Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 1909. OUR BUTTER INDUSTRY.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4361, 16 January 1909, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News

SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 1909. OUR BUTTER INDUSTRY.

This above all—to thine own self be true , \nd it must follow at the night the day thou cantt not then be false to any man Shakespeare.

In the report of the Dairy Commissioner, (Mr D. Cuddie,) which has been appearing in the columns of “ The News, ” interesting information regarding the causes of the recent high prices |which have obtained for New Zealand butter upon the English market has been given ; and reference has been made to the advantage derived by producer and consumer and alike through the operation of “The Butter and Margarine Act ” of 1907. These reports, coming to us from unbiassed sources are invaluable in enabling us to ascertain the leading facts with relation to our actual position on the Home market, also other facts to possible improvement in the quality of our output, which would of course spell a more secure position upon the market. The operation of the act compelling vendors of butter substitutes to proclaim the character of' the substitute as a substitute, cannot fail to be of benefit to the trade, in that real butter will have only that declared substitute to compete against, instead of having to compete against it under the guise of butter. It may be remembered that some. time ago we gave an article to the subject of the fraudulent sale of mis-called butter, by means of which unscrupulous dealers had been waxing rich. With regard to the high prices ruling on the Home market, Mr Cuddie tells us that it has been in part due to the bareness of the market sending up the prices, and that for the same reason complaints, where they would otherwise have occurred, had not been made. He referred to the practice, which is extending, of butter blending, that is the blending, by large dealers, of various butters, from different countries, and selling them under a name chosen by the dealers. It is estimated by some Mr Cuddie states, that the quantity of New Zealand butter purchased by the blenders and so treated exceeds 50 per cent. This, we submit, is by no means an advantage, . considered from the Dominion point of view. The butter, so treated, loses its oharacter as a distinctly New Zealand product, which is a very undesirable circumstance, in itself. Besides that, however, butter which is merely required for the purpose of being blended with other butters, can not be expected to command so high a figure as butter which is' sold upon the recommendations of its own quality. Mr Cuddie tells us that the “ fishiners ” which is apt to occur in the flavour of all butter which has to be shipped long distances, was more apparent in the butter exported from the | Dominion last year than is usually the case. He suggests pasteurization as a preventive for this, for it is considered that this “ fishiness” is the result of contamiation of the milk or cream. The necessity for the greatest care on the part of those connected with our dairying industry, with respect to .obviating all risk of contamination of butter we have before pointed out, and while we are glad to note Mr Cuddie’s remarks about the general superiority of New Zealand butter, we are anxious to see this staple brought up to such a point of perfection that a much larger percentage of it shall be sold and passed on to the consumer on its own merits instead of first having all the individuality blended out of it. For it will be remembered that only a few months ago, when wool was down, butter was said to be “ carrying the whole of the Dominion on its back,” and our butter is one of the industries for which we are ambitious