FARMING NOTES

Pahiatua Herald, Volume XII, Issue 2370, 29 May 1906, Page 6

FARMING NOTES

BUTTER MANIPULATION IN SC< JTLAND.

MOST OF IT FROM NEW ZEALAND.

The question of the manipulation of butter is being discussed by the Scottish Chamber of Agriculture. One Scottish creamery, it is stated, is manipulating two tons each day. and not a pound of this butter is of their own making. Most of it comes from Finland, New Zealand and fre-

land. It is alleged th»t not only are water and animal fat put into the butter, but animal fat combined with vegetable oil, which prevented an analyst from detecting the presence of animal fat. The Board of Agriculture, however, have learned that they cannot institute a prosecution under the Merchandise Marks Act as at present drafted. THE DAIRYMAN’S NATURAL ENEMY. HOW THEY FIGHT HIM IN CHICAGO. “Chicago Dairy Produce” of 14th March writes thus on the war being waged between the dairy interests and the butter-fakers and the “oleo” men:—lnternal revenue officers in Chicago are still busy in the campaign against violaters of the oleomargarine law, and are getting results. Arrests are being made every day almost, and the parties caught are permitted to make settlement; with the Government, and warned that a second offence will mean a prison term. A recent case, and one of the most conspicuous and important in the matter of cost to the guilty party was ended last week. A local retail grocer, who operates four stores in different parts of the city, was arrested for illegal colouring 6f oleomargarine, and it cost him about £IOOO to settle with the Government. And when settlement of money was accepted by the Internal Revenue Department, the grocer was warned that if caught again money would not get him out of the trouble. Four officers of the Internal Revenue Department are employed constantly looking after the enforcement of the oleomargarine law. Another case of importance, particularly to the makers of butter, and more particularly to rehandlers of butter, was that of Ed. Boyt, of Vienna. 111. He had so much water in butter that it came under the head of adulterated butter, and the fine and costs he had to pay the Government amounted to £l4l ss. The output of oleomargarine in the Chicago district for the month of February was 3,746.2411 b. This is a small increase over ttye January output, which was 3,730,1411 b, and a considerable increase ovpr February last year. In all the leading markets there is a positive shortage of fine butter, and prices are correspondingly high. These markets are all loaded with poor, held butter that the retail Trade w (11 not take. This makes an opportunity for oleomargarine that is largely responsible i ir the increased output. ITEMS. Two skins out of a line of Ilucoln wether skins sold by the Stratford agency of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, Limited. las"t week, on account of a Kaponga client, netted 13s 6d each. This, so far as is known, constitutes a record this season for Taranaki. The Kaupokonui Co-operative Dairy Company has disposed of its output for the remainder of the season at a price which will enable it to pay out lOd per lb for butter fat, with the prospect of a bonus on top of that. A farmer who has been in the Southland district for over forty years says that he has never experienced a viler season than the present one, not excepting the watery visitation of four years ago. Another farmer who sowed two hundred acres in wheat and oats harvested one hun-

i dred bags of wheat. The oats did not produce enough to give a horse one feed.

“A man that would never do nothing to nobody unless somebody done something to him” was the lucid description of a man given by a witness called at the Magistrate’s Court to speak as to the character of an accused man.—“ijytbelton Times.” The six hundred hens engaged in the laying competition just closed at Blenheim laid in twelve months over 7000 dozen eggs, which were sold at Is Id per dozen, the gross return being thus £3BO. Sixty average Taranaki cows would earn about the same amount at the factory, so that it is clear ten hens are worth as much as a cow as producers of wealth. Does this fact appeal to farmers? Moreover, (iOO liens require much less) room, and much less attention than 60 cows.—“Taranaki Herald.”