WOODVILLE BACON COMPANY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 984, 26 November 1910, Page 21

WOODVILLE BACON COMPANY.

WHERE -THE WELL-KNOWN'- "'MOREPORK " -■■■ ■'■"■' BRAND : COMEB Fill " :; -AH -■ ENTERPRISING CONCERN;

Woodvillo is fortunato in possessing not only a largo railway sub-terminal staff, and several 'dairy factories .and creameries, situated practically within easy access. to tho town, but it also possesses tho second , largest baconcuring establishment in New- Zealand, employing- all the year round a largo and efficient staff. ' It distributes within the town,/ and into other avenues of commerce, thousands, of pounds every

tho works with the idea of bacon-cur-ing alone. ,It was recognised that the works wero admirably fitted for the industry, and further that the position of Woodvillo at tho junction of threo railway lines branching each in a different direction was well suited'to the reception and distribution of produce. The company have secured tho .solo New Zealand rights . of tho cure and brand of tho well-

year. The progress of any -town, is largely shaped by its own enterpriso in' local industries, and the fact iliat tho very fine;works built by Messrs. Nelson Bros/ aro still being utilised . in furthering' a .most important industry . is "pre.ditablo"alike to tho directors, of the, company, and tho town generally, ;'As at pre£erit : .;ppnstituted, the .Woodr. vjlle Bacon Company, Ltd.,'has been in existence drily during the past nine or , ten months. Originally tho works

known Morepork ham and bacon, which had been made at tho Woodvillo works for the past fifteen years, and under the present curer, Mr. iM'Caffery. Pig supplies . aro . drawn from Wairarapa, Waikato, Pukekohc, in.the. Auckland district, Taranaki, and Southern Hawkc's Bay. .'.... The Works Described. ,'..' The engine-room is under .the- ablo supervision of Mr. J. H.'.Cronin, chief

.were designed 'for thp slaughtering and freezing of stock in 1892; by Messrs. Nelson Bros., of Toinoana, Hawke's Bay, at an approximate cost of £18,000. After a run of some years they were leased in 1899 to tho Christclnirch Meat Company, and later to the North Island Bacon Company. Finally the present company was formed, with W. \V. H. Nelson (a son of Mr. ?lel-' son, of. Tomoana) as managing director. Mr. E. H. Egglcston was appointed secretary,'and'Mr. W. M'Caffcry ■work's jmaiiager. The new company took over

■engineer. Tho machinery consists of a largo Haslam refrigerator, converted many years ago to tho Linde. system by Messrs. Jasl J. Niven and Co., of Napier. This maehino is of special interest, as it was tho first refrigerator to come to Hawke's Bay, being installed at Tomoana by Messrs. Nelson Bros., Ltd., in 1883. A complete suction gas plant is now being placed in position by Messrs. Jas. J. Niven.and Co., Ltd. This will bo in working order in tho course of a few days. In addition to tho abovo there is a complete electric

lighting plant, and several pumps for supplying water to the factory. The remainder of the works comprise slaughtering houses and cooling and freezing chambers, largo storerooms capable of storing several thousands of carcasses, engine room and boiler houses, and pens for the housing of pigs as they arrive from tho railway station, which is connected with the works by the company's private lino. The boiling-down plant, comprises three large digesters for offal, two large brick smoke houses, thoroughly up-to-date, and lard houses. Tho smoke house, bacon stores, and packingshed are all tinder one- brick house. Thero aro also two largo curing cellars. Tho whole of the appointments aro upon very, modern principles, and it is generally recognised that thero aro none better in the Dominion. The staff averages twentyfive daily all tho year round, and it is not surprising that,: with the class of animal supplied, and tho supervision Riven to the business by Mr. W. H.. Nelson, and his two able lieutenants, Messrs. Eggleston and M'Caffrey, tho quality of tho output is so good that the demand now exceeds the supply. Tha Morepork (Jure. Nearly everyono who has a liking for bacon or ,ham and eggs at breakfasttimo has tasted the well-known Morepork cure. It is a mild breakfast cure, tho rights of which cost much money, and it has now been on the market for

