THE VICTORIAN EXHIBITION.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 837, 23 March 1867, Page 3

THE VICTORIAN EXHIBITION.

HAMS, BACON, & PRESERVED MEATS, [From the 'Australasian,'] One of the most comfortable rooms, so fan as temperature is concerned, is that in which our manufacturers of preserved meats have placed their most useful exhibits, and a most interesting variety there is of hams, bacon in sides, flitches, and rolls ; beef in rounds and casks, pork in ditto, and in fact meat in all shapes, and cured by a variety of systems, the major part successfully so, The plan of preserving animal substances in tins, with their original flavour and character, has occupied the attention of practical and scientific men many years. It can't correctly be termed anew industry, for we recollect the process being successfully carried out in Sydney twenty years since, and prizes were offered and awarded at the agricultural exhibitions of those days. The enterprising colonist who carried off the jirize for " meat, fish, and vegetables," is now a resident in Victoria. The enterprise, in which a small capital was staked, failed at that time, partly from narrow-minded prejudice against colonial productions, and partly from the heavy taxes Upon the manufacturer, in shape of advertising and cost of tins, added tp which a large business firm soon after e^WbHsKe'd itself upon the River Hunter, ah I fij"''Wng able to import its own cases, completely overwhelmed its smaller competitor. As a proof of the complete success which was effected in following out this new discovery of Liebig's, a tin of " Irish stew" was opened the other day in the presences! the jurors, and although it had been secured in 1846, proved most delicately sweet, and met with the entire approval of all who saw and tasted it after its twenty years' quietude. The increasing demand for these preserved meats has resulted very •naturally in the establishment of many curing houses, which have been for years, and are still, employing a large amonnt of labour and capital to complete the heavy orders which are being regularly forwarded for home and foreign consumption. The various processes followed for the preservation of meat became invested with peculiar importance. This utilisation of animal products is full of special interest, and although in general the operations have been successful, still in a few instances the original constituents have not remained unchanged — for instance, the casks of meat from Queensland, which, according to the catalogue, had been treated under the plan recommended by Dr. Morgan, that of injecting brine through sharp-pointed syringes, and forcing it through the arterial system shortly after the death of the animal. The process v represented as rapid, and requiring nothing but simple machinery, and the time occupied is said to be only three minutes from the moment the animal is killed until the preservation liquid is injected. Unfortunately, the beef which came under our notice was slightly tainted, and the cask of tongues was considered imperfect from the same cause. The system, of course, ought not to be condemned in consequence of this single example of a failure} it is only to be regretted that a more successful proof of this mode of curing had not been forwarded. The progress towards practical knowledge must of course be necessarily slow in a young colony, and the successful introduction of any new industry ought always to be hailed with pleasure ; and upon our inspection of the exhibits in this class we at the very commencement were agreeably surprised to find a perfect copy of the delicious Italian sausage — rich iv quality, and equal ia every respect to the article they represent. These sausages were made in Dunedin, maker unknown, but they are exhibited by Mr. Lewis Pensins. The hams and bacon exhibits varied very much in their respective characters, for while some had the undoubted stamp of superiority upon them, others were far beneath mediocrity. This branch of colonial industry is rapidly extending, and upwards of ten tons weekly are made in Melbourne during the curing season, which may be said to embrace nine out of the twelve months. We heard the remark made more than once, that those specimens of hams and bacon, which were in our opinion of great superiority, were from pigs which had enjoyed a month or two of " corn" prior to being slaughtered, that it was next to useless trying to produce a first-rate mercantile article unless the manufacturer had well-fed pork and the best of salt to carry on his operations with. Some few years since, an opinion was prevalent that from the high temperature of the climate, Victoria was unable to manufacture these articles of commerce ; but this has been proved to be erroneous, and that when the meat is propei'ly and skilfully treated, a good and perfect cure can be effected during the cool months ; for ■ although the temperature is very high occasionally, the air is so pure and light that the anticipated drawbacks have no injurious influence. The greatest difficiilty with the first proprietors of these curing establishments was the scarcity of pigs, but some five years since an impetus was given by a gentleman, formerly of Limerick, a Mr. John Baker, who entered extensively into the business, and embarked a large capital in a very* liberal spirit towards forwarding this new industry. This caused the farmers to turn their attention towards rearing the raw material, and in a year or two pigs of a good breed became more plentiful, and were considered as most useful adjuncts to a farmer's homestead. To give an idea of the growing importance of this branch of industry, the present consumption of hams and bacon is about eighty tons per month, representing not less than £110,000 per annum. This amount ought to be paid to the growers in the colony, and we have no doubt but that in a year or two such will be the case. The above sum, if paid to colonial growers and curers, will be considerably added to by the money paid in wages during the conversion of the animal into all the various shapes in which the public receive it, The manufacturers have calculated that if Victoria produced her own pork in the shape of well-fed pigs, upwards of £150,000 would be distributed among the breeders and labourers. There is nothing to hinder this desideratum becoming an accomplished fact, for where roots such as mangolds can be cultivated to any extent, food suitable for rearing pigs can be kept constantly on hand. The first extensive entry of this description of meat we came to was that from the curing establishment of Messrs. M. A. Munn and Co., 27 King-street, a very superior lot

