LECTURE ON THE NEW ZEALAND DAIRY PRODUCE INDUSTRY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1802, 13 October 1888, Page 2

LECTURE ON THE NEW ZEALAND DAIRY PRODUCE INDUSTRY.

In response to an advertisement which appeared in this paper on Thursday morning inviting all interested in the dairy produce industry to meet Mr Meadows at the Road Board c/fica that evening, a very large number of persons so interested put in an appearance at the time appointed. The meeting was chiefly composed of large landholders, scarcely one 'small farmer being present. Mr W. P#stleth.vaite occupied the chair. Mr Meadows is an expert in dairy product), and has large business connections in America, on the Continent and in England. He his recently come to New Zealand to purchase largely the New Zealand produce which is attracting considerable at-ention at Home, und to eper. up a direct trade between this colony and the Old Country. Mr Meadows hid been asked to lecture upon the dairy produce of New Zealand and the position and prospects of its factoriss. The absence of the small farmers, for whoso benefit the lecture was principally given, was much commented on, the opinion being freely expressed that the apathy which marked their action with regard to a meeting of such importancs as the present, and one which tonched so directly upon their immediate interests, was pro* bab'y in a great measure the cf»use of the failure of the Geraldine Company. Mr Meadows on rising was received with applause, and expresied the pleasure he felt nt being present and being in a position to impart a little information. He would go straight to his subject and tell them first the opinion ef the English public with regard to the produce sent Home from New Zealand. The produce already landed had pleased the English public very much, seme of the parcels landed being as good as any received from America, Canada, or the Continent. There was one drawback to it, however, and that was want of uniformity in the quality. The colonial factories also shipped their produce in such small lots that buyers would not take the trouble£o go through all t he parcels in a shipment to pick out what they wanted. The consequent was that the shipments did not realise their full marketable value. ! Mr Meadows pointed out that the New Zealanders in the South Island had in addition to the Home markets the troducers of the North Island to deal with, and it would take them all their time to hold their own with them. It was useless for them to attempt this competition unlfss they could place upon the Knglish market a uniform quality of produce. He had seen produce in Auckland and the North Island that could h>ld its awn with any foreign article. If they could send Home such an article re.ularly they need not be afraid of any competition. He had been very favorably impressed with what he had so far seen of New Zaaland. England itself could not boast of better pasture landf, and the cows fed on such land should yield the finest of milk and cream for dairying purposes. It rested with Ihe factory men themselves to turn out an article that would command the top price at Home. Speaking of cheese and butter for export, he would point out that it was entirely diff-rent to making for local purposes. The sooner they dismissed from their minds the requirements of the local markets, and only took into calculation what, was most likely to command a goad and ready m trket io the Old Country, the better. England, he stated, paid a fabulous sum to the Continent annually for butter. A good proportion of this should be attracted to this colony if the right course of work was adopted. This, however, would only result from what he had already explained. The matter demanded their most serious attention. Not only was their welfare affected, but that of the whole colony, and suoh a market would v provide an outlet for some of the richest produce of the colony. They had the opportunity of commanding the highest prices ic the English markets, and they could very soon do so if they would only attend to the advice he had given them. He found that the farmers of the Golony did not study the matter from a business-like point of visw, and were not by any means so much alive to their own interests as he should have expected. They wore remarkably backward in supporting the dairy factories, and he was sorry to hear that a great many of them tampered with the milk they supplied to the factories. In view of suoh a fact it was not at all surprising that the cheese nude from such milk should be of a quality that would not sell well in the Home markets. It was no doubt,in a measure due to such cheese that the reputation of the colony had been injured. There was only ono true way to obtain the desired result, and that was to work up the cheese to i uniform quality, equal to that sent over from Canada and America, and of sending 1 it Home in such quantities that it would be looked for. The only way to obtain this result was for the factory companies in the colony to join on the co-operative principle, similar to that in existence in Canada and America. To carry out this system properly necessitated the various factories combining and forming a Board to studj the state of the markets thoroughly, keep up the quality of the products, and send it Home in such quantities as would ensure its just attention* In Canada the farmers .vers «ide awake and knew the state of the markets to a nicety, and the New Zealand farmers would have to be the same if they did not wish to be left hopelessly in the rear, Want, of unity in the matter among the colonials was their weak point, and was the great cause of their non-auccess. Ha (Mr Meadows) was deeply interested in the produee trade, and would advise them to ascertain carefu'ly the requirements of the English markets before exporting, and then, having done so, let them go in thoroughly and turn out the best article they were capable of producing. If this were done success was certain. Such an article would be readily purphased at Home. The qJd system of farmers working away at cheese and ''airy produce by th maelves was a very bad one, and far behind the times. Under such a system nothing was to be expected but the production of a mixed sample of product. At Home such produce was simply disposed of for what it would fetch, whidi he could assure them was very little indeed. The merchants in London knew to a nicety what the quality required was, and the farmers should do the same. He was quite willing to take all their produoe if it was up to his standard. With regard] fo the formation of factories and the, erection of werks, the great mistake with many companies was slatting to build before sufficient capital

