The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. TUESDAY, MAY 21,1889

Waikato Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 2630, 21 May 1889, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE.

TUESDAY, MAY 21,1889

relics or political. __

Scientific discoveries and inventions suein to pour upon us ; n. week barely elapsing from the chronicling of some marvellous evidence of man's ingenuity and research Imfore we are again greeted with the intelligence; of some other startling proof oi inventive skill. Every day we hear of some fresh advance of tho invasion into the domain of Nature, and of victory won in penetrating into her innermost secrets which she has hitherto jealously guarded from human assaults. This fb the age of the triumphs of science, under which generic term is indicated the brilliant, progressive development oHhe mind, in bringing the inanimate powers under subjection, [t was only a few days ago we spoke of some extraordinarynovelty in the field of mechanics, of an improvement in agricultural machinery that would reduce cereal cultivation to mathematical precision combined with the greatest possible economy in human labour, and by which it seems probable tho industry of grain-growing will be made only possible on an extensive scale and in countries offering certain requisite conditions. If science is to cause ;i

I'ovolution in the chief agricultural occupation of the soil and deprive us of one of our richest sources of wealth-production, it seems inclined to oll'ecfc a cnivitur-revolution in another great staph; that will move than compensate for the loss of the first. H the »rain-growing ot the future is to become non-paying and impossible to the middle-class, and small farmers owing to the perfection of mechanical inventions, sheeprearing and cattle-breeding will, on the other hand, become highly lucrative l>y means of the assistance the latest'scientilic discovery will ail'ord that pursuit of the pastoralists. It seems only the other day that the incredulous were made convinced of the possibility of landing carcases of dead meat in England, perfectly fresh and as lit for consumption, after enduring an ocean transit of many thousands of miies, us though only slaughtered the day before. * The. freezing process and the use of chambers of artilicially

n-oduced cold air became known and idopted, grew into an important •oature of' international trade, and s developing into a permanent and perfectly adjusted commercial institution. Enterprise and capital are nuking great preparations for embarking into the frozen meat trade on a "igantic scale. But just as all Uiis is taking place, and the export of frozen moat under new and improved arrangements is being established on a footing considered satisfactory to shippers _ as a whole, a new invention is lirst whispered, then boldly announced, which appears destined to, at once, create a complete change altogether hi the trade. This is nothing less than the entire abolition of freezing, as well as the need for cool chambers. The new idea claims to preserve meat by a simple pro-

uess of fumigation by means of a powder, which thoroughly impn?"uates tho substance and places it fn such a state that it can be koptpttjfectly fresh and sweet for any lcivtli of time, i" any locality and subject to any temperature. One is tempted to conclude that we have at last discovered the lost wscirt of the Egyptians in embalmin" their dead, and by winch art their bodies were preserved for indefinite ages. That there are vast possibilities in the discovery cannot be denied, and what'it may mean to the colonics anil our " gvoat moat industry wo will proceed lo slur.w Tho London coiTOßp.nui]<'iit of tlio Melbourne Age, writing on tlio subject, jrivos an'account of several tests That have boon made of tho efficiency of tho process, and gives a description of its viodux opnnnuh. Its discovery was duo to tho patient investigation of Mr Baniells an Viuoi'ican chomist, who had been pursuing his researches for■ a period of fourteen years. The in-oceb.s, according to the Ago report, consists in nothing more than subjecting tho moat to tho fumes of a powder burnt in an air-tight chamber. Tho powder contains many constituents, among

which are sugar, cinnamon, sassafias, nitrate of potass'un, soda and sulphur Fumigation by this means will, in three hours, render meat incapable of decay, and it can be taken out of the chamber and left anywhere for any period of time. Vegetables and fruit have been experimented upon and found capable of being preserved in precisely the .same manner, and as successfully as meat. Sir Charles Clifford, who is Largely connected with the freezing interest, is satisfied

the invention will revolutionise the meat industry. The phase of ths subject having the deepest interest to us is that which demonstrates the cost between

the freezing and fumigating processes ; and this is very remarkable. The Age correspondent has shown the immense advantages the discovery otters to colonial shippers; we, therefore, give his own statements on that, point:—

Now comes the important question as to how this invention, being all that is claimed for it, will affect the colonies. I

think there can hardly be two opinions on the subject. Let me put tho facts in a nutshell. At present the growers of sheep in Australia and New Zealand are paid "J]d a pound for their mutton, a similar sum is absorbed in the process of

freezing and transport in refrigerating chambers to England, and 5d is the sum the mutton brings in the English market. Now the bulk of this goes in the freezing expenses, that is, expenses of freezing in factories, expenses of transmission to steamer, expenses of refrigerating on land, expenses of refrigerating in depots, &c As a matter of fact, if sheep could be sent as ordinary cargo the expenses would not be more than .', d per lb for freight. I will not, however, put the freight as low as that, but estimate U\ as the sum per lb charged by ships "from the Antipodes to England. That would be about £."> per ton, or 2s per sheep of r>ol b. Now the quantity of meat which I find on enquiry and experiment that could bn put into this small box was, roughly speaking, between '2001 bar.d 3001b, that is,° between four and six sheep of 501b. The amount of powder required to preserve these in three or four hours is i\U., and the cost of the powder is !)d per lb. Let us say, therefore, that 7d would be the cost of preserving the five sheep, or simply H-d per sheep. So that the cost of preservation, or export to England, under the new system would be 2s 1.'.-d for a sheep of oOlb., whereas now, under the freezing system, it is 10s "id. Surely this deserves tl.c attention of every ruuhoUer in Australia and New Zealand ? If the price of mutton were maintained at 5d here, it would cause a net increase of 8s 3Ad per carcase for the grower. But, of co"nrsu, the price would fall, and the English public and the grower split the advantage between them. A company has been formed in England called the Food Preserving Company, and the patentees wish to dispose of the patent rights of the new plan in Australia and New Zealand. The process is so simple that it can be applied to domestic usr.s in preserving fresh meat, and it should be hailed with delight by every household and every butcher as affording facilitiesforgrcater economy, and tho saving of much valuable food from waste. Wo are, no doubt, on tho evo of fresh changes thnt will add immensely to the welfare and progress of the people in tho Old Country and the colonies, and which will bo watched with no little interest as they are evolved into practical shape.