H.—2l

24

No. 4. " Factory and surroundings clean and well kept; cheese fancy, in every particular being uniform in quality, and symmetrical in style and appearance ; this is the best cheese I have come across in any of the factories so far. The produce is firm in body, and possesses a mild flavour, and nutty and buttery quality; maker very thorough and anxious to keep ahead. No. 5. " Everything neat and clean; quality of cheese good, and neat in appearance; maker very exacting and thorough in his work. Surroundings and drainage of factory might be materially improved. No. 6. " Factory and utensils in good shape; cheese neatly finished, but showed too weak a body and a sweety flavour ; maker glad to see me, and predicts much improvement. No. 7. " Factory and utensils good, but not kept clean ; quality and appearance of cheese very bad, and showing no uniformity : worst class of cheese have ever seen in any factory ; maker has had no experience to justify him acting as a factory-manager. No. 8. " Everything in first-class order; factory a model of cleanliness and thorough competent management; butter produced first-class, being uniform in flavour, quality, texture, colour, appearance, and style of boxing. This is a first-class butter-factory, both in its construction and management." The butter-factories as a rule are worse constructed for the work intended to be carried out in them than the cheese-factories. In fact, the construction of a few of them is such that it is impossible to make anything like a first-class product during the summer months ; and how it is possible for the proprietors to get satisfactory returns for their product is a mystery. I look forward to much improvement in this matter during ensuing close season. Some of the proprietors have intimated their intention to have the buildings well lined, and if necessary, insulated. The more recentlybuilt factories are much better constructed. Suppliees, and Caee of Milk. I find that the milk suppliers are, on the whole, taking a much livelier interest in the welfare of the factories with which they are specially connected, and are looking more upon the industry as a permanent business, not as an offshoot too insignificant to engage their time and attention. The milk is being delivered to the factories in much better condition, and in increasing quantities. There is still room for much improvement in the care and treatment of milk at the farm. The bulk of the milk is kept standing too long in a body in the milk-cans without being cooled, and develops foreign fermentations thereby, which have to be contended with at the factory. If ever a perfect article in cheese and butter is to be produced, the process must start with the breeders and milk-producers. No efforts on the part of the makers can thoroughly overcome carelessness in aerating and cooling the milk at the farm immediately after milking, or of keeping the milk in an impure atmosphere. Mistakes in Cheese-making. The more prominent mistakes of cheese-makers during the past season have been in setting the milk too soon, or before it was sufficiently ripe to add the rennet, resulting, in most cases, in leaving the cheese with a sweety flavour and an open porous body. This was the case more especially in early spring. Two of the makers at the factories visited were using very inferior rennet extract, and some too little, thereby causing great injury to the texture of the cheese, and a heavy loss in quantity through want of proper coagulation. Many of them were not draining the curd enough, after the expulsion of the whey, thus causing the cheese to cure rapidly through retention of moisture. The use of racks in the making-vats or curd-sink would obviate the latter difficulty. Babcock Milk-testee. During my itinerant work I took with me an eight-bottle Babcock milk-tester for the purpose of testing the milk of every or any milk-supplier as delivered at the factories, and to instruct and explain the principles of its working to the makers. There were 336 samples of milk tested. The highest percentage of fat found in any sample was 4-7, and the lowest 2-8; the average percentage of the 336 samples being 3-6. I trust every factory will procure one of these instruments, so that every man's milk may be reliably tested, and so assist in stamping out the dishonest practices of. some milk-suppliers in adulterating their milk just a little. For further information concerning the "Babcock Milk-tester" see letter embodied in this report. " The Daiey Industby Act, 1892." " The Dairy Industry Act, 1892," has now been in operation for nearly a year, and, if its provisions are strictly enforced, it will work marvels in the course of another year or so; in fact, it is doubtful if any other plain and simple law on our statute-books has brought the immediate and valuable assistance to one of our chief industries that I feel confident this Act will do. The provisions of the Act are legitimate in every respect, and such as no honest dairyman can object to. I well know some of our prominent dairymen strenuously object to the clauses relating to branding; but they are directly interested, and would like to see the branding clauses deleted altogether or modified, so as to be of no use whatever in designating the true and. exact nature and description of the goods. But for the Act, the practices of slightly skimming the milk before making into cheese, and false branding, by our dairy-factory proprietors in their endeavour to overreach others would become very prevalent; and when it became evident that they had overreached themselves and-the industry generally, they would then be prepared to devise some means for regaining the colony's lost reputation. Let us discourage in every possible way the manufacture and exportation of anything but "full-cream" factory cheese and factory or creamery butter. The Government has just as much right to try by fair means to stop the manufacture and exportation of inferior goods as proprietors of dairy factories have to enforce by-laws to protect themselves from the dishonest practices of milk suppliers. I am well aware that until the majority of the factories make " quarter skim-milk