488 Bureau of Farmers' Institutes. 



the owners or agents of the steamships, on the Canadian side, 

 and have already led to very great improvement in the manner 

 in which Canadian products are stowed in the steamships, and 

 the manner in which they are handled both in the loading and 

 discharging of the cargoes. However, these reports from our 

 agents in Great Britain show that, in many cases, cheese were 

 delivered from the steamships with as much as 50 per cent, of 

 the boxes in a broken condition. Some of the reports say the 

 boxes were too large for the cheese, that they had ill-fitting cov- 

 ers; that they were made of poor material, particularly the bands 

 of the boxes; that they were not well nailed; that they were 

 not clearly marked; that some were dirty, and that in not a 

 few instances cheese were delivered in a heated condition. All 

 these things call for improvement and for remedies. I am au- 

 thorized by the Minister of Agriculture to intimate that if dairy- 

 men will take the necessary steps to protect the cheese in the 

 curing-rooms at a temperature under 65° F., so as to turn out 

 the best quality in flavor and body through proper curing, he 

 will do liis best to arrange with the railway companies to pro- 

 vide more suitable cars for the carriage of cheese to the sea- 

 board, and also see that steamship companies provide forced 

 ventilation of holds in which cheese and other perishable prod- 

 ucts are carried, by means of ventilators and fans. It is most 

 important for the dairy business that immediate attention should 

 be given to these matters. The matter of paying one or two 

 cents more per box to obtain a strong, well-made, well-nailed, 

 close-fitting box, of good sound lumber is a small matter com- 

 pared with the increased value which such a package would give 

 to its contents in the British market. 



There are many other matters which should also be mentioned 

 in an address which has even such a title as " The Progress of 

 Dairying in Canada," which time will not permit me even to 

 allude to. But I am authorized by the honorable the Minister 

 of Agriculture to say that our department is looking toward the 

 extending of its usefulness in the directions where dairymen 

 still need the most help. Men will again be sent to Great Britain 

 to observe the conditions of the markets, to learn the latest pref- 

 erences there, and to observe the methods of delivering food 

 products from the steamships. Our office will also, so far as pos- 

 sible, interpret the commercial criticism of the buyers in Great 

 Britain into helpful information for the producers in Canada. 



