THE CHRISTCHURCH MEAT COMPANY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume C, Issue 11657, 13 August 1898, Page 3

THE CHRISTCHURCH MEAT COMPANY.

’ ISLINGTON FREEZING -WORKS. A VISIT OF INSPECTION. Fully seven hundred people took advantage of the invitation of the Directors of the Christchurch Meat Company to visit the Islington works yesterday morning. Of these about one hundred travelled by road, the remainder taking , advantage of a special train provided by the Company, which left town at 10.30. The attendance was thoroughly representative of all classes of the community. Fanners formed a large proportion of the crowd, and the burly forms of runholders from all parts of Canterbury wore very conspicuous. Every trade and profession in the city was well represented. On arrival at the works it was at once seen that every care had been taken for the comfort and convenience of the visitors. Notice boards pointing out the way to where the various processes were being earned on precluded any possibility of a visitor losing his way, and made everyone feel at home. In addition to the more solid refreshment .ably catered by Air P. Burke in the large brick woolshed, a booth was provided, at which the best of creature comforts were dispensed. On the way to the drafting yards, the visitors had an opportunity of noticing the skins from the newly-killed sheep, which were in .prime condition, and the methods' by which pighair and cows’ tails were cleaned and prepared for use. The visitors were first taken to the yards, in which accommodation for 6000 sheep and 40 head of cattle is provided. The “ live ” drafting was here seen, by which sheep which are not in condition are rejected and those fit for slaughter passed on, the latter being quietly led to their doom by experienced decoy wethers, the oldest of which was a young sheep when Islington was started. The slaughterhouse, in which 72 butchers are employed, was next visited, and the operations of. 1 killing and, dressing were witnessed. Great interest was taken in the automatic grader, a.nd in the simple, though effective system fey which each grade is kept separate from the time it passes the grader until it is finally trucked for shipment at Lyttelton. The .cooling chamber, in which the carcases undergo a preparatory chilling before being conveyed to the freezing rooms, came next. Here each grade was seen hanging in tiers, the uniformity of weight and quality being most remarkable. The ingenious system of overhead rails, which enables the sheep to be passed right through from the butcher without handling, was duly noticed. The freezing rooms were then reached. These are six in number, two providing accommodation for 1500 sheep apiece, while the other four axe each capable of holding 1000. These" rooms are fitted with refrigerating .pipes, which can be worked either on tlio “Haslam or the Hercules principle, and here the sheep are frozen solid. From the freezing rooms the visitors saw the sheep being passed on to the cold storerooms, where they aro enclosed in bags, of which more anon. The temperature of the cool rooms on the present occasion was about 40deg. The sheep from the storerooms are loaded into trucks by means of covered shoots. The bacon cellars and smokehouse were next visited. " The cellars, which have a holding capacity of 500 pigs, are kept cool by the Haslam machine, and the smokehouse is considered to be the largest on this side of the line. A few steps brought the guests to the engine-room, which is a sight in itself. The two great Haslam machines put through respectively 170,000 and 120,000 cubic feet of air in an hour. The Herculesjs what is known as a 70-ton machine, that is to say, it can turn out 70 tons of ice in" twenty-four hours j it is worked on the ammonia principle, is one of the largest size made, and is driven by a Corliss machine of 75 h.-p. The electric lighting system,was also explained. Throughout the works light is; provided by a “Castle” dynamo;' which' works with great evenness at a rate of 250 revolutions to the minute. Passing through the engineroom, the workshop was reached, and a pumping engine was here noticed which forces all the refuse water from the building to the irrigation farm, at the rate of 900 gallons a minlxte. Close -by is another engine which, itself 45ft underground, pumps up all the water required for ice-making and washing purposes from two wells respectively 300 ft and 250 ft below the ground surface. In an adjoining shed stands the ShanJ-Mason fire-engine, which pumps water from the lake, which in its turn is supplied by a water-race from the Waimakariri at the rate of 300 gallons per minute. The visitors wore shown a practical exemplification of the working of this engine. At 12.50 p.ih.,' on The alarm being given, the men at once turned out, when ladders were run up and five hoses playing some seconds under four minutes. A good pres- '■ sure of water was turned on within one minute from the time- the engine was whistled up. Air E. Smith, Superintendent of the Christchurch Fire Brigade, who is no mean judge, expressed his approval of the performance. ' ’ The -manufacture of glue, size and gelatine, by-products of considerable economical importance, was next seen, .and the preserv-ing-room visited, where 12 muric pans are used for the cooking of the various tinned meats. From here to the tinsmiths’ room is but a step or two, and the whole process of tin-making, in which no fewer than seven machines are employed, was watched with interest. The guests next inspected the manure works, and tallow engine-room. A Haslam compound engine of 45 h.