154 



In December of the same year the Sydney Morning Herald had the follow- 

 ing statement : — 



The controversy concerning the merits of Queensland Pine for butter- boxes 

 still continues, and no practical progress has been made towards a settlement 

 of the question. The authorities in Queensland declare that the Pine is 

 eminently suitable, and that it does not import any taint to the butter. On 

 the otlier hand, factory managers and direictors in New South Wales have 

 stated that a taint in butter put up in this timber is common, while some 

 hutter men who buy in the Sydney market unhesitatingly reject butter which 

 is so packed. It is, however, pretty well known that butter packed in Queens- 

 laud Pine often opens without any tint, and some people in the trade are 

 beginning to believe that the real cause of the trouble is that the Pine on low- 

 lying ground taints the article, while that on higher levels does not do any 

 ln.iury. A test was recently instituted by the Chief Dairy Expert, and .vester- 

 day two boxes of butter were examined at the Government Cold Storage Depot 

 in Pyrmont. These boxes were taken from the same churning at a Hunter 

 River factory, one being of Queensland and the other of New Zealand timber. 

 The butter was placed in cold storage for a time, and was taken out two days 

 before the examination, so that it might be in about the same condition in 

 ■which butter usually appears on ,tUe grocer's counter. Yesterday the boxes 

 •were brought out with the ousides covered so that the wood could not be 

 recognised. Mr. O'Callaghan and an expert in the trade then mad^ a very 

 careful examination, driving the trier down several times beside the wood and 

 withdramng samples. The butter was then turned out of the boxes, and again 

 examined very carefully. Each of the experts detected a slight woody flavour 

 in one box, but it could not be described as a taint, and was not sufficient to 

 affect the sale of the butter. The box turned out to be that made of Queensland 

 Pine, but the experts were satisfied that if both butters were offered for sale 

 there would not be a hair's difference in the price. So far as it goes the test 

 proved that butter put up and kept under ordinary conditions in Queensland 

 Pine was not depreciated in value; but whether this result can be safely 

 taken as a guide to what would happend if large quantities were packed in 

 this wood is problematic. 



The " White Pine," or " Kahikitea," of New Zealand, largely used for 

 butter packing is known to botanists as Podocarpus dacrydioides, A. Richard. 



The latest information I have on the subject is as follows : — 



, We do not know of any butter factories in New South Wales that are using 

 local or Queensland timbers in butter-boxes. 



The same trouble of years ago exists to-day, — that is, boxes from our Pine 

 impart a strong woody or unpleasant flavour ^to the butter packed in them. 

 The same remarks apply to New Zealand White Pine that has not been 

 properly seasoned, and in this respect we have had a great deal of trouble 

 lately. (The Manager, N.S.W. Fresh Food and Ice Co., Ltd.. Sydney, in letter 

 to me dated 23rd September, 1908.) 



TSTo wood' should be used unless it is properly seasoned. 



Size. — Up to 150 feet high, and a diameter »f 4 or 5 feet on the Richmond 

 River, where it attains its greatest development. It is much smaller o]i tho 

 Clarence and Bellinger. 



Ilahiiat. — It occurs from the high country north of thie Hastings River, 

 along the ranges which skirt the coast, and also in brush land on the 

 Clarence, Richmond, &c., and so on into Queensland. 



Colonial Pine is no exception to the very general rule that the timber 

 obtained from high lands is far superior to that obtained from the low-lying 

 lands of the coast. As regards the range of this tree, the Hon. W. Pettigrew, 

 M.L.C, formerly a timber merchant, says: 



This useful tree grows in scrubs over a large extent of country. It grows 

 up to Cardwell, in Queensland, in the 18th degree of latitude. It grows iu a 



