I.—6a

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are not made out of seasoned wood, and consequently shrink. The casks should have at the bottom about lin. of salt, and the butter should be -put in in such a way that there shall be no water or milk in it, as water or milk generally heats; and causes the butter to become rancid. I should advise strong galvanised hoops to be put at the top and bottom of the casks when they are coopered. The last hoop on top or bottom should be stronger than that on any other part. Calico should be put round inside the cask; but the calico should first be properly washed and all the whiting taken out. Whiting is very injurious to butter. As to filling the casks, I would approve of their not being filled at one churning, but at two or three. For instance, a farmer can fill, say, three casks at one churning; it would be much better for him to have six casks, half filling each with the butter and at the next churning to fill the casks up. It would give the bottom a longer time to harden, and the butter would have time to shrink before the cask was finally filled. If you fill a cask with butter at once it is full to all appearance, but in three or four days, or a week, it would be from 3in. to 4in. down. It is a great benefit to the butter when the casks are properly filled, and it also has a better appearance in the market —it takes the eye better. 389. Now, as to the question of demand after the butter is made, and its transit ?—For shipping purposes I would approve of butter being inspected before shipping. 390. What is your view as to the advisability of inspection before export ?—All butter should be inspected before being sent away, and it should be classed. For instance, if a man had a hundred casks of butter to ship, I think the Government here should have a competent man, who understands the different qualities of butter, to class it, and to reject what he did not think fit for shipment. 391. Do you consider, assuming that the butter was classed here, that we could depend upon buyers at Home taking that classification ?—lf honestly done, the buyers at Home, after two or three shipments, might have confidence in the inspection. You could not expect the buyers to take for granted as all right butter sent Home for the first time under the inspection; but I believe that after three or four times, if they found the inspection was all right, the butter would be bought without any trouble. The brand of the article must be known. For instance, a brand of Belgium butter, if known, is bought in Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, or Manchester without looking at the butter. 392. By whom is the inspection carried out in Belgium ?—I understand by the Government. 393. Do you believe it should be undertaken at the ports of shipment ?—I cannot say exactly. I rather think not. I think the inspection should be undertaken at the different centres in the country—at the different places where the butter is brought in. 394. Mr. Walker.] The English buyer takes these brands as satisfactory ?—Yes, knowing them. If a buyer in Manchester, we will say, has been in the habit of getting certain brands of Belgium butter he would get no other. It is hard to put a new brand on the market. 395. The Chairman.] Will you tell the Committee about the system of Irish classification?— In Cork the butter is brought into the market by the farmer. He sends it in to the butter-factor, who has an office in the market, and he places this butter in position in the market. The butter is got in at a certain hour of the day—up to 10 o'clock. There are five entrances to the market, with a little box office at each, where tickets are placed in the box. The Inspector puts his hand into the box and draws a ticket, which indicates what particular pen he has to go to. He does not know 7 anything about whose butter it is he is going to inspect, so that that does away with bribery. 396. Is there no distinctive brand placed on the butter before it is judged?— None. The Inspector knows nothing about it. Porters take the butter in as it arrives, and place it for inspection. If the Inspector considers it first class he places a score on the butter; if second, he places two scores; if third, three scores. If he finds any not fit for third class he puts it on one side and inspects it afterwards. All the butter is then branded on the side of the cask. 397. Are there not four classes? —More ; six classes. 398. Do you think that the refrigeration of butter has a deleterious effect upon it ?—Yes; when thawed it generally gets soft. It never gets its original hardness, and also gets rancid and a bad colour. 399. You rather believe in shipping butter in cool-chambers with a temperature of not less than 40° ?—Not less than 40.° 400. Mr. Walker.] That is your practical experience in frozen butter ? —Yes; we have got butter from Canada about the month of December very hard. Whenever the weather gets hot the butter gets soft and rancid after being taken out of the cask. My advice to shippers is to be very careful not to ship anything but what is really firm, with no milk or water in it. It should be of good body. What spoils the butter is that the storekeepers fill so many casks wdth mixed grades of butter; when it gets Home, it is not worth anything. 401. You mean country storekeepers ? —Storekeepers generally. The butter lies in the back store a week or so before it is put into casks. The best way is to put it into casks at the time of churning. That butter, properly made, would have a demand in any market. 402. Do you think the separator system far superior to the ordinary Home system of dairying? —No, it is not. I got some butter from a German living at Cross's Creek—some six or seven casks —that paid when it went Home ; and I got a letter back to say that it was as good as any Irish butter. It was made from five cows and on the old system. 403. Then, you consider the Home dairy system is not inferior to the separator system?—lt is a much better system. The butter is more firmly made. When churned by the horse-power system the butter is light and " foussy" —spongy —which indicates the presence of air-cells. 404. And you think that is caused by too much haste in churning?—lt is churned too much. The butter does not get the same solidness as if churned by hand. 405. The Chairman.] Then, separator butter generally is all spongy?—lt is not so solid as butter churned by hand. . 406. Mr. Mackenzie.] Separator butter is just as marketable as the other?—lt is just as