Rangitikei Advocate. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7, 1909. EDITORIAL NOTES.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9414, 7 April 1909, Page 4

Rangitikei Advocate. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7,1909. EDITORIAL NOTES.

IT is not surprising, that the proposal to establish another freezing company has fallen flat. The farmers have memories of thousands lost in similar experiments, and the shrewd among them realise that business work is more safely conducted by business men than even, by co-opera-tive companies. Business men of coarse do not work for nothing, but any attempt to do without their assistance usually results in greater loss than that involved in payment for their services. Then, again, most co-operative companies have, sooner or later, to come into line with the companies they were designed to supplant, and then the producer is in the same position as before, except that he has invested part of his capital in enterprise which may or may not be profit-pro-ducing. The only thing that could justify farmers in creating yet another company would be if the existing companies were making excessive profits out of them. It has not been shown that such is the case, and it is doubtful indeed if a new farmers’ company could do business so economically as the existing companies, whiohihave the advantage of years of experience to guide them. It has been alleged that the port of Foxton could be utilised for shipment of frozen meat. But even if this port was improved so, that steamers with refrigerating machinery could rely npon getting into it or ont, of it, the meat would have to be transhipped to the ocean boats, involving not only risk, bnt greater cost.

THE report on milk supply presented by Dr. Frengley to Wellington Oifcy Council contains a great deal of matter of interest to dairymen and the public generally. Standard milk according to the Pood and Drugs Act must contain twelve per tent, of solids of which at least 3.35 per cent, must be fat. In other words milk that testa lower than 3.25 may not be sold for human consumption. The addition of water is prohibited, so those who think that they may water down rich milk are liable to prosecution, even though the milk contains 3.35 of fat. Dr. Frengley points out that the standard now demanded in New Zealand, which in many quarters la said to be too high, is that in force in the United States. He also quotes the average results of the analysis of 120*540 samples of milk for the Aylesbury Dairy Company, England, as showing that the standard can be easily attained. These analyses per cent, of solids and 4.1 of batter fat. We may point out that average results of' this kind are of little value, in proving thac the test is a reasonable one. Every dairy farmer would readily guarantee an average through the year of 3.25 or over but he would hesitate to guarantee that in a wet spring when the grass is very watery his test would never fall below 3.25.- In England where cattle are generally stall fed, except in the height of summer, the same difficulty in keeping a high test is not experienced. Dr. Frengley remarks “Cows which will not yield in New Zealand an average fat-test of 3.25 are only worthy of being fattened off or honoured by euthanasian!.” This is a view which has a good deal of justification, bnt it is not as severe as the Act which renders a town milk supplier liable to fine if his herd on one single occasion fails to test 3.25. No doubt milk satisfying this condition can be produoed, bnt the consumer must pay extra for the oare v and trouble involved. Dr. Frengley makes a good point when be"urges that milk for consumption should be bought, as it is at dairy factories, on a batter-fat basis. The vain© of milk as a food depends entirely on the solids dissolved or in suspension, and it is these that ought to be paid for and not the water which forms more than four-fifths of even the best milk. This method of purchase is obviously oat of the question for private consumers, but it is worth consideration where a municipality is proposing to take charge of the milk supply. Dr. Frengley has nothing to say in favour of pasteurisation of milk for human consumption. He considers that the heating required for this process diminishes the food value of milk, especially in the case of infants. He quotes with approval the dictum of a Dpnish scientific man: ‘‘The dealer who pasteurises good milk is a fool. The dealer who pasteurises foul milk is a knave.”

THE greater part of the report is concerned with suggestions as to how the milk supply for Wellington can be improved by action on the part of the City Council and' the scheme recommended,is in brief that the Council should [buy milk from dairy farmers, test it at a central station, and sell it again to tne distributors. The whole problem depends on finance, and wo do not see how the scheme can be carried out on Dr. Frengley’s figures, which

it is onlj fair to say, he puts forward as merely tentative. The District Health Ofiioer argues that in order to seonre good milk it will be' necessary to pay rather more than is paid by dairy factories. Assuming the price for hotter fat at lOd to lid for baiter factories, and Is to Is 2d at cheese factories, he proposes to pay Is 3d for batter fat in milk •bought for the town supply. This works ont at an average for the year of 5d per gallon. If milk can be bought at this price, well and good; bnt we do not believe that it can. At first sight it may seem clear that men who are willing to sell milk to a cheese factory at, say, one shilling for butter fat, would be glad to receive fifteen pence for selling the milk for town consumption. But the oases are not parallel; the factory supplier may guarantee a certain number of cows for the factory but he does not guarantee a fixed supply of milk all the year round as the supplier of a town milk run has to do. Drought reduces the milk supply to a factory and there is an end of it; but a milk run must still have milk, and it is necessary to buy new cows or find more feed for those already being milked. Again the manager of a factory makes no complaint if his patrons bring more milk than the week before, but in the ease of a milk inn any excess of milk lias to be made into butter or otherwise disposed of at a loss. Farther cows naturally tend to calve in spring, and it is by no means easy to provide for a succession of cows to come in just when reqnired. All these points and many others combine to prevent the price paid for batter fat at factories being any guide as to what will be demanded for milk for a town supply. Altogether we have not much hope that the scheme drawn out by Dr. Frengley will prove financially possible, though we cannot but admire the energy and enthusiasm which he has brought to the task of solving the knotty problem.