Timber for Butter Boxes.

Progress, Volume XVI, Issue 11, 1 July 1921, Page 258

Timber for Butter Boxes.

EXPERIMENTS IN AUSTRALIA. Experiments that he had made for the manufacture of butter-boxes from Victorian timber was the subject of the remarks by Dr. T. Cherry, formerly Professor of Agriculture at the Melbourne University, when addressing members of the 28th Annual Conference of the Australasian Butter and Factory Managers and Secretaries’ Association. He said that it was well known that the price of butter-boxes had been increasing. Substitutes which had been tried were not successful, and much money had been spent to overcome the tainting of the butter when certain timbers were used for box construction. He had commenced his experiments with pinus insignis, and had overcome this obstacle

by a process of steaming the wood and applying a coating of paraffin inside the box. When the butter was examined six weeks after being placed in the box no odour or flavour was perceptible. Dr. Cherry therefore contended that it was safe to use the timber under his treatment.

Mr. R. Crowe (Superintendent of Exports), said that he had seen boxes used for packing butter that were unsuitable. Strong, untainted boxes should be used to prevent the export butter trade from falling into disrepute. —Nelson Mail.