The Carriage of Frozen Meat.

The sailing ship "Mataura" was fitted with refrigerators at the cost of several thousands of pounds, and to test the page 58 reliability of this new development of mechanical science, quantities of fish and birds were shipped in London and delivered in the Colony in perfect condition. A return cargo of frozen beef and mutton at a freight of 2½d. per lb. established the success of the experiment though the financial result did not augur well.

In this connection it is interesting to compare the present rate of one penny per lb., with the gloomy fore cast of the Otago Times of July 21st, 1882, which remarked: "It is a question whether or not sailing ships can carry the meat under threepence per lb."

To judge the effect of the installation of refrigerators, upon which the Company has since expended £128,000, it need only be borne in mind that the new outlet for sheep (which had hitherto been boiled down for the tallow), led the farmers to greatly increase their flocks, resulting in a still larger production of wool. The annual exports of the clip rose from sixty to ninety million lbs. in five years, and the out-turn of frozen meat from 15,000 to 402,000 cwt. In addition to this marvellous expansion of the wool and meat trades resulting from the adoption of the new refrigerating machinery, a further new and important industry sprung up in the shipment of dairy produce, nearly 600,000 cwts. of cheese and butter being shipped annually to the United Kingdom.

The service thus rendered by the New Zealand Shipping Company was cordially acknowledged on all sides, and the Australian Times gave expression to the public feeling when in commenting upon the growth of the frozen meat trade it said: "The New Zealand Shipping Company has been very largely instrumental in creating this splendid addition to the national industries."

It may be remarked in conclusion that one cannot gauge the ultimate development of the frozen meat industry, as each successive return shows a substantial increase; the page 59 year ending June, 1892 reaching a total export from New Zealand of 104,443,498 lbs. This is greatly attributable to the disappearance of the prejudice which at one time existed from the popular fallacy that the meat must to a certain extent—however imperceptible—perish during its transport to England. It is curious, however, that this erroneous belief should have gained credence, considering that almost intact specimens of Mammoth have after many hundreds and even thousands of years been discovered in Siberia standing upright in the ice and frozen soil with their skin, muscles, viscera and bones well preserved, the eyes even still staring from their sockets.

The next step in the progressive policy of the Directors was an intimation to Government that the New Zealand Shipping Company were prepared to enter into negotiations with the view to the establishment of