had been secured, »nd more particularly bafore they knew what support they were likely to get from the farmers aod milk suppliers in the district. He knew that many of the factories in the colony had bsen closed simply because they had gone to work before they knew what they were about. They oo'y seemed to" realise that, ihey had started before they were ready when they f uind themselves hopelessly in debt. One of the _very best safeguard! for a company wag '6 have a cheesemaker who understood ht*B buiiness thoroughly! la America the cbeesemakers got no salary but were paid by way'of commission, say, »bout one penny per pound on the cheese they made. His hearers might imagine that a man so situated would do hit very best to made the cheese aa good as pos'ib'le, especially when he knew that in the event of failure a fine and possibly dismissal would eneue, Prefection in oheeiemaVing, as ia many other things could only be obtaioed by constant ap plication combined with oleanHnest. With regard !o packing butter he did; not think ihe New Zealauders could improve much upon the kegs of about 70lbs at present in u c e. One point however required 'attention. The dry salt should not touoh the butter. Muslin should be placed between the salt aud the butter, and the kegs should previous to picking be well steeped in brine. The question of freezing butter had been considerably discissacl in the rewspapera, hut he was quite satisfied in his own mind that freezing the butter damaged it. The Yankees were pretty cu'e in such matters, but he never heard of them freezing their butter. He hard'y thought it possible to fretss butter that had been; properly made, even with ten or fifteen degree! of frost, if it was well made »nd was perfectly dry. It was very easy- to freeze cheese, but that simply meant ta ruin it. The people in the colonies seemed to have but little idea as to what the English m irket required. If the colonials would make and send Home cheese without flavour, but of a good rich quality, he was sure aa good a price would bs obtained for it as was being obtained for the American article. N»w Zealand produce, he could assure them, was in great favour in England, but the quality of the article supplied would have to ba kept up to a high standard if it was to compete with the American and Jontineotal articles. He would again impress upon his hearers the folly of sending Home product in small parcel*, as that was only courting disaster.

Mr Meadows sat down amidst loud applause, and the chairman intimated the villingness of the lecturer to answer any questions that those present felt disposed to ask him.

