convinced of that point after watching the process in some of the large factories. The Argentine butter is much paler in colour than the New Zealand article. ' This may be accounted for partly by the food, eaten by the cattle, and perhaps the breed of cow may have something to do with it. Then, also, the targe amount of friction given the butter

In the working’ process tends to grease it, Bnd make it, as it were, have the appearance of hog’s lard. A good deal of the butter exported is not salted. This latter is even paler than the salted butter. I have, of course, always found from experience that salt adds a little colour to the butter. While in Cape Town and Durban I learned from a number of dealers that the Argentine pale butter was very well thought of. It, however, only required a glance to see that New Zealand butter was the finest-made butter sent into Africa, but the mistake was thut they did not get it there while it was newer.

I am in hopes that we may by experimental work get some method of reducing t)ic high colour in our butter without ruining the bodf and ? texfure, as "‘the British expert buyer thinks so much of the tatter. My advice to New Zealand producers in the past has been rather against the manufacture of unsalted butter in targe quantities for export, on tne grounds of the greater liability of deterioration in transit during the long voyage, as compared with fifteen days from the Argentine or a few days from Denmark. The Argentine is differently situated and can afford to take the risk, for the reason that they can land their butter in Loudon in fifteen days, so when they get such a quick fortnightly service as this they can lay their butter down in the Old Country in a fairly fresh condition M compared with ours. The butterboxes are not so good in the Argentine, ItSe timber not being so suitable. Like Ktse Canadian boxes, the sides, bottoms, land ©Overs are often in three pieces, Itongued and grooved. The Argentine people, however, haves paid more utten■ion to the question of making the boxes l>r the African market of much heavier Huber, and also to nailing them better. ■ commented strongly on this matter Hhen dealing with New Zealand butter Hipments in my African report. my hurried visit to the ArgenHs I had the pleasure of visiting two controlled by Lovell and and Mr. Henry Reynolds. The manages the business, besides buyH from other factories fcj export. Mr. Hn»«k wjr 2T of . th ßßtt d “y----fftie Avaixato, A• honor butter-fact^B

The other factory controlled by Mr, Reynolds is situated at Tandil, on the Southern Railway. I had the pleasure of spending a few days at this factory along with the manager, Mr. Gerlach, who at one time resided in New Zealand. At the time of my visit this factory was turning out about the same quantity of butter as the Central Factory at Pr«»gresso, in Buenos Aires, where the whole of the business is transacted. The factory at Tandil is a fine building, equipped with a good plant. Th, boiler is of Italian make, 80-horse power, fitted with a fuel-saving condenser, which permits of the water entering the boiler almost at boiling-point. Mr. Reynolds informed me that this boiler was installed at a much lower cost than either an English or American boiler. They have also a very powerful engine ana two Linde freezing-machines. Four large churns are placed in a row in the buttermaking room. They arc of an American make, well known to me, called the "Squeezer.” The butter is churned, worked, rad salted in the churn. The cream into shallow vats, where it zvSooled down by means of movable cojlsjW the same principle as that in use at thy Central Co-operative Factory at Christchurch.. Although this factory was turning out less than 3 tons per day at the time of my visit, it has a capacity of 10 or 12 tons per day. In connection with the capaoity question, I find the very reverse in the Argentine from what I have experienced in New Zealand - viz,, that instead of building the factories too small to cope with even the second year's business, they build and equip for about four times the first year’s capacity, and I believe it pays in the end.

Although they ship the butter regularly to the central factory at Buenos Aires, they have a freezing-chamber capable of storing 2,500: boxes of butter in case of emergency. Although Mr. Reynolds has been in the country for about five years, he does not seem to give his pointers on butter-making away to his opponents. I found the system adopted in his factories more on the lines of New Zealand butter-making. In referring to Mr. Reynolds’ business I cannot pass without stating that I am deeply grateful and very much indebted to him for his kindness to me during my stay in the Argentine. Mr. Reynolds did not spare time or money to assist me in. gaining information; he was also able to secure passes over one of the railways for me. (To ie Continued.J