THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 8890, 28 May 1892, Page 5

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

[BY TELEGRAPH.OWN CORRESPONDENT.J Wellington, Friday. The President of the Chamber of Commerce yesterday gave some interesting figures on the dairy industry. He reminded the mombers that the value of the dairy produce imported into the United Kingdom was £11.500,000 for butter, and nearly £5,000,000 for cheese. The butter export showed an increase of £70,000 as compared with last year, but he regretted that no progress hud been made in the export of cheese, the quantity exported for the year ending 31st March last being £98,000, as against £97,150 for the corresponding period last year. Here were we in New Zealand with an area of 103,000 square miles, nearly 7,000,0000f acres of which are grass-sown, exporting cheese to the value of less than £100,000, while Switzerland, with an area of 15,442 square miles, exported in 1890 cheese to the value of £1 500,000. The dairy industry, at the present rate of production, showed a balance of £337,936 for last year. The following successful experiment may have considerable interest for your country readers : Mr. Gale said that when in Dunedin a fortnight ago, he learned from a gentleman there of a system under which he was working a dairy factory in Dunedin. An estate of, say, 10,000 acres had been subdivided into 100- acre blocks, each block is let to a man with a wife and family, the estate also providing a house, farm, and utensils, and 00 cows. The milk was sold to the dairy factory, and the gross proceeds were divided, 50 per cent to the estate, and 50 per cent, to the tenant. His informant stated that under this system the tenant made £150 per annum, in addition to free house, milk, butter, besides saving many other expenses incidental to town life.