Nelson Evening Mail THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 1895.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXIX, Issue 96, 25 April 1895, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 1895.

The movement for the establishment of a dairy faotory in the Waimea district ia being taken up with some spirit, ns was shown at yesterday's meeting at Kichmond. It would, no doubt, as one of the speakers said, have been desirable to see more farmew piesent, but it is never easy to get many farmers to attend a meeting, especially during working hours in tho midle of the week. The wonder is that a factory for the economical use of milk in the manufacture of either butter or cheese has not been set up longr ago. In this respect the district is many years behind parts of the colony of much more recent settlement and with far inferior means of communication. With a railway running the whole length of the Waimea district, and with good parallel and cross roads a dairy in a convenient situation ought to bo able to serve a very large area, and with reasonable cost of carriage to receive supplies from a distance of a good many miles. There are districts in the southern part of this island where the farmers send their milk as far as eight or nine miles every day to the factories by roads, and sometimes by decidedly indifferent roadn. There the plan is for a number of neighbours to club together and purchase a vehicle suitable for carrying milk cans. Tbey hire a Jad who collects the

milk each morning and takes it to the factory. While there he washes the cans by means of proper apparatus which is kept on the premises, and he then returns them empty and fit for use to the owners The whole cost during the season is not great per head when divided among a number of farmers. It is true that the usual price of milk per gallon* does not seem high, but most of those who send to the works are shareholders, and they receive their Bhare of the profit, and they are saved all the trouble and expense of dairy work after the cows are milked. There are cases in which private dairies regularly turn out as good butter as any factory, and certain brands of cheese privately made are much better than that from the factories, but taken all round the latter have the advantage. As was sail at yesterday's meeting factory butter is genorally greatly preferred to any other, and the cheeso is of uniform aud good quality. Though Eome farmers or fanners' wives may be highly successful in turn ing out the best of dairy produce it cannot be expected that those in a small way should have the necessary buildings and appliances, or be able to give the work required to secure the absolute cleanliness which is necessary. In butter making the separator is necessary to extract all tho cream from the milk, but it is impossible for each small farmer to purchase one Yet every farmer, great or small, keeps cows, and in these days wheu prices are low it is of the highest importance that the utmost profit should be made out of everything produced. Tho original cost of a dairy iactory and that of tho necessary labour are not great in proportion to the number of persons served. 'I ho chief dilficulfy is to get a guaranteo of a sufficient quantity of milk. If that is forthcoming there is little difficulty in fiuding the money to start with and to work tho concern till returns come in. It is to be hoped that tha Committeo which is to canvass the district will be successful in putting the farmers of the Waimea on an equal footing with those in other parts of the colony. The chances are that the establishment of one successful factory would be speedily followed by others, and the district is large enough to support several. In districts with soil and climate far inferior to thoso of the Waimea factories are fonud at distances of not more than eight or ten miles apart