DAIRY PRODUCE NOTES.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1156, 27 April 1894, Page 7

DAIRY PRODUCE NOTES.

From Our Own Correspondent. London, March 9 During the past three days the , butter market hns exhibited very palpable signs of weakening. The demand is not nearly so brisk as it was last week, and those agents who were either unable to clear their floors or who held on in hopes of an upward move, are now in an uncomfortable position. Ihey have to face a drop of four kroner in the Danish quotation—a bid for the market this—and the prospect of a well-stocked market next week owing to the arrival of the Yaletta, expected in on Tuesday, with some 750 tons. The Rimutaka, which came in on Wednesday, brought some twenty thousand boxes, so that on a falling market these two boats will have planked some twelve hundred tons—not an alarming quantity, but enough to frighten agents with stocks on hand into a semi panic and to cause a considerable falling away in prices. 'I he Rimutaka was expected in on Monday last, but she did not dock till Wednesday afternoon, and though all expedition was observed in getting out her butters the consignees did not handle much until today (Friday). Consequently butters ex tliia steamer will come in for a drop of about 4s per cwt on rates ruling dur,iug the early week, unless, indeed, an entirely unexpected turn is given to the market in the next twelve hours I calculate that the delay of this boat means something approximate to fifteen hundred pounds out of exporters' pockets New Zealand traders, indeed, this season have suffered considerable loss through the want of regularity in the arrival of butters from the Colony. Regularity of supply ia an essential to the prosperity of the trade. To put the matter very plainly, Victoria is "knocking spots out of you," owing to the higgledypiggledy order of your shipments and the all round depreciation in the quality of your best butters thi« season. From some cause or other many of the New Zealand factories, which last year supplied some of the very £nest butter imported into England, have failed to attain their standard of last year. Even the famous "Anchor" and " Crown" brands have lost caste to a certain extent. The complaint made against New Zealand butter is usually that it is too strong in flavour—" fishy" is the technical term. What is wanted here is a clean flavoured butter. To the rectification of this fault and others, which can only be put right from your end—as for examplo, keeping butter at a proper temperature pending shipment —jyir Valentine and his confreres might well address themselves and leave the question of distribution at this end alone for a time. Give us regular supplies and butter suited to the market and there will be no difficulty in distributing all you can send, at prices which will give a fair percentage on your outlay. Abuses, I am well aware, still exist at this end, but these have arisen to large extent through the mistaken policy of exporters in consigning to people whose only recommendation is that they are willing to take a smaller commission, give larger advances and make more glowing promises than the best of the agents care to. These abuses are gradually disappearing, and if New Zealanders could only be persuaded of the wisdom of a policy of concentration such as I have ventured to advocate from time to time, they would soon be things of the past. Deafen your ears to the blab and cackle of faddists regarding new mar. keta and the advantages of direct shipment to Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Bristol, Birmingham, and such places.

. Some few years hence Liverpool and Manchester may require direct shipments, but it is absolute nonsense to suppose that these places will pay more for Australasian butter and cheese than the prices ruling in London. But I am forgetting the Rimutaka. In connection with this consignment let me first of all draw attention to a matter of brands which has come under my notice. Amongst the many parcels by this boat I notice one of some 400 boxes branded with a Black Swan. The exporter of this lot may or may not be aware that this mark was long ago appropriated by a Victorian exporter, and that under it he has consigned soma of the very finest Australian butter ever seen in England, Ido not know if the brand is registered, but in any cmro [ hope that the New Znalander will drop using it since his Victorian rival undoubtedly imported into England under the brand lirst. If tho " Black Swan" is registered there will, of course, be trouble This brand pirating, witting or otherwise, leads to a lot of trouble and confusion, and breeds ill-feeling between agents at this end, and what is worso sometimes causes " ructions" between agents and buyers. Messrs Reynolds have taken several Australian exporters to task for using their "Anchor Brand," and have pretty well stopped the nuisance su far as their registered mark is concerned. The Rimutaka consignment has as a whole turned out in better condition than was expected, and no blame can bo laid on the ship for the poor condition of some of the stuff which externel and internal evidence shows to have been heated before shipment. That a lot of the stuff would turn out so was anticipated, for private advices had been received here commenting on tho state of some of the butter arriving for shipment at Wellington. But mat. ters were not nearly so bad as expected. The Rimutaka is not an ideal boat as regards her freezing and cool chamber arrangements, and great credit is due to her engineers for the excellent they made of a most indifferent plant. They must have indulged in a good deal of guess work as regards the temperature of one or two chambers, for the only means of ascertaining the ternperature therein was to crawl through the return air trunks. By this means they could only obtain the temperaturo at one particular point and had no idea of the degree obtaining on the driving side, in the centre or at tho bottom of the chamber. It was ascertained by Mr Low and others that tho temperature in one chamber ranged from several degrees below freezing point on the driving side to 48 degrees ou the other, near the roof of the chamber. Mr Low is writing an exhaustive report on this vessel's cool space and plant, so I forbear to say more. I believe, however, that the shipping company intends to make many changes in the arrangements of this boat before next season.