CORRESPONDENCE.

Otago Witness, Issue 918, 3 July 1869, Page 15

CORRESPONDENCE.

MEAT PRESERVING AND BOILING-

DOWN.

To the Editor of the Otago Witness

Sir — In a question of so muoh importance and general enquiry at the present time, I have been rather surprised that more ventilation has not been given to the subject through the medium of the publio press. ■One or two letters have appeared, with rather crude ideas, and particularly one from Mr W. Murray, with moat extraordinary reaults. It- is not for the purpose of replying to statements of others that I desire to take a small space in the columns of your paper, but to bring before those who are most interested some points which deserve Berious consideration.

I have had the best of experience— pocket experience — in both boiling down and curing mutton hams, and £ can quite confirm the experience of all who have tried curing and smoking mutton hams that they are not a paying or safe export. Ist. They are not safe, on account of the difficulty of packing, except at too great expense, to keep in condition. 2nd. They are not a safe payiug export, because as they age they get drier, and lose flavour so as to make them unmarketable ; the loss of weight in drying requires a higher price to leave a margin over expenses than can be realised : for it must be observed that though fresh mutton and beef in Great Britain are dear, yet cured pork of every description is not so proportionately high as to admit dry mutton hams to command a ready sale excepting at a low rate.

The British meat consumer, it is trite, wants cheap meat, but he wants it, though it may have gone through a process of pre sorvatiou, to retain Borne of its flavour, and wo have, from good authority, information from the Melbourne Meat Preserving Company's agent in London, that Bides of xnuttou, without the bono taken ont, carefully corned with sugar and salt, and packed in tallow, have arrived quite perfect and frcah, and are a ready sale. This is the most valuable information that has, as yet, come before the rnnholders of this province, for it makes them, as it were, masters of their own position. This climate being so favourable for curing operations does not require those artificial preventative means which are so absolutely necessary in a warm climate like Australia, where often the meat does not got 000 l soon enough to admit of a simple curative process striki »g before taint takes place. Hence there, a largo company, inito capacious and apeoially adapted tnildings, arranged ho that the greatest expedition may bo used in every process, and the most competent hands employed, can produce the best artiolo at tho least cost. But t am informed that the Mol bourne Company have discontinued preserving in tins ; they now pack in tallow, not in sides, hut in joints, with bono taken out, tho saving »f freight and expense of tins being important itoms. Now fat stock have risen thorefso muoh, whothcr thoy simply cute with sugar or salt, orprotervo by tho cooking process without tin«, i have not learnt. Sufficient are these tii.ls to satisfy them that fUliac np their meat casks with tallow, as hermetically seals as the preserving tin.

The difference botween Victorian bred and fed sheep and Otago v great, both as regards feed, mode of foeding, and climate. Tho former from lambs are under hand, either in tailed nooks or paddookn constantly worked, the latter run almost; wild ; the feed in Australia is stronger and harder, and tho olimato quickly ripens into hard fat a« the flesh cover* the bones. From those causes tho Viotorian sheep do not loao condition in driving or ohange of puiturage. if any caro is taken of thorn ; not so witn Otago sheep, their feed is softer, climate cooler, tho oheep inoroato moro in frame, and do not ripen into hard fat : thoy havo more lean moat of a riohcr quality. Consequently, take the Otago sheep onoe away f remit* own wilds, however carefully driven, ho never rest* or feeds, ho soon lose* his fat, whiohJ* soft, and his flesh is out of tho floe condition «o requisite for preserving in nun flavour under any, procotn. Do companies having large establishment* offer advantage* hero ? it woo Id appear that the <li». advantage* counterbalance any advantage, and when « small boiling-down plant, tnffiuimfc to produoe th* tallow wquirod to

pack the cured meat in suoh quantities as -could be conveniently killed and cured on a station,' oan be laid down for about L2OO, every owner of 20,000 or more sheep may preserve the most saleable joints which, yield the least tallow, and boil down the remainder, at less cost, and more certainty of perfection, on the station, where the sheep are in the finest condition, than any company can do it for them.

Instead o! committing to companies what private enterprise has a decided advantage in here, it may be well to weigh these advantages, and- let neighbouring stations get a small plant between them, and try next season, their surplus stock, in a simple inexpensive way ; great care is the most valuable composition that can be used, and least expensive, whether in private hands, or in a company's. I can get the plans of a similar plant to that used by the Melbourne Meat Company, on any scale, and the coat, and am expecting daily more particulars, as to capabilities, which I shall dnly advertise.— l am, &c , W. L. Lees.