THE NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIAN LAND COMPANY'S SHIPMENT OF FROZEN MEAT.

Aftor the succoss which attended the shipment of frozen meat to England by tho Protons in tho latter part of last year, the Now Zealand and Australian Land Company began to entortain the idea of sending home a trial shipment from Port Chalmers. As nn instance of thin the ship Dunedin, now lying in that port, was fitted up with a BoH-Oolomati apparatus, and will tnko home shortly a shipment of about 6000 frozen oaroases of sheep which Mr MTherson is sending from the Company's Totara estate. The slaughtering operations at this station began about ten days before tho unfortunate breaking of tho crank on board tho Dunedin suspended operations, and about 1000 of the aheap sent down had to bo taken on shore a«ain and sold at a loss. The machinery was quickly repaired by a Dunedin firm and since its redintegration » fortnight ago, the operations have been carried on with renewed vi«or. Six butchors with attendant satellites fire nnga<jed in the sanguinary part of tho business, and 240 carcases are despatched to Dunedin every morning by tho first tram. The sheep destinod for the morrow's slaughter are on the previous day drafted into a yard, where they have to remain fasting for 24 hours so an to bo in the proper condition for killing. At four o'clock ovory morning work begins ; when tha number killed on the previous day, after liaising to cool for 24 hours, aro packed in moat vans fitted for tho purpose with hanging apparatus, ventilators, and an ioo olios t in the centro of ■'noli ; and five vans, each containing from 50 to 60 sheep, are taken on to their destination by the morning train. Immediately on their arrival at Port Chalmers the carcases are taken out of the vans, put on board the Dunedin and taken down to tho 'tween docks where they are left to cool gradually for 24 hours. During this stage the carcases are sown each into a coarao calico bag, and aro then taken down on to the lower deck where the freezing is done, and in 24 hours' time they aro as hard as boards, and emit, when Uppod with a stick, the sound of an empty barrel. Here they are packed closely and remain till tho termination of tho voyage. Immediately after being killod the carcases aro hung up in a moat house constructed for the purpose, with one wall and the floor constructed of narrow boards placed an inch or so apart, so aa to admit of a free draught and cur rent of fresh air. This shed is fitted up to lung 250 sheep, each oircase beinu allowed a space of fifteen inches oqiure, which allows the cool air a free passage all round them. While hanging here the carcases are all carefully cleaned, and all superfluous fat, etc., that may remain in them after passing through the butcher's hands carefully removed. The mutton is of an excellent quality — for the most part orosshred — and the carcases average from 85 to 901 bs. Several have been sent weighing over 1401bs, and about thirty or forty will be shipped, as specimens of fat sheep, turning the scale at 2001bs. The heads aro sold for boiling down purposes, while the tongues are salted down on the station, and sent to Dunedin. The large amount of refuse of all kinds which necessarily accompanies extensive slau^hterim; operations is quickly disposed of oach day by about 200 pigs, whose habitation is conveniently adjacent to the slaughter-house. Besides tho 5000 sent by Mr M'Pherson from tho company's estate a few hundreds will, we boliovo, ba shipped by Mr J. Elder of Mahono, Mr Shaud of the Taieri, and by Messrs Murray, Roberts, and Co. This will be tho first shipment of frozen meat sent homo by sailing voshol from the Australasian colonies, and the result of the oxporiment will bo looked forward to with considerable interest, If the quality of tho mutton sent from Totara is to bo taken as a criteiinn, tho experiment should provo an unqualified success.