THE' FARM INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 494, 29 April 1909, Page 8

THE' FARM INDUSTRY

INSPECTION OF MEAT AND WOOL,

IS GRADtNG POSSIBLE?

' ' MR. RITCHIE'S VIEW. In reference to the question, of grading 1 wool and meat, discussed in a recent articlo in The Dominion, Mr. J D. Ritchie, Secretary for Agriculture, does not_ think it practicable to grado wool, but views moro iavonrably tho suggestion to grado meat. , "Wool," be said to a representative, "is not,, so uniform in quality as hemp, for example, and it would require $n lmmonso stall of graders, occupied only for a fow months in. tho year, to gTado it sufficiently to be ot any vsluo, -Tho eti - pense would bo very great. It would need a central wool stoie; or, if tho wool could bo graded - as tho various stores of tho brokors, there would , still bo many difficulties. Tho task would bo'too gieat" Could it bo graded by sample bales, as is done''with hemp? l ( ''Mo. Many ot tho men who send wool for salo keep several different breeds of fihoop, and tho conseqnonce 13 that, whilo one bale may be of halfbred wool, othor bales 'n tho same lot niav bo of crossbreds ' Uno balo,' therefore,, would bo no criterion ' ' of the wholo." Could it bo graded for condition or caret ' ful packing? , 1 "1 think not. There would be the same need to examine nearly every bale, becauso one bale might be well packed, and the next , not. And there still romains this difficulty , , that all* the wool of tho season would havo j to bo dealt with m tho spaco of a few mopths." t i .But meat? ' ,' ''That would be a simpler task. But meat for export is already graded." By tho exporters? > "ies. No doubt, if the Government graded tho meat, tho Government grade mark would carry moro value than the grade mark of the exporters." It would perhaps especially benefit -those farmers who have their stock frozen and ■ shipped on their own account? 1 ' * -'"Most certainly. It would facilitate the making of contracts, and avoid disputes ' For contracts would bo based on the Government grade, m which the Homo buycis ' would havo confidence." Would' tbis grading be .expensive" "No. ■ It should cost very little. Although ' there are certain times when the supplies • , sent in t are specially, numerous, tho work generally is spread over about sevon montli3 'of the year. , One man piabably could do 1 , ' all the grading of one freezing establish-' .ment." • < Tho veterinarian who now inspects the meat—could ho grade also? "£'o. It would require a man. specially j qualified. A veterinarian's woik is_ chieflr with disease; but for grading ono ' would require a man who was more of a butcher, familiar with the needs of the ' '. r butchering trade." / Should the farmers or tho Government pay the grading cost? r < "At present tho farmers do riot pay tho ' ' costs of (grading hemp, and dairy' produce. , But how Jong the Government will continne to pay this 1 can't say. Tho cost, however, cf grading meat would bo a 'mcio trifle."' /■ ■ ) - ' WAS IT ARSENIC? THE HASTINGS PLUM-EATING FATALITY. Moro will bo heard of tho case of a five- ' year-old child who died recently at Hastings, the alleged cause of death being areonic.il poisoning through eating plums. So soon as ' the report of tho death and tho doctor's diagjiosns oecame known to the Department ot Agriculture,, Mr. Kirk, tho Biologist, in the interests. of tho r fruit-growing industry, im- * mediately secured details of the reports of , ■ the Police and Health Departments with a view to investigating tho circumstinces m order that, if possible, tho injury v,lnch tho doctor's verdict might inflict upon tho fruitgrowing industry might be prevented. Tho ' origin of tho fruit was traced without diili- , ' culty of the best kopt orchards in > New Zealand. _ Prom the investigations mi.de of the fruit still remaining on the trees, the 1 , t Biologist is convinced that the chdd was not poisoned by arsenic on tho plums, because t these plums had not been sprayed with any , arsenical preparation. " It has frequently been pointed out that poisoning by the arsenic sprayed for the de--1 etruction of pests of fruit treob cannot take place unless to cat a lanrgo number of eases of fruit. But a severo test has now ' been carried out in tho Frimley orchard vin ,■■ ' cfuestron to vonfy this contonhon, tho aid of ' the Health Department being called in to carry it out. Full details may 'shortly be published. \ What aro considered remarkable features in the case aro tho facts that without a postmortem examination, without analysis of the stomach contents, or of tho uneaten plums ■ or of tho jam made from thorn, and without an inquest, the,death should be attributed 'i to arsenic through eating plums. It is behoved that the .report of the investigations *» will show tho arsenical theory to be qmto untenable, and that tho fatality was due 6olely 1 to fruit colic. i '

DANNEVIRKE AS A CHEESE CENTRE V 'I'ho Kaumafi farmers, near Dannevirki i (wnte, our travelling representative), are nt present congratulating themselves on tlio faot that they established a cheese factory , within their area Their hrst shipment of ' cheese was quality that it brought 6'is., and the samer price was ottered for tho wholo of the output. The Raumati'farmers are now being advanced 9d. per pound on s their' butter fat,/ and a guaranteed price of 61s. means that they will draw another 3d, making practically Is. per pound on butter fat JUast month tho thirteen suppliers {.- ' Tided £360 among themsclvos, and no cheque was loss than £20 The 1 output in this first i season is'estimated at 70 tons, ( and next year it is considered that this quantity will \'i be increased to 160 tons, with thirty suppliers. ,It is very_'probablo that from the . > satisfactory results" shown by the establishment of tro\Eaumati factory, tho cheese'making industry will receive a big impetus in tho courso of a fow years aiound Danncvirko. It has been already decided to establish a factory at I'lripiri, and an authority on tho subject prophesies that, within a compai atively short period, Dannevirko will be manufacturing 1200 tons of cheese annually, which will place its district almost on a level footing with Wairarapa in this important industry. ,

. BRIGHT FUTURE FOR CHEESE. , It seems to bo almost\ certain that, in the oourso of a few years, the chcos&rinaking industry will bo much moro pronounced in Now / Zealand than it is at present (writes a cor--1 respondent). Tboro are several reasons why this should bo. Now Zealand is practically, tho only country which has no great otitsido compotiticin when' it 'is" making cheese.' Then/ again, only 6 per cent, of the total British 'consumption of,cheese comes from this country. ' Butter and meat aro comparatively nrach dearer than is cheese in Great Britain, And the poorer classes thoro will always eat broad and choeso, when possibly butter and meat aro regarded as luxuries. Tho foregoing are reasons why the price of Now Zealand choose keeps up. With reference to tfie price itself, it is generally well known by practical dairymen that 6 1-16 d. per pound for cheeso in Great Britain ;s equal to Is. 3d. per pound for buttor in tho samo coun- ' try. It has been stated that 23' pounds of milk will mako ono pound of butter, but 25 pounds would bo nearer tho mark. A wellknown butter-maker stated in support of this < proposition that, when it was declared that 23 pounds of milk would make a pound of butter, farmers could generally assume thai; tho test had been "flogged" to bring about this result. It is very evident that tho almost continuous excellent pricos which havo ruled for past years in the cheeso market aro bringing about n chaugo of opinion as to its safety as a paying (industry. Moro cheeso factories sto to bo opened .in Taranaki, while ono wBl probably Departed at Nowrnan, near ' Ekctairana, another'at Piripiri, near Dannc- / vrrko, and still another not far from l'ahiatua. i '