DAIRY NOTES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5769, 13 January 1897, Page 4

DAIRY NOTES.

♦ : Light supplies were the most notable feature of the London butter market in November, and the prospects were of light arrivals in January, which is usually the heaviest month for Australian butter. Weddel's circular of Nov. 27 says : — It is reported from Canada that when the export season is closed by winter stopping the navigation, the quantity of cheese in store there will be about half of what it was last year. The quantity of Canadian on this side the Atlantic, however, must be considerably more than was here twelve months ago. All the summer Canadian cheese is now sold, and held on English account. - It does not appear to be generally known says* Weddel, that Finland is a large butter-exporting country. According to the representative of the Finnish Dairy Society in Great Britain, the quantity of butter exported from Finland last year was 13,890 tons, which were distributed as follows : — Denmark 7850 tons, Great Britain 4720, and the balance to Sweden and Germany. It would be interesting to know how much Finnish butter is received into the United Kingdom under other names than Finnish. In their circular of" Nov. 27 the Colonial* Consignment and Distributing Company says: — "Colonial butter is now getting into consumption, and after next w r eck most districts will be well on to colonials. So far the butter has ariived in good condition, although in the case of one or two shipments the packages have been landed dirty. The quality of the butter on the whole shows an improvement, and is of fairly good standard. Some of the factories are very choice, and are realising prices accordingly, but others, even good brands, do not possess as clean a flavour as they should do. All this* points tothe great importance of maintaining a liigh standard of quality to vie with the ever-increasing competition. There has been a good demand for Colonial butters at a range of 98s to 100s, and many ' buyers are holding off in the anticipation of finest butters coming at this level. Choicest have, however, kept up at from 104s to 106s. Australian butter is now landing in good-sized quantities, but so far the New Zealand arrivals have been small. Owing to the enhanced prices realised on the spot for New Zealand cheese, there is every probability of the make of butter in that colony not developing this season to the extent wliich it is only reasonable to expect will be the case in cheese, as many of the butter factories have every facility for the manufacture of cheese." A gentleman is in London from Scandinavia with a patent process which he thinks will do well for the colonial factories to adopt. His process is the condensing of skim milk to a powder which will assimilate readily with certain articles ; hitherto such niilkpowder refused to associate itself with other matters, acting like indiarubber. This system mixes the powder with cocoa by machinery, making a "grateful beverage." The cost of a plant for a factory is about JIOO. For Australian establishments, where there is a difficulty in disposing of the skim milk, this idea might be useful. A committee to inquire into thefeasibility of making arrangements for the co-opera-tive sale of farm produce has been appointed by the Department of Agriculture (England), because, as it is pointed out, local organisation is essential tothe success of any' effort such as that which Lord Wincliilsea and his colleagues in tho National Agricultural Union have started. J