NATIONAL DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1687, 29 June 1904, Page 63

NATIONAL DAIRY ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL MEETING.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

discussed.

(From Our Special Reporter.) PALMERSTON, June 21. . The tenth annual meeting of the National Dairy. Association of .New Zealand, Ltd., -tvAs hel<} at Palmerston North to-day, Trirte -was ,a .very large attendance, the members; iepieseniing forty-one co-operative companies, five proprietary factories, one packing-house apd, five exporters. Mi J.’W. Foreman (president) occupied the chair. -\ ':■> The secretary (Mr J. ,G. ; Harkness)submitted the'"annual • report and bglahceTsheet, as already liublished. The chairman, in moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, congratulated the meeting on the large attendance of members, w,hich indicated a greater ‘interest being taken, in the Work of the association.. During the past year it had gone on smoothly, and there- had been a marked iiTfpr.ovement in shipping arrangements. The arrival of consignments on the London market Had been more regular than at any other period. They had also been very fortunate in being favoured with a bountiful season; grass had been abun-dant-all over the colony. He pointed to the fact that the total exports had v increased in value from £423,627 in 1895, to £1,623,254 in the year just ended, showing an increase of nearly £1,250,000 in the nine years. He emphasised the vast amount of labour engaged in the producing- of butter and the long hours people were compelled to work on week days and Sundays. They were deserving of all the sympathy and support of the association. (Applause.) - Mr A. .Morton (Inglewood) seconded the motion. Mr Marks (Mangatoki) asked if nothing could bo done to improve the service to the west of England? The chairman feared that any representations on the part of the association could not effect an alteration, as the subsidised steamers were bound under contract to go to South Africa, and for some reason New Zealand trade had not grown there. In fact, for some time it had been a diminishing .quantity. The voyage to Great Britain occupied about ninety days, which was too long. The steamers had to undergo delays at Australian ports. Mr Meadows (Wellington) considered that the falling-off in the South African trade was due to the irregular service. Mr J. R. Scott (Dunedin) pointed out that Southern producers were of opinion that it would be better to ship to Australia, from which there was a regular service. The present subsidised line was really an Australian line. He heard that the Government- had been offered a direct service from the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company. He thought the association ought to pass some resolution on the subject. The report and balance-sheet were adopted. The retiring directors—Messrs James Young (National Dairy Union) Palmerston North, and A. MdFarlane (Ballance Dairy Co.) Pahiatna—were unanimously re-elected. The retiring auditor, Mr O. D. Morpeth, Wellington, was also re-elected. The chairman was voted a sum of £2O in recognition of his services for the year; each of the other four directors received £10; and the secretary £25. THE QUESTION OF DISTRIBUTION. The chairman submitted resolutions passed at a meeting of delegates of cooperative dairy companies, held at Stratford, to the effect that it was advisable in the interests of the dairy industry that steps be taken without delay to formulate a scheme for the better distribution of dairy produce in the English market and for the maintenance of prices. The scheme provided that the association should be the medium of exchange between buyer and seller, that factories joining the combine should be free to consign or sell at a fixed price; that in the case of consignment, the commission charged should not exceed 34 per cent.; that in the case of a sale through the association at a fixed price, the association should be entitled to a rebate of 4 per cent., but in the event of the association not being able to sell, and a sale being made by the factories direct, the rebate to the association should be 4 per cent.; that the association should have the right .to inspect all books and accounts in connection with consignments if they considered it necessary to do’so; that the association should

