lo July, 1909.] Revieiv of the Dairying Season, igo8-g. 407 



The quantity of butter finished in a slovenly manner is very suggestive 

 of amateur packing. Managers should not employ untidy men to do such 

 work. It is so easy, so pleasant, and moreover, so important to turn the 

 butter out in an attractive manner, that this detail should never be over, 

 looked. 



Frequently we find butters of different colours in the one box showing 

 that this branch has been very carelessly attended to. It may perhaps be 

 considered hardly fitting to keep on repeating these subjects to a Confer- 

 ence of this kind every year, but I must again impress their importance 

 upon you. Hundreds of letters are written season after season to the 

 managers direct upon these topics and I have come to the conclusion that 

 whilst most men onlv require a reminder when necessary there are others 

 who have to be constantly urged to keep them up to the mark. 



The number of samples of export butter analyzed this season was very 

 much greater than last, because, under the iron heel of competition, 

 managers are becoming keener ; and the authorities in England, on the 

 other hand, more alert. It would be a bad thing for Victoria if a series 

 of prosecutions were successfully instituted at home against Victorian 

 butter. The average moisture contents of the samples analyzed for the 

 season was 13.69 per cent, as compared with 13.44 per cent, for the 

 1907-8 season. The Western District butters averaged 13.4 per cent, as 

 compared with 13.32 per cent. ; the North and North-Eastern, 13.61 per 

 cent, as compared with 14.08 per cent. ; the Gippsland 13-94 per cent, as 

 compared with 13.51 per cent. ; and the City factories 13.8 per cent, 

 against 13.08 per cent. The total number of boxes intercepted on account 

 of samples having shown more than 16 per cent, was 776 or 0.28 per cent, 

 as compared with 0.08 per cent, for the season before. 



Boric Acid. 



A feature in connexion with the season's exp^orts is the falling 

 oft of boric acid contents. The average was only 0.17 per cent, as com- 

 pared with 0.23 per cent, for the season before. The Western District 

 iDutters showed an average of 0.22 per cent, as compared with 0.26 per 

 cent.; the North and North-Eastern 0.19 per cent, as compared with 0.25 

 per cent. ; Gippsland 0.18 per cent, as against 0.22 per cent. ; and the City 

 factories o.ii per cent, as compared with 0.14 per cent. Only one con- 

 signment of 38 boxes or o.oi per cent, was intercepted for containing more 

 than 0.5 f>er cent, boric acid as compared with 180 boxes or 0.03 per cent, 

 for the year before. 



Deficiency in Butter Fat. 



As a result of — I should say — technical education a new trouble was 

 more pronounced. An increased quantity of butter was found deficient in 

 butter fat as compared with the standard of 82 per cent, under the Com- 

 merce Regulations. It is only fair to state that in a few in.stances, this 

 result was incurred through inadvertence bv the use of combined churns 

 and workers recently introduced, and the difficulty at first of securing the 

 lower range of temperatures necessary to obviate the inclusion of high 

 moisture contents. The average butter fat and casein contents (casein 

 below I per cent. — the average casein contents of samples analyzed was 

 0.78 per cent.) of all the samples analyzed was 84.65 per cent. " butter 

 fat and casein " as compared with 84.1 per cent, of " butter fat " onlv 

 for the previous season. As it takes a considerable time to separate casein 

 and fat the whole of the returns under the Commerce Act last season were 

 grouped, whilst for the season before fat only was quoted. Western 



