A LIVE INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1372, 24 February 1912, Page 20

A LIVE INDUSTRY.

NELSON FREEZING COMPANY, LTD

DESCRIPTION OF THE WOR.KS,

Conveniently situntcil on the railway line between the garden suburbs (.f Stoke and Richmond, :it a point only fix miles from Nelson, stands the works.of the Nelson Freezing Company,. Ltd., which havo recently come into active operation. That the works fulfil every requirement one has only to pay a briof visit of inspection to note how perfectly every department is situated in relation to the other, end how utility is btudied down to tho finest point. AN IDEAL SITE. The lite of the new works, which cover an area of seventeen acres, is ideal for the purpose. Water, the one great, essential, is in ample, one may say inexhaustible, supply. A railway siding runs into the works, from which sheep from thiee trucks may be unloaded, practically into the first of tho series of smnll paddocks which surround the buildings. From the yards a broad race leads to the lop floor of a substantial throe-story brick building. Within.are three pens, capable of accommodating sixty sheep each, and there is slaughter-board accommodation sufficient to accommodate eight butchers, who' could slaughter-500 to GOO sheep per day. Thero is a slightly-graded concrete Moor, and ample drainage to carry away the blood, which runs by gravitation into the big vats below, in an adjoining building, there to undergo preparation for various purposes. After slaughter the carcasses are hung and dressed, and the od'al and skins are sent away by means of four chutes to the fellmongery and oft'al sheds below. Runners'convey the .caroasses to the cooling-room, a large apartment "lilt, by 50ft., where &00 carcasses may be stowed. Here they remain in this speci-ally-ventilated apartment until the natural heat is exhausted, when they r.re removed i on runners'to the freezing chambers, of which there aro three—each .capable,of holding a full day's kill. There tho carcasses aro frozen hard, bagged, and lowered by chutes to the cold stores, there to await railing into Nelson for shipment to London.

THE FREEZING SYSTEM. Tho process of freezing is accomplished by the latest method, known as the ammonia compression system. Rows of pipes, through whioh circulates the refrigerating fluid, run horizontally along tho ceilings of the freezing rooms, tho walls, doors, and ceilings of which aTe insulated with a casing of twelve inches of pumice, which is held in its place by two linings of Australian hardwood, one inch in thickness, and a. layer of inalthoid on each side. Tho rooms are thus thoroughly air and water-tight, which is absolutely necessary for the successful freezing of the carcasses. Immediately under the freezing chambers aro tho cold stores, which are insulated in a similar manner. These stores, which are capable of holding 10,000 001b. sheep, or 15,000 iambs, are 50ft.. by 50ft., 'the height of tho ceiling from tho floor being 12ft. fiin. The insulated doors through which the carcasses aro removed, aro lined with cow hair, which makes them impervious to heat. Immediately alongside is tho railway line, and the carcasses are sent by moms of a chute through the doors- into the meat vans. Each van holds about 125 carcasses, and it is expected that about eighteen of these venicles will bo required. Tho writer was then taken back to the building whero the sheep are to bo slaughtered. On the second floor tho offal will he sorted, and on the ground floor the wool and skins will be dealt with, the advantnge of having these departments in one building being obvious. In the fellmongery the skins are thoroughly washed in a "dolly," dried by an electrically-driven hydro-extractor. The flesh side of the skin will be treated with a solution of sulphide of sodium and lime. After standing in this condition for about twelve hours the wool is.easily removed, classed, dried, and then-ba'cd. The pelts are then packed and forwarded to a tannery.

FOR TREATING BY-PRODUCTS. Tho tallow and manure house is connected wifh the slaughter and offal house by means of an overhead gangway. In this building the offal is digested, and the resultant tallow rcDncd, cooled, and ensk.d. Tho refuse oft'al from tho vats, known as "tankage," is pressed, to .extract any remaining tallow, and placed in the fertiliser. The blood is treated in a similar monitor, and after becoming coagulated, is also converted into one of the richest manures manufactured in the freezing works.. In ' connection with the disposal of the offal, the entrails, especially "of the lambs, will be kept . apart and worked up for sausage skins. It is understood from Mr. Mitchell that although the entrails will not be worked 1 up at the works, arrangements hove been made for theso to be taken over by one of the large casing export firms doing business with some of the largest freezing companies in New Zealand. The digesters are capable of dealing with twice the present capacity of the works, so that ample provision in this respect has been made for the future, Tho engine-house, where the gas-producing plant and boilers were being installed, was -next visited. Here workmen wero busily engaged erecting two GO brake horsepower "National" gas engines, a "Linde" refrigerator, capable of dealing with considerably more carcasses than at present expected, and a 85 "Kilowatt" electric generator.' The latter, distributes power to the fellmongery and manure departments, and also supplies electric light to tho whole of the buildings. The gas-produc-ing plant is claimed to be the mo6t efficient method of power production.

