REVIEW.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 3, 1 November 1883, Page 3

REVIEW.

| We have just received to hand a pamphlet, issued by the authority of the Government, on the “ Manufacture of Cheese, Butter, and Bacon, in Hew Zealand,” by Mr William Bowron, Inspector of Dairy Produce Fac tories. The work embraces not alone the results of the authors own lengthened and varied experience in England and America, but also a large quantity of information and direction* in connection with the above subject ; also a number of wood-cuts and plates showhig labour-saving appliances, best adapted for the use of dairy farmers ; designs plans, a id specifications, for dairy factories, for 800, 400, and 200 cows respectively, which hwe been carefully prepared by Mr C. J. Toxward, aichitect, of Wellington. I intr xlucing the subject to the reader the author says :— > de.i.iud need have no fear as tootaiping <. ready market, for all her surplus dairy produce ; the markets of the world are open to ier. Steam and electricity annihi* ate time and distance.

I From a coni' lua’i««n of circumstances thk I demand f v r dairy pipducein Rugland is ever on ilia fn.creaaeu ..Paabing by other great centres of population in the tlpiied, Kingdom. London alone adds to her millions nearly 100,000 annually. Lfoib this cause her demands are constantly increasing, and her supplies from domestic sources are decreasing. There are also milkcondensing factories now in operation requiring 15,000 gallons, or 150,000 lbs. of milk per day, wAe.i procurable, That quantity of milk is equivalent to nearly 1,900 tone of cheese per annum. Then there are other causes to diminish the supply of dairy produce. Owing to the sanitary regulations in force few cows are now kept in London the consequence is that millions of gallons’of milk are drawn from the counties where the principal supplies of cheese and butter are made. For these reasons a fine opportunity presents itself for this colony to step in and supply the'want. This may be done to an unlimited extent; everything is favorable : the mildness of the climate and the fertility of the soil conduce to render New Zealand, for all practical dairy purposes, preferable to either England or America. . For New Zealaud cheese Australia hau always proved a ready market, and will take larger quantities as the quality improves. The Australian market is open for cheese from 151 b to 401 b; the Indian, from 61b to 101 b; the British, from 561 b to 841 b in weight. When the requirements of distant markets are better known, factories.will have to manufuc’ure cheese both in ai.?e and quality most suitable to the customer.”

The ad van tag sof the factory system 6ver small dailies are many Twenty small daries would requ’re twenty Re’s of appliances and twenty persons to superintend, wher r eas one factory could take? « 1 their milk and one periion to superintend the whole operations. By thio method a fast amount, of I-hour is saved, and a better qualify of cheese is p.-o t’uced. No doubt in large private ddries, say of 80 to 100 cows, cheese can he made to equal any factory cheese, both in quality and size.

The question has often been asked, “ What breed of Cottis is best for dairy purposes ? ” ihe cow-keepers of London are considered excellent authorities. They say the Dutch cow will give the greatest quantity, bht the Alderney the richest quality of milk It has been found that Durham shorthorn and Devon cows are the best for gene'al purposes ; they breed fine oxen, the cows miik well, and make good beef when their milking qualities fail.

At present there are 3,700,000 cows kepi for milk-purposes in the United Kingdom ; festimated at 440 gallons as the yield lor the season per CCw, we have the larger quantity of l,628,00i),000 gailnns of milk. It is further estimated that 525,000,000 gallons are consumed in various ways, leaving a balance of 900,000,000 gallons to lie converted into butter ami cheese. The above quantity of milk is equivalent to 126,000 tons of cheese and 89,285 ton* of butter. The estimated quantity of milk for each cow is low, principally owing to ihe numerous fatal diseases which prevail in Englund, from which these Islands happily are free. 1 he quantity of cheese and butter made in England is diminishing, and i' is not improbable in course of time she will depend almost wholly on foreign supplies for cheese a»>d, to a large extent-, fnr bin ter, while English dairy farms will be devoted chiefly to the milk-trade, which has been greatly stimulated in recent years.

