THE DEAD MEAT TRADE.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1208, 26 April 1895, Page 6

THE DEAD MEAT TRADE.

It has for some time past been a much debated question among those most intimately concerned in the dead meat trade with Europe as to whether chilled meat would not bo tho next new departure in the business. Within the past year the export of chilled meat from Australasia to Europe has appeared to many good judges to be within measurable distance in consequence of the advantages derived from the invention of the thermostat, which may be shortly described as a mechanical application that regulates the temperature of a cool storeroom or ship's hold, just as the governor regulates the steam of an engine. We understand that the owners of the patent rights of this invention and a large dealer of Liverpool have combined to test the commercial value of a shipment of chilled beef from New Zealand to London. For this purpose a cool chamber is being secured in the Gothic for her next outward voyage, and arrangements have been made to ship by that vessel from Wellington direct to London from 1000 to 1200 quarters of beef. .„ , , , . The beef will necessarily be hung during transit, instead of being stowed, as it would be if frozen. This means, of course, an enhanced cost of freight, but this, it is confidently anticipated, will be compensated by the increased value in London. It would seem that those engaged in this adventure are satisfied, from Canadian experience with chilled meat, that it must succeed. In Canada it is chilled at a temperature of from 27 to 30 degrees for 50 days. Taking this as a certain and safe limit, the time for a New Zealand shipment would be distributed as f ollows:-For killing and shipping, 3 days; duration of voyage, 35 days; landing and storage, 2, days ; sale, distribution and consumption, 10 days : total, 50 days.