invite, offers from firms m Britainto do business on the lines of the foregoing resolutions; and that the association should obtain reliable, information' as to the probable value of dairy pmE diioe, so. as to advise factories as toValue. ’ . • >:• • V The secretary said it must be apparent that better means 'of distribution were necessary. At the present time they were iri the habits of consigning into the hands of those whom they believed to be-. reputable agents all over the country, apd from the sending away they received no account until after the sale. He could never understand' for instance why there should bo 'a difference. 6f 16s peivcwt. between .^Ne WyZealand butter and Danish butter); considering that we were producing blitter which irirthe opinion of some connoisseurs, was superior, to .Danish butter. Of Court©, • there must be a difference cJ 4s qr -os per cwt.;'because Danish butter-was.'put on the market once or twice' a week, whereas New Zealand butter Was a couple of months eld by the. time-ut r Ur- . ri,Ved, and, therefore, comparatively stale. To his mind there wiw somebody reaping a benefit which ought to go into the pockets of the producer; find when they considered the means adopted to “'bear” the market in . the Old Country, those sending Home must suffer heavily. (Applause.) ■*.; In the course of a discussion which ■ followed, Mr Parlane said he did not wish to throw cold water on , the., scheme suggested, but he thought the merchants at Home were the victims of circumstances. He thought every man did his best to get the best price ho could tor the butter. It would be very dangerous to restrict the'disposal of the produce to one or two men, as by doing so they, would have the others now in the business working, against them. Ho placed before 5 the meeting an alternative set of proposals, hi iving for their, object the formation of a BritishNew Zealand Association, to act in conjunction with the National Dairy Association, and to have a London representative ; a committee of four to tie appointed by the British Association with the London representative as chairman, such committee to fix the minimum selling price, and regulate terms from time to time.' Mr Mellor seconded Mr Parlane’s proposals pro forma. ... The adoption of the proposals • submitted by the chairman was formally moved by Mr Morrison, arid seconded by Mr Bassett. . .

After a considerable amount of discussion, it was decided, on the motion of Mr Shannon, that a committee be appointed to work with the executive of the National Dairy Association to formulate a scheme and submit it to the different factories. The following committee was appointed:—Messrs Parlane, Morton, Renall, Broadbelt, Marks and Dingle.

EXPERIMENTAL DAIRY STATION. The chairman announced that he had had a conversation with Mr Ritchie, Secretary to the Department of Agnculture, who liad informed him that it was pretty well definitely decided that the proposed ,experimental dairy station would be erected at the Levin State farm, but that the department was taking no active steps until Mr Kinsella’s return. He suggested that instead of discussing matters it should be left in the hands of the executive to urge the department to have a dairy station erected as soon as possible.. This course was approved. STRATFORD TECHNICAL SCHOOL. A lcter was read from the secretary of the Stratford School Comuuttee asking the assistance of the association : u getting the services of an officer of the Dairy Department in connection with the Stratford Technical School. The Government has promised to consider the matter on Mr Kinsella’s return. The matter was adjourned to Thursday or Friday, when tho secretary of the committee will be present. DUTY ON WHITE PINE. The chairman introduced the subject ol the proposed increased duty on white pine. There was an enormous quantity being exported at present, and fear was being expressed that in the not-distant future the supply would be short for our own use. The South Island Association had passed J a resolution that the duty ought to be increased. Considerable diversity of opinion was manifested. Mr Holmes (Wellington) opposed any increase of duty unless owners of white pine areas were given some “ quid pro quo.” The secretary pointed' out that Australia was using twenty million feet of white pine per annum for packing its butter, and considering that they had placed threepence duty on our butter and a duty on our cheese, he did not think we ought to supply them with an article which we might run short of later on. It was finally decided, on the motion o" Mr Morrison, that the Government he urged to protect white pine in the interests of the colony. It was agreed that the next annual meeting of the association should be held in Palmerston North. The secretary drew attention to the fact that it had been the cu tom for people purchasing dairying m \chinery to have it admitted free as far. as

duty was concerned. - However, sipe© October last the Government had given a fresh reading of .’ the Customs Act. Ho suggested that'The’; meeting pass a resolution in favour of having the? old order of things retairiedE); -, ;.7 7; ; ; *A resolution' on the lines suggested", was passed unanimously. ; •• / PROPOSED FREEZING WORKS ; FOR WELLINGTON.

