BUTTER AND CHEESE. How Adulteration is injuring the exports of these articles from America.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1591, 14 September 1882, Page 4

BUTTER AND CHEESE. How Adulteration is injuring the exports of these articles from America.

The immense falling off in the export trade of butter and cheese is attracting a great' deal of interest throughout the country. That this decrease is largely due to the fact of adulterations in the manufacture, and because oleomargarine and lard cheese have been disposed of to an enormous extent by shippers to Great Britain and the Continent as genuine butter and milk cheese, is unquestionably true. Dealers in this city have assigned various reasons for the decline in the export of these articles. They say that the season in Europe this year has been a wet one and an excellent one for pasturage, and that therefore the demand for butter and cheese from this country was not so great as it might have been had the season there been somewhat similar to the one experienced here by dairymen. The great drought, they also say, was a set-back to the manufacture of butter and cheese in the United States, and the prices are now too high. While these reasons and many others of a like nature are advanced by the dealers, yet, with scarcely any exceptions, they acknowledge that the shipment of oleomargarine and lard cheese has had much to do with diminishing the export trade in real butter and cheese ; and, while this state of things is deplored by the manufacturers of both the genuine and adulterated articles, none are willing to bear the blame for it. The oleomargarine and lard cheese-makers declare what they manufacture is pure and healthy. They insist that it is properly branded and sold for what it is, and that it is never offered by them under any other than the real name. They frankly admit, however, that when these articles leave their factories the brands are removed by unscrupulous dealers, and that oleomargarine then becomes butter in the foreign market and lard cheese becomes milk cheese. Protests against the frauds perpetrated in the cheese and butter markets have become as common as the air, and as harmless as the bleating calf. Now and then some shipper, who has laid his plans to defraud the foreign market, finds himself stianded witli a large amount of leaking lard cheese, and oleomargarine turned to tallow on his hands, and then renounces the business for a time. In order that the general reader may fully understand the extent of the falling off in the export trade a few figures may be given. During last year the average export of cheese was something over 2,000,000 pounds a week. The average this year is scarcely over 1,000,000 pounds a week. The exports of butter last year averaged about 430,000 or 500,000 pounds a week, while this year the average does not reach 200,000 pounds a week. A large percentage of the article exported is, in fact, oleomargarine, but it is cleared as butter. The export trade in oleomargarine, cleared under its lawful name, is also less than that of last year, but a vast quantity of the stuff cleared as oleomargarine is not in the shape of imitation butter, but is in oil. Oleomargarine is used by butter manufacturers in Germany and Holland and in other countries. One-quarter of the oil is used with threequarters of butter to form an article which is there sold at good prices, and which is very deceptive in appearance. For the week ending November 24th, 1880, the exports in butter were 324,967 pounds j in cheese, 2,094,r)77 ; in oleomargarine, 445,780. For the ■week ending November 23rd, of this year, the exports in butter were 248,630; in cheese, 1,234,760; in oleomargarine, 208,530. To Eotterdam, 270,554 pounds of oleomargarine (mostly oleomargarine oil) was shipped in the week ending October 27th, 1880. To the same place only 135,000 were sent for the week ending November 23rd of this year. —New York Timct>. At the Thames Police Court on Friday, two natives,Pcnhana Kau and Pelia Were, were charged with using obscene language on the Kauaeranga biidge, within the hearing of Mr Wood, storekeeper. This, however, is but preliminary to another serious charge of threatening language. Another native, Henri Puru, was included in the case, but lie had absconded. A remand for a Avcck was granted. L Jcha is a straimt ly vile-looking native, and beais a bad <Ji.u actor. Ah Kenrick, R.M., said that during the past fortnight there had been ,i relies of outrages in the Paraw.u dishict. Houses had been bioUon into and fences torn down. A few nights ago the hou.se of an old lady was broken into, and she and her imbecile son sought refuge at his house m the middle of the night. She was so frightened that she had since left the district. Theie were several other instances of misbehaviour on the pait of natives which he knew of, and he m .is glad to see that some steps had been taken to bring them to justice. He could not understand such conduct. Scrgt. OTJr.uly said that the natives had hud some money lately which they wore spending in drink. A local paper, says Tn<f/<, gives an account of a very intelligent dog in Wiltshire. The animal was in the habit of going every day to the i ail way, and, as the train passed, the guard threw out a Bt<otd«)d newspaper ior n clergyman who lived hard by, which the dog seized in his teeth aud carried to his master. One day the dog came back to the Kectory without a newspaper. On enquiry, the guard insisted that he had acted as usual, but, upon making a search, it was found that a Daily Tdajuiph and not a ISldiidaid had been thrown out, and the dog had refused to have anything to do with it. Tile Tall Mull JUnfyit Elites :— "It is difficult to see what can be done to persuade the Porte to remove its interdict on the recolonisation of Palestine by the Jews. The Sultan does not object to receive as many Jew s as choose to settle in any part of his dominions except in the Holy Land, but for obvious reasons the Holy Land is precisely that part of the Sultan's dominions where the Jews arc most anxious to settle. Some of the Jewish societies have funds at their disposal varying from £'20,000 to £40,000, and if the Sultan would buf give his consent Palestine might be repeopled by the descendants of its former occupants. For some yeai's no doubt ho could squeeze them, much to the benefit of the Treasury at Constantinople, but in time, possibly pi no long time, 'The Jewish Factor in t.ie Eastern Question' Mould begin to trouble the Porte; and the re-establish-ment of the Kingdon of David would fascinate the imagination of Christendom the momeut another Maccabeus drew the sword against the Ottoman oppressor. It may be very shortsighteed, in some respects, to check the streams of Jewish immigrants, which promise to set in towards Palestine, but the Sultau perhaps is taking a longer look ahead than most people think." The French Government have lately brought into use a portable electric light plant for service in the army. It enables a powerful light to be thrown into the fortified positions of the enemy. It is also intended to be used for coast defences. ' The whole pJaut is placed on a carriage, drawn by two Hjnorses. It»is claimed for this invention Ppbat it renders it possible to throw a light ISof 4500 candle power 10,000 feet into the Ifenemy's, position, while it promises to be - useful in making nocturnal explorations,