ELTHAM.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 28 March 1925, Page 6

ELTHAM.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

THE' BOY’S HOME. V GREAT AND GOOD WORK

- Regretted it will 1 be by.everyone thal the need " exists for taking charge of children, who either a re. orphans ci whose parents are unable or unwilling to look after-them. But it is at the same time good, very good to know that as such eases.of need of care are ever present, there are institutions such a.-, the Salvation Army Home in Eltham to deal with that phase of life in the Do minion.

One of the best known is the Eltham home, a free gift lnadfe sortie years ago by Mr. and Mrs Jenkins, formerly oj Eltham, two very keen and unselfish workers in the cause of the Army and for the help of humanity. The Home has been written tip in the Star Several times. For the benefit, however, of thbse people in the Province who may not be familiar with its origin and scope of work, some notes made by a ' Star representative who paid a surprise visit to the Home witii Mr. 1\ C. Arnold, will not be out of place. Standing as it does on the high land at the top of the Mangawhero Road, just before going down into the lowlying Ngaere-reclaimed swamp land, i! commands a wonderful outlook to all points of the compass. Each view is one of picturesqueness, but for sheer beauty of landscape that looking out .towards the mountain would be very hard to- beat anywhere. The Home stands out like a* sentinel and can be seen clearly from almost any part of the country nearly to Stratford. Unfortunately Commandant and Mrs. Holme were away on a. brief holiday prior to tlieir transfer to'another spheiv of work. They have been very populai and the results of the staff worn under their control shows great efficiency. They will both be much missed. A raped inspection of the house — living and dimng rooms, dormitories, school rooms, kitchen and servery —under the kindly guidance of Ensign Marshall, showed that every part was in ‘/apple-pie” order, neat, clean and ticl.i. The condition' Under which the hoys live are excellent and little better could be wished.

The culinary department is very effficient and the cooking, as proved by the very nice afternoon tea provided for the visitors, was capital. The boys are taught to help in the' serving of the meals and also do nearly all the polishing. The result of that assistance was very evident.

Before leaving the house a surprise visit was paid to the- schoolrom, where Messrs Fnirbrother and Bovett, the two masters in charge of the scholastic side of the Home, were busy with some ol the afternoon’s work. ffhe two classes numbering about forty —there are a few more altogether—were busy at geography and drawing and all were taking a keen interest in their studies.

The progress made in singing, which is a feature of all Home work, was demonstrated by listening to the two brothers Tapp singing a pretty duel and the elder class a .part song, treble and alto. The effect was very good, the lower part being specially effective. All sang unaccompanied. Attached to the school is a large airy well-lighted gymnasium where physical drill arid fexefeises are carried out, and where the members of the hand practise and the little hoys play when the weather is threatening. It is a very useful annexe. . Then leave was taken Of the Ensign, and the director of the farm work took the visitors in hand. The farm are;; is 35 acres, and in addition there are ten acres at Radies’ Mile. On this are run seventeen grade Jersey cows anci three more are soon ti> come irito profit. All pf.the boys help in various ways outside, hut several are specially attached to the farrii work and carry out the duties of the farm to the utmost satis faction of . the; dii'ector. There are on the farm five acres of lucerne, a patch of each of maize, cartels, marigolds, potatoes and turnips. There is a nice little store of lucerne hay and ample root crops to supplement the pastures during the autumn and winter. A fine stock of dry firewood been laid in by Llie hoys, rind this will be vefy welcome in the cold weather of the next few riionths. Altogether the Horne with its rhany avenues of- activity is largely set supporting. The cows provide ample milk, cream and butter for the household and give- enough to supply the factory that brings in a nice cheque every‘month. It. will thus be seen that in all its scope the Work of the Home' and farm is carried on well on business like methods. The knowledge the hoys acquire has a very practical bearing 1 and will be of great assistance to them when they leave the Home to go on to farms and to follow a trade or some business. It is good to record that in practically every case the hoys make good and do well in after life. The staff speaks very highly of the conduct of the hoys, and certainly they are bright and cheerful- looking as'happy as the day is long, proving that the objects for which the Home was given and established are being amply realised.

