PRODUCERS' ASSOCIATION

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 40, 9 August 1911, Page 7

PRODUCERS' ASSOCIATION

HOME REPRESENTATIVE'S INVESTIGATION'S. The Home representative of the New Zealand Producers' Association (Mr. P. J. Shelton), writing to the secretary of the Association from London, under date June 21, makes the following suggestions:— CRATING THE CHEESE. , "Watching the landing of a large quantity of chese at the docks, I saw a number of crates broken as they were coming from the hold, and a still further guaigtjty brokpn while being landed, ilio <5«, being handled after landing. "I came to the conclusion that the staves, of which some were of inferior quality, being knotty and brittle, were not strong enough to carry the weight without better support. Some of the crates were bound round with wire stapled on, which is better than, nothing, but the wire has no proper grip on the staves.

"I would suggest, that a narrow strip of soft band iron, about %'m to %in wide, should be neatly nailed on with one nail through each stave, top, centre and bottom, which would bind the whole together and strengthen the lot, and so reduce very much the number of broken cases and damage consequent from same. "Staves, centres and ends should all be of good quality to avoid splitting and breaking. In some cases I saw fully two or three inches spare space in crates. The cheese should be of uniform size and the crates should be of uniform size, so that each will hold two exactly. This would make better stowage and less liability to damage. "If the centre-boards were fastened to the staves with the iron band round it would keep the cheese better in position in the case, and the whole case would become solid, and its contents less liable to damage. The end of the bands should be in the hollow between two staves to avoid their being torn away or catching against anything. I have submitted this to Mr. John Lovell, of Messrs Lovell and Christmas, who approves of the suggestion made."