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Apart from these, the only package for which a permit has been issued is the Whitford box. This box has been used experimentally for several seasons, and consists of a fibreboard lining encased in a saranac type of container which need not necessarily be made of white-pine, and which would therefore result in conserving the supplies of this timber. The experimental results were such that it was considered to be worth a trial in larger quantities, and permission has been given for the shipment of fifty thousand of these containers during the coming year. The procedure outlined on page 36 of the report for 1937, under which supplies of timber are allocated to box-manufacturers by the State Forest Service and the boxes distributed to the dairy companies by the Dairy Board, has been extended to include delivery charges, and the pool price is now charged to every user delivered at the nearest railway-station or port, or in some cases to the factory door. Butter-box Wrappings. During the season the practice of wrapping all unsalted butter for export in parchfoil has been continued, and with a view to obtaining the reaction of the trade in London to its general use those dairy companies which chose to use it for wrapping salted butter also have been paid the extra allowance for this purpose by the Primary Products Marketing Department. It has been established that the use of parchfoil prevents the development of " primrose " colour and " toppy " flavour on the block of butter. It also reduces the danger of timber taint, and for that reason all imported boxes used during the past year were required to be lined with it. It will also prevent the access of mould to the surface of the butter it if should develop on the timber of the box. On the other hand, there has been a certain amount of criticism from users at the London end on account of the adhesive used in its manufacture being unsatisfactory, resulting in the severance of the parchment from the foil, which causes difficulty in stripping the block of butter. The opinion is also lield by some that two thicknesses of 281b. to 301b. parchment of good quality when used in the standard box made of thoroughly seasoned white-pine gives satisfactory protection to the butter. Whey Butter. A further increase in the quantity of whey butter exported is recorded, the weight having risen from 1,820 tons to 1,904 tons. A high standard of quality for this class of butter has been reached at some ports, but there is evidence of neglect of the cream in other districts. There is an inclination in some areas for cheese-manufacturing companies to discontinue the manufacture of whey butter and to sell the cream to one central organization. These companies in many instances follow the same practice with the creamery cream obtained by separating the milk received during that part of the season when no cheesemaking is carried on. Cheese. Cheese received for grading totalled 84,236 tons (86,236), of which 14,672 tons (9,327), or 17-41 per cent. (10-84), were graded as finest; 67,080 tons (72,755), or 79-64 per cent. (84-61), as first ; and 2,484 tons (3,910), or 2-94 per cent. (4-54), below first. The average of all cheese graded was 92-133 points, as compared with 91-934 points for the year ending 31st March, 1938. (The figures in parentheses represent those for the previous year.) It will be noted that there is a reduction in the amount of cheese graded, the reasons for this having been dealt with in the introduction to this report. Further, that in spite of the difficulties difficulties encountered in connection with cheesemaking in the closing months of the previous dairying season which are included in this report, there is an appreciable increase in the percentage of finest-grade cheese and also an increase in the average grade for the year. Contributing factors to these results were, first, the comparatively cold temperatures with cold nights prevailing during practically the whole of the year which prevented the development of undesirable flavours, and, second, the inauguration of the farm-dairy-instruction service on a Dominion basis. The periods during which high percentages of second-grade milk were received at the factories were of very short duration, and instances in which no milk of this quality was received at a factory for many days in succession were quite common. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that less cheesemaking difficulties were experienced during the year, and the higher grading has been justified by the reports from the London officers of the Division. Except in those cases where starter difficulties had caused a drop in the quality of the cheese made, the one defect which has been pronounced has been slit openness. Body and flavour have seldom been criticized. Starter failures have been less frequent during the past year, but this may be due to the fairly general practice of carry ing on more than one strain . The use of one single strain culture has been less general than for some years past, and where these are used a second single culture or a commercial culture is also carried as a rule. A noticeable feature of cheesemaking during the very dry weather was the general reduction in the drying and salting acidities in those districts affected. In some areas this has been down as low as 0-145 per cent, at drying and 0-70 per cent, at salting without showing any lack of acid in the finished cheese, pointing to an abnormal condition of the milk produced under these conditions. The position regarding the pasteurization of milk for cheesemaking seems to have become stabilized, the comparative quantities for the last two years having been, 1937-38, 90-107 per cent., and for 1938-39, 88-21 per cent. The heat-exchanger type of pasteurizer has replaced those of the vertical-dome type in quite a number of instances, and it is some considerable time since one of the latter has been installed.

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