AUCKLAND'S BUTTER TRADE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13396, 26 January 1907, Page 5

AUCKLAND'S BUTTER TRADE.

SATISFACTORY EXPORT

SHIPMENTS

A WORD OF WARNING TO PRODUCERS. Thk butter shipment for the fortnight ending to-day. together with the quantity held for freezing owing to delay in transit, and for west of England ports, totals 12.A88 boxes, or 309 tons, representing in money value close 'on £30,000. The corresponding shipment of last year was 9857 boxes, or 246 tons, so that the fortnight just closed shows an increase of 63 tons, or between £6000 and £7000 in value. The shipment for the previous fori night was 14,286 boxes, or 557 tons, the decrease being largely due to the floods in the district, which have prevented the factories sending through all their butler, while in some cases the factories are commencing to hold their outputs for the local winter trade. In the course of a short chat with a Hkiiai.d representative, the grader. Mr. A. A. Thornton, said the butter from the Waikato district had been coming through via the Thames, but a considerable quantity had arrived too late for freezing iu time for the shipments to-day. By the s.s. Corinna and the s.s. MaUtua there were going to Wellington, for transhipment, 9830 boxes, or 245 tons. w...ie the quantity held for freezing and for the west of England boat totalled 3556 boxes, or 88 tons. The floods had interfered seriously with the industry, as pastures had been inundated. It was a. good thing that the factories in the Waikato had refrigerating power to keep their butter in good order and condition, otherwise there would have been serious loss. The parcels arriving so far were in fairly good condition, but there were some factories which had no refrigerating power, which were obliged to still hold their stocks. A most serious matter had cropped up during the past week, and that was that butter was coming forward from several factories encased in boxes made of green timber. This was simply disastrous, and if there w\as much more butter similarly packed the industry would receive a very serious setback. In some of the boxes, the parchment paper was actually mildewed, and the effect on the butler could be better imagined than described. Some butter, which arrived that day, was white on top, owing to being packed in green timber. Factory managers would have to see that the boxes were of seasoned timber, otherwise great loss would result.

As an instance of the difficulties encountered by dairy farmers during the floods, and at the same time of the spirit of cooperation amongst the country people, a scene on the Onewhero to Tuakau bridge road during the week was a striking object lesson. Several very bad slips came down on the roadway, and the dairy farmers found themselves unable to get their supplies through to the dairy factory. They did not wait for action on the part of the local body, but 45 of the settlers clubbed together, and set to work with spades and shovels, and worked for two days to clear the slips, and thus enabled the traffic to be resumed.