LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 6456, 22 December 1881, Page 3

LOCAL INDUSTRIES.

Messrs Jas. Gear and Co.’s Slaughtering and Meat-Preserving Works.

The export of tallow and preserved meats may be classed second only to that of wool, grain, and gold, in importance to the colony, and this being conceded, it will also be admitted that the slaughtering, boiling-down, and meat-preserving establishments of tba abovenamed firm stand prominent amongst our local Industries, As a matter of convenience to the carrying on’of the works under notice, and also in the interests of the public health, the operations of the firm are conducted in two different and distinct establishments, the slaughtering and boiling-down being carried on at Petone, whilst the meat-preserving factory is situated at the rear of the head retail establishment on Larnbton-quay, According to the generally conceived notion of a slaughter-house, the business is regarded as a most repulsive one, and, of course, in its most favorable light the occupation cannot be considered as a nice “ light situation for a genteel young man still, the work, as carried on at Petone, is conducted in a highly systematic manner, and as it is against the interest of the butcher that the animat destined to be killed shall be ill-used, it is needless to remark that not the slightest cruelty is practised. Sheep and cattle, according as the exigencies of the market demand, are driven from the neighboring paddooks to pens and stock-yards convenient to the riaughtering-houses, where the animals receive their quietus. The bullocks are then, by means of blocks and tackle, hoisted up by the hind legs, and in this position are skinned and cut up. The firm slaughter from 10 to 12 head of cattle per diem, the majority of which are destined for the requiremeats of the Wellington public. The beasts which were slaughtered yesterday were magnificent beeves, bred at the Wairarapa, and averaged lOOOlbs each, the flesh being beautifully marbled, while the fat was rich and mellow. Mr Joseph Beale, one of the principals of the Company, stated that, fine as these beasts incontestibly were, he had some 1 still larger and primer ones reserved for Christmas, which would range at least llOOlbs each. The sheep, of which upwards of 300 are killed per diem, are slaughtered in a neighboring bouse, and having been skinned, &0., are hung up in rows awaiting the process of boning or jointing. The larger aud excessively fat sheep are kept for boning,,. with the ultimate object in view of reserving their meat for tinning, whilst the other and more fatty parts are cast into the boiling-down vats for tallow. The primer sheep are, after the flesh is “ set," sent into the city per rail, where the carcases are cut up into joints for the retail customer. The application of the term “ primer" perhaps scarcely conveys the sense which is intended, and having in view the importance attaching to the meat-preserving industry, it is only right to explain that, whilst all the sheep bought by the Company are equally good, the larger and excessively fat sheep are utilised in the preserving shop. The meat is stripped of nearly all fatty particles, whilst the fat and bones are boiled down for tallow. The sheep sent into town for immediate consumption are smaller and more resemble the South Down and Welsh mutton, so highly prized at home. The rapidity with which both cattle and sheep are killed, dressed, and boned is something marvellous, and, indeed, reminds one of the descriptions which from time to time emanate from the American Press as to the process employed in the_ big hog-curing factories of Chicago, where a pig is sent down a shoot alive from which it emerges in a few minutes not only defunct, but also jointed for curing, whilst those portions, of poor piggy which are known under the denominatior of “small goods,” are ready for the retailers' window. The abattoirs are scrupu* lonely clean, which is attributable uot only to the excellent supervision of the manager, Mr Ryan, but also to the unlimited supply | of water in the establishment, the element being brought a considerable distance through iron pipes. The offal is buried in the sand at some considerable distance from the premises, while the liquid blood is flushed through another series of pipes into the sea. A visit to Messrs Gear and Co.’s place at Petone would most decidedly dissipate the too oft-conceived idea that so-called dairy-fed pork is nurtured bn raw animal food. There are upwards of 600 pigs and porkers fattening at present at Petone, not one of which is allowed to run about the place, piggeries there are in any quantity—clean, wholesome, roofed-in buildings, divided into styes filled with good oaten or wheaten straw, and here the animal “dreams his happy hours away" till he reaches : 801 b weight, when he becomes a victim of the pork butcher or the bacou-curer. The manager appeared to take a special pride in what he designated “the nursery,” wherein comfortably bestowed were two or more bundled little grunters of the justly-esteemed and short-snouted Berkshire breed. The diet of this naturally unclean animal is decidedly nutritious, consisting of boiled meat, mixed with boiled potatoes and barley meal.: The fat, bones, and other portions of the sheep, which are