Dairy Schools in the United Kingdom.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 454, 15 March 1890, Page 4

Dairy Schools in the United Kingdom.

Dairy schools and travelling working dairies (for teaching purposes) have revoutionized the butter-making industry in Europe. Only a comparatively few years ago, says an American dairy writer, of all butter made probably Danish was the worst in quality, and most unattractive in form, and it found no sale outside the home market. Realising that all the conditions of soils, climate, grasses and water were perfectly adapted to tho production of the finest butter, a low public-spirited Danes began the systematic instruction of the buttermakers (mostly girls) and induced the Government to make appropriations for tho continuance of the work, and although but limited sums have been expended, so much improvement has been made that now Danish butter finds ready sale in the best markets at fancy prices, and as along keepng butter it has no superior. It was not long before the English noticed the change in the quality and appearance of the butter, and being quick to discern the cause, an effort was made to produce like good results by the introduction of this system of instruction into the British Islands.

One of the pioneers of these dairy schools, and ono of the most successful, was established in Munster, near Cork, Ireland, and a later one that has had great influence in making these schools popular, was established at Glasnevin, near Dublin. It is mainly the success ot these schools that has led to the establishment of others both in Eng : and and Scotland. Both sexes are admitted ; but mostly girls become students of butter making, and the demands for instructors and dairy managers is so great that the most efficient students find ready and constant employment. Both of these schools owe much of their success and usefulness to Prof. Thomas Carroll, a most indefatigable worker and a persistent believer in this mode of dairy instruction. The Royal Agricultural Society (soon followed by tbe Royal Dublin Society, and also the next most important Society, the Bath and West of England), saw the advantages of bringing practical dairy instruction to the notice of visitors by the establishment of what are called “ Working Dairies,” and so popular have these become that there is now scarcely an important agricultural show held in the United Kingdom of which a “working dairy” is not one of the leading features.