THE FROZEN-MEAT TRADE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VI, Issue 1873, 24 December 1884, Page 2

THE FROZEN-MEAT TRADE.

(North British Agriculturalist.)

Although the consumption of meat in this ceuntry exceeds the production by about 40 per cent,, there is no reason to be apprehensive of the immediate, or even early fulfilment of Mr Mulhall's prediction, that every year Great Britain would become more and more dependent for its meat supply' upon foreign nations, It appears that a practically unlimited supply of meat can be obtained from the Colonies. The Tim lecently supplied the following reassuring statistics upon this point, It remarked Consumers ought to not only the proportion •to which the frozen mutton importation has attained, but also the.immense Bale of the preparations now made for augmenting the supply. In. the nine

months—January to September—we received from Australia and New Zealand no less than 238,130 owt. of frozen mutton, compared with 60,432 owt. in the corresponding period of last year, and 32,063 cwt in 1682, Beckon-

ing at 60 lb weight per carcase, the 238,130 cwt of mutton comprised 444,500 sheep. Thisjmport• in nine months is at the rate of 592,600 sheep ■ ' in the year,- or* air Average ■ sheep per week, Thfs ib equivalent tp , . aoubhng the iwmher. qf sheep though "" act.doubling the' weight of; Wtttion, at were.shown 1882 just. 561,60.0 op week : But men en - gaged in the', trade are , fully preparei" 'greatef operations.' Thus, tw.„ only of the principal makers of dry-air * freezing apparatus, jiftve already fur- ' nished .machinery *.as'.foliovgfc~The Haslam .foundry Company .jOTL>erby'.. Voii 2&latid and j A : «B.tral% «nd'.cw H towd- and sailing vess capabi e • bftraris[jcirt in g, an average nuuibgr. of voyages per year; more than sheep-per anritrm to - England From -the -River Pftti} their machines can .bring niore thfiffi^O,ooo - frozensheep per. annum.-' Coleman mechanical refrigerator "Com. ~ pauyof.'Glasgow have fitted with .-their : apparatus vesseia. whiclv, in '36ockraoeß brought £2,900,0'0'0 worth of meat from, .. America, • and £200,000 from the colonies—including , 588,000 quarters of beef and 131,000 carcases of mutton, and their operations are now greatly extended*. To provide cold: storage for, the. frozen meat' between the date iStf". arrival' and a convenient time.,,fow s. offering in thr London market, both'the East and West India docks; and the ■■■ Victoria Docks .have -constricted' chambers chilled by freezing appwßiis. ■ At Victoria Dock the nccomodaran is on- aii- immense scale. • Sixty-six vaults, having a total capacityof 180,000 cubic feet, are supplied with air at a temperature of dega, below freezing point by more-than half a dozen 30-horse power 's|eainengines, which drives a freezing appar atus constructed by Messrs Hill of Dartford; and the total accomodation is for 50,000 or 60,000 sheep at 4'time. taking the average duration of the storage at ten days, these chambers cpiv deal with 34,000 up to 40,000 .sheefev ' per week. How enormous this'; supply v maybe appears from the fact;that a year's total of home and foreign live shepp at the Metropolitan Cattle Market and Deptford Market together. gives an average of 35,800 head per week. • .. • •

The latest addition in London to the means of storage in frozen stembets is a spacious number of v®ts, the contents of which are about 80,000 cubic feet, now being completed under the Poultry market at, Smithfield. These vaults are naturally well adapted for the use to which they are to be put but special arrangements hsvo been made by'Mr Haslam jn several partjp^. ulars, most notably in the type afliln, position of the boiler and machinery, and in the provision made to ensure a constant supply to the boilers of perfectly clear water,

The wholesale market has greatly improved within the last fortnight, The supply of colonial meat is decidedly low; indeed, for a time the Coptic's cargo was almost the only shipment in the market. Fortunately the Tongariro arrived on' the 10th iußtant with 13,000 carcases in excellent condition, and they were promptly placed in the market. It realised from 6Jd to 6|d. It is nearly all sold. The lonic's cargo of 10,000 carcases has also arrived at a most opportune timeout has not yet been placed in the nssfet. The prospects of the trade aye considered excellent foy some'time tp oomp. Salesmen confidently prqmjse a brisk trade, with good prices, up to Christ- .. . mas, and rather bemoan the compufijtive small arrivals. . ' ■ *

Thii Citizen is responsible for the following notification, which, if true, will bo read with interest by those'tonnected with the exportation of New Zealand mutton to this country, as it affords evidence of the complete breaking down of the absurd prejudice which it met willi on its introduction i ■ —"The retail butchers ot the . Metropolis have been paying in the Central Meat Market a higher price during the week for New Zealand' than English grown mutton."