New Zealand in evolution, industrial, economic and political; . e could not be uniformity whenfarmers followed their own individual ideas, and pro-duced a few dozen pounds each week in dairies runon wholly different lines. The Government wished to encoiJrage the constructionof up-to-date dairies, and in 1881, before refrigerationhad been vindicated, it drew up a scheme for theestablishment of cheese and butter factories on theco-operative system. A bonus of ;^5oo was offered forthe first fifty tons of cheese produced in New Zealand onthe factory or co-operative system. Under the latter thefarm
New Zealand in evolution, industrial, economic and political; . e could not be uniformity whenfarmers followed their own individual ideas, and pro-duced a few dozen pounds each week in dairies runon wholly different lines. The Government wished to encoiJrage the constructionof up-to-date dairies, and in 1881, before refrigerationhad been vindicated, it drew up a scheme for theestablishment of cheese and butter factories on theco-operative system. A bonus of ;^5oo was offered forthe first fifty tons of cheese produced in New Zealand onthe factory or co-operative system. Under the latter thefarmers of a district combine to form a limited liabilitycompany with a capital of a few thousand pounds, justsufficient to erect a central factory (and possibly someoutlying skimming stations) for the collection of the milkand its manufacture into butter and cheese. The mainadvantages of the system are :— 1. By combining the farmers are able to obtain thebest machinery and employ the most skilful managers;and 2. They can turn out a large quantity of butter and. THE WEALTH OF THE COW 145 cheese of good and uniform quality, instead of multitudi-nous parcels of widely varying quality. For a few years the new system made slow the province of Taranaki long Maori wars and avariety of circumstances had prevented the aggregation oflarge estates, and there was a vast extent of fertile downseither under native fern or covered with light class of small farmers, including many military settlers,occupied the coastal districts. As a rule they were menof small means, and they readily adopted the newscheme of co-operation. A few factories sprang soil and the climate were alike favourable, and aftera test of a few years the industry rapidly districts followed suit. Within ten years there wereupwards of a hundred butter and cheese factories in NewZealand. Refrigeration opened up markets in a wonderfulway. Whereas Australia had formerly been the sole outletf
Size: 1150px × 2173px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectnewzealandeconomicco
