The Meat Freezing FAILURE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume 3, Issue 42, 15 January 1883, Page 2

The Meat Freezing FAILURE.

(united pbesb association.) Dunedin, Jan. 13. A private letter received by Mr Hack worth, OoPector ot Customs here, from Dr, Johnston, who was a passenger by the 8.8. Marsala, gives the following information with regard to the failure of her frozen meat shipment. It is dated from Batavia. He says :— •« The whole cargo has been discharged into the mighty deep. The machinery broke down, and the space allotted to tbe machinery was so constructed that it was impossible for men to remain long enough m the engine room to make the necessary repairs, the temperature ranjj" ing trom 120 to 150 fahrenheit. Inmy opinion there are several causes for the unfortunate catastrophe. An immense iron steamer with iron decks m the tropics will naturally attract heat. I have seen the decks bo hot that sacks were laid down for the coolies to run upon when taking m cargo, to protect their feet from the hot deck. The engine-room belonging to the refrigerating machinery was only 7ft high, and the temperature there sometimes going up to 138 and even 140 degrees. The man m charge of the machinery was an ordinary workman, who, I should think was never m such a position before and did not realise the responsfbility. He could not stand the excessive heat ot the engine-room long enough to keep the engines m order, and he says that the said engines were constantly heating, and some brass screws, Tvhich were fitted 'nto cast iron, were not proteoted from sea water, and therefore became corroded and loose. Tbe nev patent snow syphons connected with the machinery became choked, and, m addition to this, the external state of the atmosphere was so attenuated that no amount of pressure could be got np sufficient to con. deuse, and this difficulty, m my opinion was increased by the fact » bat there was a large space left vacant m the refrigerating chamber, sufficient to contain nearly a thousand more sheep. This void made the condensation more difficult."