It may be interesting to e-timate the value of the cow. In all esiimahs of this kind ’he quality of the cow and the pasture on which she feeds must be taken Ihio account. Ihe od prove»b runs, ‘Milk enters in at. the mouth/’ One factory in Hol and with 6t»o co w s reports the average per day of 1,500 gallons, or 15,000 lb. oi milk. A dairy in Friesland (Holland) states their cows average during the season 850 gallons, or 8,500 lb. each. In 1879 a dairy in Middlesex, supplying milk for London consumption, averaged per cow 730 gallons, or 7,300 lb. In America the average yield of the cows in one dairy is reported at 680 gallons, or 6 800 lb , per annum. From that quantity of milk 6 cwt. of eVete whs produced. Mr Guy’s account of his prize dairy in Panada is as follow-: —“ We find our beat milk-cows, when they first calve, to give from 4 to 5 gal ohs or 4<>lb to 501 b of milk per day, and in some instances to exceed that q antitv on grass alone. We estimate their aveiage yield for the firs;, three mont’-a after calving at 3| gallons or 3’»lb per day j for the next three months at 2J gallons or 251 b ; and for t’ie next three mont' s at 2 gallons or 20lh per day: on an average yield for forty weeks of over 2| gal'ons or 271 b per dav, making an aggregate of 792 gallons or 7,920 lb of v ilk as the produce of each cow for »h<» year. This quan'i’y represents 6Jr cwt. of cheese.” In England and America they calculate upon btra-s for six months only ; here, we calculate upon grass from eight to nine mont.l s. New Zealand cows during forty weeks will average not less than 2 gallons or 201 b of milk per dav. This estimate is be lieved to he below the mark Two gallons per day is 560 gallons or 5,6(K) lb per season of forty weeks : that quantity, at 4d per gallon, will givn the farmer £9 for each cow. But how stands the factory ? 560 gallons of milk represent 5 cwt. of cheese. Dispose of that at. 6fcd per lb: that will give the factory for each cow £l5. Now, take a factory of 800 cows ; each pow produces 5 cwt., that is, 4,000 cwt. of cheese ; that quantity at 6jd per 'b will produce in the season a sum of £12,000. The farmers receive £7,200 of this amount, leaving a balance for the factory of £4 800 to pay working expenses and dividend. This does not include the profits from the pigs

It may be said that all estimates apper excellent in figures, but what are the facts ? There few good farmers in England who do not realize £29 per cow per annum, and their are some known to have averated £2l per cow. Through good management in the dairy, in one ins’arrce, after rent, and con’ingent expenses were paid, the surplu- produce of the dairy enabled the farmer to purchase and pay for his farm. Wo may build factories and supply quantities of milk, but the success of the enterprise depends upon the skill and experience of the manager. This, at present, is the greatest difficulty wejhave to contend with in toe colonies, and there is no way of removing it except by securing the best men from England or America. It matters not, however, where they come from if they have skill and years of experience. They will know how to adapt their methods to changing seasons and circumstances. Of all points this must be strictly attended to • if not, disappointment and loss wdl be the sure result. A few good men will soon teach others. Every factory will be a school, where farmer’ sons and daughters may be taught the art of cheesemaking, Young men ought to give the labour of one season of forty weeks for the privilege of learning the art of making cheese. A factory for a dairy of 800 cows would require seven hands, one of these to look after the pigs. Eight hundred pigs would be fattened ; the profit from these would not be Jess than £1 10s per head. That would give £1,200 to pay wages and working expenses L6OO would be required for wages, ft will thus be seen thut L 6.00 — L4,8C0 fromjthe cheese and LI 200 from the pig-*,—wouLi be available for payment of wages, working Expenses, interest and dividend. In England, for pig-fattening pur-

ph«es, the whey from the milk of <aeh cow is inlug'i at L2 Ida.

