Fancy Butter at the Winter Show. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2263, 15 July 1897, Page 22

Fancy Butter at the Winter Show. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,— ln your report of the late Dunedin wiater show you explain that the judges had some difficulty with one of the fancy butter classes, although their way must have been clear. The oonditiona laid down in the A.', and P. Association's schedule are: " Fancy butter to be made up for the table to be decided by quality and design." The judges, although professional butter-makers, not artists, elect to decide by design only ; result, a " magnificent; stale exhibit" gets fi-st honours. To any observer that knows anything about arb it was noticeable the greater part of this exhibit was moulded, not modelled, as was the case in some of the other exhibits, and would have come in in the rear had an artist had anything to do with it, but this is only by the way. You explain the judges in discussion raise the point that the quality of the butter; suffers by makiDg up in artistic form. If this is true, fancy butter-making should be discountenanced. That it is not true is pretty well in evidence. Miss Ada E Frost, the winning competitor for the championship of England, makes part of her butter into a design of aururn lilies and sunflowers, and is personally complimented on the occasion by the Lord Mayor of London for her artistic work, the quality being also excellent. The aim and end of all butter and butter-making is for table use ; that it should be pub there iv artistic form ib surely an advantage, although quality should be the 'first consideration. I hope ia future the Dunedin A. and P. Association will adhere to its rules, or even adopt more stringent: ones, and settle this vexed question once and for all. The class for Mrs Campbell's (St. Clair) prize was a step in the right direction. If the conditions originated with that lady she is to be complimented. Tbat the fancy butter classes are popular is evidenced by the large number of competitors entered. They were also one of the most attractive features of the show. That the exhibition itself was a big success and was well managed is the unanimous verdict of everyone, although there were a few mistakes made. — I am, &c., July 8. Dairy Notes.

Borne of the butters being in a more frozen condition than others at the time of judging the judges were unable to perform their duties .satisfactorily. The first, second, and third prize-takeis were, when judged, partly frozen and very streaky looking, and the worst-lookiDg lots "of butter the day following the judging were the first, second, and third prize-winners. I think the judges should have insisted upon all the exhibits of butter being in the same condition with respect to being thawed. Some of the dissatisfaction is a result of the management of the last show. The said management did a most injudicious thing, to s»y the leant about it, by appointing one of the directors of the Taieri and Peninsula Company a steward for the particular class in which the company had six exhibits ; in other classes I notice tint this error was-avoided. Of course lam prepared to admit that the judges were like Caesar's wife, above suspicion, but it would have been more satisfactory to the general public And the exhibitors if the stewards had been disinterested parties. Another cause for dissatisfaction was the fact that the Taieri and Peninsula Company had six exhibits. I think a hard and fasb rute should be -made that only one exhibit should be .sent in each class, then each exhibitor would have an equal chance of winning & prize. From a letter which .appeared in your paper over the signature cf "W. J. Bolt," one is led to believe that the Taieri and Peninsula Company have a <verynneaßy -conscience (if a company oan poisess snoh a commodity), or why the necessity of the secretary of the said company rushing into print to explain to the public the reason of his company having six exhibits o£ butter in the competition for the cup at the last Bhow P To my mind his explanations are all bunkum ; what the 'company wanted was six chances to one against every other exhibitor. As to the value of their experiments, take the' fourth exhibit, which wes pasteurised. This exhibit was seven points lower than the first prize, and therefore in the opinion of the judges an inferior batter to the first, second, and third lots. This -experiment tends to prove that pasteurising is only a waste of time and money — that the theories of Messrs MaeEwan, Clement, Sorensen, and others-are wrong. Their contention is that pasteurising will help New Zealand to improve the quality of its butter and Talse the value by .63 to 8s per cwt . in the London market. Why, the bottom is knocked out oi all their theories by the exhaustive experiments of the Taieri and Pen'nsula Company. The said company have no j reason to expend money on plant to pasteurise j -either their .milk or cream, having shown to the whole dairying world that they can carry off ; three prizes with butter made from unpas- ! teurised milk or cream over the head of I pasteurised. After this it is no use listening to people with theories ; give me the men who make experiments, and make the men with theories eat their own words. But perhaps the men with the theories may be right after all, because, in reading your valuable report of the show, I came upon a statement made by Mr W. Riddell, manager of the Taieri and Peninsula Company as follows : That the value of • a box of the company's butter is £2, and that by winning all these "prizes the company would perhaps gain an increase of Id per lb. This statement certainly discounts the opinion of the judges who gave the company three prizes. They seemed to place a higher value upon the batter than either the London market or the -said company themselves, because a box of batter contains 551b net, and at £2 per box works out to a value of 8 5-7 d per lb. Surely this is a very low price for first, .second, and third prize-winners to realise for their butter. Even with the increase of Id "per lb, which .Sir Riddell expects the company to gain by winning the cup, they will not realise more than 9M per lb. I could find plenty of butter which haß never won a prize at any show >that would bring -a higher price on the London market or the colonial market than the T. and P. Company expect to receive after winning' three prizes. After the admission of Mr Riddel! re the money value of his campan; 's butter, I think the non-prizetakers can console themselves with the fact that their butter will bring a more satisfactory result in the form of a higher price in the open market than it would have done if it had carried off all the prizes at the " late show. — I aa, &c, Waverley July 9. Absents Reo.