-p. drives all the machinery connected with the manure drier, the bone mill, and the tallow works, in addition to providing all the steam required for the preserving-room. The fivei immense digesters used for boiling: down, “old crocks’—of, in other -words, tliipv elderly sheep,, and the subsequent conversion, of these into" various useful articles—-; excited a good deal of curiosity, and 'the subsequent treatment of the sediment andirijbbish by the drier was even more interetejv A most unwholesome-looking mass of" “ by-product,”'hfter'being pressed by hydraulic machinery, is carried up by a patent lift to the “Y. D. Anderson No. 2 A. drier,” where, after passing through the digester and three cylinders, and having been treated with steam throughout the process, it comes out looking something like sea sand mixed with broken bits of shell, and apparently as clean. The old-fashioned machine used to put out 3 tons in 15 hours, while the improved machine at present in use produces from 5-2 to 6 tons in 8 hours, the process, which works automatically throughout, only occupying fifteen minutes with each lot. The large stores of manure in bulk and bags excited much favourable comment. The next visit was to the cooperage, where all the casks and boxes used in the establishment are manufactured from the plank in an incredibly short space of time. Among the labour-saving machines in this department the chining machine for bevelling the inside edges of the staves after the casks have been put together, attracted favourable comment. It is the invention of Mr Russell, the foreman cooper, and saves much time and work. The treatment of the pelts not being the cleanest sort of work in the world, only attracted the experts, but the very careful

classification of the wool and the excellent manner in which the hot-air drying machine did its work were a surprise to many. The fellmongery and wool-washing, in fact, were to many the .most interesting part of the establishment. 1 The capacious stables and fine teams of horses were by no means overlooked. The men’s library, with its store of books, was favourably noticed; and the details of the bag-making industry, in which, by the aid of a machine invented by Air Fisher, who is in charge of the department, the material is cut to the right length and branded on both sides at the rate of a thousand bags an hour, excited much interest. In this room six girls with sewing machines, driven by steam power, each average one hundred bags an hour. A magnificent display of roots, grown with the Islington. fertiliser, was well arranged, and would be hard to beat anywhere. There was not a second-class "sample in the collection. Air James Johns, Belfast, sent Yellow Globe mangolds; Mr J. M’ Johnston, Rolleston, turnips and Tuscan" and Hunter’s wheat; Air J. Wright, Kaiapoi, potatoes; Mr G. M’Alillan, Temuka, Swedes, mangolds and bean-top turnips Air, G. Seaton, Kirwec, long red mangolds; and carrots ; Mr R. Jeffrey, Temuka, turnips ; Mr D. Grant, Temuka, Swedes ; G. Burgess, Pa-panui, mangolds; and Air G. E. Rhodes, Meadowbank, mangolds and Yellow Globes.

Of course it was impossible, in so short a time, for the visitors to see everything in an establishment of such magnitude, but they were enabled to form a fair general idea of the methods and practice in- vogiie at Islington. At two o’clock the banquet was served, at which all the solid dishes had come from the Islington freezing chambers. Mr Gilbert Anderson was in the chair, and read apologies for non-attendance from the Hons E. C. J. Stevens, W. Hall-Jones and W. Rolleston and Sir John Hall. Air W. Reece, Chairman of the Agricultural and. Pastoral Association, in proposing “The Frozen Aleat Industry, coupled with the Christchurch Aleat Company,” .made his remarks from the standpoint of the farmer. " They were all' familiar with the enormous increase in the development of the frozen meat trade, an increase which might well be termed astounding. It was well to look back to the trials of the past, but they had also to consider the future, and that future depended largely on the ‘success of the freezing companies. They all felt that too much difference existed between the price received by the grower here and that paid by the Home consumer, a difference which amounted to about 100 per cent—(applause)—but the freezing companies must tackle the matter boldly. , The question was not an easy one to settle ; but in the first place joint action and unanimity among the various freezing companies were required. Then came the question of the markets, the, question as to whether by organisation they oould drive out the lower qualities of meat from the Home market. As far as the Continent went his own experience was that the high quality of the continental .cookery would disguise even Argentine mutton. (Laughter and applause.) With reference, however, to the Christchurch Meat Company, what they had seen that day. was a monument to the industry and ability with which the affairs of that company had been conducted. This was the result of sheer hard work, and, like the shillelagh of the Irishman, spoke for itself. (Laughter and applause.) He had now to say a few words about the by-pro-ducts. In the early days of Timaru these had been thrown into the sea, and Air Anderson had thus robbed them of the phosphorus contained in fish foods. (Laughter.) The sale of these by-products also enabled the farmers to get their freezing dong at a cheaper rate. (Applause.) Air Anderson, in responding, said that the Christchurch Aleat Company had attained to greater success than its promoters had