FROZEN MEAT TRADE. [BY TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1737, 23 August 1883, Page 2

FROZEN ME A T TRADE. [BY TELEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

Wki.lis(lTox, Tuesday. The following is an e\tiact from i letter, dated 11th July, 1883, from Mr John Reid, of Elderslie, Oamaru, to a M.H.R., received yesterday — " The Fensfcsinton ai lived with he caigo of mutton in splendid order. I got a number of gentlemen to go down with me to the docks, and we inspected the machinery and the meat iv the chambers, tiiends weie both amazed and delighted with the simplicity of the whole affair. The sheep looked beautiful in the hold, all lyni!* stacked up m their white calico bags with a blight coating of snow over them. I got one of my owu, and had the bag stripped off. It looked as if it had been killed oniy the day before. They are selling rapidly, 300 to 1000 each morning at Smithtield, at G^d per lb. average, and the meat salesmen there, with whom I have had several conversations, tell me that it is the finest mutton which ever came to London. They remarked that they would be very glad if they could depend on regular supplies, so that they might make contracts with public institutions and otherlarge consumers ; but at present they cannot take such contracts, owing to the intermittent nature of the supplies. I informed thorn that our capabilities of pioducing that article were vevy great, but we could not get ships to take away cargoes : that whenever that difficulty was overcome, and plenty of vessels fitted with refrigerating machinery were obtainable, we could send them large and regular supplies. I am convinced that this trade is nowoompletely assured, and that it will develope into large proportions." Mr, W. W. Jackaon, the latejChairman of the Wellington Harbour Board, writing from London to a friend in this city, sends the following interesting and imimportant information relative to the latest improvements m regard to the meat-freezing apparatus :—": — " I saw Mr, Larkworthy, who told me that a firm at Birmingham had patented an improvement in machinery for refrigerating purposes, so that it can be worked for less than one-half the cost of that on the old principle. The new machinery will take only half the room now in use, about half the quantity of fuel, and have power enough to freeze double the quantity of mutton or beef, consequently the charges for freight will be considerably reduced. An order has been given to apply the new machinery to one of the New Zealand Shipping Company's vessels," and it is , expected that 1 it will be fixed, in two" time. - This should be interesting 4ie^s ; tgthe colony , at i larj^eV.^^prQve of