FARMERS FROM NORTH

Taranaki Daily News, 20 June 1930, Page 6

FARMERS FROM NORTH

SOUTH TARANAKI VISIT DAIRY LABORATORY INSPECTED. VISITS TO PEDIGREE FARMS. Representing one of the most rapidly developing dairy districts of the Dominion, the party of North Auckland farmers are finding much to interest them in South Taranaki. The tourists, 33 in number,, arrived in Hawera yesterday afternoon and were welcomed by the South Taranaki branch of the Farmers’ Union, following which they toured round the town, one of the interesting places visited being the dairy laboratory.. They were the guests of . the union at • the "talkies” last evening and to-day will be spent by them looking over the countryside,. including visits to pedigree stock, farms. Upon arrival at the Hawera railway station yesterday, the tourists, who were accompanied by Mr. J. Pringle, railway business agent, were. met by the Farmers’ Union and citizens of Hawera and taken to the Islington tearooms, where they were welcomed-, by both town and country interests. In the absence of the president of- the •South Taranaki branch of - the Farm-ers’-Union,’ Mr. E. J. Betts,'the’ vice-" Mr. D, ; 'A.; Jennings, welcomed the visitors to South Taranaki, The Mayor, Mr. E. A.. Pacey, gave the visitors a hearty welcome. Hawera was a town of which: the citizens were proud, he said, and they hoped that the party, in between looking round the countryside, would look at the town. Uno point of interest was the dairy laboratory, in which the town took pride. They were also proud of the work of the scientist in charge of the laboratory, .about whom Lord Bledisloe. had made” complimentary remarks. He had mentioned this because the laboratory was' doing work which was of great value to town and country alike. Towns were not dependent on the country, both being interdependent.'lt should be the aim and Object of all that the farmers and business men should work together. They were going through a period of depression but if there was co-operation there . was no doubt that New Zealand would recover, and rapidly too. VALUE OF FARM PRODUCTS; Mr. 18. C. Bennett,. president of the Chamber of Commerce, said that the interchange of farmers’ visits did untold good, helping farmers’ organisations and making for unity and strength. Without the products from, the land New Zealand would bo a poor country. Visits such as these must prove beneficial not only to the travellers but also to the the hosts. Visits from district' to district were even more beneficial as farming conditions were very different. The ■tours were rightly becoming more popular. . Mr. H. Kay, leader of the touring farmers, thanked the Hawera branch of the union for its welcome, mentioning the work that Mr. Cameron had done, even to the extent of meeting them at Waverley. He would like to say that though Taranaki was one of the most fertile districts in New Zealand, North Auckland was also making great strides. Its dairy production last year amounted to 12,780 tons,, worth about £2,flW,000. There was nearly 4,000,000' acres •of land in the peninsula- and nearly half of that was well developed, while the rest was rapidly being increased in productive value. North Auckland still had the champion dairy cow, Vivandiere, which had produced 10361 b of butter-fat, the owner of which had also a cow that had produced 9801b.'Of but-ter-fat. . ~ > . . . ■ The-north vzas yet in. its infancy as a dairy province, but was destined to become another Taranaki..... In what was sometimes called the "roadless” noith there was only 12 miles of road necessary to complete an all-weather route to Kaitaia. The railway line was now completed to Opua and Okaihau, and this meant that manure supplies could be procured nearly as cheaply as in Taranaki. When the party went back he was sure that many would profit by tho example of Taranaki and Waikato farmers in top-dressing. ■ The visitors then walked round the town, among the places visited being King Edward Park and the dairy laboratory. Keen interest was evinced in the work of Mr. P. O. Veale, the scientist in charge of the laboratory. DAIRY RESEARCH WORK. .The party saw tests being made to determine the moisture content of cheese samples and the bacteria in milk. They were also shown apparatus for testing the purity of fats and for detecting water in milk. The tourists were keenly interested in Mr. Vcale’s explanation of the manner in which milk could be kept fresh and good for food for months by. a process of sterilisation. Bottles of milk so treated were shown them, as were also tubes containing’ types of bacteria. One fanner asked the scientist if milk contained microbes with beneficial pioperties as well as the reverse, and, if so, what was the effect of pasteurisation. Mr. Veale replied that that was the unfortunate feature of pasteurisation —it killed the good with the bad. Some microbes were'' encouraged, as in the starters for cheese. These differed fioin other bacteria in that though they turned the milk sour they did not turn it bad, whereas other microbes had both effects. The party left their homes on .Sunday, passing through the Waikato on their way to South Taranaki. Other districts to be visited are Wellington, Manawatu, East Coast and Rotorua.