THE FARM INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 173, 15 April 1908, Page 2

THE FARM INDUSTRY.

A NEW SPECTRE.

BUTTER WITHOUT BORAX. MILLION AND A HALF AT STAKE. ,The British demand for butter without, pre-servatives-strikes the New Zealand butter industry at its very foundations, i Borax, has been at the bottom.of our butter boom ever since wo first began climbing up to' a position of consequence in the British market, and if that preservative is struck away it ! is difficult to see what props can bo substituted to keep the industry up. : " ' : - ,The threatened British regulation forbidding the importation of butter containing preservative is not '.yet in actual operation upon shipments but it is promised for tho very near future; and Australia has asked to be given due " notice -" before it,is applied. It is;probably correct to say -that' air the butter exported from. New Zealand (as well as from Australia) contains a perservative. Boracic acid is tho usual effective ingredient of the preservatives used, and the quantity applied is by common custom of the industry limited to a half pound of boracic acid to lOOlbs. of butter. Attempts to supply the London market with " unpreserved " - butfer havei always failed., Butter without presen*atives won't keep', in' spite of cool storage.. The - butter -eaten in -Wellington -contains boracic acid—riot, perhaps, because it' is always) necessary, but because , makers hayo never, seen the need of making, aijy distinction in manufacture between butter for Home and butter for the local grocers. • Butter without borax may be easily possible for the local sup-, plies, but_ butter without borax is held to be a tantalising impossibility for the Home mar-, kot. ' Our. butter-has to be sold in London when it is two months old., This new spcctrb on the dairying horizon may easily result in the local markets occupying • a ' higher place in tho esteem of the producers. -But that is a very'small light upon the cloud that may bo gathering. ' ' Pasteurising has been tried as an experiment, and it is the general result-that , butter from pasteurised cream keeps, better than that from cream, that is not pasteurised. But that pasteurising can save the New Zealand butter industry from melting away, before the threatened-'; new regulation has yet to.be demonstrated. New Zealand-butter has reached a stage of excellence, that makes its value only a few shillings per cwt.- less than that of Danish butter, the best in the .world. Australian butter comes'two shillings lower, wid then follow the,butters of Siberia;- Argen-. ,tine, Canada, and other countries, all noarer to Britain than ourselves: It'would be possible, if; preservatives are barred, for thesei hearer neighbours to oust us from the British; markets. One hoars ; South Africa-, Japin, and the United States spoken of sometimes as possible outlets, but for an industry of tho dimensions of our butter industry tiie world j contains' but one market—England. ' South | Africa is already building dairy factories, and becoming an agricultural country; we should ba met in America by Canadian butter;"and ■in Japan they like butter that is cheap. ' What, then, could be done to save this butter -industry of: ours, which-has. an annual tumovor of .over a million and a : half pounds sterling? In the first place,-the demand'for. direct shipments would become acute, • par-ticularly.-in the minds of the Aucklanders, and. speed would become a matter of the greatest possible .concern in the liners; employed. The. -use of the proposed AU-lted route suggests it-self-to the.mind, but only for-a moment.. Though' time would bo saved, : the. freight would..be'much greater;';.and the thawings en''route would, do more - damage "' than/.the quibkness of.traiisit could compensated Pasteurising' would' doubtless bo exploited; to its full;-capacity, and *the' f ;ljvg|^i^^b'e; ! 'oKtho past"would become! a- harassedjTiuntetf jindi-. vidual.;-The,,local markets t would" bo f nlirsed joy- to; tho housewife'..-' But the chief escape from' the trouble in.Hhe future seems; to;, be in tho direction of a greater "output of fcWese. Cheesemaking; is already, the most 'profitable, use fori.milk, polids,,;and ,if ■ the., chango ; to cheesemaking ...be' 'bptj top.'