In reply to questions Mr Meadows said the size of cheese most acceptable in the English market was übout 651 b or 701 b. The system of paying the oheesemakew in America was at per lb. The more cheese and butter they made the better their remuneration. Certain cheesemakers were unobtainable unless a faotory whs manipulating a certain quantity of milk per day. borne of the factories had such an excellent reputation for a uniform quality of cheese that it was not requisite to see the cheese. He was not aware that cheese made before December, when there was a great deal of grass in New Zealand, wou'd not sell as well in the London market as that made in the other part of the year. He had seen some butter made in New Zsaland that he would send Home all the year round if he could get it. ;j MrPpstlethwaite thought the Australian buyer who msde the statement with regard to the butter from the early spring grass must have been in error, ,88 be himßelf had sent several suoh parcels' Heme, and it had been pronouncedexcellent. He thought New Zealand must produce as aood anartiele as was made at Home or on the Continent, or else they had better keep it in New Zaaland. ■■-*- Mr Meadows believed in packing the ohesse in baskets. This style of packing he had heard spoken of very well indeed. Next to this was the oetagonal boxes containing three cheeses with a piece of wood between each to prevent the chees»< touching. Cheese requires 1 one coel ohamber to be sent home in, aod butter anether, they would never ride together. The proper temperature for the butter chamber was about 40 degrees. The Zealand cheese was about three months old—two in transit and one at the factory—when it arrived Home, as compared with the Canadian, two weeks on board .ship and five or six at the faotory., Putting cheese icte too oold a ohamber would'injure it. A temperature that suited butter damaged cheese. Although cheese might be put on beard a little new it got a considerable amount of shifting about going Home, which was of great advantage to it. The principal thing when the weather was good was plenty of air. The warehouses in England were all opened up for ventilation whei the weather was favorable a few hours per day. The taking ef ohesse Home required t deal of; attention, the same as live cattle. Cheese was property the same as stock, and a man should be sent Home with it to see that it was properly attended to on the voyage, and to insist on the temperature being maintained at between 50 and 55 degree J. There was a greater demand for butter in the English market during winter than for cheese. There was a greater consumption of the latter in summer than in the winter. The Continental makers of dairy produce worked the articles up to a marvsllous degree of excellence 1 and uniformity. Some of the Normandy produce was so good as to be ordered and sent on without the cases even being opened. They were wonderfully clever at dairying, but he had tasted better in Auckland. A small amount of colouring was useful sometimes. It should be regulated by the quality and quantity of the grass. When grass was plentiful the butter was of a proper colour, which nas about that of a common butteroup. When it was not, the colouring should be mixed to keep it about that colourj The English factories were not worked upon . the co-tp«rative principle. Many of the j families! had large numbers of cows, and bad been cheesemakers for generations. In many instances in New Zeeland, tke farmers were not farmers at Home, and had to learn their cheese and buttermakiog as best they might since taking up the land. Mr Meadows asked if anybody had anj thing to B*y against the co-opera-tive principle. . Mr gaid the fact was—the farmers of the district wanted every- - thing dose for them and they to pocket the money, The difficulty 'was to con-

vince the farmers that the co-operative principle was the beat. i Mr Meadows asked how the farmer? ware going to get paid for their cheese before it was sold if they made it themselves. Mr Coltman said there was not a dou>n but that the ca-operative principle w, the best for the farmers, but the difficulty was to get the farmers to see this. To work a faotory npon the co-operative principle, precluded the taking iD of the. business men of the place, and these were the men who had' bean of the grealent assistance by taking up shares. J.Jo thought it would be impossible to got th* milk suppliers of the district to woik on that principle. Mr Postlethwaite could not see why th* farmer should want to be paid for hitmilk before it was turned into cheese aod ■old. No man expected to be paid fo> his wheat before it was raised and sent to market. Mr Meadows pointed out that there was a time wheß the Canadian producers were In a rery needy condition, aed now thoy wore in a capital finanoial position. Mr Postlethwsite said the one great trouble with most industries in Ntw , Zaaland was that they did not start witl. suficieot capital. Mr Meadows said tbe Canadians madr a great many blunders at first, and gome of the factories had to shut up, but other' people took them up. The che»semakers increased, youag men were taken as apprentices, sometimes with and sometimes without a premium. It was found to ba a profitable calling, and when a young man got on and was able to make, say, 50 cheeses a day (at, say, Id per lb, he waedoing very well. The greatest distance they sent (be milk to the factories in Canada was never more than twelve miles, [t was sent in by road. The milk was sometimes tested. The cheeseraaker was rerporsible for the quality, and was very careful about it. In reply to a very suggestive question by Mr Poatltthwaite as to what was done with a person who was found taking the cream from the milk, Mr Meadows said that the first time he was spoken to about it, and perhaps let off with a fine, The second time he was cleared right out, and branded as a thief and rogue. (Hear, hear. Quite right, too.) Mr Meadows went on to say that the milk came to the factories twice a day, even when driven ten miles. Sometimes on Sunday's it came once a day, but not i in the very height of the season. This, however, was eiily for a shert time, Tho factories closed up about the middle of Ootober. They never kept open till November. That was equal to about April or May in New Zsalaod. The milk that j came in at night was made up at night, J not kept till morning. The factories also , kept a large number of pigs, which were , ■old to pork-packers, and yielded a very i profitable revenue. They utilised their i whey for the purpose of feeding these