The question of erecting co-operative freezing works in Wellington, for dealing with butter from Wellington and Hawke’s Bay provinces", ‘ cairie .up fordiscussion. ’ \ , "

The secretary explained the steps tjfiat had already been taken in the mat-' ter' a$ a result of its consideration last _ March. .He' had been commissioned *to - 'make inquiries as to sites, etc. ,It was somewhat difficult to get a suitable site “in Wellington. A .hulk could •be purchased, but * the Governirient would "say it "was an unsuitable place in ...which to - carry on the 1 business. Ho had also interviewed the' Harbour, Board,' and it would be difficult to get a site front that body for two years. On' "the other hand the Wellington Meat Export Company’s works. were for sale, and could be purchased, but that could not be. done until a ' coinpany was formed. He thought the best site.would be that-occupied by the Black Swan Butter -'Factory. by reason of its proximity to both 5 the GOv- , eminent and the Manawatu railway-sta-tions. Until tlie company was formed, it would be difficult to get definite information. The earnings, would probably' be £6OOO a year, and the works would cost from £12,000 to £13,000. He" believed that next year the producers would be in the position of having to pay the whole of the freezing charges: As a matter of principle, the dairying people should control the freezing works themselves, and not allow them to be controlled by anybody else. On the motion of Mr McFarlane it was agreed that a meeting of representatives of factories iri 'Wellington arid Hawke’s Bay should he held at 7 pari, to consider the question. On resuming, a lengthy discussion Took place Mr D. J. Nathan (Wellington) stated that the idea was good, but there were objections in the way. He suggested two courses of action—either the Wellington Meat Export Co., which might he prepared to sell its works at a reasonable figure rather than see the. advent of the competition of co-<speratiye freezing works, shoiild be approached, with a view to purchase, or the Wellington Harbour Board, * which would probably be prepared to purchase the Meat Export Company’s works, provided that it could get a guarantee from the factories of a supply for a period of should be negotiated with. It was finally resolved, “That a. committee of seven be set up to inquire in - to the question of providing for the freezing and storage of dairy produce in Wellington, and report to a future meeting.”" Tho committee appointed consists of Messrs Nathan (chairman), McFarlane, T. A. Hudson, J. Renall, Young, E. P. Blake and Whitaker. PALMERSTON, Wednesday.

The Dairy Conference opened its session this morning. The weather was glorious, and there was a very large attendance of dairymen and others interested in the dairying industry. Mr J. P. Foreman (president of the National Dairy Association) occupied the chair.

“A MENACE TO THE DAIRY INDUSTRY.”

This was the title of a lecture given by Mr J. A. Gilruth, M.R.C.V.S., Chief Government Veterinarian, on the subject of mammitis, or contagious inflammation of the udder in cows. He pointed out that the presence of this disease in tho colony was brought under his notice only a year ago by an inspector of the Veterinary Department in the South Island. Since then a great number of cases had been discovered in both islands. Therp was a considerable amount, of the disease on the West Coast of the North Island, also in Canterbury and Otago. In the majority of cases it only affected the animals so slightly as to be scarcely perceptible, but in some instances it caused suppuration, and even death. He described the symptoms and characteristics of tho disease in its different stages, one of which was the tendency of the milk to coagulate. He had always found great difficulty in getting dairy farmers to report the disease, as they seemed to imagine that doing so would involve the slaughter of the animals or other serious trouble. This idea he wished to repudiate on the part of the Veterinary Department. He pointed out the danger to the general public through using tho milk of cows affected with the disease. It had been found to cause an affection of the throat similar to diphtheria in some cases, also abscesses and erysipelas. He recommended a solution of boracic acid for cows affected, compulsory notification of diseases of the udder, the registration of dairy herds, periodic and f-equent inspection. Inspectors should be appointed in each district who could be maintained by the dairy farmers contributing so much per cow. He also advocated compulsory pasteurisation of milk at factories, and dwelt upon the danger to the dairy industry if bacteriologists at Home isolated germs in our produoe. *