useless for preserving purposes, are thrown into vats, where, by means of steam, they are rendered into tallow, which is then poured off into iron tanks in which is cold water, where the fat, freed from some of 'its impurities, is taken away and placed in other boilers, where, having been subjected to a great heat, the remaining flux or “ greaves,” as it is termed, is skimmed off, and the pure tallow is then fit for running into casks for shipment. The tongues, heads, and other f‘ boiled goods ” having been carefully prepared, are forwarded to the city in covered trucks, which are run into the slaughter-house on a siding from the main line. The siding was constructed ■ by the" firm, at a cost to them of upwards of £9OO. Perhaps the most interesting department of the Petone establishment is the cooper’s shop, in which the casks used by the firm aie made. The wood used is white pine, grown at the Wairarapa, which is bought in large quantities and stacked for several months, in order to season the wood. The cooper has invented a variety of most ingenious machines, including those for cutting out the staves to the required bevel, by means of a handy little circular saw, shaping the heads of the casks, and another smart contrivance for putting the staves in position. The machinery is driven by a 24 horse-power steam engine. The meat preserving operations are conducted in town at the headquarters of the firm, situate at Lambton-quay. The space at present - at the disposal of the firm, although large, has, on account of the lately increased business, been found totally inadequate to the requirements of the industry, and tenders have been called for a spacious and commodious three-storey briefe store, which fyas just been commenced at the side of the present factory. The exact mode of operations is briefly as follows : The meat, devoid of bone, is placed in a tin of the required size, on a graduated scale, and ranging from tins of lib to those containing 81b on the “packing-room.” Having been placed in tins, the meat is subjected to a great pressure by means of presses worked by screws and levers, the average pressure being about I ton to a small tin. The tins, having been covered, are soldered down, a small orifice being left for the escape of the steam during the process of “ cooking,’’ which portion of the work is conducted in an upper chamber, which, to all intents and purposes, may bd described as a kitchen, containing huge cauldrons filled with boiling fat, which, of course, gives a far higher degree of temperature than could be obtained from boiling water, Some three hours suffice for the “cooking " of the tins, which, during the process, emit, through a tiny hole in the upper cover, little columns of steam. The “ centreescape” holes in the tins having been completely soldered, are passed through a “shoot’’ down to the “testing-room,” a hot air chamber, in which the “ tins” remain for a certain number of days. Should the cans exhibit no signs of “ bulging out,” they are deemed fit for packing, and are sept up fo the painter’s room, where they are either painted or lacquered, and subsequently labelled, arid they are then ready for packing for the market. The term Preserved Meats ” is a generic one, and scarcely conveys the correct idea to the general public. Not only are beef and mutton canped by the firm, but all descriptions of soups gelatines, and small goods are included under the heading of preserved meats. For instance, stewed kidneys, corn beef. Bpping sausages, brawn, collard head, maccaroni, ox-tail, mulligatawny, and numberless other soups all appear under the same heading. Many of the preserves manufactured by the firm are peculiarly suitable for picnic parties, and each year the tinned meat and soups of the firm are availed of by local holiday-makers. It is satisfactory to be able to'state that Messrs Gear'and Co.j despite

the antagonism of wealthy meat preservers and shippers in London and Liverpool, are more than holding their own. That the absurd antagonism of those who, it must be presumed, influence for self-interested motives Home shipowners is being overcome, owing to the superiority of the colonial meat, is apparent from the fact that Messrs Gear and Co. just at present have as much as they can do to supply the demand made upon them. Masters of vessels from Home, who trade regularly to this port, are unanimous in expressing the opinion that the Wellington preserved meat is infinitely superior to that supplied by the old and effete makers of decayed and noisome soup and boullie, and yet they are unsuccessful in many instances in their efforts to induce their owners to try the much-abused, but infinitely superior, colonial article. The machinery in the meat-preserving works is driven by a four-horse power horizontal engiue, which is also sufficient to drive the various lathes, chaff-cutting, and sausagemachines used in the different shops. The firm employs upwards of 100 men, all of whom are boarded on the premises, and the weekly expenditure for wages alone may tbere.ore be estimated at a considerable sum. Upwards of 1000 tons of tallow per annum are exported by Messrs Gear and Co., the export of preserved meats, &c., amounting to 7000 during the last year. The company annually slaughter about 3400 bullocks and upwards of 80,000 sheep.