HOME SEPARATION OF MILK.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 763, 11 March 1910, Page 10

HOME SEPARATION OF MILK.

. ■ A' GROWING SYSTEM. 4?ekhffl.d. has probably less in the waj of; roads than any'othor provincial dis trict ,in New Zealand, and the northerr . dairy-farmer-frequently finds the worfc ot. taking his, railk out to the' creamerj difficult ond in some cases almost, impos sible. i Naturally, separation has made ; great strides in the north, and from the "Northern Luminary" it now appears'that the latest convert to the . : aj-stem is the Oruru-Fairburri Pactory, in New Zealand. The ~ company has been receiving homc-separ- ■ l Jed. cream from a considerable number i ,- ,»f its-.suppliers during the- last . two years. . It has found the system to pro- • duce good-results, and-, as a consequence it is- closing down its creamery at Fairburn at the end of the season, and next season will not receive milk at' its factory at ; Oruru. - Already some' fourteen or 'fifteen factories in the Auckland provincial district have gone' in entirely for home separation, and at about three-quarters of the factories, larger or' smaller quantities-.of cream are-being received from' the suppliers. - So far the 'amount of homo sep- . »Mtao»do?6' in. other "parts' of the; Dominion.'is inconsiderable, : .butit'is steadily gfowin'g. In Tarariaki practically n . on ®.'°'V.the. factories- receive home-sep- ' arated'cream, between there and -tfie Juan.nratn there -is i one- factory ; which' draws 1 it supplies mainly from this'.so'urce, ~ and ' in the -Manawatu 'itself a'certain . amount or cream is brought in by the farmers, themselves to '.the. different; factpries. -..In-'the Wairarapa. the' system is ..also gaming a foothold, .but,is.,not vet much-.in-evidence. l 'In the'-Soirth:Bland jomo of the factories around Timaru'.-are reported to be., receiving part'of their supplies .-in- cream,'and owing. to the port difficulties the system'.was univers-] ally adopted m connection with the re-cently-established Peloriis-Sounds factory : wined sends round a launch.' of' its own to pick up ; the cream. The'hew factory at Mnrehison in the Central Buller has al^8 0I ie in, for'.honje. reparation., .

Ihe merits of the' system i-hav'o been much .discussed, and from the .annual :■ reports one gathers., that the/Department ,: of Agriculture has nothing to., say' against ;..." " on principle. In practice home'-sen-,,-v- arat'on has. so far ;almosf/inviiriably restUted in tho production of a-.poorer •quality- of,butter: than when the .who e / ;Milk-is' dealtvwith by thd/ factories/ , .- New South -Wales and Victoria S ...adopted.- the' system :.£& . .versally au d -the--.butter market -cables fZ y T« convincing e i! .;." dence of -the there ■■;.;. :«,no reason af^all/why s hon.e separated . cream should; not Ibo' good qua! Tv I s J^'^er,' but-fanners whlrsepaJate at ' iZr J,l^ a " y - not ~ n M'vwith : hav-. - jng,reduced their journeys'to;the.'factory . «ream,: . J,hey go once :m two- or-.-fhree ■ days, and; ; npw:;and-again/perhapsy leaW ..-,- .the!;cream-at home -■ without"-cooling.', r'ftl - ' . , 'Wider anything,'-but;ideal- conditions for'. - even-longer; rln:ot.he.r'coiintr'ies,-thisdiffi-v'fe B °,T I,J * actorift3 sending 1 : ''%&■ w£?"#-"??# ll S ; «e«m-themselves" ..-'/.4™ l Ps?f? l >lrthis.idca may commend itself. : w, the-AuckJand' dairy..people'before lonir.-1 lfien.there,' ; are,othe"r ho'me/separatiri? a 3 -: ..','. vooates who 'leave*their^.separatorW;ovey : y .^^-without^lea^ng^^ajid^fnn^f'tfle the collection of stale ..filth .which.-.has been standing in .: - the. mabkno for. twelve' hours.or more.. :;,Inferior .butter; is inevitable'under': such ;.; cjreumstanees,: and;it ;takes a long'S .. ™ u ci "HE:^ine- people;up to the'value of ; -.«leanhliess.".lf ,hom\ separat on increases' . fl» T flhief /hopeiof; the* butter inSy e f !*¥?? 'wW'-'of:;'the young T^P' o a k'he JdiuMs, and drilling modem ';. '^nitafy|idea S^W tKeni'.' • -'"■ '^*™,- .lhe arguments for and against home --.'; 6e PJ r J I « > L, a - T6 '"-%JX'-'balanced,- and ''$1' : e debatable'poinl'"whether,- from a" fi'it'pays' .a -farmer 'best, to saye,tke labour, of) cartage and ,;,«ceive . a ; S lKjhHy-Vlow : price- lr,;hi s - .'butter, or whether the beW policy for , the pocket is .to-stick, to present, methods. frrd 9 ?iSi- ' a clean 'ffrd .there is an .attraction: also in-the '■'■•' & > < *'-?? t havln ,= '*° r'«n the', risk of , . J?WPg ol 'hf people's diseased.skim milk ' ■ ™ h. IS ,"Oct.-A-. point which is' seldoiii / :realised,-.however, is.that when the skiniFVi|r.iS;doiie by the:farmer he has to Dear- the 'loss : .which takes: place in' -that -.'operation. ;At the factory, he is paid-.for ' , the percentage- of 'butter-fat :'his milk 'conta'Ds. and .not -for what '.the factory, can .get out pf-it: yThe/factory-ppwer'sepa'Ta^ .tors.aro run' at amuch more uinjform Bpeed;; and are. more', carefully'-, fed than : hand ones, and the 'loss of butter-fat in ' Bkimmmg is' co.nsequenOy greatly 'reduced s by.'them. _ The'-average factory'loss'in

:&nmmiiig isabont;;os-p>r cent.', while in ,&l para ■ ln "-'-*" is 'sometimes : .as 'high' as,2-10ths of one.per'cenf.VAs one-tenth ..> of.-phe "per.cent, represents : nearly, three : per rant'of ,b u tter,;.tliis~nieai]s:a heavy loss. Finally, it has:to bo noted that'iV as- much'easier-to. make mistakes in testjng-; cream''for butter-fat thai" it is in ; .-testing ; m)lk; : T?he cream being of greater :.,consistency it.as nwch more'difficult to get. aunrform:. sample' of'thb whole," and the test, may as' often as not be consider- :. ably_below;;the":mark.. '■'•'■.'.- .\ : • ,:■ -.With'ideal conditions -on the' dairy , farms, home separation should make no drfference in the".quality '.of 'New "Zealand s butter. -, Air things stand, the in- ■ creasing adoption of ;iho system is : ..bound: to .affect"; it adversely:. Pasteurisation -of' the creamat.the.fa'ctones'hasniade'somo Jmprovo.inent, 'but it cannot .do: everything. On the whole, the soundest advice . :."■. tbat which ' the .Department gifts in 1 the last annual report: Don't adopt hand- ,'■ separation 'unless it is'.quite impossible" .- to get the whole: milk .fo ; the"factory- at a' reasonable, cost. After another "gcnefa- ' tion of ihodern education, conditions may possibly'be different;! - v' : ';. :/ '■.-.'. "'»