STORING BUTTER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 65, 3 August 1912, Page 8

STORING BUTTER.

To the Editor. Sir, —Appearing in your valuable paper to-day (August 1) you give some very interesting figures with reference to the quantities of butter in cool store on July 31, also showing the quantity which was stored on July 31, 1!) 11, the respective totals being: July, 1012, 27,2,50 boxes; July 31, llill, 4717 boxes, making an extra quantity held in cool store of 22,563 boxes more than was stored last year. Now, Sir, can you inform the public who will have to pay the big fancy prices for their butter during this season why this butter is allowed to be stored by dairy companies, speculators, and those who love to see high prices paid by the butter consumers in New Zealand, who have quite enough to pay for bread and all other necessaries without being forceiTto pay through the nose for the practically natural product of New Zealand? Personally, I think that when butter companies get such fancy prices from the English consumers all the year, such as they 'have received during the past season, that they ought to be I (satisfied to allow their 'butter to lie sold j during the winter months at a reasonI able price, instead of storing so much butter to force us to pay these big prices. Just fancy what people would say if all this butter belonged to one man! Then they would say it was a butter ring or trust, and he would be promptly asked to stop cornering the butter market, but if it is a few dairy companies who store the butter and keep it scarce and dear, it .seems all right. No one notices it, and they .pay out their Is 3d per lb and feel pleased that they have helped the farmer instead of tv "butter bull." Tn conclusion, it appears to me that these butter-holders are going to "fall in" this year, and as cows are now coming in again, a lot of this stale butter will be shipped Home, and our new Minister for Agriculture may be asked to look to the quality of New Zealand butter this coming season, because if he were doing his duty at present he would see that this butter was moved out of store at a reasonable price to the consumers in New Zealand.—l an), etc.. SKIM-DICK,