NEW ZEALAND BUTTER AT HOME.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4380, 28 March 1893, Page 3

NEW ZEALAND BUTTER AT HOME.

Letter From the Agent-Gen•. eial. . Last month we (N.Z. Times) published a cablegram which the Gofornmont received from the Agent tluneral, stating tlmt farmorg' and mixed butter was unsound, that this rendered the prospects discouraging, and considerably detrimental ! to the trade, and that only the best oreamery butter was a success, The Government have now received the following important letter from the Agent Geberal, which enters fully into the wholo subject ;

''Westminster Chambers, 13, Victoria.Street, London, S. W., February 16th,1893. Sir,—On receipt of your cable on tho 2nd inst,, informing me that complaints had bpen mado as to the arrival of butter in London in an unsound condition, and directing me to make enquiries on the subject. I immediately placed myself in communication with persons able to give me reliable information, and the conclusions I arrived at are as follows

1. That tho early shipments of butter a at the commencement of tho present ' season, with few exceptions, were not ' of the finest quality, the explanation { offered being that owing to the wet t spring in tho Colony tho milk was b poor. Recent shipments have been » satisfactory except for the large quantities of farmers' butter, whion -never arrive in bb good condition as ciea- i mery butter. 2. That owing to the „ large supplies of batter on the market, [ especially Australim and New Zealand, buyers have been mt>ro critical, and have condemned-as unsound, ' butter which in a less full market would have found a ready 'Bale; 8. • That the dairy butter, by which I " mean farmers' butter, mixed lots and i blended butter, in fast all .butter other than creamery butter, owing to the fact that it does rot carry or keep 1 so well as oreamery, is almost invari . ably placed on the market in a con- 1 dition muoh inferior to: croamery , butter, The presence of large qunn- ; tities of this inferior dairy butter in I the market is, in the opinion of the i brokers and experts detrimental to the : trade, as tho inferior quality and large 1 quantity of this butter draws down | the prices of all butter to a low. level and injures the reputation of New Zealand butter generally. In a previous letter I referred to this question at' some length. Tho speculators in the Colony who have bought for export.to this market must, at the prices which have ruled here, have mado very heavy losses, and probably few, it any buyers, will visit the Colony noxt season. The long-standing controversy as to the proper temperature to carry butter is still undecided, hut opinions seem growing in the direction ■ of favouring a low temperature as preferable, but for best quality the present temperature seems to produce highly satisfactory results, although, as you know , some of the best brands are sent home in the frozen chamber. , As I wrote so fully on tho p Fubjeot of the.. butter industry in May last, and collected a large j amount of information from, persons , in the trade, whioli was added to the 1 Appendicos, I do not think it _ necessary to make further otameritß _ now, I am pleased to 'nformjou that the Agent«Ueneral -'w'iMitfi - ' rv:i'< fry.' o ) •W.vl-V. .< 'A 17.VM

Wales, aotiog- on instructions ; from-| his Government, has engaged ah expert 16 draw up an exhaustive report on the dairy industry, and I hope such report will : provo of benefit to all the Australian colonios. Copies of the cables ate attached,-1 have, <fco., W. B, Peboeval,"