.''&iTers4l..\'iii'v-;tho dbiryirig /countries of, the world^ there* ought 'to be salvation" in that haven. Deyelopments will bo. awaited with the - most.' intense .interest;.; .. - ,v'; AN.' AUSTRALIAN VIEW. GROCERS LIKE. PRESERV-ATiyES::' •; The Melbourne ".Age":', sayslf the British Government puts a stop , to the .use of preservatives in butter, , as,according , to,, our cable .message, is rumoured;,in Lonaon, the consequences will be. of great importance •to the' butter-ma king;'. industry throughout the worldi and especially .in Australia and. New Zealand, the most distant,- sources - of supply for the English market'. , ; In considering- the. question, the .-English, Govern--, ment, doubtless' gives first place; to the,, interests/if British consumers; Mr. Tavorner has acted properly in asking ,for reasonable, notice of chango: .The experiment of shipping.- Victorian butter}■ to London without preservatives has- been tried,' but- thc results' are not regarded as ' very-' satisfactory,, as : the' butter' soon loses its ■ condition aftor being opened on arrival. ;■ The experiment has also been-tried''in the l Melbourne local - market, ; and' opinion ! amongst:'the', grocers as to-tho-results,-is divided.- Thestandard under tho Victorian Pure ■ Food Act fixes a limit at.} per cent, of pr'eserva.tive;' but when the Act came into force'a 'substantial quantity of butter was sold with no preservative. • A number; ofvcomplaints wore then received from grocers, sonio of whom asserted that the butter-did not 'keep well, and. asked to bo. supplied-with butter containing the regulation percentage of preservative. Othors, however, have 'continued to take butter without preservative. It i;'i regarded'-as necessary for' the. West' Australian trade, that' the butter should contain a ,small proportion,, of as' the 'conditions of; handling , in Western ■ Australia are exacting; 1. ' ' "The most important aspect of the question- is that of; the,(effect on the buttermaking industry in Australia arid New Zealand if .the English- Government •no longer allows the use of preservatives. The. change would be a radical ono. - In tho first place it would, doubtless, be necessary to adopt pasteurisation as a general .practice. Pasteurisation improves the keeping qualities of butter, especially when; made in factories, which re.ceive their raw material 'in the form . of, milk and do their; own separating, But in many country districts the milk is, separated on- the farnisl and; tho croani carted to,the factories; and the difficulty of bringing -in milk every ;day would bo great, ifnot insuperable. As, it is not very successful when mixod have to bo' dealt with; and evon when' the factories receive milk the opinion is hold that a small porcentage of preservative', is desirable when the butter has to be . sent any distance.' What may perhaps happnri is that the number of factories in the country may be increased, so as to shorten tho distarico for. the milk or cream to hp c'artod. Pasteurisation is not the' only thing to be attended to. Not only will thorough cleanliness bo necessary at the factory, but also on the farm and at; every stage of handling. The position of tho town factories, drawing supplies .of cream from long distanco3 by rail) is difficult to ostimnto. What is pretty clear, however, is, that-the.alterations which will become necessary will amount almost to a reorganisation of the industry, Assuming that this is successfully accomplished, the next question is how the butter will turn out when it readies London. On this point it is to- be remarked that Australia and New Zealand, and in a less degree the Argentine Ropublic, will be at some disadvantage as • comparbd • with Denmark, France, and other countries at a short distance from England. BEE STINGS FOR RHEUMATISM. , It is beginning to seem to be" perfectly true that for the dire twinges of rheumatism, there' is, nothing - that " touches tho i spot" with more, certainty than a beo sting. Tes-' timony to this effect was given by Dr. Ivon-; nedy ,(of, tho Meaneo Mission) in a lecture

NEWS AND NOTES FOE THE MAN 0* THE LAND.

