The Hawera Star. MONDAY, JUNE 18, 1928. THE DAIRY LABORATORY’S REPORT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 18 June 1928, Page 6

The Hawera Star.

MONDAY, JUNE 18, 1928. THE DAIRY LABORATORY’S REPORT.

Delivered every evening by 6 o'olook in Ttawera Manair.. Kormanby, Oxaiavva, Kltham. Mangatoki. Kaponga. Alton, Hurlevville Pat.ea. Waverlev. Mo_oia, Whakainara. Qhangai, Meremere. Fraaei Road, and Ararata.

— —♦ Flew wards mire required of ns to em-phas-ise the importance to the dairying industry and, indeed to the Dominion, of the scientific report appearing in to-day’si “Star” on the comparative values of high and low testing milk in relation to th& manufacture of cheese. TJniis is an old -subject of controversy in the indusitny anil one which tar yeans was considered impossible o,f satis factory settlement. It is not tor us, or for any other lay opinion, to declare if settled hy t his report, but one fact does stand out very clearly—for the first time in the history of the controversy the experts have something more tangible to discuss l than they have ever had before. Previously the dairyman, the breeder and the chee-semalter has been entitled to his opinion in the light of his experience with the product of one or more particular breeds of corn - , but no one man or ibod-v of men has ever previously been m a position to base bis statements on the records of each of three breeds compiled from the time of the production of the milk in the sheds, to its sale on the Home market a.s the- proclii'Ct of one- <il.aj.ss of milk nnmixed with the milk of any other breed. Ais- we have stated, it is not for us to, say that this report will -settle for all time the differences of'opinion which have existed, but anyone is blind to the true position who does not realise that the scientific department of the Taranaki Federation of Co-operative Daily] Factories has brought to- light certain undisputed facts which no other organisation in the world has in its passession. Whether the scientist's eonelusiicms can be contradicted by other studies of the same facts remains to be seen, but it is certain that bis work will receive the respectful attention of experts the world over, so carefully planned has been his organisation and so thorough lia-s been hi® research. The question which the dairy farmer has been waiting anxiously to see answered is : “What is the best cow for cheesemaking purposesf Which gives the best return in- terms of cheese, the hightest cow, s-u-oh as the Jersey, or the low test, animal, such, as the Friesian or Ayrshire.” Though, the. investigation was undertaken for purposes more farreaching than the mere gratification of the priicle of the. admirers of any one particular breed, the question which the plain man de-sires to- have answered has noc been shirked-, either by the scientist- in charge o,f the- research or by the federation responsible- for undertaking o-r the work- and publishing Llie findings. It will be found that the findings of the report are, in same particulars, of a. very disturbing nature for Taranaki, a cheese producing ptovincewlrero the high-testing Jersey cow has, been greatly favoured by farmers. The | considered opinion of the scientist, based on all the substantiated! facts which he ha® revealed, i-s that through their adherence to the high-tes-t cow the suppliers of Taranaki are losing immense sums of money annually. This as far from comforting counsel to a province where many years of endear-

our and much money have gone to the building up of Je> aey nerds; nor will the opinion be received with any pleasure by breeders and buyers of Jersey stock iii other parts of the Dominion. There are, however, greater issues at stake than the profit, of the moment, and it .is to be hoped that, if the findings are accepter I, or it they cannot bo convincingly contradicted, the men engaged in the primary glide of one bf the industries upon, which the prosperity of the trade of New Zealand is so largely dependent will be equally as fearless as the federation lias been in facing the position. Any passing comment on the. report, would be incomplete, which did not take note of the work’of those responsible for it. The federation has .shown, a most progressive and openminded spirit in entering upon this undertaking, for it would not have, been surprising if, instead of determining to sift the situation to the bottom, the farmers who comprise the executive of this organisation, had found it easier to adhere to old prejudices and beliefs. Such an attitude does not make lor ultimate prosperity, of course, but then it is not usual to see a leading part being played in the demand for scientificinvestigation of" this character arise with the men who are closest to the subject. The federation has risen above all prejudices and personal interests in j order that knowledge which may best j serve the industry as a, whole might be gained and it lias earned the admiration of mils who value progressiveness and unselfish .service. The last word must be reserved for the man whose ability and whose remarkable capacity for work has, made the report possible. Mr P. O. Veale, research chemist and bacteriologist in charge of the federation’s laboratory at Hawora, has planned and carried, out this experiment totally unaided on the scientific side. It was lie who laid down the proceedure to be followed in obtaining the desired results, and it, its Ihe alone who has made all the i computations and the deductions to he made therefrom. The layman cannot expect to obtain an adequate idea, of the vast amount of work involved, but, it might convey some impression of the task with which he has been faced to •state that some 10,000 pieces of analysis were made by Mr Veale in order to obtain some of the daita upon which lie has based his statement. The making of the analyses was, of course, hut a section of the work, but it was a section which, in a danger institution with more assistance available, would have occupied a qualified man many months of the year. The experiment was commenced at Tokaora in September, 1926, and It was not until the end of DecernJiajsfc year ijhat the fi n ail export returns were received from London. From that time date till the present month Mr Veale has been engaged in correlating his .facts and writing his report which, if published in full, with its intricate graphs and complicated tables, would fill several! pages of this newspaper. The whole of this work lias been carried out ns “spare time job,” for the work of the laboratory has proceeded without interruption. That a report of such dimensions as this, should be compiled by one research chemist under such conditions certainly calls for the admiration it will receive' frcwfi this viewpoint alone by Mr Veale’s professional colleagues in other places.