932 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



well built and equipped as a half a dozen of our very best. Their 

 buildings and plaut^ too, are on a much less expensive scale, for 

 owing to the difference in temperature they need not be as careful as 

 we are in insulating and refrigeration. The refrigerating machines 

 are all from a half to one-third less powerful than in Victorian 

 factories with a similar output. I should say, therefore, that with 

 their arrangements, close supervision of the work would be more 

 practicable than with ours. Of course it would not be practicable to 

 adopt the same system here on account of our warmer summer and 

 longer spells of unfavourable weather. 



Shipment of But£er. 



The butter is sent to one or other of the various grading ports 

 where freezing works are located for cooling prior to shipment. 

 Auckland, New Plymouth, Patea, Wellington, Lyttelton and Dunedin 

 are recognised grading ports for both butter and cheese, whilst the 

 Blulf is a grading port for cheese only. All the freezing is done for 

 the factories by private enterprise, excepting at New Plymouth and 

 Patea, where the works are co-operative. The charges for freezing 

 each box are 7d. at four of the ports, 8|d. at Auckland, and 9d. at 

 Lyttelton. The cost of freezing is subsidized by the Government to 

 the extent of the charge in excess of o^d. a box, which is borne by 

 the factories. This subsidy amounted to £15,105 for the season just 

 closed for freezing alone. The factories have, through the two 

 National Dairy Associations of the North and South Islands, made a 

 contract with the New Zealand and Shaw, Savill and Albion shipping 

 companies for the carriage of their butter and cheese to London at 

 the rate of |d. per lb. for butter and x'ed. per lb. for cheese, with a 

 rebate of 2| per cent, for the first three years and 5 per cent, for the 

 last two years, the contract having two years more to run. In 

 addition to these rebates, which are allowed to the factories through 

 the Association, the shipping companies collect the butter from the 

 various grading ports and deliver it to the ocean steamers at Lyttel- 

 ton and Wellington free of charge. This in itself is a large concession, 

 and in some instances would approximate to 10s. per ton. The com- 

 panies not only carry the butter for less money than our companies 

 but also give a warranty in their bill of lading in the following 



terms : — 



5. It is warranted that the refrigerating machinery and cliambers were in perfect 

 order at the time when shipment commenced and equal to the work required 

 of them, that the vessel carried competent engineers for working the 

 machinery, that the chief of such engineers holds a Chief Engineer's 

 Certificate and is under the control of a Captain, that he shall be instructed 

 to keep a correct register of the temperatures in the chambers daily, and 

 duly enter same in log book kept for the purpose, which shall at all times be 

 open for inspection by the shippers, consignees, and underwriters or their 

 representatives ; that such log book shall be initialled by the commander of 

 the ship, that the temperature as far as possible not to be allowed to exceed 

 '25 degrees Fahr. in the warmest part of the chamber, that coal sufficient for 

 a protracted voyage shall be carried by the vessel ; that on all arrivals at 

 port of discharge the representative of the underwriters be accorded free 

 access to the chambers and aftorded every reasonable opportunity for 

 inspecting the dairy produce previous to and during the discharge. 