expected. The directors felt themselves greatly honoured by the attendance on that occasion, and by the favourable comments which had been passed on their work. The idea of the present gathering had originated from the visit to the works of members of the recent Agricultural Conference; who were of opinion that the public ought to know more of the work done at these establishments, Speaking to the farmers, he might say that the works were open to them at all times, and they were always welcome to come and sey their own sheep treated and graded, and , the heads of departments had been instructed to carry this out. Deeds spoke louder than words, and he was now speaking not only of Islington, but of what applied to the. Canterbury Freezing Companies generally. He. was glad to see representatives from the, other companies present, but was sorry to miss Mr John Grigg, the chairman of the Belfast Company, who had done so much to establish the reputation of “ Prime Canterbury.” He had pleasure in informing them that on Wednesday last, with'-the' consent ■ of his directors, he had sent a cable Home, and had received a reply to the effect that the first of ,a series of shops somewhat similar to that in Cashel Street would shortly be opened in London. The steps the company bad taken in Christchurch were not undertaken so much in the direction of opposition to existing trade, as witli the object of feeling , the way, and acquiring ( a knowledge"" of the retail as well as the.wholesale 1 business. The frozen meat exports of New .Zealand for last year represented a sum of £2,916,626, out oU which Canterbury was responsible for £1,620,955, a sum which represented more than half the total export fox " the whole of New Zealand. Canterbury mutton averaged from 10 to 25 per cent higher than that from other places, and with our lamb, which brought from 4d to 6d per lb, Canterbury was responsible for fullv five-eighths, of the whole New. Zealand trade. In the seven months ending July last, Canterbury had . sent awav a total of 1,121,123 sheep and lambs: For the last Three years the exports of sheep, and lambs ■though"V"had been ’fairly constant. There "had been a [“slump 1 ” 'jnarket last" [year,- which .was, paralyzed iby the quantity /sent;;: .It ; ;ha(l',feeen ,said;' : "thaU if 1,000,000 ■iambs weije ‘"sfeut-iii one 'season the price 'would' be'downvto thattef mutton ; but this ■year Things ■had'-h'ecn-".better managed, and if Canterbury could send double that number they wciild find a good market. Those present had been eating that lamb to-day, and he sincerely trusted they would experience no bad effects. (Laughter.) . From a factory point of view, he wished to remark (and Mr Waymouth would doubtless agree with him) that many of the farmers were this year devoting their attention to wheat. Wheat would not always sell at 5s per bushel, and yet the sowing of wheat was not altogether wrong, as it provided -plenty of good early feed for the ewes and lambs. (Laughter and applause.) He would say just one word with respect to labour; The various freezing companies in Canterbury employed more than 1000 men; ‘who were so well satisfied with their emplowment that they did not care to be disturbed by any Labour Bills, though he personally had nothing to say against these. When the present company left the room the employees would take charge of it, and hold a dance and “ social.” They had no labour troubles in the factories, and he had always found the men ready and willing to do anything to promote the interests of the company. He might mention the fact that during the past year the Railway Department had received no less a sum than £41,514 from the various sidings of the Canterbury Freezing Companies, on which the companies did most of their own work. While he did not want to make a point of the latter 'statement, he would call their attention to the fact that last year the sum of £250 was voted by the House for the purpose of advertising New, Zealand mutton at Home. There 1 were manv representatives of the Press present, and he would like to ask them how far such a sum would go. His own opinion was that at least: £5000• should he spent in such advertisements, in the direction of familiarising the Home buyer with the different New Zealand brands. The Islington works were conducted on the principle that nothing save “ the squeak of the pig ” should be wasted, and they had even contrived to bottle up some of that. Mr E. W. Roper, president of the- Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, in proposing the toast of “ The Agricultural and Pastoral Interests,” said that from what they had seen that day, all present would be assured that there was no better meat in the world than the frozen mutton of Canterbury. In the first place tb© toast of the agricultural and pastoral - interests.might justly he-called

