A LOCAL INDUSTRY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4367, 14 March 1893, Page 3

A LOCAL INDUSTRY.

Empire Packing Company, The aphorism that half tho world (loos not know how tho other moiety lives, is as applicable to tho oityof WglUdrlou as it is to any other large community in the universe, When tho iuitnenso and continuous ' stream of humanity whioh flows into Wellington every momini> between 8 and 9 o'clock is considered, one wonders how all theso men, women, lads, and las6oa niauago to find employment, Yet they do, and not a fow of them obtain their livelihood in some factory or anothor in Wellington. Of theso local industries, tho Empire Packing Company, tho proprietors of which aro Mcssts. W. and 0. Turnbull & Co,, is by no means the least. Tho huge and familiar brick fourBtorcy warehouse of the firm stands en Cue-tomhouse-quay, to which it has a frontago of 1751t by 100 ft in depth, whilst the frontage of the stores to Feathcrslon-strcot is 175 ft by 110 ft. Tho interior of the building is a veritablo hive of industry, but as it is necessary at present only to describe that portion of the establishment which is devoted to the Empito Paoking Company's operations,' we will pass through tho office, and by turning down a passago leading to the right hand past tho clerks' desks, we find ourselves in the wholesale Btore. Ascending two flights of stairs, tho senso of smell is strongly attracted by tho pungent odour of tea. This floor is devoted to what is known as tho tea department, Onknooking at a glass door, the genial manager is in evidence. This is Mr F. M, Shorlridge, the tea "export" of tho firm, Quite an important character is tho" expert" in a laige concern like the Empire Tea Company, and, as a man in the onerous posi* tion should be, ho is a bit of an autocrat too. Mr Shortridge has been connected with the firm of W. & G, Turnbull * (Jo. for the past sixycars, or sinco thoy commenced the packing branch ot their big business,. Tbo tastiug reoni is a fine largo, airy, and light apartment, having a wide bench runuing its whole length under tho windows, and on this bench are arranged upwards ot a dozen peculiar-looking Httlo white cbina teapots, These diminutivo teapots aro tho bleuder and taster's iutusors. But in addition to tho teapots there is a smaller number of cups about the Bizo of ordinary lea oups. ore the implements with which tho tea blender prepares his feats of magic, For that he does perform a species of magio and transformation is a fact. He will show you a somplo which may be weak or strong, rough and smooth to the palate, as tho case may bo, but by mixing various kinds and qualities of leaf together he produces a fragrant nnd delicious cup of tea. Mr f hoit--ridgo confirms the general impression that Chinese teais being crushed out of the market of the civilised world by the superior flavoured loot from India and Ceylon. Of courso tho superiority of Coylon lea is accounted for by the fact that tho soil of the latter has not undergone such an exhaustion as that of China for countless centuries has been subjeotcd to, and then again the growers in India and Ceylon have brought the most improved machinery to their aid in the drying and paoking ot the loaf. The blender shows tho visitor somo dozen or so of different qualities and prices of teas which the Empire Tea Company send out to the trado, from a good wholesome, finely flavoured Ceylon blond retailed in very handsome lead packets at 2s per pound, to tho more superior blends, at 3s the pound, and known as tho Dragon and Houdah blends, The tea packing-room is on tho same floor, and here Id men and boys arc paoking tins, leads, and packets as if their lives depended upon tho operation, as, indeed, they do so depend. Tho paoking is performed by hand, and also by a large machine of the most modern pattern. The tea having been blended by workmen in tho floor obovo is dropped down by means of air-tight shoots-this precaution beins taken in crdorto preserve the perfect aroma of the leaf—into bins in the packing-room, so that time and labour is thereby economised as much as possible. Oh tho floor abovo tho packing, the blending is in full awing for eighthoura a day. The blending room is air-tight, Tho different descriptions of leaf required to make the particular blend are put into a huge drum, the lid of which is closed tightly, and two men then commence to rovolvo the drum at a high rate of speed, which, of courso, causes the teas to becomo thoroughly well mixed or blended, This important operation takes about 10 minutes to complete. Each blend is again oarotully tested, in order to maintain tho firm's standard. But the blending and paoking of teas is ly no means the only industry pursued by Messrs W. and G. Turnbull and Co. Leaving tho tea department, we ascend to the next floor, and aro introduced to Mr J. Wilson, who has charge of the coffee, pepper, and general packing department. Here the atmosphere is found to bo redolent of spicy odours of every description. In one room, coffee berries, only recently roasted, are emitting a delicious fragrance as they are being ground, On the general packing room no fewer than 2000 lib tins of various descriptions of goods are turned out everyday, Tho tinsmiths' shop is fitted up with the latest dovices for expeditiously turning out the tinware required in tho factory. The round and octagon shaped tins required for dry goods, such as coffee, pepper, and ponders of all kinds, arc not soldered, but in the twinkling of an eyo a little machino bonds the tlnplato into the desired shape, whilst another apparatus instantaneously stamps out and turns up tho bottom and tho cover of tho canister, It takes less timo than half a minute to make a lib tin canister, Tho foreman tinsmith exhibits with pardonable pride n handy littlo invention of bis which will solder two tins at tho samo uiomcut, Tho operation is exceedingly oxpoditious, The bottling deportment is on the same floor as tho tinsmith's shop. Tho-manu-facture of malt vinegar by a patent process the sole rights of which are held by Messrs W, and G. Turnbull and Co., constitute an important branch of the lirm'B business, Huge stocks of casks for its transport are piled up in tbo yards, and this article under the well-known " Block Horse" brand finds its way into the remotest pf rts of thecolony, Limejuico is also clarified in this department. The spico and pepper grinding room is a busy scene, but as the atmosphere, owing to the popper dust flying about, is somewhat overpowering, one is rather in a hurry to leave the room. Tho spico grinding machino, nnd tho sifter, are splendid pieces of mechanism, quite up to date. The whole of tho machinery is driven by an Otto gas engine, capable of being worked up to 13 horse-power. Tho firm's scrap book of labels used for packing syrups, coffee, baking, egg, currie, and other powders, and also vinegar, limo-juico, etc, is well worthy of inspection, Tho tens of thousands of their highly coloured nud artistically designed lithographs, aro invariably printed in this city, The factory employs upwards of 50 mennndboys,exolusiveofthe members of the clerical staff and commercial travellers. The travellers of tho Empire Packing Company, of which Wellington has every reason to bo proud, penetrate to every nook and corner of Now Zealand from tho North Cape to tho Bluff and in each large centre the firm has established a branch for samples, etc,—Evoning Post,