THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1157, 4 May 1894, Page 5

THE FROZEN MEAT TRADE.

HOW OTHERS SEE US. Ministers of the Crown travelling in New Zealand naturally give particular attention just now to the details of the frozen meat trade, which that country has found such a valuable trade factor. Mr Wynne, the Postmaster-General, who has lately returned from New Zealand, says the Australasian , was, of course, no exception, and haa even gone further into the subject than Mr Mclntyre. As illustrating the progress of the trade, Mr Wynne points out that the first shipment of meat was made in 1882, the sheep being frozen on the ship, as is now being done with the first shipment from Geelong. The freight for that first shipment was 2Jd per lb, and tho meat sold at 6Jd. To us the interesting point about it is that Mr Brydon, ono of the pioneers of the trade, has come to Melbourne and to Orange, Now South Wales, to gain the experience which enabled him to launch the trade in New Zealand. Melbourne is now looking about for the experience, while New Zealand has 21 works established capable of freezing 3,600,000 sheep per annum, and actually sending out about 2,500,000 sheep, while the flocks of the colony number only 18,000,000. This, Mr Wynne points out, js one great advantageof the trade. New Zealand sells her sheep from lambs up to two-year-olds, while Victoria keeps most of hers up to about four years. The New Zealanders are most parti* cular as to the class of sheep they ship. The weights must be between 551 b and 651 b. Anything under that is not good enough, and over it too fut. A defective or bruised carcase is either tinned or sold as butcher’s meat. Then there is no waste—for connected with the factories are fellmongering works and boiling-down establishments —tho tongues are preserved, the kidneys frozen separately in boxes, newts foot oil is made and one of the intestines treated for the manufacture of the catgut used in making tennis rackets, and there is an unlimited sale for it. From it alone the return is about L 6 per thousand sheep. These by-products help considerably.

The shipping difficulty will, Mr Wynne thinks, solve itself as soon as we have works established and meat to ship. There are now upwards of 40 refrigerated vessels calling at New Zealand ports, and the method is well illustrated by the Gothic—a larger vessel than any of the P. and O. boats —on her last trip. She took 20,000 carcases from Wellington, then went on to Lyttelton for 30,000, next to Napier for more, and back to Wellington to complete her cargo of 80,000,000 carcases. When such steamers find it worth while coming to New Zealand for frozen moat Mr Wynne thinks that there need be no fear of want of frozen space in Melbourne.

The frozen meat trade of New Zealand has been an advantage to both the producer and the labour of the Colony. From being almost unsaleable a 601 b sheep is now worth from 14s to 16s. They have 380,000 acres —equal to the whole wheat area of the Colony—under turnips for topping up sheep for the trade, and can thus fatten from eight to fourteen sheep per acre. The turnips grown are the Devonshire Gray and the Purple and Green Top Aberdeen, the Swede turnip, it was found, being too liable to blight. Turnips give the mutton a slight flavour, but the English people are used to it and like it. A great part of Victoria—notably Gippsland and the Western district—would, Mr Wynne thinks, grow turnips for topping off crossbreds, which could be bred elsewhere, as there is rarely much difficulty here in getting store sheep. In New Zealand they have, of course, to be largely grown for winter food, and it is not uncommon to see 50 or 100 acres under turnips. The labour is not cheap. In killing, for example, men get a pound per hundred, and earn up to 13s and 14s per day at it.