THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

Evening Post, Volume LVII, Issue 31, 7 February 1899, Page 2

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

Mr. J. A. Ruddick, the Chief Dairy Commissioner, made his first public appearance at a meeting at Carterton on Friday night. The Observer reports that he said lie recognised Carterton as being the centre of a very important dairying district, and gave his audience tho impressions he had formed wince his arrival as to the probable prospects of that industry. If the present season was to be accepted as an indication of the suitability of the New Zealand climate for the dairying indusry, this country was specially adapted for it, and with Anything like reasonable car© it should be carried on with as much margin of profit as in any country in the world. New Zealand should be able to produce as good butter and ohftfcse s as any country. But there was lots ! of 'room for improvement. The standard of quality was being raised all the N time, and that standard had to be kept up to. It would therefore be necessary to keep on improving their methods of manufacture, and in referring to the present conditions and prospects of New Zealand, he compared it with Canada, which was a very strong competitor in the matter of cheese production and export. Canada sent to Great Britain twenty, times as, much cheese as New Zealand did. Her export for the year 1896-97 was no less than 76,000 tons. Her manufacture of butter was also on the increase. She., nearly doubled her export of butter last year He did not think Canada would increase her cheese expouj; in the future .to any very material extent, but there" 1 was^ no doubt the output of butter from Canada was bound to increase in the near future. Cheese making was a very important factor in the dairying industry of New Zealand. This country had undoubted advantages over Canada in the matter 6f climate. In summer it was much hotter in Canada than in New Zealand, and in cheese-mak-ing the matter of climate was most important. Numerous tests the speaker had made in Canada proved most conclusively that cheese made in a high temperature suffered greater depreciation in quality, besides a greater shrinkage in weight, together with a reduction in price In fact, the Canadian Government was so much impressed with the result of the experiments, that it was considering the question of having recourse to artificial means in order to reduce the temperature .during, the hottest time of the year, and ,;'was proposing to offer a bonus for cheese during high temperature which should be equal in quality and weight to that made when the temperature Avas normal. That would mean, of course, a heavy expense, which the equable climate of New Zealand would obviate ever having to be incurred. They were in a position in this country to make as fine cheese as was made in the world, if they only followed the recognised lino of working. The reason why it was so important that they should devote their very best energies to make the very best article was because they were not only competing with Canada, but also England itself, which last year it was estimated produced no less than 150,000 tons. The climate at Home was something like this, which enabled them to produce cool-flavoured cheese. At the conclusion of his address Mr. Ruddick was heartily thanked.