Dairying in Taranaki.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7842, 7 June 1905, Page 4

Dairying in Taranaki.

A GREAT INDUSTRY. HAMPERED BY WANT OF ROADS. SOME FACTS AND FIGURES. (N.Z. Times' Special Reporter.) STRATFORD, June 2. , To appreciate the immense potenti- ' aHties of the dairying industry, and to thoroughly! understand the dilliculbies> under which it labours at present, one has only to visit Taranaki, which i« indisputably the home of th» dairying in New Zeaiand. Descending to detailsi, it can be said without fear of contradiction that Stratford is tho centre that enjoys the distinction of being the hub of the cattle countrj ef tho colony. Sheep are" almost an unknown quality here. Everywhere the cow reigns supreme. Hut the lot of the dairy farmer is ever an arduous and absolutely uninteresting one, and it is not surprising in the face of the enormous difficulties thnt'he has to contend witit from day to day ii he frequently tires of the (ask. and is almost convinced that the best thing to do would be to give up the struggle. Yet they are sturdy men, these pioneers who boldly fight tho wilderness, and one cannot withhold admiration of their tenacity and energy in the interests of self and civilisation generally. Everywhere, around Stratford fact-* ories are thickly studded. It is in the back blocks, however, that the difficulties of carrying on the industry are experienced to the full. " Roads ! is the everlasting cry of the settler. At VVhangainoniona, which is probably the most isolated' dairying centre in New Zealand, over 1000 cows are milked each summer. Last year thd Whangaiinomona factory produced fifty tons of butter. Consider that the cream in tho lirst place has to be carried on pack-horses over many miles of uliirost impassable country, and you will have a small idea of the labour entailed. Theiv is a creamery ivt Whietanga, nine miles from Wliangamoniona, the track for wheeled vehicles hot'woen the two places is only passable in Deceinbes. A well-known resident of this disreict, who is interested in the dairy industry. Stales, (hat if .them were decent roads to Whungnniomona, from 3000 to (jOOO cows would be milked annually in the d/strict. At present the dairy Industry is at the ebb stage in this district. Winter has arrived, and most of the fao lories have dropped down to two working-days per week. The authority referref to previously says there were .'O,OOO cows being milked within a radius of forty miles of Stratford last year, and the sum paid io suppliers monthly amounted to between £30,000 and £40,000. About a quarter of the totai area of Taranaki is still under bush, and it is stated that if the settlers went in systematically for winter feeding, half as many cows again Could be [dealt with.