A CRACK VICTORIAN BUTTER FACTORY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1263, 14 May 1896, Page 5

A CRACK VICTORIAN BUTTER FACTORY.

WHERETIIE £SO PRIZEBOTTER WAS MADE.

The Glenormisfon (Western district cf Victoria) Butter Factory won the champion prize of £SO at the Intercolonial Butter Contest in Sydney recently. The history of this factory is really wonderful, and a description of the factory and of its successful work ing will, wearesnre, be read with interest by New Zealand dairymen. We quote from the Aunlralisian as follows: It was in February of last year that the establishment of a butter factory at Gh normi.ston was mooted. The Messrs. liiaek, of Mount Noorat and Glcuormiston, about four miles from Toning, were the mime movers, and had it not been for their action there would have been no factory at Glenormiston and no butter championship I ononis foi the district. They offered their Glenormiston woolhlied on a 20-vears lease at the annual rental of jCf>7 15s. This gave the movement an impetus, and the company was immediately formed, with Messrs A. J. Black, S. G. Black, Thos. Kelly, Wm. Long and Donald Ferguson as the directorate, Mr A. J. Black occupying the position of chairman of directors. From the day of commencement, July 15, 1895, the working of the factory has gone on without a hitch, and with astonishing success.

The buildings are excellently adapted for (hemanufacturingof butter, inasmuch as the walls are of solid bluestone, and beautifully cool, while the rooms are lofty and airy. The necessary alterations to tho building were executed under Mr A.. Hamilton, architect, of Colac. The machinery is of the most modern type, the directors being guided by the experience of older factories. The boiler, engine and

refrigerator are placed well away from the five Alpha No. 2 separators, these important factors being mounted on a substantia l stone foundation. Tho separators are directly under the receiving tanks, which are high enough to allow the milk to run into the machines by gravitation. The milk is tceeived on the south side of the factory, the waggons laden with milk-cans being driven under the hoitt. A sample is taken ot each supplier's milk every morning, and at the end of each week the test is made by the secretary. A Babcock tester is used, and that it works admirably is shown by the fact that out of a 'total of 212,2851 b of butter manufactured since the opening of the factory a difference of only 122A1b resulted between the test and tho churn, in favour of the latter. After being separated, the cream flows out over one of McVeigh's patent coolers, into a huge vat. From here the cream i 3 pumped up into the maturing vats on the top floor. There are maturing vats capable of holding 1000 gallons each. These vats are jacketed, and are one of the latest improvements in the butter factory plant. They arc expensive luxuries, too, each costing £BO. However, they soon pay for themselves, for the regular flavour and colour of a butter is in great measure due to their use. When the cream i.s considered ripe enough it i.s allowed to run into the churns There are two 5001 b con-cu-sion churns in use, and from them the butter i.s taken by means of a huge wooden spade, put into a wooden butter barrow, and wheeled into the butter-working room In this room the product is revolved on a Cherry butter worker, salted, worked again next morning, and afterwards packed. Immediately it is packed the boxes are placed in the cool room, which opens off the working-room. Inside this room are two large eool-storagu ounks, full of brine, through which the refrigerator pipes pass. On the opposite side of the working room a door opens into the testing-room and secretary's oiliee. The testing-room is replete with all the modern appliances. The whole of the flooring is of cement and tiles, nicely sloped to allow the pure water which is continually being flushed over the floors to run into a small drain at the lower edge of each room. This small drain carries the water outside the building and half a mile away into a paddock. With the abundant use of water everything is spotlessly clean, and there is a total absence of the smell that meets the olfactory nerves in some factories. 'ldm skim milk is pumped up into three galvanised iron tanks some 20 yards away from the building on the north side, so that suppliers delivering th:-ir milk on the south side drive round to the north and receive their quota of skim milk on their way out.

The business during tho first halfyear's existence of the factory is really wonderful. Starting operations on July 15 of last year with a daily supply of 1000 gal!o:.s, the supply increased at a tremendous rate, and on October 29 it had reached 1268 gallons per day. Up to January 31 (six mon'dis and a half) the total gallons of milk received was 501,314, for which the suppliers were paid L 757-1 16s id. The butter manufactured amounted to 242,2851 b, value L 10,718 15s 81, it taking 23 161 bof milk to make lib of butter. The suppliers were paid an average price of 7. l ,d per lb for the butter, or equal to 323 d per gallon for the milk supplied. Tho accompanying table shows the monthly supply for the six mouths :

At the end of the half year a profit of LBO2 5s lOd was shown, an 1 from this a bonus was paid to the suppliers of L 513 2s, so that on the first six months'operations the suppliers received the substantial price of 8d per lb for the butter manufactured, while the company received au average price of 10 64 pence per lb. During the season 3218 cases of butter were exported, for which an average price of 1.04 s 9|d per cwb was obtained. In Melbourne Glenormisfon faclory butter is eagerly sought after, and more than can be manufactured could bo disponed of at ( J\d per lb. Mr James Ecoles, the manager of the Glenormiston factory, is proud of

the championship win at Sydney, not only because the exhibit came from Glenormiston, but because he churned, coloured, worked and packed the butter entirely by himself. Since the opening of the Glenormiston factory, cottages and dairy farms have sprung up all over the Glenormiston Estate. The Messrs Black have leased the greater portion of their land on the co-operative principle, and the district is one of the most thriving in the colony, The dairymen are a fine lot of fellows, scrupulously clean, and this goes a long way in helping the manager to turn out excellent butter.

1 I Milk Bnlt'r Price jTotalpaid to Reeeivod. LMndc. Paid. Suppliers. 1 j ■ Gallons. lb, I d. JG s. d. Am. ... 52,010 21,170 71 7.V2 11 3 Sept. ,. 79,512 31,331 7| 10,'!(i G fi Out;. ... 117,108 18,118 7 J 1 o.'j.j 13 7 Nov. ... 112,932 50,851 7.', 1533 15 5 Dec. .. 101,078 14 352 7i 1381 7 II Jan. .. 70,4.35 32,139 8 10(17 0 0