the toast of New Zealand, for without those interests New Zealand would stand little chance in the world. Last year’s exports showed a sum of £10,000,000, on which there had to. be paid £8,000,000 in expenses and interest. Of the total amount £7,000,000 was derived from animal products, in the shape of wool, frozen meat, etc. ; £1,000,000 from agriculture; £1,000,000 from gold and the remainder from sundries. They would therefore see that if they took away the agricultural and pastoral interests, there would be but little left. It was indeed fortunate that men of education and ability had devoted their time and brain power to the furtherance of the freezing trade. The fact that in 1886 the stock of sheep numbered 15,000,000, while, in spite of a consumption ci 1,750,000, they numbered 19,000,000 to-day, was one result of the fillip the freezing companies have given to the producer. In the whole of New Zealand there were 50,000,000 acres of land available for agricultural and pastoral purposes, and the faptrthat df-this-' amount 33,000,000 acres had.heepitakeii;jip| afforded a clear proof of the.'.ehcqijrageiheritwhich was at present given tb ! takd up laftd;' and he hoped the day was not far distant when the whole available area would be utilised. It was highly satisfactory to know that New Zealand, which was peopled by an agricultural and pastoral community, bad the highest earning power in the world, namely, £44 per head of population, and was consequently able to spend more. In addition tc. earning £26,500,000 per annum, the people had accumulated £170,000,000 of private wealth, and if the merits of the country were better known, the spare capital of the world would be poured in, and the conditions of life would be better in all respects. The expert of frozen mutton had increased by forty million pounds last year, the wool export per cent and tallow nearly 25. per cent. Though Canterbury imported less than other provinces, her exports were larger, and they must feel that no toast could be so deserving of support as that of the agricultural and pastoral interests. (Applause and cheers.) Mr H. Overton, in responding, thanked the Christchurcn Meat Company on account of the young men of Canterbury, of whom he had never seen a larger .number present, at any similar gathenfig.' 1 '’she o»| the New Zealand Agriculfural;VCohference; had greatly appreciated’ the importance of the work done at .Islington A For . yearn .past:; the agriculturist had felt deeply indebted to the Islington Company for starting its works. As a shareholder, he felt that there was room for two companies, and that whatever rivalry had existed was to the benefit of both. He hoped the time would come when that rivalry would be forgotten in the common good. The freezing industry had opened up new markets, and things were very different now from the old days, when their sheep only brought Id per lb. The manufacture of manure had placed the farmer in the happy position of being able to renew his land and keep it in good order at a reasonable expense. Before the establishment of the freezing works much doubt attended the growing of turnips, but they could now be certain ■of a good crop. (Applause.) Mr W. Acton-Adams could fairly say that the Freezing Companies were the very hearts of agricultural and pastoral industry. They converted the mutton of the sheep-farmer into a state fit for the Home markets, and enabled them to realise double the price that could be obtained in the old days of “ boiling down.” Their factories turned out products which were second to none in the markets of the world, and which were suitable for any climate. He must also give the farmers credit for keeping up the supply of sheep for the companies to handle. (Applause.) He had always been in-favour of an improvement in the method of disposing of New Zealand goods at Home, and was glad to hear the news they had received from Mr Anderson. In support of this view he would quote instances in. which, after giving his London agents instructions not to sell below a certain figure, his mutton had within a week practically realised on the London market the amount of his reserve. He hoped they would all fall in with the spirit of Mr Anderson’s address, and try to regulate the Home prices .for their products. (Applause.) Mr J. Deans, as a Director of the Belfast Company, said that the attendance of Belfast Directors at that meeting showed that they were desirous of working in harmony with other companies. If the man who made two blades of grass grow where only one had grown before, deserved well of his country, surely the same rule would also apply to the man who reared lambs. He felt sure that if they sent away the best they had their little country would compete successfully with larger places. They only had to maintain their quality and keep increasing their quantity, and they could not fail of ultimate success. (Applause,) Mr John Guild, in proposing the health of Mr Gilbert Anderson, said that the brain which had not only conceived, but carried out the work they had seen that day must be in a very efficient state of health. (Applause.) He agreed with Mr Reece that the, Islington works were a monument, and he only wondered that so many brains could lie under one hat. (Applause.) Before the introduction of factory manure he had seen farmers working run-out land, and that, was the high road to bankruptcy. He asked them all to drink the health of the gentleman with the big “ brain-box.” (Applause.) Mr Anderson, in responding, said that the Directors had worked unselfishly to make their frozen meat the best article the colony could produce. He had found his task a . congenial one, affording as it did plenty of scope for energy, and he intended tp, work at it while he had health. (Applause.) They had yet to devote their attention to the chemical side of the industry, and there was no reason why they should not produce chemical food products equal to the best in Europe.. (Applause.) Mr Anderson then proposed the health of the employees, which was briefly responded to by Mr Mitchinson. The Hon J. T. Peacock pointed out that as a combination had been started in London to block New Zealand meat, it was high time that combination was started in New Zealand with a view tp ( keeping an open market. (Applause.) The party then returned to town, well satisfied with the day’s outing.