DISCHARGING MEAT.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 17756, 7 May 1923, Page 10

DISCHARGING MEAT.

HOW N.Z. PRODUCE IS

HANDLED.

OBSERVATIONS BY MR T. R. LEES. (FEOil OUR OWN CORPXSPOSDEIfT.) LONDON, March 28. Since his arrival in London, Mr T. R. Lees, secretary of the Meat Producers' Board, has been spending a good doai of his time at the London Docks. He lias watched the discharge of every vessel carrying New Zealand produce. Like Mr J. 6. lie lias louuel tne shipping companies moat obliging, and the superinienuciit ana loremeii have shown tnt-mseivvs anxious always to remedy any delects within tnoir power to remedy. While he is endeavouring to miprove the conditions under which -New Zealand meat, is handled at this end, Mr Lees i'eels that to give a wide publicity to the specific defects will not aid his cause, but a statement of the general conditions oi : unloading; will' Mow at least that the Board iias plenty of work belore them. The usual system of delivery of meat is to raise quantities varying from 40 to 60 carcases from the hold in a canvas sling by ship's tackle to the deck, where- the tackle of the hydraulic cranes is hooked on to the sling, and the meat deposited on a temporary wooden platform supported on trestles on the open wharf. The carcases are there sorted, and either carried on shoulders to motor vans or railway trucks lying alongside, or wheeled on hand trucks to barges lying in the river. On no occasion lias Mr Lees seen a conveyer in use from ship's hold to deck,' or from deck to wharf, though there are combers in the sheds which do not appear to have been used for years.

A Bad System. "I have seen as many as fourteen conveyances," said Mr Lees, '"being loaded from one hold, each conveyance getting two or three carcases from each sling, and remaining open and exposed to tne weather for hours while waiting for tneir complement. At the same time carcases of brands for which orders have not been received are put on one side in the hold or returned from the wharf back into the ship. As a role an endeavour is made to minimise- damage m delivery, the working tier is usually protected by tarpaulins, and straw is laid oh the wharf round the sorting tabJe. The vans, railway trucks, and barges are insulated and clean, but the whole Bystem of open quayside discharge and delivery is bad."

There is occasionally careless loading of the slings, and carcases fall back into the hold after being lifted. Sometimes through the inefficiency of the man directing the winch the loaded sling is dragged across the meat in the hold, or is scraped against a hatchway. A great deal of preventable damage is done when loading in the Dominion by not storing each freezing company's meat as much as possible separately. Mr Lees is assured by the shipping companies' own expert men here that this suggested method is quite practicable, and would save them a great amount of time in discharging at this end, and obviate damage to the cargo. On several occasions his attention has been drawn to cases where after the square of the hatches has been filled beef has been stowed above mutton and lamb in the sides of the hold, to the damage of the latter. In regard to the insufficient protection of the wording tiers, Mr Lees says he has several times been present when the colonial tiers have been uncovered, and the damage done to the carcases has been (very great. Wrappers have been torn off, shanks broken, ribs stove in, and the whole square black with trampling feet and dumping of dirty slings. This, of course, is an entirely preventable form »f damage in New Zealand. The New Sorting Stores.

Mr Lees has had an opportunity of watching unloading operations at the new P.L.A. Refrigerated Sorting Store at the Royal Albert Docks. The meat is raised by hydraulic cranes in canvas elings from the hold, and deposited on a platform about on a level with the eaves of the roof. There the carcases are placed by hand singly on a cohered conveyer, which runs to covered hatchways in the roof, and £je automatically delivered on to a gravity runway, which in turn deposits the carcases on to a second conveyer inside the cPol store, which delivers the meat to a sorting table. The meat is there sorted 'and pUed to .mark for subsequent delivery, or, jf for storage by the P.L.A., is_ placed on a conveyer at the opposite side of the building, and carried, still under cover, into the permanent cold storage warehouse of the P.L.A. on the far side of the railway line.

Underneath th© refrigerated sorting store on the wharf level is the receiving store for general cargo, butter, and cheese, served by a railway line running from end to end, and covered ways for motor vans, etc. Meat is delivered from the sorting store to the ground level on four-wheel trucks by lifts and also by conveyers, and there loaded into railway trucks or vans, still under cover, or wheeled across the wharf to barges if required for up-river cold stores.

"This _ system of delivery," Air Lees maintains, "costs the consignee no more than the open quayside method, and whereas I understand the charge to the shipping company compares (very satisfactorily with the cost of the open method of delivery as regards labour, the discharge of the.ship is greatly expedited, and considerable saving results thereby. The method cannot be bettered, the only trouble being that there are not enough of such stores."

WEEKLY PRICES OF FAT STOCK FOR EXPORT. Tie New Zealand Meat Producers' Board adviseß that the following prices are 'being offered, May 3rd, 1823. Auckland—Wethers: 641b and under 6id; prime woolly lambs: 421b and under B£d. Poverty Bay—Wethers: 641b and under 5Jd; prime woolly lambs: 421b and under B{d; 431b and over 7Jd; second quality lambs: 7Jd. Hawke's Bay—Wethers: 641b and under EJd; prime woolly lambs: 421b and under 431b and over 8d: second quality lambs: &L Ed.

Wanganui—Wethers: €4lb and under 6jd; prim? woolly lambs: 421b and under 9d, 431b and over £d; second quality lambs: Bd. Wellington—Wethers: 641b and under 6Jd; prime woolly lambs: 421b and under 9d, 431b and over 8d; second auaHty lambs: Bd. Canterbury—•Prime woolly lambs: 421b and under 9d; second quality lambs: BJd. Southland—Wethers 561b and under 6d; prime woolly lambs: 421b and under 6Jd; second quality lambs: Bd. GLENMORE BRICK AND TILE CO., LTD.

The balance-sheet for the year ended December 31st, 1922, shows the following figures:— ° Balance brought forward .. 415 is g Net profit for year. .. .. 1565 17 0 £l9Bl 16 8 Appropriated as follows: Dividend of 10 per cent, on ordinary shares for year .. 1040 0 0 Dividend of 6i per cent, on preference share?, for year .. 294 2 6 Reserve fund .. ». 600 0 0 Carried forward >.« .. 147 13 a £l9Bl 15 5