in every way; und we shall be not a little out of our calculation if the jurors£do not . award the firm one of the medals. s un- ; ---\sVederstand that this firm is in a position to supply shipping with salt mess pork in any • quantity and at English prices, A cask i which contained the mess pork was made > from colonial timber, the silver wattle, and 1 we were glad to notice that the meat com- , ing in contact with the wood was very free i from stain, and the brine remained as clear < as sherry. The beef hams catalogued in ' the name of James T. Smith, 89 Queenstreet, were notioeable not only for good i quality of meat and their great weight, ■ eighty pounds each, but from the fact that t they were from animals fed on the banks of 1 Cooper's Creek, and in close proximity to the spot upon which poor Burke and Wills '< met their deaths from starvation. Mr. Wil--1 liam Smith, 100 street, added greatly to the number of exhibits in this de- ' parfcment, . and the majority of them are ' most excellent in quality. The meats in tins are manufactured by this gentleman, in • conduction with Mr, Clark, to a very large '< extent and in great variety. The person in charge obligingly opened several samples, and we cannot but pronounce them as excellent in taste and quality. The rolled bacon and middles seemed also admirably got up. We noticed a great difference among the exhibits in the style in which the hams and bacon were prepared for the public eye. While some from up-country were rough, slovenly cut,. an<l full of ragged edges and pockets, others, more particularly those j from Melbourne, were neatly cut, smooth, and really handsome to the eye. The house of Messrs. Watson and Patterson, Northcote and Burke-street, exhibits some good specimens of their manufacture. Their hams especially are very superior, and an entire pig, perfectly cured throughout, is an interesting proof of what can now-a-days be done by an expert in curing. New South Wales has forwarded through her enterprising agents many superior samples of meats. Those catalogued in the names of Mr J. J. Leslie and the Australian Meat Company are especially worthy of commendation, as is also the exhibit in shape of concentrated essence of beef, entered by Mr H. M. Whitehead, of Mossman's Bay. This boon to inland settlers deserves especial notice. One' pound of this substance represents four gallons of nutritious soup. It requires no mastication, is of easy digestion, and is very portable. It is admirably adapted while on a journey for mixing with any farinaceous food in a variety of ways. Messrs. R. and W. Russell, of Tasmania, exhibit some well spiced and cured hams ; but the meats termed kangaroo steamer, kangaroo sausages, kangaroo hams, cannot be rewarded even by a smile of approbation. Several attempts at making hams from legs of mutton are also hung up for approval, .or otherwise, in most instances the latter.