It was resolved on the motion of Mr J. G. Harkness—“That, the executive of

■'s»!.■ -%N»6 '.ppm to it tea, withfoower to add . to of ponsideruig' to was t©iidor>? ||l '; MILK TESUTNG. . ’•’ : Mr W. Dempster contributed a paper on “Milk Testing as it Affects tfee Dairyman and Factory Manager.” In the jooursa p£ his .paper the lecturer pointed out itiat "there was no more interesting subject either, to the . factory manager or milk producer. The, question of how many gallons of milk your cows were giving was. the question |dted when two. dairy farmers met at the. time when factories firstrsfcartea in-New Zealarid,, and when the Afeream test the only test in use- •: Quality was not then taken into consideration'" at' all. the farmer with- the rich milk getting no more for . his gallon than , the man with the poor milk. . However, aome twelve or thirteen years &go the. Dafecock test, was introduced, and had since worked quite a revolution in the clairy business, 'although some time before it was adopted as a, means for determining the commercial value of milk, it Toeing simply used as a 'check for .fraudulent practices. Taking the average .herd in cany district; he was v sure that.... 20 of > •file ; «jws i were ' not paying . for. the food they consumed ... ' He advised -every farmer to.' have : a set. pf iseales and a. testing machine, and thus i&jia -oui: what each cow produced. A farmer could also test a composite sample against the factory manager. When comparing herds,, dairymen should not be discouraged if their neighbours had a higher daily average, as a herd might give a large quantity of. milk for three months or so and then fall away. He thought it was time the dairymen of New Zealand knew how, much moisture their butter contained, for if they could add 3 or 4 per. cent, more moisture and still get the same price per cwt., it would be a. big item for the colony. Danish butter was said to contain more moisture than New Zealand butter, yet it always brought' a higher price.; / V A hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr Dempster for his paper, and it was ordered that it should be printed hnd circulated at the expense of the -conference, •. - i.-;,.' ENSILAGE MA KING AND ' [ r FEEDING. Mr. G. C. Gebbie, of Te Itoti, Taranaki, read a paper on “Ensilage Making and- Feeding/’ Ensilage, he said, was the system of preserving green fodder by building into stacks or silos and preventing decomposition by pressure which excludes the air. If pressure was put on immediately, the result was spur ensilage, but ..should pressure be not put on for a time sweet ensilage was formed. The economical feeding of our lierds was becoming a necessity on account of the rising price of land and labour. America was the home of the silo, but there special crops were grown for ensiling,! notably .maize. To make a stack 'of ensilage with a minimum of waste, it was necessary that a plot of about ten acres of a good grass crop should be available, and if possible some mechanical appliances should be erected to enable the stack to reach as near twenty feet in height as practicable, for the'bulk in height acts as a cheap agent in protecting the stack from excessive fermentation. The grass should be greener at cutting than if required for hay, as if it is left too near the ripening stage the ensilage produced would be found to be more or less charred in its manufacture. The site should be selected near the centre of the plot tp save unnecessary haulage. Cut out a square about twp acres in extent to.: give sufficient room to work about the stack. The grass might be allowed to wither a little in the sun before carting in. Whilst this was being done, any mechanical contrivance for hoisting could be erected, and the bottom Of the stack outlined with a circle twen-ty-one feet in diameter. In stacking it was wise not to exceed in height the breadth of the stack, which should not lean too much. Poles should be kept handy for this purpose. As soon as carting started on the plot already cut around the stack, the mower should be started to cut out a square from three to four acres, and with a full gang of men would be kept fairly busy.. The speaker recommended using sledges, with wheels attached to the back for bringing the cut grass. From 8 to 10 cwt. can by these means be hauled in. The load was built on a sling spread lengthways on the sledge, arid when a height of thirty inches had been built, a second sling should be put cn. At the stack each sling was pulled off separately. The stack should not bo any higher in the middle than at the sides, and rolls of green stuffs should not be allowed to remain intact, but teased out and evenly spread. A staunch, reliable horse, together with a > stout, broad belly-band, should be used in hauling up. A stack up to 12 or 14ft might be built by forking the same as in hay. but it would get much hotter, and shrink more than if built by machinery. The reason was that in the latter case all leads were dropped on the stack from a height, and automatically pressed the stack, and drove out the air, thus preventing rapid fermentation. Another method of building was by means of an inclined plane drawing the load right on to the stack, and driving off at the op-

