THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1315, 13 May 1897, Page 5

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.

MR MacEWAN INTERTIE WED AS TO THE OUTLOOK IN NEW ZEALAND. Mr J. B. Mac Ewan, the well-known dairy expert, arrived in Wellington by the Hauroto on Sunday. Mr Mac Ewan having resigned from the service of the New Zealand Government, voyaged to England and to other parts of the world, and closely investigated the dairying industry, especially in regard to the requirements of the markets and the facilities for the distribution of produce. He visited the butter and cheese centres in'England and the United States and Canada, and also spent some time in Denmark, where the manufacture of butter has reached a high degree of perfection. SpeakiDg on Sunday to a New Zealand Times representative, Mr MacEvran said that the ch : ef drawback at the present time so far as New Zealand produce was concerned was the want of uniformity in quality. “I am not seeking to discredit in any way the position occupied by New Zealand in the London market so far as its butter and cheese are concerned,” said he, “but there is no doubt that this want of uniformity prevails. Denmark, as we know, largely influences the market for butter, just as Canada does for cheese; and one of the characteristics of Danish butter, just as of Canadian cheese, is absolute uniformity. Denmark butter is not always what we call gilt-edged, but is always uniform in texture, colour and flavour.” “ And you say that in New Zealand there is still room for improvement in that direction ?” “ I do.” “How is that improvement to be obtained ?” “ Well, first of all let me say that the result of the work done by the Government in grading the produce at this end has been of the very greatest service to the industry. O wing to the commercial methods which had been adopted in carrying on the business, grading has without doubt done a great deal to improve matters. W-e have a great many qualities of butter going on the London market, and the Danish article has, .as it were, educated the public taste to a higher standard than would have existed otherwise. The standard established by Denmark is a light colour, a clean, sweet flavour, and a uniformity of quality in shipments. When we compare factory methods in Denmark and Sweden with those in New Zealand, there are no striking differences to be noted, and the explanation as to how uniformity may be best obtained is found in the almost general adoption ©f pasteurisation in Denmark and Sweden.” The pasteurisation of milk is, in Mr Mac Ewan’s opinion, absolutely essential in New Zealand, if the produce of this colony is. to compete successfully with that of Denmark. In that country upwards of 90 per cent, of the factories have adopted pasteurisation. This is an operation by which milk is brought to a high, temperature in a very short space of time and then cooled, and by this process certain ferments pre-existing in the milk are destroyed. As Mr Mac Ewan pointed out, butter from New Zealand arrives in London which is perfect in every way, except that it has a strong grass flavour or weed flavour. This flavour in butter, though it may be acceptable in New Zealand, is not regarded favourably in London because of the standard set up by Denmark, and here is where pasteurisation is valuable. It is a process which destroys all such flavours, and renders the butter thoroughly free from any characteristic of the kind.

Pasteurisation of milk in the New Zealand factories would not be an expensive process. As Mr Macßwan says, the process is no longer a mere theory, and if New Zealand is to succeed against her rivals, she must he as well equipped as they. The outlook for the dairy industry in New Zealand is exceedingly promising. "It is, of course, a very difficult thing to forecast the market/' said Mr Mac Ewan, “but the statistics go. to show that the consumption is increasing very largely. As for cheese, the standard attained by New Zealand is very high, but even here there is a little irregularity which can easily be remedied.” As to the question of distribution, Mr Mac Ewan repeats that New Zealand produce in England passes through too many hands before it reaches the consumer. There are too many middlemen, and many of the people who concern themselves in the distribution of the produce have really no connection at all with the trade.