pigs, running it away in pips* to a piggery ' gome distance off, and, with the addition of a little Indian corn, fattening up a large number of pigs very rapidly. He bad found more energy in the people there than in New Zealand. Tbey worked very hard, and were up and bad their breakfast by half-past six, and worked a great many hours per day. The formers were also better poited ia things generally. The factories had boards, and these boards had their cable messages, and the price of cheese in the London and Liverpool markets was to be ascaitained at any time and ducidod th< farmers whether to sell their cheese or Dot. Sometimes the boards dsoidsd to sell the cheese at a certain price only, and whea this was done they never want below it. The four or fire factories In thu Geraldine aid surrounding districts were sufioient to form a board. Mr Moore thought toe co-operation of of factories upon a large scale was what was wanted, so as to deal successfully with the shipping companies, which at present treated shippers almost as ttrn companies liked. One of the great difficulties was the shipping Heme. They sever knew at wh»t temperature th» cool chamber was kept while the cheesa was on board. , Mr Postlethwaite said the great thine: •' was to have a nniform qiality of cheese to begin with before is got on board. Mr Meadows said this was essential to ] success. Mr Postlethwaite sfcid tbey must cooperate, and then get a good cheesemaker. Mr Meadows said they would not get a good cbeesemaker wit boat they cou'd guarantee him a certain amount of milk. He did not know at what temperature the cool chambers of the steamers were kept when geing Home. He knew for a fact that the cool chambers of the Tainui upon her last voyage Home had been seriously neglected,—the perabu in charge of them had neglected both them and the eugines. Coming out, the head engineer had taken ibe matter up quite seriously, and Mr Meadows found . that ameng other changes it had been made part of his duty aod responsibility to look after these chambers. Mr Meadows thought they could never expect to be successful unless they could fix the gNpoasibility on some one, If they wen going to let the companies take cheese without any responsibility whatever, they might spoil tbousonds of pounds worth of cheese and ruin the factories. He should not insure the cheese in New Zealand, but if shipping Home would lake out a ' floating policy at Lloyd's for, say, £50,000, ; . and as each shipment went Home so much would be written off. Mr Postlethwaite pointed out that odo great difficulty in the vrny of the factory was that farmers considered 2|d : per] gallon for milk did not pay. In many ' ether districts tbey. only received 2d to ( 2jd, but no factory paid 2£d. The ■'' farmers' contended that it did not pay the in to milk cows at that price. -' Mr Meadows pointed out that the mora

they could get to lend in milk the better it would pay everybody. He also pointed out the time occupied, and the incou ▼enience caused every fwmer's wife making her own cheese, when one man at a factory could do the whole thing and /product a marketable cheese that would command buyers. He considered butler • could be overworked, in which case the grain was destroyodj and the. butter r became of no oily or lardy nature. With regard to packing butter it was found best for the salt not to touch the butter. Dry salt should be put at the bottom of the package, then a thin piece ot muslin, then the butter, and again, on top, a piece of rnusiln, and the dry salt oo the top pi' that. Thoialt, however, must be per-

