FARM AND STATION. MARKETS FOR B.Z. EDITER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2511, 30 April 1902, Page 6

FARM AND STATION.

MARKETS FOR B.Z. EDITER.

The New Zealand Trade Commisbioner : (Jlr J. C 4. Crov.-) has been investigating the markets of South Wales, with , results highly gratifying to the dairy , producers of this colony, provided the ! means of meeting the demand in that portion of the United Kingdom are j devised. During his tour of the Webh districts Mr Gow was accompynied by Mr H. C. Cameron. New Zealand's Produce Commissioner in London, and what these gentlemen &aw convinced them that there is a. good market for our produce, and most especially for butter. 1 Mr Gow found at Bristol and Cardiff that our butter had driven the Danish article quite out of the market. He found that the people prefer New Zealand butter, and merchants were greatly taken with the oblong butter boxes in j which it is packed, and which Mr Cameron has striven so hard to get adopted. Mr Gow informed our London j correspondent that there is practically ' au unlimited market for butter in South Wales. One merchant was prepared to wive an order for 800 tons and another for 500 tous, to take two examples of ; many, and that with freight to pay from ', London to Cardiff, amounting to about ' 30s a ton. This would be a considerable handicap, seeing that Canadian and j Argentine produce goes to Qirdiff and Bristol direct. Now that the high ' quality of New Zealand butter is generally recognised by the principal produce merchants in South Wales it seems a ; pity that arrangements for direct shipment hare not been made. There is ample cold storage at Cardiff, and as the charges are fixed by Act of .Parliament ' there is no danger of these being exces1 sive. .Ti'itiv recard to *.hp aualitv of New

Zealand butter, the figures given in the report of a lecture by Professor AVillism Jago last December in London are instructive. The lecture referred to is published in the Journal of the Society of Arts, and .a dealing with the chemistry of confectioners' materials and processes the Professor made an exhaustive analysis of butter of all kinds. Water, curd, and butter fat are the three main determining factors in the analysis, but the percentage of salt is aLo given. Taking the results of the analysis, on a standard of 100 points, the analysis of new-season New Zealand butter gave 104.8 points, cr what is cabled '"' the value in percentage of the standard " iv the table. In another case the average of nine samples was 104.3, and in still another of a similar number of samples 104.1. The lowest result in New Zealand, butter was obtained from, samples forwarded by a produce merchant — viz., 100.6. The lowest percentage of water was found in New Zealand butter, which is eminently satisfactory, especially now that a minimum standard has been fixed by Act of Parliament. The percentages ranged iroro 7.2 to 8.1 in new-season butter supplied by Mr H. C. Cameron, 11.6 in Eagii-h-rna.de butter, 12.4 in Danish, 8.2 and 9.7 respectively in Canadian, and 11.8 in Australian. The percentage value of best Danish butter was 98.3, be^t Canadian 103.3, Australian 97. A glance down the results column of the analyses of 22 different kinds of butter, both of Home production and imported from various countries., shows New Zealand to be an easy first. It is a proud preeminence to have attained in the infancy of the flairy industry, and the result marks out this colony as an ideal country for supplying the Home markets with the finest butter produced iv the world. The legislation regulating the industry has much to do with the success attained, and Professor Jago evidently attaches great importance to that, since he gives an outline of the leading features of the Dairy Industry Act. As regards the analyses, Professor Jago remarks : '' Looking at the whole series, the New Zealand butters are characterised by containing the lowest percentage of water and highest of butter fat." The best samples of New Zealand butter gave 90.7 and 90.8 of butter fat, while the best Canadian gave 89.8, Danish 85.6, and b"=t Australian 54.5 per ceut. A^ses'-ecl by all the ttandarrls usually applied to determine the quality of butter, Professor Jago ha-> proved New Zealand butter to hold the fir^t place. Produce merchants are fully alive to the value of Now Ze-.iland butter, which was quoted wholesale in London in the middle of March at lOBs to 110* per cvt. At the <-ame time the choicest Danish and Swedish was selling at Ills to 113s per cwt. Choicest Victorian and New South Wales butter realised only 100s to 102= per cwt. Iv view of the figures quoted above, it seems that New Zealand butter is not quite realising its value ; but the prices it commands show that our produce has fairly e-tablished uself in the English markets. It i^ to the interest of all concerned to do the utmost to maintain the high standard now reached.