FROZEN MEAT.

Patea Mail, Volume IX, Issue 1061, 18 July 1883, Page 2

FROZEN MEAT.

What a Colonist at Home tillxilks al)oat it.

Mr John Patterson of Kakaramea has kindly placed at our disposal a letter from a friend who recently went Home. Writing from Forfar on May 16, he says : —No doubt you will have heard that M.r R and I sailed in the Orient steamer Cuzco from Melbourne to London, We had a fairly good passage of 48 days—3 days behind time, however. The cause of this delay was the excessive traffic in the Suez Canal. In passing through the Canal we met no less than 44 steamers, which will give you some idea of the trade through there. We arrived in London, where we stayed 12 days, on the 10th April. I met Mr S , formerly of Wanganui, there. He called at our hotel every morning, and took us to all the principal places of attraction in and around the city. Some of these were well worth seeing, especially the London dead meat markets. We had some conversation with a few of the butchers, but they seemed to be rather suspicious of strangers in regard to their business' as a rule. But after a little perseverance we got all that wo wanted, or all that was to be got. Some of the butchers told us what we knew to be lies. Others told us that there was a largo interest against all imported meat, but that the Australian and New Zealand moat was gaining ground in the market. Wo saw New Zealand mutton ticketed up in several places at from s£d to lOd per pound. We saw an excellent cargo of moat landing from the sailing ship Dunedin, from Port Chalmers, which was selling wholesale at an average of 7d per pound. We likewise saw the same meat hanging up in the market. It just looked the same as the meat hanging in the shops in Patea, and required close inspection to know that it had been frozen. The legs of this were selling at 10d per lb. I did not see any beef in the market which I knew to be from N.Z., but I had some, which came by the Dunedin, to eat, It was as good and had the same taste as if it had been killed the day before. We saw several lots of American beef in the market. It looked very well, and was selling at from fid to 8d per lb. We dined on frozen meat from Melbourne to London. It was just as good the last day as it was the first. The beef, which was not first class quality, seemed to get a little darker after being cooked, but there was no difference in the mutton. That is all the information which I have gained on the imported meat business, but I have no doubt that it will be a success against all opposition —interests or anything else.