FORTY YEARS AGO.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 February 1920, Page 2

FORTY YEARS AGO.

ADVANCE OF "DAIRYING. INCmASIJD PRODUCTION URGED. Some'interesting particular? of the progress;of the .dairying industry in ■TaraiMiki,: were-given'by Mr. W. Rich-; ; ard6,: : .c|ial?man,. of the Cardiff Co-opera- 1 tive.rDairy'iCotnpany, in. responding to the,toast of-'"The Dairy Industry," at -the 'social gathering held by the" Strata ,'ford Jersey Breeders' Association on Friday night. Mr. Richards said that' when he first settled in Taranaki, in' >lSßl,.Biost of the country was in standing bush, and there were very few cows .about,, except wild ones. Gradually the' ;bush was felled, cleared, and dairying ; was taken up, .but in those days dairy-i jjng was a vastly different matter from what it was to-day- At that time the' dairymen had to depend on ibe stpre- : keeper entirely and they received very .little, for their butter and nearly always, had to take groceries and goods in icxchange—very little money passed between them. ■ "I am not blaming the storekeepers fpi- that," added Mr. Richards. "They probably paid us as much as the produce was worth at that time. Later the butter and cheese factories came and then the refrigerators and the freezing works, and our present prosperity is mainly due to these two factors. Without them wo could not be in the position we are to-day. I remember the days when we received as low as: Od a pound for our butter, but I remember also when we paid,only £1 an acre for land, and it cost only £1 an acre to sow in grass. Now it casts us four times .as much to sow an acre, and land costs a great deal more, but the dairyman deserves all he gets out of it. I know there are some who won't agree with me there, but I advise all those who disagree to get on the land and try it for themselves."(Applause). "Lately we have been hearing a good deal about the need of increased production," said Mr. Richards. "Well in my opinion, it is well called for. The average yield of butter-fat as far as I can remember is from 150 to ISO lbs per annum If all cows gave as much as Sultan s Daisy" (9881bs) the country would have untold wealth- (Laughter). Production must be increased or, I am afraid, there aresome people whose profits won't be sufficient to meet their expenses. The main lesson we can learn from to-night's- gathering is that the production .must be increased. It will be to the benefit of the dairymen, for the benefit of the Dominion, and probably the Empire, to aim at increased produc- < Hon. for therein lies, the secret of our future prosperity." Mr. Richards Concluded by the hope that the dairymen'of Taranaki would take the hint from Mr. O'Sullivan'g success, and trv to do likewise theinstlvfla.