The Shannon creamery is now com pleted and an early start will be made at the Manakau creamery, the engine now being fitted up

The fact of the Elthara Co-operative Factory having to close for a time ow ing to the small quantity of milk received is rather awkward, says the Hawera Star, for those who have cows that have calved early. Many en deavoured to time their cows to calve as near the beginning of September as possible, but those that did so this year will be losers. The spring growth has been slow, and cows coming in just now do so at a disadvantage, for there is insufficient feed to supply the milk giving qualities. The earlier the cows calve the better for the success of the industry. The produce can be shipped Home and arrive at a time when there is a larger demand for it than there would later on, when greater supplies are arriving. But it must be remem bered that it is seldom in Taranaki that grass sho.vs any very vigorous growth before October, more especially if the paddocks be heavily stocked during winter. So that il cows which calvo before the winter is over are low in condition they cannot give /the supply of milk they would later on. Those farmers whose cows come in later receive a greater flow of milk, and being paid for by the gallon, con sequently receive more money. It stands to reason if farmers can get more money out of their herds if the cows came in in say October, that they would naturally prefer to have them coming in about that time, thus having a great advantage over those whoso cows came in earlio>’, when grass was scarce. This shows that if milk be worth 3d a gallon when there is a flush of feed, it is certainly worth 4d when there is not, or when the cows are drying off. Provision for this should be made, and payment for milk, even in co-operative factories, should be regulated by the circumstances under which the milk is obtained Unless dairyfarmei s regulate the matter of when all will be prepared to start the season, disagreements will arise amongst suppliers. 