THE DONALD ESTATE BUTTER FACTORY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 11622, 9 April 1901, Page 6

THE DONALD ESTATE BUTTER FACTORY.

The forward movement of dairying industry in the Wairarapa has been of a very distinct character for some years past, and, in view of the important dimensions to which it has attained, it ;is ; highly satisfactory to note that the industry, which is the staple support of many hundreds of persons, is prospering at the present time more than ever. A great port of New' Zealand is :eminently suitable.for dairying purposes, and ■' her butter is steadily increasing in popularity .-.: on the Home market. With more rapid transit, arrangements, Government grading, improved : machinery,.: dairy school • instructors, and with a system of supervision, effectual but not irksome to those engaged fin the industry, there is assuredly a great future in store for the dairymen of New Zealand. v Perhaps of the different dairy factories in the district there is none more prosperous or better conducted than the Tarureka Butter Factory, situated at Featherston. The history of this particular factory :is ! highly ; interesting,, and may ■ bo described as emblematical of theprogress of the dairying industry, in the Wairarapa district. As faback as 1883, the late.Mr. James Donald ' erected the Tarureka factory. At first operations were conducted oh a modest scale. The building was half the size of the present one, and the separator used was only of 90 gallons capacity, but sufficiently large for the milk of 200 cows. Mr. Donald employed no more than three ; hands, who, however, • succeeded in doing all the necessary work. A fair idea of how tho business has grown may be gauged from the facts that there are noW two 400-gallon separators in use, one of Hall's No. 4 refrigerators, and all the latest iimprovements and appliances, necessary or the manufacture of butter \on up-to-date, principles. Among the appliances may be mentioned testing machine, steiliser, churn, capable of turning out 6001b. of butter per diem, turning lathe, and 12 horse-power engine. The -separating; churning, buttertesting, and refrigerating is all done by steam power. By which means, also, the turning lathe, circular saws, pumps, and com grinders are worked. The corn, is ground and the pigs and calves are fed upon it, and show by their condition the advisability: of care being taken in: the matter of feeding young stock. To dwell minutely on the various appliances used : in; the ; factory ,;.■; would, - perhaps, make:this account wearisome reading, and would certainly occupy too ■ much > spaco,: but, one may bo permitted to remark that in several instances Ml. Allan Donald, the manager, sets an example to_ the other dairy factory companies iu the district ; that V they might profit by. In the matter of t »- ; steriliser, frequently, authorities in dairying have pointed ■. out that every butter factory should be provided with a steriliser, but 'how i many companies follow such sound counsel? The Tarureka factory is really a wonderful J institution, both ." inside and out," if such a term is permissible. All the woodwork is done on the premises, such as tho making of butter-boxes, cutting firewood, and so forth; in fact, all that the engineers require to bo done. After the. milk has been put through ; the refrigerator, it is mixed with; ground corn, and placed on a truck and run along ; a tram-line for about half a mile, where .jhe • - piggeries are situated. Tho number of pigs ~r thus fed—on the best of food let it be observed—is 900, and yearly 700 porkers are turned off. All the stock on /the place are bced by Mr. Donald, and among other first, class stock he has some of the best bred pigs in the Wairarapa,; if not in New Zealand.' Most of tho pigs are Berkshires, and in tho superiority of this breed over all others Mr. . Donald is a firm believer. The piggery yards and drainage works are kept in a faultlessly clean condition, a sanitary measure that is both expedient and humane in piggrowing. • ■,■, 1.1. The manner in which Mr. Donald rears the _. calves !is a most pleasant sight to tho up-to-date agriculturist. A large number of heifer v: calves arc fed, during their ' extreme youth, in' a "'■ shed on milk and meal, sustenance, which no one will be surprised to learn, keeps them in the " very pink of condition. In the shed are a number of small bails.: ono j> for each calf, and thus from their youth _up . they are accustomed to ' go, into the bail. : There is one feature,, however, in the ar- : rangements for the feeding of; calves that is; worthy ot special . mention. ; At feeding : ; time some 40 calves com© into the shed, and ■■ put their heads through the bails to; eat the ;•■ food. At the precise moment a man pulls a spring, and each calf's head is imprisoned ;.; in its own bail. When the calves have fed, /; ; the spring is pulled again, and they are once more at liberty. In view of. tho foregoing remarks, perhaps it is scarcely, necessary to state that the factory itself is always* in a .scrupulously ['> clean " condition, h From the milk of the 600 cows an immense quantity of butter is manufactured, a ton and a-half -being sold in pound pats every week, while" the remainder is sent Home. ; As' a partial reward forrlhe care :. that Mr. Donald exercises in the manufacture of his butter, he has the gratification of know-';■;■; ing that it is always graded :as first-class by the Government grader, 'a higher certificate than -what: is unobtainable! Howevjr, it -. should be mentioned that the manufacture of the commodity is under the direct supervision of Miss Donald, who is an enthusiastic ; and scientific dairyist. Miss; Donald attended the Inglewood dairy school for r. con-. siderable time* and with considerable vantage, as the results of her energetic and cap-' able supervision prove— more so, indeed, ' than any stilted phrases.; In the factory five-. hands are employed, while the labour on tho farms is done on a sort of communistic unn- . ciple, that works out very' happily indeed; The cows run on four of the farms ; belong- ; ing to the estate, and on each farm resides \ a family, who do the work by contract.;: All labour in the factory and utensils, horses, ,; breaks and so forth are provided; by: the Donald Estate, and on the farms are '■ grown % splendid crops of hay, turnips, mangolds,' peas, barley, beans, and pumpkins as fodder for the cattle. "•:'■ The farms : are also supplied with the latest and most improved machinery for tilling the soil, in addition to; milking sheds, built after tho most approved scientific principles. - Over\so hands are em- • ployed on the farms, and it goes almost without saying that all the sheds and yards are kept in a perfect state of cleanliness.. , This article would certainly be incomplete without some mention of the choice dairy ;: herd bred and kept on the Donald Estate. Tho cows are from the -very best milking strains, and always maintained in splendid recondition. They are also very kindly handled, a system of treatment which experts jsay,:., tends to a considerable extent to' increase : ' tho quantity of milk given by a cow, for it is well, known that the cow possesses a highly sensitive organism. The entire herd ;< has recently boon tested with the tuborcuiin ■ test by the Government veterinarian, and all the "doubtful" members, which were ex- ■ ceedingly few in number, were c' destroyed.;: All the ; butter manufactured, therefore, - : is :-■ made from the milk of tested cows, a precaution that dairy factories generally, would )'••.:: do well to observe, in order to make absolutely sure, of the public's confidence in ih« wholcsomenoss of their butter". A very fine lot of horses is also lwpt on tho estate, comprising draughts, hunters,' an.i;-. . hacks, .'with'each: of .'.which class Mr. Donald has taken prizes at different agricultural shows. Mi. Allan Donald is the manager 1 ) ■"• the estate for the trustees of the late Mr. .Tames Donald, and is without doul£ tho rii?lit man in the right place. It requires no little knowledge, energy, and foresight to successfully manage such a large concern. On the occasion of my visit I met the local inspector of stock 'Mr. T. C. Webb) making one. cf his periodical visits. Mr. Webb, it appears,, makes an inspection of the factory and farms; . about three times a month, or, when in the Featherston district, at Mr. Donald's special ... request. The inspector informs me that' he has on every, occasion found the entire concern being conducted on the most sanitary principles;_ in fact, in such a manner as to delight an inspector of dairies. Such a certificate, coming from tho quarter it does, i» . a high tribute to the present management.-* [Wairarapa Correspondent.]