The Daily News. SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1901.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 74, 10 August 1901, Page 2

The Daily News. SATURDAY, AUGUST 10, 1901.

NEW ZEALAND BUTTER AND ITS PROSPECTS. As a herald of the approach of tho export dairy produce season, Mr James Kowin (representative of Messrs Lovell and Christmas, of London) has pi-rived from England to superintend the operations of his firm in th's colony. Mr Kowin was apass<mg»r by the Aotea, which arrived last Saturday, nod in | conversation with a New Zealand,' Times representative gave gome indication of his impression of the London dairy produce irarket during tbe height of the English summer season, f>nd of New Zealand butter and cheegd vie-ved from the standpoint of the world's greatest market. It is astonishing, Mr Kowin remarked, very insignificant our export of butter nppears when viawed from London. Fir instance, with Mests Lo?e'l and Christmas (who are the Ingest importers of

New Zealand butW into England, and i i who " turn over" between two and three million pounds a ye ir in butter 1 alone) New Zealan.. butter forms but a twentieth part of their stock. Yet in ' one season Mr Kowin's firm h<ys taken I no le'S than £230,000 worth of butter from this country, It will thus be Sf en that the quantity of New Zealand j butter pu* upon the London market >is practically insignificant, aid that New Zealand producers have still a lot to d» before the quantity of their output will m*terially affect the market. Referring to an t xpress ; on of opinion on the quality of New Zealand butter which ho made to a New Zealand Times rf presentative before leaving for L">n- ' don some months ago, Mr Known raid jthat what he had s-en an! hsnrd in j London since fully bore out everything he said when leaving the colony. The advantage of the consignment business over selling outright, Mr Kowin ro-j marked, was clearly proved by tbe fx-1 pprience tf the past season, a fact wbioh mnny factories must know to their coat. Some factories which sold their outputs at the beginning of last season must have lost heavily, while those factories which consigned have fully reaped the benefit of the good market. The quality of New Zealand butter daring the past season has been' found by the London "trade" to be very good, and was an improvement on

previous seasons, though the general advance in quality bad not been so marked as during past seasons. This, of course, might naturally ba expscted j as when an article has attained a cor- ■ tain pitch of perfection the same ra'e of progress cannot be maintained as is noticeab'e during the earlier stages of development. The quality of New! Zealand cheese, it is satisfactory to know, has been very good. The prices of the previous season were not, of course. rea')S"d, hpcau'e thorn prices were abnormal. Thi prospects for New Zealand butter and cheese during the J coming season, Mr. Kowin thinks, are! fair. The old and burning complaint' of the London trade regarding the I ii regularity cf arrival of our produce was constantly brought under the notice of Mr. Kowin. The present irregularity of deli vary to the London agents must, Mr. Kowin prints our, be detrimental to the interests of all concerned. A remarkable eta* nment is

made by Mr. Kowin that fully onethird of our last season's butter was .ought by speculators, and conse-l quently found its way to the Wast of England counties, where it was milled with A-gentina butter; and railed up to London as " best Devonshiie." This wis well known to the provision trade at Home, and was in fact ventilated in. a Load'm papar. O'e correspondent, by the way, pointed out that New Zea.-1 )ai'd»rs had no rooih to talk whon they eentNoith Island sheep down lo Ohii-t----church and sold them to the London , i"ji'xier as " prime Cauterbuiy." Tr.e f -.on that New Zealand butter could be sold as Devonshire is cf course striking evidence as to its quality. The mrs noteworthy experience gained by Mr. Kowin while in London was in reference to the Russian butter trade, some brief particulars o" which have already reached this olony. The Russian Government has taken hold of the tmU.-i industry " with both hands," and is assisting it in a most liberal manner. In fact, the way in which the Russians have recognised the demauds of London is an object lesson to our own Government. The Russian Government first of all assisted in the development of the industry in Siberia by supplying experts to introduca. up-to-date meth- ! ods of manufacture; then, when the Siberian trunk line wpt completed; in- ' sulated railway cars were provided, a connecting line of steamers was purchased (running from Reiga, up the Baltic Sea, to Londen) and the whole system from producer to consumer was paifected. Being all under Government control, the system was carried out so well, and systemati'-'illy, that . London was taken by storm. G<e>t lines of good butter landing suddenly upon a market was enough to rnii-e surprise, and when Mr. Kowin left London it was felt that the Russians would yet astonish the world with r the quantity and quality of their dairy products, At present, Mr. Kowin says, the quality, though surprisingly good, is naturally unevea—as was our own butter in the early stages of the industry in this eclony. Referring to the question of colour in butter Mr. Kowin points out that the • reason certain classes, especially in the Midland and Northern Counties preftr a pale butter,' is because they Have besn educa'ed to colouile«s bute? by the Danes. The system of fe d cattle and manufacturing butter i > vogue in Denmark induces a p 1 - colour in the butter, which ie, of artificial. The pale butter of D'ninark is an insipid as well as a colour'pps article, and it is no ideal for New Zealanders to aim at, IVe best clats of trade prefers she natural butt in- with i good flivour, and any attempts, Mr. Kowin point< out, to colour the buttw by u-iug acid', or anything . f tha"; natu'e for the purpose of bleiching ii must be prejudicial to the industry. Concluding his remarks, Mr. Kowin jointed out trat quality is everything md that New Zealanders have no'hing o fear as !ong as they cin produce a and uniform article.