posite end. t In this ease a rectangular i stack wasi .built, and could seldom atr tain a height much over 14f b,_but it had the advantage of ' being continually pressed by Horses and sledges passing re- ' heatedly over the stack. The work was found to be very heavy for the horses iri this case. For the first two days the stack would appear to rise too rapidly in height, but in about thirty-six hours heat would be generated, and by continuing work the stack would not longer rise in the same proportion, as at first. Earth “or other pressure should be at once applied as soon as the grass is in stack. It was better to keep plenty of weight on when building, otherwise the ensilage will be too sweet, as well as chairedf in appearance, and stock will :npt>like it. Sour ensilage is perfectly .wholesome, but a little the feeding properties of the sweet. The depfh of verirth covering the stack* should be from ; nine, to twelve inches, and; placed as * near/the'edge as possible, so as to cause tjip' Sides of the stack to sink and pro- : vicb. a water-shed. After the stack has been -pressed a month it will be fit for use and for several years there will be little ; change in its - -composition. Always cut the stack on the most sheltered side, arid so lessen the loss by exposure. For dairy cattle cabbages or kale appear the only crops to compare favourably in cost of growing to ensilage. Al« weeds, such'as docks', thistles, fat hen, etc., will make ensilage of a more or less good quality, but the best can only be made from the best foodstuffs. The speaker then went on to show the. value of ensilage as a food iri comparison with hay, mangolds, cabbages, ■ swedes and ’ turnips/ Two tons of ensilage will keep a cow- four months with a little help from the pastures. In Taranaki there is always a surplus of grass in the early summer months, and it can be rendered to good account later on in the form of ensilage. The latter has two very practical advantages over hay, first in preventing weeds from seeding, and, secondly, in converting a certain proportion of weeds into a more or less palatable food. Under such favourable climatic conditions in New Zealand, it was not necessary to adopt the silo, which is used extensively in America on account of the rigour of the climate. The Hoist ein-Friesian Association, U.S.A., givesL the following prices for every ton cf production Ensilage 8s 4d, hay 33s 4d mangolds 6s 3d, carrots 16s 4d, cabbages IQs sd, prices which are greatly in exc© \s of the cost here. A vote of thanks was passed to the lecturer.

PALMERSTON, June 23. The session of the Dairy Conference was continued to-day in a rather irregular manner. Business was to have been resumed at 10.30 in the forenoon, and the order paper contained a number of interesting subjects' on which papers were to have been contributed, but the majority of the delegates accepted the invitation of Mr D. J. Nathan to visit his firm’s butter factory at Makino, where the new process of manufacturing dry milk is in operation. A special train conveyed the visitors to Makino at 9 a.m., returning to Palmerston at midday. Mr Nathan conducted. liis guests over, the factory, and the working o? the new process was inspected with much interest. In the meantime some of the gentlemen who had promised to read papers to the conference arrived at the usual place of meeting, and finding no conference there,, went away. It was 2 o’clock in the afternoon before the conference reassembled. Mr J. P. Foreman (president of the National Dairy Association) occupied the chair. The attendance was large. ' THE SEASON’S PROGRESS IN BUTTER.

Air D. Guddie, Acting-Dairy Commissioner, gave a review of the season’s progress in butter, having reference to quality and suggested improvements. He said that at no time in the history of the dairy industry in New Zealand had the standard of quality in creamery butter reached such a high degree of excellence as during the season 190304. Sneaking generally, this contention had been borne out by the reports received from the various British provision merchants who trade in New Zealand butter, and by the testimony of Mr Cameron, Produce Commissioner, in his reports to the Agent-General of New Zealand in London. Returns recently compiled in his office showed that the percentage of first grade butter shipped to the United Kingdom during the period under review amounted to 97} per cent. Of this quantity over 30,000 boxes were scored by the graders 94} points or over out of the possible 100. “When we take into consideration the low prices obtained for New Zealand butter on the Home market during _ the past season/’ said Air Cuddie, “it is difficult to conjecture what would have occurred had the quality on the whole not been, satisfactory, and there is little doubt that the progress of the dairying industry would have received a very serious check indeed but for the splendid condition in which the hulk of the produce arrived in London. If prices are high, we are more inclined to discount any favourable reports which come to hand, as it is well known that complaints are generally fewer when that market is good. During the past season, however, we received these glowing reports in spite of the fact that the market was dull

