THE BEST PACKAGE FOR BUTTER.

Wairoa Bell, Volume V, Issue 175, 9 December 1892, Page 3

THE BEST PACKAGE FOR BUTTER.

Mr John Sawers, chief dairy inspector for the Colony, in his evidence before the Agricultural and Pastoral Industries Committee in July last, speaking in reference to the packing of butter said : “ A great deal of trouble arose in regard to the packages, but that difficulty had during the past two years been greatly overcome, and now, comparatively speaking, scarcely anything is used but square boxes, lined with vegetable parchment paper. A light wood is preferred for the purpose of reducing weight, and so transit charges. They use white pine now. They do not require to use totara or other hard and costly woods. All that is now required is simply common white-pine, well dried, and the boxes lined with vegetable-parchment paper. This parchin ent paper is the best material for the purpose for which it is used. It is not expensive. The boxes we use for the butter are Is 4d each, including the vegetable -parchment paper. They are 561 b boxes on an average. Previously the cost of totara kegs and Pond’s boxes at the factories ranged from 3s to 4s fid each. The profit effected to dairy factories through this one item is considerable. The paper is made by immersing a good quality of ordinary unsized paper in sulphuric acid diluted by about half its volume of water. On drying it is found to have assumed a new character, resembling rather that of animal membrane than vegetable fibre, and its strength is nearly doubled. After the immersion it is washed in water, afterwards in diluced ammonia, and if any of the latter remains it is removed by limo or baryta.