VICTORIAN BUTTER IN LONDON.

Patea Mail, 3 July 1882, Page 3

VICTORIAN BUTTER IN LONDON.

The following letter recently appeared in the Melbourne Leader respecting fresh print butter sent from Melbourne to London, which realised the handsome price of Is per lb: Sir, —Would you kindly allow me space in your paper to inform your numerous dairy readers the result of the above experiment ? Doubtless you will remember my exhibit of a modern butter and cheese factory at the last Ballarat Agricultural Society’s spring show. At that time I showed about 7cwt. of print butter, in lewt casks, two and three months old, which, for get-up and quality, was very much admired. As, however, doubts were expressed by one or two connoisseurs as to its being able to keep much longer, I determined, as a thorough test, to send it to London in the adjoining room to the freezing chamber of the s.s. Protos, which, left here in December last. I may mention that it has been my custom for the last ten years to keep my butter fresh for very much longer than the above test, viz., right through our summer months, and sell it in our northern towns in autumn, where I have always been able to command from 100 to 150 per cent, above the market price that ruled when it was put down in the spring of the year. This is a system, which, if generally carried out in the dairies of the colony, would prevent such a butter famine as the present, and add greatly to the health and wealth of the community at large It would also prevent butter from being spoiled and wasted as at present to the extent of at least half a million sterling per annum. lam sure, Sir, that you, as a friend to the advancement of our industries, will be glad to see from the enclosed letter that 1 have been successful in placing fresh butter in prime condition on the London breakfast table all the way from. Victoria, besides travelling 100 miles at this end to the port in one of the hottest months—-namely, December—in what is called the guard’s van, but what might be more correctly described as a railway oveu. It also stood for the best part of a hot day on Sandridge pier before it was shipped, and afterwards had all the knocking about which cargo is subject to. This, it will be admitted, was a very severe test to put so delicate a commodity to. Any of our grocers will endorse this, and many will testify that they have great difficulty in keeping butter prime for one week at the time of the year when my consignment was shipped. I hope soon to be equally successful in placing an article in the market for the preservation of milk in its natural state during the hottest weather, keeping it from acidity and coagulation, and freeing it from all disease germs, of which milk is the certain conductor. Attached are copies of letters from my Melbourne agents and their representatives in London. —D. Wilson, Springbank Farm, Bgerton, June 6.

Letter from the Melbourne agent to Mr Wilson on the result, covering the report of the London agents, Messrs McCaw, Mcllwick & Co. in which they state ; —“ We found D., Wilson’s, of Egerton, fresh butter in prints in excellent condition and quality, and had no trouble in selling it 188s per 1001b., for which we enclose draft. This lot of butter certainly was superior to any we have seen in our twenty years’ experience in the London market, and we shall be glad to receive any qnanty you can send, as we are sure to find high prices for it. We had the pleasure of showing it to Sir Henry Parkes, and he was very much pleased with it.