A FINE MACHINERY PLANT. The "National" gas ongino at the recent A. and P. Show at Derby (England) obtained gold medals for their exhibits •before all other competitions. Tho bailor, which is of tho water tube type, is being installed by the Stirling Boiler Company. The engineroom and the boiler-house are each 40ft. by 25ft., and both well lighted and ventilated. Sufficient draught for the boiler is provided by a stack 30 ■ inches in diamotcr and 70 feet high. Two wells, each 2oft. deep, have been sunk on the property, and both are yielding a good supply of water. Salt water will be used for washing down, and for condensing and cooling purposes. The buildings were erected by Mr. A Miller, of Nelson., The other contracts were let aa follow.—Gas producing and refrigerating plant, Messrs. J. J. Niven and Co., Ltd., Napier; manure drier, Mr. C. A. M'Donald, Sydney; boilor, otc, Stirling Boiler Company, Sydney; electrical plant,. National Electricnl and Engineering Company, Dunedin; boiling down plant and digester, Messrs. Hutchison and Campbell, Wellington. The whole of tho work, inrluding buildings and machinery, has been designed by Mr. A. S. Mitchell! engineer, of Wellington, I and oarrUd out luulor hie personal m-

fruit cells from too great a pressure of sap at some critical poriod. "Black Loaf," Of our new disease, "Black J>af," I .may state that I have detected it on Winter Nelis in the Huon (Tasmania), and on a Beurre Boso at Stanhope, in Queensland, and was told of a row of Iveiffer's Hybrid having been cut down at Ardmona, la Victoria, from the same cause, while, as.regards the American blight, alleged cures are to be met with on every hand, but its ravages notwithstanding all these efforts ar* not materially reduced.

Fruit Cases. All tho States are recommended to adopt for export for apples tho legalised Tasmanian fruit case, which is almost identical with our dump case, while for poar6 no recommendation is made other uutn that each package must conlniu doJUit« proportion* of » bushel, nod b*

in addition private 000 l uteres are springing up—one to hold 16,000 oases coming under my notice, at a cost of -CSOOO. Our own need in this connection is apparent, and I would commend this question to this conference's most earnest consideration. A committee of the Brisbane Conferencq met tho agente. of the United Steamship owners in Sydney, when wo discussed various matters in connection with the handling and stowing of fruit, we urging, amongst other things, the need of planks for the. workmen to stand on, better ventilation, and trays in lieu of slings. Tho companies promised to do their best to give effect to the delegates' wishes.

"Co-operation," "In conclusion, I touch on that most debatable subject, 'co-operation.' to some a pnnacca for all our pomological .woes, to others an interesting subject for discussion when there in nothing better to do, to iuy»elf a desirable consummation

Messrs.. Robertson Brother*, Limited, aro an old-established Nelson firm, and at the present timo havo an extensive and up-to-date joinery plant, with moulding and turnery machinery, etc.. in Hardy Street, NeUon", and own a sawimllmg plant at Flat Creek, Marlborough, from which mill, timbers of n superior quality are distributed throughout the "laiiburough, Nelspn, and Motueka dt-'trictj. Their joinra-v carries a wide reputation throughout kelson and Wcstlutid. I'urnig their business career they have construct, ed tho following buildings, which steak for themselves:—The Nelson Boys College, the Suter Art Gallery, Girls' < Mitral School, Nelson Baptist and Presbvtarinn Churches, Upper Moulero Lutheran Church, o'nd Stanley Brook Anglican Church, and, in addition, a numerous list of private residences and busineai places, etc, For Bronchial Cough, UKe Woods' Great Pnppormint Curt, Is. 64.