feet y (iry. Th •• puckagiv wou'd need to be propoiy tonkft'l in hrino to prepare it. Mr Pos'itfth .vaito here exp'»in»'d the position in which the Ger,*'clino Company found itself, llib cffn'is nudo by the iireciwiM, J.io in inner in 'Hrch Lhey had 1 involvui l.ln;rii.-.elvps in ■■ ndea-eoriiig to carry on tii« iin.-ustry, ,\: i-; he inducement '.huy hud lin-d <'Ui, to tlie th'ueliolders to come forward and bear their sharo of the burdeo. lie regretted that ao few milk suppliers v.-ero present that evening. The laitiii' imidt understand that thoy were not going to get. 'ill the benefit. The directors wfcre CBu.din thai the price obtainable iu she Louioi m.vket woulti not allow of the brij.v j.ri d for the r«w material t.hnt hnd hiih&i u; b*«n paid. M-vy of ih<-> milk supp:ier« hud made us much as £5 P'-r cow por unman whea tho fbdoiy flrsi started, iiuii ih«yii)unt be «sll aware that tbe price obtained for tho sheene did not warrant the company going ou m that rate. Thi-se persons who had itcivoil the

benefit should now cotru forward m<d help the divpctors to carry on tie industry fur the benefit of the district. (Hear, hear.) He again regretted that more milk suppliers were not present, Had they been there and heard the remarks of Mr Meadows they would have had ample food for reflection. If they were afraid to accept the directors' offer, and to ootae to the front and help forward au industry that had been started for their special benefit, they oould not expect the direotors to carry on the factory. The milk supplier! should hare been present and have heard of tho condi ion of man in Canada who knew what business was, and who oould calculate to a nioety the prospeoca of the market. He believed the best eduoatiou the people of New Zealand could get was to know how to oonduct a batineis properly. Had Che farmers bsen present they would in all' probability hare come to the meeting on Wednesday next prepared to push the oompany along. He mentioned the faot that tho last shipment of cheese had realised no less than 56s per owt. Mr Meadows said this was about the highest p'ioe obtained for New Zaalatid j cheese. When leaving Home a shipment j had just come to hand from Now Zealand,] wd nis ftem told him to send as muoh of j that olaee artiols as he oould. It was a good j oort, and Mr Postlethwaite said the New Zealand companies required eomeooe who knew what was wanted iu the London me,*k6t, and knew how to mako it. They oould then sell their produoe in tho colony und recsivo their money before it was shipped. "He proposed a herttty votes of thanks to Mr Mondo*a foe his attendance (.hit evening, ,<.ud for giving them the benefit, of the knowledge it had taken hira thirty-six years to acquire. (Applause). I'he prupositioa was seconded by Mr W. M. Moore, who expressed the regret ho i«jt at seeing fiQ faw farmers present, He hf*d been losing faith in the farmers of New Zaaland for a long time. Ho was inclined to think they were afraid they wouid hoar bo many home truths that thoy Btayed away that eveni-'jg. He referred t-> the first shipment of chotse sent Home by the Ghirt»ldino company, wbic'". was taken special care of by Lhe ongioiier 01 the boat, although not his duty, and rcuobed Homo in splendid condition. I'ho *econd, which was neglected, was ouinplefcely destroyed, thus showing that the shipping oompanics were to blame for a great deal of the loss sustained by the Geraldine company. The vote was oarried by acclamation. Mr Meadows, on rising to acknowledge the rote, said ic had given him great pleasure to be. present and give what litt la ..information he could. The farmers, he mgued, must be tiuiinees men tie well as farmers. It was eviaeut lo him 1h.13' produoe o,' New Zaaian i aaueS consist g;eat:ly of butter and oheese, if they did tot g*t vo the b&oon industry. In America that «ss very large, and the killing «nd curiiig wont on ull through tho sammar owing to tho imuae&so stores of ice they oould l*y up dining the winter months, His firm wereageuts tor Messrs Armour and 'Jo., of Chicago, who killed no less than 1,250,000 hogs annually. AH this had grown out of iao oheaae and batter indastry. It ras atranged that Mr Meadows should lecture in Teniuka on the same »übj»ot on his return from the south in about three weeks time, and the meeting terminated.