CHANGED CONDITIONS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 1, 1 July 1912, Page 2

CHANGED CONDITIONS

PROMINENT FIGURE IN THE DAIRY INDUSTRY. MR. A. MORTON'S EXPERIENCE. The central figure at the annual conference of dairymen held in connection with the National Dairy Show at Palmerston North this week was Mr. Arthur Morton, president of the SLational Dairy Association. Originally •waging clerk in the law office of the Hon. Oliver Samuel. M.L.C. — not then a member of the Upper House — Mr. Morton, owing tofiling 6ight, was compelled in 1891 to throw aside his law book's, and exchange th« interior of an office for the bush, 1 field*, and muddy 1 roads of the backblocke—he became a farmer. , Very, few seasons passed before Mr. .Morton was able to Hold his own with butter-worker L and churn with the majority of- his neighbours, and now it may 'be' safely said pf him that he is one of the leading daii-y farmers of the Dominion. With twenty-one years' experience Mr. Morton could be relied on to speak with authority, and with the object of gainiag information regarding the dairy industry in Taranaki a Post reporter interviewed him at'Palmerstoii North last week prior to his departure for New Plymouth. "Yes," he said,, in answer to a, query, "I have been farming for 21 years, and during that time the dairy industry in Taranaki has undergone a big change. Would I give up the life? • No, not for anything." Mr. ' Morton's initial venture was necessarily a small one, bli first herd numbering but fifteen. There were many obstacles to overcome in those days before a farmer saw any return for his labour, and Mr. Morton's earliest recollections were of packing his butter— hand-made — by horse to Inglewood. Although factories were in existence at the time the co-operative system was onheard of, and butter-making was in the main a home industry. Roads were bad — shockingly bad— and 'those weekly trips- were by no means mere pleasure jaunts. Then, too, what did he receive for each of his "pound pats?" — a modest sixpence ; but he was quite satisfied. Later on Mi*. Morton became a factory supplier, and in 1893 when the question of co-operative factories became very acute in Taranaki he, by reason of his legal knowledge, wae of immense assistance in the formation of the Mangorei Co-operative Factory, one of the first of its kind to be established in the district. He became the company's first chairman, a position which he still fills. Subsequently similar factories sprang up in all directions, and soon it was the exception to find a farmer still labouring away with the old hand ' churn. However, Mr. Morton knows qi several who, still prefer to dispense with the middleman, and, so far as he, knows, they turn out a first-class article. With the advent of the factories came better roads, and, unlike the early days when a metalled road was something one read about but seldom over saw, it was unusual to come across one unfit for vehicular traffic. To the co-operative factory system more -than anything else was the improvement due. At the present time, Mr. Morton considers the outlook for. dairy farmers to be very, promising. In South Taranaki, however, -it ,wa,s a . noteworthy fact that the factories . confined their attention almost solely to chceoe-making. In the whole of the South inhere -were- not more than two or three- -factories. whose operations' were devoted solely to the making of butter. The only market at present for New Zealand cheese was the British Isles, and the prospects for the next season or two wore bright. If the Auck. land factories, however, decided to follow the lead'of the Southern people, and turn their attention, as they containplated doing, to chee&e-inaking, the position might be materially altored. With regard to the industry in Auckland, Mr. Morton' considered that with closer settlement there would be an enormous increase in the production from that quaiter. Some portions of the Waikatb, such as Hamilton and Cambridge, were eminently suited to dairying. ■It was" a pity that more city people did not~iturn. their attention to f aiming. It would be better for themselves and also better for the Dominion. _ There was room on the land for all. ' City nieii making the change would find their bubiness knowledge standing them in good stead. The old idea, that farming did not require any oxercising of the brain, was exploded long ago! ' The successful farmer of the future would be the man who would inako iutoiligent übo of the scientific knowledge at his disposal. With the high prices of laiid prevailing — Mr. Morton considers they will go still higher — scientific methods must be adopted The Successful farmer of the future would require to cultivate more' extsn&ively and intensively. He would need to make more liberal use of manures, and to adopt v, system whereby his herd could be thoroughly tosted. Only bulls fiom dams holding a record should be kept, and greater attention should be, paid to the rearing of calves. Above all, a bettel quality of feed would, be needed for the nerd. The result of all thia would be a large increase in the production, and it wa3 probable that for every pound spent od theso lines there would be a return ot quite 100 per cent. .Mi. .Morton considered that not i enough -attention waa paid to the farming industry. New Zealand was essentially an agricultural and pastoral country, and ■when the farmers Tiad a good season the, effect was noticeable all over tho country. North Taranaki, Mr. Morton's home, is essentially a dairying district. It io a district 'of small •area* and 'close settlement, and as time foes on he anticipates a furthor eubivision of the holdings. One feature of the district was that ithere were no Crown or Native lands <tfiaUa.blo > for settlement. Befort concluding tho intciTttsw Mr. Morton returned to the uubjeot of w operative factories. He mentioned that mien they were first started- prices were at a low level, farmers, considering theiumslvcs well treattxl if they got 8d or B£<l for their butter-fat. 'Nowadays a factory manager did^ not consider ho had done - well if b.e did not receive something' in the region of Is. "Mind you," Mr. .Morton .remarked, f 'money has not the uanie value now -as it had eight or nine years ago. When we were getting 9d per lb for our buttter-fat, we were probably receiving the, equal of lOd and lid today. Nowadays we have to pay -more for our requirements, and it costs more to produce a pound of butter than it did then." Mr. Morton also referred to tho question of milk testing, and pointed out the good that was likely to accrue from the tuition in the schools. In many of the schools in his district milk tenting was looked on as a highly important subject. In conclusion, it might be men. Honed that^ besides being president of the association Mr. Morton h chairman of directors of the Inglewood Bacon Factory, chairman of tho Taranaki Freezing Works Company, and ia also a member of the Taranaki Education Board.