The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-02-14 00:00:00

FRESH MEAT FROM AUSTRALIA IN

LONDON.

A number of persons interested in the colonies, in
shipping, and in the food supply of this country were
invited to the East India Docks on Friday in last '
week to judge for themselves of the degree of success
which had attended an experiment in the importation
of fresh meat from Australia made by Messrs.
Mcllwrath, McEacharn, and Co. The arrangements
for preserving the meat were first inspected. On the
lower deck of the Strathleven—a steamer specially
chartered by the firm for the trial of the experiment
—a chamber had been constructed sufficiently large
to hod 33 tons of meat. The walls, the ceiling,
the flooring, and the doors of this room were made
double, .the space between the inner and outer
planks Eeing packed with powdered charcoal, so that
a nearly air-tight chamber might be obtaimed, which
should he as little as possible affected by the tempera-
ture outside. In connexion with this meat chamber
was one of the dry-air refrigerating machines invented
by Mr. J. J. Coleman, of Glasgow, and supplied by
the Bell-Coleman Company. Thin machine, worked
by steam either from the main boilers or from a
donkey-engine on board the ship, draws the air from
the chamber and returns it dried and chilled to a
temperature far below the freezing point of water.
This process is affected entirely by mechanical means,
the air being compressed, washed, dried, in expan-
sion made to return to the working power of
the machine some of the force which has been
expended in its compression. A peculiarity of
this system of refrigeration is that no chemicals are
used to obtain the cold, and, what is most important,
that the air is not only cooled, but dried. To many
of those who on Friday breathed the bracing dry
atmosphere of this chamber, it must have occurred
that by this system the barracks and hospitals of India
might be kept at any desirable temperature, that, in
fact, the climate of Nova Scotia might be artificially
produced on the plains of Bengal. The horrors of the
Red Sea passage might also he materially alleviated,
if entirely not overcome, by mixing air thus cooled
with the heated air of the saloons and cabins.
The meat on Friday was found in perfectly good
condition, hard frozen, and covered with a rime caused
by the freezing of the natural moisture of the meat.
A log carefully kept by Mr. T. Brown, B. Sc., of
the condition of the room during the voyage shows
that when the work of shipping began on the !nth
of November at Sydney the beef was taken in at a
temperature of 70 deg. Fah., and that on this day
the maximum temperature in the chamber was 26 deg.
and the minimum 2 deg. Fah. On the 29th of Novem-
ber the ship left Sydney, the temperature of the sea
water being 69 deg.,the maximum in the chamber
28 deg. and the minimum 16 deg. Four days were
passed at Melbourne, where more sheep were taken
in. Here the temperature of the sea er was 61 deg.,
the maximum in the chamber on the 4th of December
being 32deg.i and the minimum 63eg. L,aving Mel-
bourne on th 3 6th of December. the temperature of
the sea water rose on some days to 83deg., while the
highest point reached by the thermometer in the
chamber was 26 leg., and the minimum sdeg. At Aden,
January 7, the temperature of the HES water was
78 leg., the maximum in the chamber 21deg., the
minimum sdeg. At Suez, January 14, the tempera-
ture of the sea was 62deg., maximum in the chamber
23deg., and the minimum 3deg. At Gravesend,
February 1, the temperature of the water was 40deg.,
the maximum in the chamber 27deg., and the minimum
9deg. During the voyage, however, the machine was
only worked for about five hours a day.
The arrangemtnts for packing the meat were made
under the superintendence of Mr. James Campbell,
and the luncheon served on the Strathleven on Fri-
day, all the principal dishes consisting of fresh
Australian meat, may be said to have shown that beef
and mutton ef very good quality can be obtained in
Australia, and that this meat can be landed in Eng-
land unaffected by the voyage and in Buell condition
that neither by its appearance in tbe butcher's shop
it be distinguished from freshly-killed
nor by any peculiarity ot flavour when cooked for
English meat.
It was stated that meat could be produced in
quantity there at a profit for
table could
the pound,eo6 t and db
bringing
ps riot boavbelry.
so
urns
et rt ah inag
2d. per pound would cover
—The Times.
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nleoeds tsholacin 2ini. a

CIVIL SERVICE ESTIMATES.
The estimates for civil services and revenue depart-
ments for the year ending 31st March, 1881, were
Issued on Tuesday.
In Class 1., which relates to pnblic works and build.
ings, the amount set down is £1,346,139, being a net
decrease of £2,406 on grants for 1879-80.
Class IL, which includes salaries and expenses of
civil departments, 22,189,494, a decrease of £3,110.
Class 111., law and justice, £5,783,470, an increase
of £104,016.
Class IV., education, science, and art £4,273,
increase of 2114,303.,
Class V. foreign and colonial services, £571,092, an
Increase of £22,370. 224, an
Class VI., non-effective and charitable services;
£1 225,083, an increase of £26,049.
Class VII., miscellaneous £47, 940, an increase of
£13,478.
The total of the seven classes is £15,436,442, being
an increase on the expenditure of last year of £280,920,
The estimates for the revenue departments and
packet and telegraph service amount to £8,158,317,
being an increase of £42,239.
The grand total is therefore £23,594,759, and the
net increase £323,159. . .

A. hurricane in Sicily on the Met of January tore ur
three kilomUres of railway, and damaged the port an
venels at Catania.

A Middlesbrough Correspondent anticipates that
the production of pig iron in Cleveland this year will
immensely exceed all that has hitherto been known in the
Mori of the Iron trade.