The Bush Advocate. TUESDAY, JUNE 20. NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE.

Bush Advocate, Volume IX, Issue 794, 20 June 1893, Page 2

The Bush Advocate. TUESDAY, JUNE 20. NEW ZEALAND PRODUCE.

« Some important information as to the headway whioh our produce is making in the English markets is contributed by the well-informed London correspondent of the Christchurch Press. As to our frozen mutton, and the favor with, whioh it has come to be regarded, he says: — 'Fresh proofs are constantly coming under my notice that New Zealand mutton is more winning its way in the English market ; in its own name I mean, and not under the false disguise of some well-known ' English designation. Happening a few days ago to be at Eickmanworth, a quiet little town of about 5000 inhabitants, some twenty miles from London, l was struck by seeing in the line of small shops one bearing the inscription in large red letters on a white board, ' New Zealand Mutton.' I entered into conversation with the manager, a very intelligent man, who told me that this was only one of some 200 shops established in various parts of England by Messrs W. and E. Fletcher for the sale of New Zealand meat. He said the prejudice against frozen meat was steadily dying away even in a small place like that, where prejudices are proverbially strong, and that all the New Zealand mutton they had 'went off splendidly,' commanding a large and ready sale. No difficulty was experienced in the thawing, and people who once tried it became regular customers. Two superb carcases of New Zealand mutton were hanging outside the door, and might have tempted the most prejudiced to buy and taste. My informant told me that they rendily sold the meat retail at 5Jd to 6^d, the latter price being givon for legs and loins.' The correspondent's remarks on the butter trade go to show that in this industry, at any rate, the question, ' What's in a name,' can be easily answered. He writes: — 'In butter, as I remarked last week, the season is over in England, but much useful information is obtainable as to the trade and its prospects. I had a long and interesting chat lately with Mr Eeynolds, of one of the largest London firms dealing in New Zealand dairy produce. Ho told me that while a small — very small — proportion of tho New Zealand butter was of bottor quality than tho bost Australian, there was a far larger proportion of tho best quality in the Australian ship* ments; indeed only 15 to 20 per cent of tho Now Zealand shipments were proporly up to the mark. It was no use, ho said, sending ' farmers' butter to the London market, and expecting good prioes for it. So long,' he said, las Now Zealand continues to send Homo ' farmers' butter ' so long will the trado be a failure It must be factory butter, only you must not call it 'factory butter,' for in London by that is understood tho sort of cheap mado up butter, composed of all sorts of inforior materials, or oven margarine. No, it must bo called ' creamery ' butter ; that is what in England we call the butter made nt dairy factories. This is very important. It greatly affects tho salenbloness of tho product. Eemombor, it must be ' croamery ' butter to sell well in London.' Talking with some oxports on tho question of tho colonial dniry industry, they impressed upon me the need of tho Now Zealand producers clearly understanding that their butter should be as dry ac possible — that is to say that as much of its water ns can bo got rid of should be extracted. It has been observed that somo of the best New Zealand butter has only 10 . per cent of witter. This represents a vory high

standard of excellence, as the recent conference of dairy experts agreed that isO per cent of water was admissible as a maximum proportion. Still the bulk of New Zealand butter contains much more, and so acquires a bad name in the market as being of relatively poor quality. One sample of. New Zealand only yielded 9J- per cent, a remarkable result.' While it is gratifying to learn of the increasing demand for our mutton, it rather takes the edge off our satisfaction to read that Australian shipments of butter have a far larger proportion of best quality than do the shipments from this colony. The success attending the frozen meat trade has been largely duo to the fact that the business is too large for individuals to enter into, and it is controlled by companies whose direct interest it is to see that all its exports are of prime quality. It is to be feared that the standard of quality which can and should bo maintained in our exports of butter will not be realised until the manufacture is carried on solely by factories. A factory cannot afford to export a single shipment of butter of inferior quality, for this reason it is satisfactory to find that dairy factories are being established all over the colony, and they cannot fail to conduce in great measure to the welfare of those concerned in the dairy industry.