at Hastings last weekj when he attributes the-immunity of apiarists from rheumatism to the action of the formic acid of the bee. • stings upon-the uric acid Oft their bodies. ; Ho had been a sufferer ' from rheumatism '' ' before he became interested in bee-keeping, i but since then the rheumatic pains had completely disappeared.. . -'■<„' . ' Mr. Hopkins, the Government bee expert, recorded a similar experience. These discoveries wilUbe bad for Rotorua and the proprietors of .quack medicines. .. AN INSPECTOR'S EYE. ; : RABBITS IJNAWED. -■' WAIROA SETTLERS ANGRY. ' ■ Apparently the withering' gaze of the ' Government inspector :up -Wairoa way has / not been'fatal to the rabbits, and the. set- '- - tiers are dissatisfied. ■ \ > They held' a;meeting' quite recently,'and ';- Mr. Powdrell said ho , had certain knowledge. . of the fact that a rabbit had; been killeli t.V.'v side of Mahaka, and the fact had.to.be faced;; that .the rabbits were creeping upon them. , ' Poverty Bay wanted -to combine'' with "i; Wairoa, . and they, should T get a rabbiter onv the boundary, whoso only duty, it would bo' . to kill. rabbits, not ■to report-them. Thoy- '■ > must take .energetic, steps, for once the rahr bits got into the easy pumice country they would go through it like oatmeal. ; , Mr: M'Rae said, that ; when .they started . \ to form . a v ßabbit _ Board the' Government not allow -them to go on. The'insjiec- .' tors had said'the rabbits were increasing. then another, inspector came along' and; said i \ 'the rabbits were/going back. ■ Well,. all, lie ' . could say was that ho never knew ono rabbit th'at did' go.-back: They wore makmg . for Wairoa, not a,.doubt about it. It was ; ' not for him to say,;t|iat the inspectors under the Government were,nqt doing 4uty, but something else was peeded than reporting the rabbits.'He mov'ed, and Mr.iPrydo h seconded, " That the; Minister for Agriculture be informed that rabbits are spreading . tin to clean country, and-asking that steps bo taken; to stop their, advance by tailing, . and not ' merely ' inspecting, them.The ■ - council had wired to the and tho Hoi). Mr. M'Nab, ip reply, askedvwhat steps the' council suggested should bo taken, and he (the 1 speaker) said he tho rabbits be and not just inspected," ■' It seems bbviouß from the foregoing that '■ the rabbits up' in Poverty Bay have, heard rumours of the wonderful way 1:1; which tho grass has been ; growing down lr 'S'airoa • sinqe the ram; and have sent one of„£hoir .. number along to have a'look at it: .. ~p CODLIN' MOTH. AND; POTATO GRUB.^;, A SINGULAR VIEW. r- ' - OurChristchurch correspondent telegraphst; Considerable discussion'has been going on ui : , this district for somo timocas to ..whethervtheiS;, grub that attacks apples,, ; 'pears,\ietc., ; .'is.'thoij, i. . i same as .the. borer f which is doing so much - . damage- to ...the , pp.tatd"- '.Eeasoi}; -(?- ■' Mr. -'William- Cowlin, a }V'cry, .pld-., and • expe- . . rienced fruit grower and gardener,-, of ..,Govef« •' » • '-. ' nbr's Bay, near, Lyttelton,. the-' other day to a ' things are-in a - " The.inspectors come and tell us,"..he,-said,- • • " that we must,keep our'trees clean.and tree. ' : from the .codlin grub, etc., but they, do , not ,- >v give us a remedy;"So,far all the x used-, for that, purpose ; 'have- been, gerfeptly. V .! useless; ■My opinion, is' that much of - tho. trouble, has .. come from tho potato. borer, which, if not .precisely.; the-samei is .very.'., much like the ;otber. . 1 have had both grubs . lately. ujider a .powerful.'microscope,. and .1:., cannot;see, have put both.,,. the grubs, in. a'bath ; of pure kerosene, 0i1,.,■ .! i and -thej: them,,,,, lib harm whatever;" . .'Mr; Cowhn. suggested-;.