UNKNOWN

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIII, Issue 4488, 1 April 1876, Page 3

UNKNOWN

■''TRAyi£ii|Rs I by;the and -Mercer. Railway will'observe, .alongside the line'; a block of buildings situate between Penrose and Otahuhu stations, Jori the face of which are painted, in large letters, "Fisher and. ' Co., Butchers." The building nearest to the railway, and to the door of which a siding has been laid down, is the private slaughterhouse belonging to the firm of Fisher and Co., for the privilege of using which they pay an annual license fee to the Provincial Govern- . ment. Adjoining the abattoir are the piggeries and tallow-melting establishment, at the rear of which is the fellmongery and pig. pens. These are all situate on Fairfield farm, which covers about one hundred acres of land, consisting of grass paddocks, market gardens, &c. The farm expends from Mount Smart east, down to the Manukau harbour. A better site for an abattoir could not have been.i .; 'ed. In the height of summer there is aIWE." 1 a refreshing sea breeze. The premises have been erected with a view to obtaining plenty of fresh air, combined with cleanliness in the interior. The result is that the meat that is prepared for market here will keep for two daye longer than that slaughtered at the public abattoir at Newmarket. The drawbacks and inconveniences at the latter place are not met with here. In the first place, the firm have about one thousand acres of grazing ground contiguous to their cattle landing station at Orakei. Along the Otahuhu Road they have also another extensive grazing ground, adjoining Messrs. R. and E. McLean's farm ; and again, further paddocks at their Fairfield farm. Cattle and sheep when landed are permitted to get themselves into condition, and are gradually picked out and drafted to the Fairfield farm to await slaughter. There is no " driving" cattle to the "shambles" immediately on landing or from the market. Certainly animals thus cared for are in a far fitter condition for killing. The slaughterhouse is admirably ventilated and provided on all sides with sliding doors. It is built with an asphalt basement upon brick piers j and so constructed as to be rendered thoroughly rat-proof. The cattle selected for killing are brought from the paddocks into the "fasting pen," where they are kept for several hours. In this pen is a water trough constantly filled by a simple-process. From these they are taken to the " pithing pen," where they are killed, cut up, and the carcases afterwards hung in an adjoining room, having a good current of air from all sides. In the pithing room, the floors are laid on a slope, so that all the blood from the animals runs down to a sink, where it flows into a draiu leading to the harbeur. This drain is perpetually flushed with water from a stream carrying all* offensive matter into the tide. A separate room is used for collecting the offal, &c, which is placed in a cart and carried away. There is a plentiful supply of pure water laid all over the establishment, and the place is constantly cleansed. The interior of the building, is lime-washed frequently, and has a wholesome appearance and is free from any smell. The carcases of beasts and sheep killed here have a far different appearance to those killed at the public abattoir. A door opens on to the railway siding, and the meat trucks are there loaded and forwarded to town; carrier pigeons being dispatched with messages apprizing the town folks of the fact, in order that carts may be in readiness at the station. Immediately after killing, the premises are sluiced by means of a hose laid on to a force pump. The piggeries are situate a short distance from the building already described, and contain about a thousand grunters, in all stages, from the sucking pig to the enormous porker, ready for the butcher's knife. This extensive building is remarkably well constructed. It is, like the slaughterhouse, built on piers about three feet from the ground. The styes are divided into sleeping and feeding places, and are drained into two troughs which run the ■whole length of the building; a tram is also laid down to convey the food to each stye. The pigs are well fed, and show their contentment by silence. The meat with 1 which they are fed is cooked by The tallow rendering is accomplished also by steam in' the room used for that purpose and attached to the piggeries. By the same means, hot water is also procured in a few minutes for scalding purposes. Here also the utmost cleanliness prevails. The tallow having been rendered is drawn off into casks branded ■F. & C, N. Z., triangle over, which are coopered up ready for shipment. Further on, along a narrow lane, between two high fences, is the salting-down house, where the hides are prepared for shipment also. Under the same roof are some extensive pig pens, where more porkers are Jsept until thoroughly into condition, and at the rear of this building ia an acre paridoek, where a fine lordly Berkshire boar reigns supreme over some dozen or two of English sows from imported stock.' This is without doubt the most complete pig-raisiug farm in the province. Attached to thestockman'shouseisadairy where all dairy produce is prepared. The market gardens abound with vegetables, including an immense number of massive pumpkins, perhap3 the largest thathaveev-er beengrown. It will thus be seen that Messrs. Fisher and Co.havealltheappliancesattheFairCelclFarm for supplying their shipping business with fresh and first-class stock. The institution of carrier pigeons enables them to dispatch messages at any time to and from their place of business in the execution of orders for the mail steamers and other vessels. There is one solution to the public slaughter-house difficulty that might be worthy of consideration. The abattoir belonging to Messrs. Fisher and Co. is only large enough for their own requirements, but there is plenty of room in the neighbourhood to build another. In fact the firm have been requested to sell a portion of their land for that purpose. The Provincial Government have no funds to build a new slaughter-house, and it is in receipt of fees amounting to about one thousand pounds a-year for slaughtering. A better site for an abattoir could not be found than the one mentioned, and ■ Messrs. Fisher -and Co. <jre prepared to build another slaughter--wuse on the same principle as their own, and at their own expense, providing the Provincial Government will half the amount of the fees collected. The Newmarket slaughter-house has Jong been a disgrace to Anckl-.nd ; and if thei-e is no other way of overcoming the difficulty, the Government sliould come to some arrangement ■with parties who are able and willing to come to the rescue.