Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, MAY 30, 1895.

Manawatu Herald, 30 May 1895, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. THURSDAY, MAY 30, 1895.

«_ Tifc " Social. O^ts>" "^ho : -deal largely in sheep are having a bad time of it, this is admitted by all, but how bad a time is only thoroughly appreciated by4he Exporter- of frozenmutton. Freezing charges, freight and expenses raotirifcto twopence and a fraction a pound, and the second quality of meat, under which head all meat- from -cihe- North Island: comes, has only been fetching 2slb. The grower has thus been only obtaining the value of the skin and fat for his labour. This is both. serious to himself and his neighbours, as the price of frozen mutton must rule the price of sheep in the colony. It becomes a poor look-out if sheep are to be valued at the price of their skins and tallow. Everybody feeli the loss of the money though he may ' have nothing , directly to do with sheep, and therefore the attenpaid by the If awkes Bay Swtdd to this subject is worthy of every attention. The JBerald points out " that a few yea|£3,go the difference between frozen mutton and Home killed, was about 2d a pound, now it is nearer 4d. That mean9, of course, that our mutton has gradually depreciated in value by 2d a pound 1 The appearance of the meat when it | reaches Home is undoubtedly in- j ferior to what is used to be, market reports .talk of an inferior quality ( ft»d ' thd b&tobera complain tout iV

mildews so rapidly that they cannot use it." The paper also quotes from a letter which recently appeared in the Otago Daily Times in which the writer says : — For some time back, it will have been noticed, from some unexplained cause, New Zealand mutton has frequently arrived in London more or less out of the prime condition in which it formerly arrived there. Reports of loss of ' bloom,' and of other and more deleterious appearances of the meat, such as mildew, incipient or developed, are becoming far too frequent, and are largely responsible for the fact that New Zealand mutton has settled down to less than one half the price of English mutton. Defrosting will doubtless.be of great benefit, but it is highly improbable that it will restore the * bloom,' and it is certain that it will not remove the other and more serious deleterious appearances* such as mildew, etc.; The disappearance of the ' bloom y the primary Stage o! the attacks of mildew, incipient or more or less defined. It is a cojnmon error that intense cold will festeQy the milcW and other injurious S; agpe>raiicej afl ! t&e Meat* No ftssun^lbn' could '"be ; more dangerous o'r Feds -in Record with scientific researches' rir with practical experience?./ 1 The dstWes ■ regelariy■j*'deivjjd- in ihe^dltiay, stating" tHat* such afa^su6h ia;3te»thetr iMtoriiyetf &r London wHh'hfer meatfn'good condition amo.unj;, to little, being 'chiefly *eni ■ bV the shiptJwtierß or their agef'ntsi' i&any case, the mere inspection before 4 i a .ch ar ge H of tttpe value. The broad. fact remaina that best New Zealand mutton has fallen to less than half the price of Engtyih mutton An the London market." ..TJie' writer ascribes, the loss of " bloom >! lroin the fypt that the charcoal used as. an insulator, is a prolific breeder of germs. . It la worthy of note that Sir James Hector is also against the iiae of charcoal having before a committee of the Legislative Council given evidence that " Charcoal is a deodoriser, but not a disinfectant — that is, it absorbs and retains any germs of putrefaction without destroying them— and thus may become a ' nidus ' (breeding ground) for the propagation of germs that may taint the meat. For this reason when the meat freezing trade was Btarted I strongly urged the use of calcined pumice instead of charcoal, as being quite as good a nonconductor and absolutely safe." The subject is a grave one, and the results appear to corroborate Sir James 1 opinion unfortunately too strongly. The growers will have to bestir themselves and insist, at any rate, on a trial of the pumice, recommended.