BACON COMPANY’S WORKS

A GENERAL SURVEY

Some years ago, it will be recalled, the amalgamated bacon company went in for a very extensive building campaign at Eltham, as the result of which preparations were made for deaTTng with a very large intake of cattle and sheep as well as pigs and carrying on all the allied subsidiary operations to deal with every portion of the animal so that ho hart was nnUsed. .Additional buildings were erected and fresh plant installed to cope with freezing, honing, canning of beef and mutton, freezing and curing of bacon, and making and storing of tallow, manures to the very last fraction of the offal .of the animal's slaughtered. In addition, plant was inotnlled for the manufacture and sealing of the tins. The whole made a very complete self-contained works and a. very fine pile of buildings. They aero at one time working to their full capacity, and large numbers of cattle were dealt with, in addition to pigs and sheep. Tallow, canned beef and mutton, and manures were turned out in such large quantities that often the large storerooms were filled almost to overflowing. Rut the operations were a bit ahead of the times, and for nearly three years buildings and plant have been mainly idle, the only activity being the killing of stock for the town, ~ the works acting as an abattoir, and freezor curing on behalf of clients. Through the courtesy of the works manager (Mr M. Burke) and the company’s Inner in Hawera (Mr T. C. Arnold) the representative of the Hawera Star was enabled to have a comprehensive survey of the works, and so to got ah idea of what could he done if it were going at full capacity. The works are exceedingly well planked, the main idea being that all the .stock would go lip by alleys to siich a height’ that after slaughtering and ciitting un gravitation cotild he ufed to aid all the substeauent operations for disposal of the offal, Qohde-

quently stock go up by runaways to a height" of about 50 feet, and are there taken charge of by the killers. The main power for operation of the freezing plant for providing refrigerating chambers comes from a suction gas plant, the engine developing 75 h.p. This is. operated very cheaply, about lewt of coal sufficing to maintain it for eight hours’ work. The refrigerators are two, a threeton Linde and a 13-ton Haslam. These are very efficient, besides being economical, and are more than ample to cope with all the freezing accommodation in the works.

Boned beef for export is one of the main-parts of the operations at'such a works, and expert men are employed who take from the killers the parts of the carcase and do the work of boning. The honed meat is taken over to the freezers and laid oh sacks, arid in this state is ready for conveying to the ship for carriage abroad. One feature of special interest is that the glands have to he exposed and skewered, so that inspectors at the other end of the world may easily discover arid examine them. The meat is cut into three sections on each side —shoulder, huddle, and clod or buttocks. The temperature is such that the pieces, kidneys, tongues, arid other parts are hard as a board .in the course of a day. It is interesting as ah indication of the daily work of a man of experience to note that 20 animals in a day is a very good tally. There ate five freezing chambers, eac-h about GO feet by 20, so that the large amount of stock that can he dealt with will he realised.

Canning of beef and mutton was a Part of the operatirills of the company for which very considerable arrangements were made, and the plant installed was very complete and up to date. .The tins can be made froin the raw metal, and the finished article turned out in a very short time, machines being available for assembling the sides, top and bottom, for soldering them and putting the lids on, all the operations being done with great rapidity.Bull beef is one of the best for canning, and a good deal of that is. used. The raw meat i.s brought through into large boilers to be prepared. The shrinkage will, be l-ealised when it i.s stated that jt takes nine pounds of raw meat to fill a. six |b tin of the moked article. Machines are there for pressing the meat into the tins, and clien retorts for taking the finished article and keeping it at such a temperature that al] the air is expelled, jji readiness for filling, one small hole left in the lid. The air is. drawn out by steam pressure,, and so the tins are free of air when they are sealed.

The offal i.s conveyed away to digesters, where under extreme heat al| the fats are extracted for the making of tallow. Of this, there are two grades according to purity, the first grade being used largely lor margarine and pastry, and the second, among otherbhings, for soap. The latter is that formed froin condemned stock. The making of good tallow depends largely on proper and thorough stirring until it is perfectly cool and sets. The cooling is done in special tanks. The proper .body or grain can he easily be discerned Ivy the expert. The residue, ri’ith the hones, is put through a big oven under great heat and the last residuum of liquid expelled, and then, after cooking, it i.s passed through arid dried to form manures, blood and hone, mixed or each separately. The brines are put through a crusher, arid some of the best and most efficient of the manures used is manufactured.

In this part of the works two huge boilers are installed, one 20 h.p. and the other 40 h.p., and these would suffice for a complete output. It the works were going, at fill] capacity, three shifts would be necessary, and a considerable number of men could be erftployed in the- various departments. I»i addition, large quantities of coal of various types would he required. The works- are built in sections and cover a large area. The land oh which it is built' is eminently suited to the purpose, al] sloping away down towards the Waingongoro River. It is of interest to state that no part of the offal drains out except a very little of the juice extracted from the digester operation, and this is absolutely purified before going down the drain. The pig yards are well and conveniently arranged at the north end, and are all concreted ancl so kept scrupulously clean. Rigs ai'e dealt with at the end of the building The cattle holding paddocks are at the eastern side of the land, and the cattle come by races rip to platforms on the first storey where the slaughtering is done. Convenient to that, are the rooms for all the subsequent cutting and hbnirig operations. Every part of the huge works is so designed and laid out that the utmost economy is possible in every department. Advantage is taken of every possibility of saving time, labour and expense. The buildings and accessories form a very useful apd valuable asset to the district, capable of dealing with all the stock available over a large area, and able to deal: with every possible part of the rinimal, so that waste is reduced to a minimum.