DAIRY PRODUCE NOTES.

Evening Star, Issue 9386, 7 May 1894, Page 4

DAIRY PRODUCE NOTES.

[From Our Special Correspondent.]

London, March 24,

The fine open weather which has prevailed during the past fortnight, combined with heavy colonial arrivals and an increased supply from the Continent, has naturally led to a falling away in prices during the period. On March 8 finest colonial was at quiet trade at 114s, and weakness set in with the arrival of the Kimutaka, which vessel’s quantity came in for sale at a reduction of 6s per cwt. In the following week the Valetta and Oruba put on the market 38,274 boxes, and in spite of the lower range of rates slow trade continued to prevail. During tho past week there has been a further fall owing to the holidays, and tho top quotation for colonial is now 106s—a price that has not often been made during the three days preceding Good Friday. The Maori King, which docked on Monday, brought her quantity in first-rate condition, but some of the stuff shows signs of having been subjected to high temperature before »hipping. In view of the weakness of the market tho Shipping Company offered to keep the butters on hoard until the Easter holidays were over, hut to tho disgust of several large consignees, who would had been qiarticularly pleased to leave their quantities in safe keeping till the Easter merry-making had qjassed, one or two minor owners of butter aboard demanded their lots, and to satisfy these people the vessels had to be discharged. TlicDuke of Westminster, which should have been cleared by this time, is detained, I understand, at Tencriffc owing to leaky boiler tubes, and her arrival in London is problematical. I have been told that she will he delayed in Tenerilfc for a very considerable period. It is not known yet how far her defective boilers will affect the refrigeration of her dairy produce, but if the butters by her suffer, at all it would he a good thing if matters were so bad that the lot had to be discharged into Davy Jones's warehouse.

NEW ZEALAND’S POSITION. I have so often remarked upon the inferior position occupied by New Zealand in the Home butter market compared with Victoria that I scarce like to salt the sore again. However, it must bo done, since the mischief arises from causes it is in the power of New Zealanders to eradicate. The great evil is the improper treatment of butters prior to putting them aboard ship. I have pointed out again and again that to ensure the arrival of butter in England in first-rate order it is absolutely necessary to keep the stuff at a uniformly low temperature from the time of making. This is impossible under the present condition of things; but the impossibility must be removed if Now Zealanders wish to attain the utmost benefit from the trade with the Old Country. Refrigerating cars must be provided on the railways, coasting steamers tarrying dairy produce must bo fitted up with, cool chambers, and at every port there must be cold storage. Where butter b«l to be carted any distance the removing of it should-'be done either before the sun has thoroughly warmed the atmosphere or else in the cool of the evening. On a hot day a couple of hours’ exposure is sufficient to knock a couple of shillings a box off the value of the best of butters, and in round figures the loss to New Zealand exporters this season alone, through not observing the primary condition of low temperature prior to shipment, is fully £5,000, This is indeed, I think, a very

low estimate. Irregularity of quality in iactory butter lias also been a very serious 'drawback to the trade, and node of the factories which last season topped the market have this year oomo up to the standard shown in the season 1892-95. Then, again, the higgledy-pig-gledy order of ships arriving with butter from New Zealand has told heavily against the sellers of your butters at this end. To alter this irregularity will require the strongest representations on the part of your Government to the shipping companies, and before those representations can fairly be made there must be cohesion amongst exporters. They must one and all agree to a certain range of temperature for their butters, and contrive to put the shipping coinpani s in the position of the P. and 0. and Orient lines, of knowing exactly the space required in each vessel. In short, you must copy the Victorian system as closely os possible. New Zealand, as you well know, should be at the top of the tree in the Homo butter trade—not in quantity, of * course, but in quality; but unless nn improvement takes place next season the “ finest jewel in Eng'nnd’s colonial crown” will find herself not only behind Victoria, but playing second fiddle to South Australia and New South AVales as well. South Australia has sent some very high-class butter Homo this season, but it has been rather badly handled at this end. The exporters scut it mainly to three firms—one getting some one week, t’other n xt, and so on. Through this the brands being held by different firms competed, each brand against itself. The quantity sent being small, should have been concent ratal in the hands of one agent. TEMI’EHATCUE. A deputation formed of Mr Henry Reynolds, Mr Trengrouse, Mr Henry Gray (Coey and Co., Limited), and Mr Lowe approached the shipping companies last week on the old subject of temperature of butter chambers. Their object was to especially press upon the Now Zealand Company the necessity of carrying the butters from the colony at a lower and more uniform temperature than the company has hitherto achieved. Hitherto, when approached from this side, the companies, though hearkening to the with patience and making a note of their views, have always sent them away with tho intimation that the temperature question should bo threshed out on the other side of the world. But this time it was shown to the companies that the knowledge of New Zealanders ns to tho best temperature for the safe carriage of their butters must necessarily bo founded upon tho reports and advices received from consignees at this side. And it was shown, moreover, that Mr Reynolds, Mr Lowe, and Mr Gray had made a special study of tho temperature question, and that their experience justified them in speaking most authoritatively on the subject. Their advice to the companies was in brief: “ Establish one butter chamber, and keep it between 20deg and 30deg.” It has now, I think, been conclusively proved that abso'utc safety lies between these limits. For a long lime it was held that freezing would have a very baneful effect upon a'l but the highest grade butters, but the experience of the past season has shown that second quality butters are not injured in any way by subjection to the low temperature given above. The question of cheese carriage was briefly touched upon, but the deputatiouists apparently agreed to leave the range of temperature ns formerly, i.c., from 40deg to 60Jeg. Now, in my humble opinion, this is too low. To my uneducated mind there seems no reason why, with the improved appliances of the present day, cheese should not be carried at a temperature of between SSdeg and 60deg. We cannot expect tho ships to become ripening chambers, of course, but I believe that the refrigerating engineer of the Gothic considers a range of five degrees wide enough to work to, and the higher temperature is much better for ebeese thaw the lower one.

Trade in cheese is quiet at present. Finest New Zealand may be quoted SI-, with 55s occasionally. Some of the Rimulaka’s consignment has turned out very fine, but much of it is too strong to be favorably received on this market.