NATIONAL DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2813, 12 February 1908, Page 21

NATIONAL DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

(Southland News, February 3.)

The annual confeience of dairymen at Bluff took place on Satuiday. All tho c e who had attended the meeting at Invercargill on the previous night w<;nt down to port, and there were present also a few others who had not been in town on Friday, swelling the total attendance to about 35. During most of the day mpn went round with Mr Sawers, the grader, and watched him doing the work of grading just as he does it on ordinary occasions. Samples of cheese were handed round to suc'i as cared to have them, and all were given an opportunity of making a comparative test of merit. Mr Sawers explained at times the basis on which the raoints had been allotted, and generally endeavoured to make clear to factory managers that chpese was not classed in any hap-hazard fashion. The work must have had. too, a very high educative value, as Mr Saweis pointed out defects where such existed, and mpde sundry comments f rora time to time. To the uninitiated there was not much of interest in the oroceedings. An assistant climbed into each truck in which the chee*?'? was and handed out samples to the grader a , professional and amateur. Thr=n merely looked at it carefully to examine its colour, broke it to see that it was of correct tcvture. and thpn squeezed it up and smelt it. That is the whole business. j

At about 11 o'clock a vorv =hort mpptino- was held. Mr W. M. Sinsl°ton (-Acting Dairy Commissioner) and Mr James Sowers (grader) each made a few remarks about the cheese that had been examinpd in the morning. The general effect of their comments was that thp c'igeso «howed crood body and was frpp from serious defects, except as regards favour. This pointed to defective mi-ilitv of milk supplied to the factories Mr Ringlpton a<rain 'drew attention to the fnct that the cheesp in some of the shipments had been ca=pd much too preen. Thp nroiiable re^'ilt of thi* nractice "*ould be that the cheeses would trot mouldy and commence- to docav in tr>p shin's hold, owin"- to the rind being soft and moist and half formed.

Fol'owing on this speech the mcetinpf pas=od a resolution — "That the association advises all managers *-hat no cheese Ip=s than 10 days old should be. rased for export at factories." This motion was carried unanimously with little discussion — none of a hostile natuve.

Some of the' dairymen came home by the mirl'lav train and the remainder by the 3 o'clock train, reaching Tnvercargill in time to catch th" outaoing country train'?. All woro a<rrpp<] that there was a poo<l A&-\\ to be learned by tlip excursion to the Buff. but they rotrard the trio as more e\r Ip=s of a plp-asant outin"' As some of thpm expressed it they had "a iollv trood time."

■ — Butter and Cheese-makers. —

A similarly arranged meeting of thp Southland branch of the Now Zealand Butter and Chee=«-makers' Association was held during the forenoon. About 15 mem- ' bers attended, Mr John, Sawers (viep-presi- ' dent) occupying the chair. Two resolutions were passed — "That the secretary write to the committee of the Otago A. and P. ' vb* with * f »renc« to P% ju^'onfr

of cheese at the next A. and P. show." (The association wishes the society to allow five cheese-makers and five butter-makers to act in conjunction with the Dairy Commissioner in judging a particular (-Jess of cheese.) The other resolution was-.-" That as the Government has appomted dairy inspectors to inspect dairies, with the object of raising the standard of milk supplied to factories, this association strongly advocates their enforcing the use of Lawrenca coolers."