THE CHEESE INDUSTRY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 178, 18 July 1908, Page 6

THE CHEESE INDUSTRY.

Tins time two years ago the clloes ami butter war was raging in t-li dairying districts of New Zealand. 1 Taranaki especially, the wordy warlar vas carried on vigorously. Jlauv mei n the hind lu-L-aun- suddenly iinbuci i-il.li tliu idea Unit il wuiuu he payabl o convert ilio butler factories" iuli heese manufactories. Others combat i'il this contention; ami thole was : llird section whom we will iluh tin .'aihoa I'arty. Though they uid no ighl so strenuously, it was not on ac oiint of their comparative inucfivit; hat (hey an; here so called, but 'hi casou of their platform being caution lie Tiiihoa parly were undecided as ti he value oi the respective argument dvanccd by the other sides, and so sa own and calmly watched tile weather ock, which they knew to be blown up in and miluenced by,the winds of tin .ondon market. However, the increasi n the cheese manufacture was pheiio nenal. During the past season our ex lorts of cheese increased from 170,37! wt to i!ll,(il7cwt. It is now clear tha hose who urged extreme caution wer ilvocating the wisest policy, in tin leginning we met serious difficulty, fo. niv un orepareduess was a hindrance U he manufacture of good cheese, am he outcome of sending produce othe h;ui the best to the great market* o he Old World British countries is oe 'ions. The rapid increase in the nam icr of factories, the plants of whicl vere replaced by cheese-making ar. iliances, necessitated tlie requisitionini jf men from, say, every six factorie .o do the work in five additional fac ories. Many of the cheese-makinj lands then acquired their experienei t considerable cost to the factories ■)ven Speaking of this season, the aver .go quality of New Zealand cheese can lot 1)0 said to have improved; and ; ihort time ago an expert expresses he opinion that New Zealam -heese was not up to the standard o; he Dominion. This has been relleetei n the reports of the graders in tin arious ports at which our agrieultura iroducts are handled, and in the news rom Loudon. It must be admitted lint the flavours of our exported cheese vere not wholly satisfactory to the inyers. The system of inspection since nstituted should improve matters in his respect. "Openness,"' which was me of the principal defects of New iealand cheese this season, is attnbutdto the manager; but it should not )« overlooked that there i s the possiility of it being due to the milk suplied. However, the hurried introducion of the butter people to cheese man. faefiire must be accounted responsible or the retrogression in the quality of lie cliecse.

Though Hie experiment of suddenly diverting the milk stream into cheese factories in preference to butter factories has not turned .out well for the I'ontry, a. lesson Ims been .learned—n lesson which must, prove profitable in Hie long run. One valuable lesson .has already demonstrated itself; the necessity of greater cleanliness by milkers has been decisively shown, ami this illicit not nave been the case hud but-ter-making been pursued uninterruptedly. The theury is sometimes advanced that labor arrangements considerably all'ect the quality of the cheese output. 11l support, of this contention the Acting Dairy Commissioner (Mr \V. M. Singleton) has expressed the opinion that on the principle: "What is worth doing is worth doing well." Lhe limiting of tile daih* hour* men may be worked in Kie factories has had a' detrimental elVect on the quality of the product, as There is a tendency to have the work <\unied through rather than have the employer billed for over-time. This being a practical and not a theoretical matter, only, those who have actually hart tiien '"weather eye" on things can speak authoritatively. And Mr. Singleton should he one'of the best qualitied. The. shipment of immature or "green'' cheese \ also brought forth unpleasant comment from the knights of the market of the great metropolis. As a suggested improvement tovonr "spring" cheese, it has been advanced by Mr. Singleton that more moisture, should be left in it. In view of the present state of things in the industry there seems a probability that this suggestion"will he acted upon at tin! next opportunity. But, withal, the writer is not pessimistic o! bite fortunes of those dependent oil the industry. Us footing is sufficiently sound, and if would he unreasonable not to look for improvement, in each successive season. Through the holiest co-op-eration of all concerned, and our usual endowment of good fortune—though we must not rest on the latter oar—the industry should in a few seasons be in a wonderfully improved condition in all its phases.—Auckland Star. i