The direct ions for cheese and butter making are most clear and exhaustive, the author entering into the most minute detail and Oifiitfing nothing whatever which is calculated in tie degree to instruct or assist (Jia dairy man in’ M»'ning the highest point of efficiency, both productive and pecuniary point of view. , . . The following brief outline whi<?‘ 1 of the Various met 1 ods of manufacL*.‘ lr^n fi cheese in England will prove interesting :— " Take first. Throughout Somersetshire it is the custom to have the morning’s milk into the not later than 7 a.m The rennet end colouring tire immediately added to the mi k and in th” roUtsW of forty minutes the milk is '* run,” t.e., formed into ••urd, and the vurd it ready to “ break down,” t.e.j cut into pieces, This operation is performed bf.gn instrument nailed the curdbreaker. It is important, and ought to bo done with great Cttte ; the time required is about forty minutes. Thd nett step is to turn hot water or steam oh gradually up to the temperature of 96 or 100 1 Fahr , a< the season and cir cumstanees may require. Then the whey is drawn off, and the curd, being formed into a cake-lite body, is cut into square block* and placed ib ft Wooden cooler. Tn the ooolerthe whey which remains is Separated from the curd, the artificial heat is etapotated, and the requisite amount of acidity is generated. When these objects are attained the card is broken in passing through a mill, the salt is applied, and the final step is info the press. B'Jch is a general outline of making Chedder ctaese.”

In dealing with the article on Butter he says :—

“ The butter industry is not of less importance than that of cheeid. No great amount of skill or expensive machinery is required. When a number of dairies send their cream ft? a factory it is churned and made into fresh butter for Iccal markets, and the inrplns salted for foreign consumers. There is not M» much risk in shipping butter, as there Is

cheeMi, to distant markets. A tnmperafure of fiom 40 to 50' Fahr, would he required One cwt. of hotter would not require moM room in the ve»sel than the same weight i' cheese. The former would realize tn Lon 'on L?, the latter L 4 2». “ Twehty years two, in the United Sta America i’ was difficult to obtain good ; the vilest compound* were sold in New York, and had the appearance and flavour of taßow more than of butter. Now it is difficult to find any hut. fine quality. The revolution is wonderful and can only be accounted for by the improved method of setting the mdk and raising the ci**fcfn by the “ Onley ” or centrifugal processes. These are highly approved of in England, but not generally adopted, owing to the price of the rtpplian ‘es. Many Use Cooley tins for the milk, but make the cold water flow through boxes of their own consfrU'tion. These appliances are exceedingly simple • they need bttle "kill in management, and by their use no person ran fail to procure good sound cream, provided a plentiful supply of cold water is procurable. If nnr cow will give 560 g>i lons of milk in one season, that is equal to 200 lb of buffer, say at h per Ih. it is clear one cow will produce buffer wnrth £lO,

“ Then then is the calf and the pig, worth a’ the lowest, aa’clatinn 1.3. There are rows upon these Islands at the present time whose milk in one year produces 3501 b of butter, after the rate of 2 gallons to lib. The milk on the West < ‘oast is richer in cream than that in other parts of the North Island, the teat-glasses frequently showing 16 per cent of cream.

“ In the North Island it may be found that the centrifugal process of raising cream for but’er will answer best, owing to a possible dfficulty of procuring water sufficiently cool for the requirements of the Cooley process. “ It. will be seen that, in the production of good sound butter, the management of the milk is of the first importance. There are dairies in England at the present time worked upon the old system : These make butter equsl to any made upon the Cooley or centrifugal methods. The plan is exceedingly B’mple. W’hen the milk is drawn from t’ e cow it is heated up to 140 Fahr, before it is set for ere m. This is what is called scalding the milk. By attending to this the unpleasant ani" al odours are expelled from the milk, and the germs which quickly tend to decay are checked ; fun her. it. will be fonnd that lhe milk thus treated will keep longer in hot weather than raw milk set as it comes from f e cow.”

Bacon curing, and the rearing and breeding of pigs is also dealt with : — “ That bacon should occupy such a low position as it appears to do among the produel ions of ihit* colony, both for home consumption and for export, is to be wondered at. This can be only attributed to the ancient and unscientific way in which the business appears to be carried out at present; for if it were conducted in all its branches, as in England and America, by the selection of the right bre» d of pigs, the proper method of feeding, and finally, the curing-process, it would be a simple and easy business to manage, and one certain to be successful. ‘ The main point in bacon-curing is to get the pork properly cooled down before salting, and then to keep it in a temperature of about 40 Fahr, for from eight to twelve davs. If this is properly done success must assuredly follow.”

The pamphlet then explains the best breed of pigs to select from, the beet practical method of feeding and description of feed, and the cheapest and most efficacious methods of curing As a text and guide-book (p all matters connected with dairy farming the work is in valuable, and a copy of it should b« found on the shelves of every New Z> aland settler.