and prices low; therefore, we are bound to place more than ordinary credence in the statements which have been made. As the season advanced, quotations for butter gradually declined, and eventually reached a lower level than has been the case during the last ten years. In spite of these circumstances, the number of serious complaints in regard to the quality of our creamery • fi utter have been almost infinitesimal,; "thus it may justly be claimed that the good average quality of New Zealand butter was the means of preventing values receding to a point at which no margin of profit would have been left to the producer, which would, have had a disastrous effect on the industry generally. As compared* with previous-,years, there has been less cause for alarm with regard to fishiness in the butter from this colony, and. although this very serious defect lias not by any means disappeared, there has been a decided fall-ing-off in the number of cases reported. Notwithstanding the • rapid progress which has beeri noticed, in the improvement 'of the quality of our butter during jlast sdason and the preceding years; and the recognition it has received at the hands of the British merchants and consumers, it is well to remember that there is still a wide field for., further . Improvement in the butter manufactured at a very large number of our factories. It goes without saying that the principal faults are in respect yto flavour. ,- A visit to any of the grading stores during the, season would convince even the uninitiated that much of the butter sent in for export is far from , being sound- in flavour. It is apparent to. all who know anything about the. subject that what is required to-day is more uniformity in the flavour of the butter and a better keeping article. The lack of this very desirable characteristic is doubtless due. in part to the methods of manufacture, the faulty condition in which the milk or cream is received at the factory,, and. the strong feed flavours prevalent "in some districts. Uniformity is of vital importance in most manufactured articles —in none more so“ than . in butter, and in order that a permanent and increasing trade may be established, it must be uniformly good. For instance, if it qould be said pf one dairying district in New Zealand that practically the whole of the factories in that district were turning out such a uniformly high-class butter that a purchaser could secure the output of any number of them, irrespective of brand, knowing that the butter would suit his customers, the result would be that instead of the butter realising 12s to 16s per cwt. under Danish, it would gradually rise in favour, and in the long run command a price, if not equal to the highest, at least far above the average.”

In order to bring about this desirable improvement, Air Cuddie maintained that it would be necessary to face the question of pasteurisation, so that the pure cultures and starters which are now in general use might be utilised to the best advantage. Aluch had already been accomplished through the medium of the pure lactic acid cultures, but the controlling influence of these was to some extent affected when they were introduced into cream which contained millions of deleterious germs, such as was frequently the case when starters are used without pasteurising the cream. He w r as well aware that seme of the factory managers were >pposed to pasteurisation, especially those who wei’e turning out a good butter under the existing conditions, and there would be less need for adopting it provided all other factories could be brought into line, hut this cannot he dene. Pasteurisation would help us to overcome the lack of regularity in our butter and the output of each factory would thereby become almost identical in quality with that of others. He drew attention to the question of preventing the further spread of tuberculosis and other diseases amongst young dairy stock by means of infected skim-milk. Factory directors and the great body of milk-suppliers were certainly blameworthy in regard to this matter through failing to insist that every gallon of skim-milk before being returned to their farms should be pasteurised at a temperature sufficiently high to destroy the tubercle bacillus. No time should be lost in fitting up a nasteuriser for this purpose at every dairy factory in New Zealand. This would help to stamp out a very serious disease, and would eventually result in the breeding of healthier cattle, capable of producing better milk, which in turn would lead to the production of better butter.

What had been aptly termed the weakest spot in the New Zealand dairy industry at the present time was the inferior condition in which some of the milk was delivered at the factories. From his own personal observation, and from what had been reported to him by other members of the dairy staff, circumstances which would bring discredit on the business and shock the public mind could be related, but this would not lessen the evil or help to solve the difficulty F To say that it was discouraging to the supplier who delivered sound and wholesome milk £o have it mixed and used in the manufacture of butter along with that supplied by his less careful neighbour was to express his feelings mildly, for in this way he was feeing penalised through the laxity

