CHEESE-MAKING.

Hawera Star, Volume L, 20 February 1931, Page 6

CHEESE-MAKING.

(To the Editor.) 1 Sir, —I have read with interest let- j ters in your columns of the ‘‘Haweraj Star” on the cheese-making industry j problems, but none so far has termin-j ated to a satisfactory .point, thus leay-1 ing the problem still unsolved. Criti-j cism by -Mrs. Harrison is only boring. | She appears to be rushing from one factory to another, laying clown the law of criticism instead of solving | problems. Does ill's. Harrison realise | that she’ is rushing into co-operative factories, not proprietary dairy iac-| tories ? These co-operative factories are, no doubt, run by too many bosses, and 1 think that too many bosses have spoilt the cliesee, allowing it to deteriorate. Proprietary dairies aie not troubled with ill-flavoured and feed-flavoured milks such as that of | co-operative factories, this alone beingi a great pull over the co-operative fae-j tories, and as New Zealand possesses] all co-operative factories this iil-| flavoured and feed-flavoured problem will have to be solved by some other, means. To my Knowledge there are three vital problems to be solved: (,i)j feed flavours, (if) composition milK tubes to take the place of brass miJK tubes; (3) to breed a cow to suit Taranaki conditions, that is, both for cheese-making and unsolved problems on tiie farm. At present the Jersey cow answers to all conditions on the farm, but not at the cheese factory. The utmost of cleanliness in the cowshed will not solve the feed-flavour problem, Taranaki cows being fed on pasture lands and allowed to roam on pastures containing herb grasses which contaminate the milk. Here, I pre-1 sume, Mrs. Harrison lias been accus-j tomed to milk from stall-fed cows, I naturally free from ill-flavoured herbs. Here, again, is where necessity is the mother of invention, and 1 think that the only efficient way to treat feedflavoured milk is by aeration of the milk soon after the milking of the cow. This will also expel the animal heat in quick time. I would suggest a blast fan may solve this problem, imitation ivory milk tubes having glazed surfaces, and unbreakable, may be worth an experiment. r l he third problem is to cross-breed until an ideal cow is found. Australia has found a cow of her own. Why not New ZeaI land ? 1 have myself inspected a herd of these cows, and I was really taken aiback with surprise to ,see such a wonderful and ideal cow to suit Australian conditions, the cow giving both quantity and quality without being excessive in butterfat. Also, she puts it in the bucket, not on her back. This cow, although only a crossbred cow, is registered in the herd books as a purebred cow. 1 think that when) these three problems are solved New i Zealand cheese-makers will rank the highest in the world. I have worked j at cheese-making in Australia. There] they have both co-operative factories and proprietary dairy factories. In Australia, New Zealand cheese-makers are looked upon with high favour, and the best of Australian cheese is made by New Zealanders, both in the cooperative factories and the proprietary dairy factories. These New Zealanders at their cheese-making in Australia win all honours at the Sydney Royal Show. When Mrs. Harrison said that New Zealand cheese is the t lowest price in the world, she overlooked Austrlaian cheese, which is always per cwt. lower than New Zealand cheese on the English market. New South Wales and Queensland sell all their cheese on their local markets. The best at present on the Sydney market is 9d per lb ungraded. —I am, etc.,

ONE WHO HAS TRAVELLED.