-- r -, •that if, the' Department knows.of any remody. . they should have the mixture m&do up a'nd ,sell..it.to tho public it about cost price, or undertake"to clear tho 1 ; offihards at-a-reason--: ■'able"co'strtFailing 'that, I ho said, " I >• should advise" the growers of fruit to do what I'am that.iis, to-uso freely -, i the saW, and grubber,: as they will bo far better without tho trees." > Ha says he < has always found that the codlin moth was worse near land. that was m crop, or had ■ been in crop, with potatoes. ' 1 *_|'.' ! : Mr. Cowlin's view of things is quite unorthodox; 1 The mero fact, that two maggots - look alike.does. not prove that tficy l are;of the same"§pccies'..lf JMr. .Cowlin'had 'gono ~ further, watched them ; go'through'.their 1 i life-history'ho' would probably have'discovered. ; a'difference in the resultant'moths! and -still ' . J more convincing evidence would have, been ■ ! sfcured by observing whether both deposited ; tj • eges on'iiisplos'and tubers without discriminT •, atictn. : We. would ; not like. -to discourage ? 'Mr. Cowlin from :continuing,his. researches,- «< \ for lots of ' valuable; no; doubt,.-- still remain to be' found out, "and,' in' truth,[the . i 'potato moth'is known to pay occasional;,visits ' j to other'plants', whon potatoes are 'not .at. ; hand; But tho evidence so far given' is • quite , .j ' insufficient, .to' identify'.' it •'with .the 1 : codlin.. , J niotli; : As .'to-the remedies for codlin moth, the Government biologist, in his latest re- . .; 'oort,' recommends spraying with . arsenate -.of. -, lead. Tliis is .found less dangerous to. foliage than Pnris green, and .more' destructive to. ; . ! insect' life. It-consists of^acetAte^of-^lead,... ■ ' 'Arsenate,of soda,'.and .'water,mixed, accord-, ing- to formula: -It can be purchased , rea.d^:.; . • niade: . Thet gathering of mfected.fruitand, the bandagitig .of trees J»,-;entrap'.tho ltiiag-. .' 1 gots is encouraged. •• • r f , r PASTEURISATION TESTS. . The Government has been; supervising ox ; fier'iments in butter : making -from pasteurisec. •' ; cream in three centres this season—namely,! in Auckland Province, m Wellington,, and .' in ' Taranaki. - Those experiments conceded s6me time agoj'and wov understand tho; official report on them' has already been made ■ out. In viow of the growing interest attach- ■ ing to pasteurisation, .the .report, .wheu. it - loaves the printers; tyill be road with interest. • • ; v -. ,r ■ -v V'-. "'' '' QUESTION ANSWERED. ; EGG-LAYING : TEST, "Poultry Farmer.','—You.took the ; too literally. You can scarcely have though!■ it anyone to tell you with-abso-lute exactness the number-of .eggs i_a hen ' ? would lay . during' a; whole voar,: making no -' ' allowance for good or bad feeding, housing, etc.. What was meant was tho system-; you ■■■ ! have ascertained for .two guineas, ■ • which, as-you.; say, enables ono to "pick . ; out the good layers from the bad." ■ '/ . ; i OUB DIARY, SHOWS. "> ] Apr. 20. —Strath-Taiori. (Middlemarch). .., > . ] Apr.,-20.—Mackenzie County (Fairlie). ■ ''• ! Apr. 30.—Malvern A. and P. (Sheffield);' '■ .1 May 29.—Tokomairiro Farmers 1 , Club ..-(Mil*j ■ ■ : .ton). . , -' .V; ' "-a Juno 2, 3, 4, s.—Otago A. and P. - Winter ; i > , Show (Dunedin). %':■ *; -. : 'i Juno 12, ] 3.-—Ashburton A.; and P. ,Winter ;1 - Show. ' '. . V;.- „-. i Juno 16, 17—Southland A.' and P. Winter • j Show (InvercUrgill). ■] Juno 23 to 26.—National Dairy Show, fal- , raerston North. July 8, 11—Waikato Winter Show (Hamil' ;-- i i... ton);'- r 1 i ■ '. • 'i Oct. 21, 22.—Hawko's Bay A. and i , ings). . . . -. . 5 Nov. -i, 5, 6. —Manawatu. ' 4 Nov. 11, 12, ' •] Nov. 13, 14.—Wanganui. ...• , f ; LONDON. WOOL SVLES , 3rd series begin .... .... May 12 - 4th „ ',■ ... . ... July - 14 • I sth „ ~,, ... Sept. J9. ,: -!i 6th „ „ ... . ... Nov. 24, - ■■; .! ~ STOCK SALES ADVERTISED * 1 Wednesday, April 15.--H. E. Leighton, Salt- j Stock, U Lower Hutt. . . J Thursday, April 16.—Dalgoty, and Co. ano' •' New Zealand Loan anOlercantile Agency Co., Sale Stock» at Palmerston North. ' i