of the. reasons why they are prone to disease. Pasteurised skimmed milk and wliey, and peas and maize are the recommendatio.iis for food. AVitb referenco to weight, Mr. M'Caffery, the curor, states that tho dressed weight of a pie; should never exceed one hundred and forty pounds, and a side forty pounds. The fjreat trouble with some of those pigs bred for the- industry is the fact that they are wrongly looked to for excessive fat as the first consideration. In tho days gone by sheep-owners used to make tho. same mistake in preparing their stock for tho London market, but they are now overcoming that failing. If pig-broedors only followed suit they would indirectly increase their output and prices, and at tho samo time afford much greater satisfaction to the curer. How Irish Pigs arc Fed. An interesting'note on the manner in which pigs are fed in Ireland, is provided by Mr. J. A. Kinsella, late Chief Dairy Commissioner, in one of his reports. Mr. Kinsella says: "One thing which impressed me very much in the districts I visited, in Ireland was the attention given to the growing of pork. During the time-1 was previously connected with this division of tho Department I from time to time urged on the dairy farmers the importance oE raising more pigs, and the freat help it would give to tho dairy industry of the colony. I hnd often read about tho large number of pigs raised by tho

fully fifteen years. Followers of "Morepork," and they aro many, declare that tho flavour is unequalled. Thero is no doubt that in both hams arid bacon it is delightfully palatable. It is' turned out in bams, sides and rolls, and all round tho quality is as for Christmas eating. The Double Diamond Brand. In addition to tho Morepork cure, tho company has its well-known Double Diamond brand, which has given such general satisfaction that it is intended to continue its manufacturing. Pig Killing Extraordinary. In those modern days tho work of pig killing in tho big factories is something liko that of Armour's, in. Chicago, where everything, including the squeal, sometimes utilised for phonographic purposes, is turned to money. At tho 'Woodvillo works tho pigs aro brought in droves, deposited in the concrete-floored slaughtering pens, after killing they are whisked along a greased rail by gravitation process to the scalding vat, singed m a furnace, scraped and then run on overhead trollies to the dressers; at tho rato of fifty an hour. Aftor being dressed, tho carcasses aro cut up, cured, smoked, and bagged ready for export into tho storerooms. Tho killing capacity of. tho works is from 400 to 500 per day. The singeing process is extremely interesting. After beiiiE scalded, tho carcasses aro swung on a mechanical device into, a furnace, where, they aro subjected to a sixty-second incineration. Tin's process takes away tho. hot water flabbiiicss, and, stiffens* the carcasso while, at the samo time, all dele- : tcrioiis substances aro removed from the skin. It also reduces tho thickness of the rind —an advantage much recognised now by storekeepers who use tho modern bacon-cutting, machines. Tho Tamworth-Berkshlre, ■ So far as tho class of pigs required for curing are concerned, tho company asks for something of the TamworthBerkshiro type. I'rom. this cross ono can obtain a fairly long sido which gives- tho good middlo of bacon preferred by storekeepers. Tho combination gives an ideal carcass for tho bacon trade, fine shoulders, splendid ham, good bacon sides, nicely marbled, and a good flavoured flesh. It is to tho farmer's advantage to thoroughly fatten his pigs with hard feed fully a month before Iho pigs aro sent to the factory. Pigs kept through tho winter months, should be well housed; in fact, they should be well housed at any time, and tho fact that they are not always so housed is very probably one

Irish .farmer, and the excellent bacon and hams that were shipped to England and other markets, and when in., Ireland I naturally took considerable interest in the subject. I found that nearly every dairy farmer, however small his holding, kept quite a largo number of pigs, and went in_ for breeding high-class pigs which will produco good bacon and ham. ■It is a wellknown fact that Irish bacon is recog■nisod in England as probably the finest which is imported. In Ireland, as in Canada, the farmers feed, the skimmed milk and whey from tho factories to the pigs, the whoy being sterilised before being fed. The pigs are also fattened on green stuff, such as clover end lucerne, end are topped_ off with corn or pea meal, with a view of producing

firmness in the flesh. It was'pointed I nut to mo by people in the trade tiisii if pigs were fed on too much cornmeal alone it. would have a tendency to give the flesh a somewhat yellow" colour.. I had heard this statement made previously; but .in tho western part of the States, whero thousands ,of acres of corn are grown, pigs are raised, and fattened for the ■ market on; nothing, else but corn. The Irish people believe in first building up a large framowith foodi such as ■ skimmed; milk and somo green fodder, and afterwards topping off with solid food, consisting generally of cornmeal, cracked.peps, and.provender. When one considers the. great, waste that is continually going on' in tho majority of our New Zealand dairy, factories, one can realise that a very large amount of revenue is lost.not only to the farmer, but to tho country.. . These remarks apply more particularly to cheese-factories, whero a quan- • tity of the whey is usually allowed to ; run to waste." '• >•..■'•