Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-03-30

otherwise. New Zealand has more IMAM
400, 900 acres OF turnips Turnip hells
are 10 be seen on every landscape anu
they often form a striking feature. me
crop grows luxuriantly and before tnc
sheep are let In II forms a bed oil btishl
green Later on when the sheep nave
had their first chance at IT, the green
has all disappeared and In It's place
there is an expanse OF black soil COW
cred with white balls set out In rows
The field looks as though II had Neen
plowed and sown with billiard bals
You see the sheep biting the bails'
They eat them out 0f the ground, dls-
ging away until every root has dlsap-
peared. In some cases the turnips are
dug up by the farmer and fed In the
pasture to the sheep.
THE QUESTION OF WAGES.
"a high in New Zealand and
everything Is done TO cut down eX-
penses. on the large estates the sheep
are kept In enormous fields 80 that
few hands suffice to care for large
flock The shepherds put In about ten
hours, except at harvest time, when
they work from daylight 70 dark. Their
wages are higher than those OF the
United States. In the busiest parts
Of the year they receive from is 70 70
cents an hour, and in many cases their
employers add to this present at the
close OF the season. | met one man who
tod me he gave each OF his hands $50
when the hardest Of the work was done
The shearing usually begins In sep
TENDER and lasts until January, IL Is
done by the piece, being performed BY
professional shearers. who get from 4
TO AZ cents a sheep, There are men who
can shear more than hundred sheep In
a day. and not a few make their 81
per diem. The wool clips vary greatly
according TO the breeds. The Merinos
range all the way from four 10 seven
pounds each, while the Leicesters VIII
average ten pounds and the Lneolns
| about eleven pounds. There are sheep
which each produce from twenty TO
| thirty pounds Of wool at clip but
these are exceptions.
A WARNING TO BELGIAN HARE
RAISERS.
The craze which is running over the
| United States as TO Belgian hares
| should be stopped for they may become
| as great a pest as the rabbits are here
| Rabbits We're introduced into New Zea-
land as pets and with the idea that
they might furnish meat. They in
| creased so rapidly that they soon over
ran the whole country. They ate up
the pastures and millions of dollars
have since been spent in killing them
or in fencing them out Of the sheep
lands. OF late a large industry has
grown up in trapping them for their
skins and In freezing the carcasses for
shipment to London There are men
here who make a business Of rabbit
trapping and rabbit buying see crates
Of rabbits at almost every railroad sta
ton, and | am told that about eleven
million pounds OF frozen rabbits are
annually shipped from New Zealand to
London In one year 1900, 600 rabbit
skins were exported and such exports
now bring In several hundred thousand
dollars annually Frozen rabbits are
shipped with the fur on. and they are
| doubt not often sold as fresh from the
warrens Of the English nobility.
IN A BIG FREEZING FACTORY.
But let Us 40 70 one of the factories
and see just how they prepare this New
|
don, New Zealand has twenty-one meat
ifee2lng establishments, and the largest
ana Oldest Of all Is here at Christ
thurch 1t is known as the Belfast
freezing works, having capital OF
SoOOOOO, upon which II pays dividends
Of per cent. 1t is a cooperative in
stitution the sheep owners being the
principal stockholders. 1t gives them
& market for their sheep. working en-
tirely on commission. The sheep are
driven or shipped TO the factory. They
are there killed. frozen put upon ships
and delivered to the butchers Of Lon
don at fixed charge Of a penny a
pound. and all profits above this 60
back to the farmers. The factory kills
about 1000 sheep every day, shipping
on the average more than a half mill
| Hon Carcasses a year
We take cirrage and ride out 10
the works. They are within few miles
Of ChrstChurch, The buildings con-
sist Of great sheds surrounded by pad
docks filled with sheep ready for kill
ing and drying yards, which at first
seem covered with snow but
which as We get closer we see are
spotted with great piles Of newly
washed WOOL We are first taken to the
sheep yards and watch the men drive
the animals up a passage way TO the
killing department on the second floor
This driving Is done by means Of de-
coys There are several old sheep which
are used day after day and year after
year as the advance guard to lead their
brothers to slaughter. They start the
procession. and the thousands behind
sheep-hke follow them. often ter
thousand shep pass UP that roadway
In one day.
IN THE KILLING ROOMS,
We follow the sheep into the build.
Ing, The killing room Is several hun.
dred feet long II Is a great hall walled
with pens. each holding twenty sheep
The pens face central aisle In Whicf
stand the butchers. The sheep e7e killed
at the rate OF ten every minute. Tit
butchers are very expert. They drat
out the animals and with their knive!
kin them so quickly that they do no
even Kick. One man has been known
10 kill 23O sheep In day, but the usna
average per hour is nine sheep for eacl
man.
After killing n sheep the butche
hangs It up on a hook behind him
strips of the skin, cuts off the head
dresses II and washes 1t down with no
water. This is done so quickly that /
takes only seven minutes from tn
time the live sheep Is picked up unit
It Is ready for freezing.
When a sheep is finished the butch
er gives It a shove and the pulley 4
which il is hooked. running by gravit,
on a little steel track, carries II OF q
the cooling room. From now on II !
not handled until {; Is ready for ship
ment. The work Is done 50 rapidly tina
there IS a long stream OF carcase
steadily flowing out Of the butche
! shop into the cooling room and later OF
from there down TO the freezing cham
bets
IN THE FREEZING CHAMBERS.
After having been cooled forty-eigh
hours ;hat the animal heat may go on
OF them, the carcasses being weighe
as they go. take another trip on thel
pu!,eys into the freezing chamber;
There arc a dozen OF these each hav
ing st0iago capacity Of about loo,o0
sheep Edth chamber covers one-fft
of an acre. and II YOU will imagine