CONGESTED COOL STORES.

Press, Volume XLIX, Issue 14840, 4 December 1913, Page 8

CONGESTED COOL STORES.

RECORD SHIPMENT OF BUTTER. Tho shipment of butter loaded by the New Zealand Shipping Company's steamer Rimutaka from tho Lytteiton Harbour Board's cool stores during the past fe\i* days, is a record for the port of Lytteiton. Since Friday last, 10,306 boxes of butter and 634 crates of cheese have been loaded out from tbe cool stores and shipped in the Rimutaka. With the exception of 2300 boxes of butter which were taken into the store on the day the striko was called, the whole of the butter and cheese was handled and stowed in? the cool chambers by four permanent employees, assisted by members of the Board's office staff. The work of loadirfg but was started on Friday last by members of the new union, assisted by the Board's employees, and compared moro than favourably with that done in pre-strike times,, the average number of boxes handled being 600 per hour;, Yesterday 300 boxes of butter from the cool store were sent to Wellington for transhipment to the Aorangi for San Francisco. The effects of strike have been seriously felt in the "dairying industry of Canterbury. On Tuesday, November 25tb, every available inch of space in the Harbour Board's ccol 6tores was filled with butter and cheese for shipment, and the factories were notified to cease forwarding any more to Lytteiton, although extra accommodation in the stores had been provided by the Board to avoid inconvenience to the factories: The cheese factories on Banks Peninsula which were unable to get .their produce to the Lytteiton cool stores-by rail, bad large accumulations awaiting the restoration" of • the steam--Mpßser-rice-.: A factory at one of the Bays was full np, .and the local social hall and a wool store were also frill of : cheese., Since the re-starting. of the steamer service last week over 1000 crates.; "of cheese have been brought to • Lytteiton..and.placed in the cool store to await shipment to London. One fac-

Tory had over 800 waiting transport when the cool store was re-opened on Monday to receive cheese. The Corinthic is to load a large quantity of butter and cheese at Lytteiton for London.