DAIRY AND FRUIT INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9163, 19 September 1888, Page 5

DAIRY AND FRUIT INDUSTRY.

[BY telegraph.—own CORRESPONDENT.] Wellington, Tuesday. By the courtesy of the Minister of Lands I am in possession of an advance copy of the report on dairy factories in New Zealand, by Mr. McCallum, " together with other papers on the subject." These other papers consist of official correspondence between the Agent-General and the Government, containing much interesting information concerning the London markets and the requirements of importers in England. I observe printed on the cover the words, "to be obtained free at any Land Office," and I am informed that 10,000 copies are ordered for distribution.

The preface is written by the Hon. Mr. Richardson, and gives prominence to some useful suggestions, gathered no doubt from the expert testimony in the book: (1) The requisite points to be considered, with a view to the duedevelopment of our dairy industry, are the application of the cooperative system in all our factories, so as to insure the whole season's milk coming into the factory; ('2) butter should be uniform in colour, flavour, and texture, in packages of 701bs ; (3) from the time of packing to its delivery in the London warehouses a temperature of 40 degrees should as nearly as possible be maintained, any departure from this rule entailing deterioration in texture and flavour, and consequently in price. Mr. McCallum's contribution to this compilation is a record of his observations during his lecturing tour, which are interesting to the localities he notices. In Auckland he deals with the Pukekohe factory, with a cheese plant capable of working 1200 gallons of milk a day; the Paterangi factory, a cheese plant also for 1200 gallons a day ; the Te Awamutu factory, the Hamilton, and the Nevvstead factory, all with excellent plants. The letters from the Agent-General come down to the date of the departure of the Kaikoura from England, so that they contain the latest information on the subject. I mentioned in my last the report of a commission to consider the question of the dairy industry. They recommend the establishment of Agricultural Colleges, and they cite the fact that there are a dozen such colleges in Germany, four such colleges with affiliated schools in France, and in Belgium oue with branch schools, all supported by the State. In the seven prairie States of America, five million cows are milked twice a-day. lowa produced annually forty million pounds of butter, Chicago 130 million pounds of butter, and 50,000,0001b of cheese, but still the supply of butter to the American market is not sufficient. 1,250,000cwt of cheese was sent to the English markets from Canada and the States last year. The testimony throughout this book is that New Zealand can produce better cheese and better butter than either of these countries if her agricultural population will take the trouble to learn how it can be done, and do it.

The following figures show that the European market is not adequately supplied. Europe produces 650,000 tons of butter, and consumes 65],000 tons. The United States and Canada produce 400,000 tons, and consume 370,000 tons. The only export worth mention comes from Canada. In a letter from the Agent-General (Sir F. D. Bell) to the Premier by last mail, he speaks of the information given by Professor Long, of the Royal College (Cirencester), enclosing an extract of a letter from the Professor, as follows:—"I am quite sure that if only the colonists of New Zealand knew how they could compete in our markets against the world, and I say this with an intimate knowledge of the countries which now hold these markets." Professor Arnold (Cornell University) says :—"New Zealand is essentially a dairy country, par excellence. Grass is the basis of food for the dairy, and no system of feeding yet devised can equal grass feeding for the production of butter. A country,, therefore, which can grow English grasses as New Zealand does, and a country where the cattle can thrive in the open air all the year round, may well rival England and Europe in producing the finest butter and cheese in the world. Sir Dillon Bell makes the remark on this letter, that New Zealand butter can be best sent to England from October to March, arriving at the season when good butter is most wanted in England. He also observes " that Australian apples made their appearance last year, when all kinds of fruit were scarce, and sold well." Formerly a sound apple was seldom to be had in London after Easter.

As to the butter market in the United Kingdom, the annual produce is only 90,000 tons, while the consumption exceeds' 205,000 tons. "It is simply a question," Professor Long further writes to the Agent-General, "of knowing how to do it, and then the dairy industry will bo a most profitable business in New Zealand."

What I have already sent you on this subject relates to the preparation by packing for export and the market. There is here a letter from Messrs. Mills Brothers, the extensive butter factors, of Gracechurch-street, to the AgentGeneral, which refers in express terms to Auckland. They say :—" We understand that butter is received from Auckland packed in specially prepared cases, enamelled inside, which are costly, and are supposed to be returned to the colony, but this is impossible, as the cases are sold with the butter, and it would be most difficult to collect the packages when empty. Our _ broker states that this patent box is of no advantage, as the butter comes quite as well in kegs, if properly packed. The weight should be 60 to 701bs. The kegs should not be filled, but half an inch left all round between the butter and the keg. When fastened a hole should be made and pickle (strong brine) poured in until the keg is full." Several London firms send letters of a similar character. All these documents manifest a great interest in this subject, a circumstance which, I think, explains the visit of such men as Mr. Meadows to this colony. Mr. Meadows himself is a contributor to this pamphlet, of which copies will bo forwarded to you by the next mail.