DAIRYING.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2521, 6 September 1888, Page 3

DAIRYING.

TO THE EDITOR,

—As you have frequently pointed out to the farmers of Waikato in your very able articles on dairying, this district is particularly well adapted for that industry, and that great praise is due to the Freezing Company, and also to Mr H. Reynolds, for the way in which they have helped to develop this industry. So far, I perfectly agree with you Mr Editor, but with regard to the system of buying milk that the forementioned gentlemen have adopted, viz., 2id per gallon of lOAlbs, (the milk not returnable, or if returnable, the suppliers to pay Jd per gallon), and for every additional 2 per cent, of cream Jd per gallon extra, i.e., for 12 per cent, milk 2{d ; for 14 per cent. 3d per gallon, &c., I cannot agree with you for. the following reasons : — First, it places the scrupulous supplier at a great disadvantage as compared with the less scrupulous. To illustrate what I mean, allow me, Mr Editor, to suppose two individuals A and B are each sending 60 gallons daily to a factory. A's milk contains 10 per cent, of cream, B's 14 per cent. A will receive 12s 6d for his milk, and B 15s for his. A's 60 gallons will coutain only 600 one per cents of cream, whilst B's will contain 840 one per cents, or 240 per cent, of cream more than A's, the which for butter-making is equal to 24 gallons of 10 per cent. milk. Thus you will see that B sends sufficient cream to make SlbH of butter more than A, which he ia only paid 2a 6d, whereas, according to the leal value he should be paid ss. Or suppose, Mr Editor, that B saw that he was not sufficiently paid for his extra 4 per cents of cream, he would be able to adulterate his milk to the extent of 24 gallons on every 60 gallons of milk that he sent to the factory, and his milk would still show 10 per cent, of cream, thus instead of being paid for 60 gallons of 14 per cent, milk which would be 15s, he would be paid for 84 gallons of 10 per cent, milk, which would be 17s 6d, or for being scrupulously honest he would loose 2s 6d on every 60 gallons he sent to the factory. A very bad pay indeed for honesty ; or suppose the factory ran 210 days for the season, he would loose no less a sutn than £27 10s. Secondly, that cows which give a high per centage of cream will not (that is the generality of cows) give so many pounds of milk per day, as cows that give a low per centage of cream will, thus the person who strives to get the very Vest of cows, cows that will give a high per centage of cream, is a double loser. Now, Sir, by your permission I will view the matter from another standpoint, viz.. the extent to which the purchaser will be benefited by the forementioned system of buying milk. It is a fact beyond contradiction that 15 per cent milk will produce half as much butter again as 10 per cent milk will. Thus if 3 gallons of 10 per cent milk will produce lib of butter, the same quantity of 15 per cent will produce of butter. And suppose that after every expense of production was allowed for, the butter netted Sd per lb, then 60 gallons of 10 per cent milk will produce 20 lbs of butter, which at 8d per lb is worth 13s 4d. Its cost in milk is 12s 6d. 60 gallons of 15 per cent, milk will produce 301bs of butter, which at 8d per lb is worth 20s ; its cost in milk is 15s. Thus, whilst the purchaser pays only 2s 6d more for 60 gallons of 15 per eent. milk than he does for 60 gallons of 10 per cent., he is benefited to the extent of 4s 2d on every 60 gallons. No wonder that buyers of milk recommend suppliers to keep cows that will give a high percentage of cream, and hold out to them as an equivalent one farthing for every 2 per cent, of cream extra to the 2£d per gallon of 10 per cent. And, thirdlv, that if a person's milk showed Ug per cent, of cream, he would get nothing for the extra Ijper cent, under the aforementioned system. And now, Mr Editor, I expect it is time for me to stop ; but if you will allow me I will in a future issue of your valuable journal place before your readers what I think is a fair aud an equitable way of purchasing milk, as between supplier and purchaser. I am, &c., Equity.

[We invite the fullest discussion on this important question. From the way our correspondent puts it, if 10 per cent, of cream is worth 2id, this equals Jd for each per ccnt., so that he is quite right; every additional per cent, is worth }d, and not half this amount, as proposed to be paid by the factories.— Ed. W.T.]