of others, without any chance of recovering the loss. Seeing, then, that tha quality of our milk supply was defective " , and in need of improvement, the only ” logical thing to do was to take steps te set matters on a better basis by teaching the backward or negligent dairy farmer how best to handle the.milk so that the gelling value of the butter made from it would be increased. The whole * ‘ question of a better milk Supply resolved itself into’ a matter of £ s. d. to the farmer. In order to carry out this work in a comprehensive manner, it would ho necessary to engage the services cf competent instructors under Government control—not necessarily paid by the Government—who could advise the. farmers on all points relating to the care or milk, disease of stock, and other matters connected with profitable dairy farming. Looked at from a farmer’s point of view, it might seem that his liberty of action would be hampered by placing restrictions on what he might do or not do with the milk produced on his farm, but, on. the contrary, it would really have the effect of increasing his returns and protecting his interests in the important industry in which he is engaged. Although the price of butter in the British market had shown a very serious decline during the last few months, and the prospects for the coming season were somewhat problematical’ he did not see that there was any real cause for alarm on the part of the dairy farmers. So far as prices were concerned, good and bad years .were inevitable in almost every branch of farming, and it should be borne in mind that the dairy industry of this colony was placed on a paying basis long before butter-fat was worth 9d or lOd per lb. The present drop in prices would doubtless prove a blessing in disguise, as it would direct attention to the improvement of dairv herds by breeding from the best stock and weeding out the poorest. By way of showing that many of the dairy cattle in New Zealand are not producing, on the average, a reasonable amount of butter-fat, Air Cuddie said ho recently had a table compiled showing the average number of pounds of butter-fat produced per cow annually throughout Now Zealand. The , figutes worked out at 130.601 b per head. Taking into consideration that a fair average return should not b© less than 2001 b of butter-fat per cow yearly, this would show a loss to the colony of 32,768,1131 b of fat, which, at eightpence per »b, would amount to £1,092.270 8s Bd, or an amount equal to about five-eighths cf the total value of dairy produce exported from the colony during the past season.

Air Pariane observed that almost every English agent warned them to have nothing to do with pasteurised butter. What were they to do P

Air Cuddie replied that the 'bulk cf 1 tie butter now used at Home was made from pasteurised cream. There was too much irregularity in New Zealand butter. A walk around the show would illustrate that. There was practically no pasteurised butter being sent from New Zealand. In Denmark pasteurisation was compulsory, which accounted for Danish butter being a better grade so far as uniformity was concerned.

Mr Cuddie was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.

OTHER PAPERS

A paper was read on “The Creamery System,” by Air Charles Mackie. He contended that the multiplication of small factories made the work of manufacture too costly, whereas the creamery system tended to economy of production. In reply to questions. Mr Alackie said a creamery could be safely established with a supply of 500 or 600 gallons. The testing should not be done at creameries, but by the manager of the factory. The logical conclusion was that creameries should receive more than small creameries, but in co-operation the smaller man should be assisted.

In a paper he read on “The Cheese Industry,” Air Singleton, Government Cheese Expert, sketched the system of British supply. He mentioned that 84 per oent. of the cheese imported into English was of Cheddar make. Tha recent decline in prices was in the best interests of New Zealand dairymen, and if some of the unstable ones had relinquished the business, they would have left a large number of the class of men required. The lower prices could be counterbalanced by producing a larger profit per cow and per acre. The labour question was a very important one in regard to daiiying, and the cry now was for a practical milking-marchine. Refei'ring to Canadian competition, Mr Singleton remarked that New Zealand cheese was from Is to 2s below Canadian. They should aim at a higher standard than the Canadian. Mr Singleton concluded by urging the necessity of the proper inspection of dairy farm premises. In a paper on “Breeding Poultry for Utility Purposes,” Mr D. D. Hyde, the Government Poultry Expert, recommended starting in a small way. Without capital it was difficult to achieve success. Movable fowl-houses should be specially used by farmers, and proper shelter should be provided. Sandy gravel soil was best adapted for all kinds of poultry, but not pure sand. A great mistake made by farmers was to keep fowls till they practically died of old age. Speaking of the possibility

of the industry, Mr Hyde declared that flocks in America, by means of leghands and trap-nests, had been brought up to an average of 188 to 290 eggs a year. Buying poultry by weight was strongly advocated by Mr Hyde, and stress was laid on the necessity of taking more care in marketing eggs. Mr Foreman, president of the association, made some concluding remarks, during which he referred to the excellent addresses .given and the great interest taken in the conference.