DAIRY PRODUCE NOTES.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 103, 1 May 1894, Page 2

DAIRY PRODUCE NOTES.

(From Our Special 'Correspondent;.)

London, March 24. The fine open weather which has prevailed during the past fortnight, combined with heavy colonial arrivals and an increased supply from the Continent, has naturally led to a falling away in price during the period. On March Bbh finest colonial wa« a quiet trade at 114s, and weakness sab in with the arrival of the Itimutaka, which veaael'a quantity came in for sale at a reduction of six shillings per cwt. In the following weeks the Valetta and Oruba put on the market 38,274 boxes, and in spite of the lower rango of rates slow trade continued to prevail. During the past week there baa been a further fall, owing to the holidays and the top quotation for colonial is now 106s, a price that has not often been made during the three days preceding Good Friday. The Maori King, which docked on Monday brought her quantity in first-rate condition, but some of the stuff shows signs of having been subjected to high temperature before shipping. In view of thoweakneßsoftbemarket the Shipping Company offered to keep the butter on board until the Easter holidays were over, but to the disgust of several large consignees, who would have been particularly pleased to leave their quantities in safe keeping till the Easter merrymaking had past, one or two minor owners of butter aboard demanded their lots, and to satisfy these people the vessels had to be discharged. The Duke of Westminster, which should have been cleared by this time, is detained, I understand, atTeneriffe, owing to leaky boiler tubes, and her arrival in London is problematical. 1 have been told that she will be delayed in Teneriffe for a very considerable period. It is nod known yet how far her defective boilers will affect the refrigeration of her dairy produce, but if the butters by her suffer ab all it would bo a good thing if matters were so bad that the lob bad to be discharged into Davy Jones's warehouse. >•

NEW ZEALAND'S POSITION. .

I have bo of ben remarked upon the inferior position occupied by New Zealand in the Home butter markets compared with Victoria that I scarce like to salt the sore again. However, it must be done since the mischief arises from causes it is in the power of New Zealanders to eradicate. The great evil ia the improper treatment of butters prior to putting them aboard ship. I have pointed oub again and again that to ensure the arrival of butter in England ia firstrate order ib is absolutely necessary to keep the stuff at a uniformly low temperature from the time of making. This is impossible under the present condition of things, but the impossibility musb be removed if New Zealanders wish to attain the utmost benefit from this trade with the Old Country. Refrigerating cars must be provided on the railways, coasting steamers carrying dairy produce must be fitted up with cool chambers, and at every port there must be cold storage. Where butter haa to be carted any distance, the removing of io should be done either before the sun has thoroughly warmed the atmosphere, or else in the cool of the evening. On a hob day a couple of houra' exposure ia Hufficienb to knock a couple of shillings a box off the value of the best of butter, and in round figures the loss to New Zealand exporters this season, through not observing the primary condition of low temperature prior to shipment, alone is fully £5,000. This indeed, ia, I think, a tery low estimate. Irregularity of quality in factory butter has also been a very serious drawback to the trade, and none of the factories which last season topped tbe market have this year pome up to the standard shown in the season 1892-93, Then, again, the higgledy pigg'edy order of ships arriving with butter from New Zealand has told heavily against the sellers of your butter at this end. To 'alter this irregttturlty 'will require the strongest representation? on the parb of your Government to the shipping companies, and before those representation* can_ fairly be made there must be cohesion amongst exporters. They must one and all agree to a certain range of temperature for their butter and contrive to put the shipping companies in the position ot the P. and O. and Orient lines of knowing exactly the space required in each vessel. In short, you must copy the Victorian system as closely as possible. New Zealand, as you well know, should be at the top of the tree in the Home butter trade, nob in quantity, of course, bub in quality. Bat unless an improvement takes place next season, the "finest jewel in England's colonial crown " will find herself .nob only behind Victoria, but playing second fiddle to South Australia and New South Wales as well. South Australia has sent some very high class butter Home this season, but ib baa been rather badly handled at this end. The exporters cent) ib mainly to three firms, one getting some one week, the other noxb, and so on. Through this, the brands, being held by different firms, competed, each brand against itself. The quantity sent, being small, should have been concentrated in the hands of one agent.

TEMPERATURE,

A deputation, formed of Mr Honry Reynolds, Mr Trengrouse, Mr Henry Gray (Uoey and Co., Ltd.), and Mr Lowe, approached the shipping companies last week on the old subject of temperature of butter chambers. Tneir object waa to especially p'resß upon th« New Zealand Company the neceasity of carrying the butter from the colony at a lower and more uniform temperature than the Company has hitherto achieved. Hitherto, when approached from this side, the companies, though harkening to the deputationists with patience and making a note of their views, have always sent them away with the intimation that the temperature question should be threshed out on the other side ot the world. Bub this time it was shown to the companies that the knowledge of JNew Zealanders as to tho best temperature for the safe qarriage of their bubtera must necessarily be founded- upon tho reports and advices received from consignees at this side. And ifc was shown, moreoVflTj that Mr Reynolds, Mr Lowe and Mi; had made a special study ot the temperature question, and that their experience justified them in epeakingmost authoritatively on tn\|3 subject. Their advice to the companies was fca brief, •• Establish one butter chamber, and"Av?ep it between 20deg. and 30dog."' It has now) I think, been conclusively proved that absoluto Bafety lies between thoße limits. For a long time it was held that freezing would have a very baneful effect upon all but the highest grade butters, but the experience of the past season has shown that second quality butters are nob injured in any way by subjection to the low temperature given above. The question of cheese carriage was briefly touched upon, bub the deputationists, apparontly, agreed to leave the range of temperature as formerly, i.e., from 40deg. to GOdeg. Now, in my humble opinion, this is too low. To my uneducated mind there ecems no reason why, with the improved appliances of the present day, cheese should I nob be carried at a temperature of between 55deg. and GOdeg. We cannot oxpecb the chips to become ripening chambers, of course, but I believe that the refrigerating engineer of the Gothic considers a range of 5 degrees wide enough to work to, and the higher temperature ia much better for cheese than the lower one. Trade in cheese is quite at present. Finest New Zealand may bo quoted 545, with 55s occasionally. Some of the Rimutaka's consignment iias turned pub very fine, bub much of it in too strong to be favourably received on this market