132 FROZEN MUTTON TRADE OF NEW SOUTH WALES. [Sept. 1895. 



one simply melted for the tallow. A process has recently been 

 discovered whereby oleo, which is estimated to be worth about 

 40^. a ton, can be extracted from mutton tallow, as it has 

 been for some time from beef. This discovery is of considerable 

 importance to the meat companies, as it foreshadows the possible 

 development of a new branch of business, viz. : the^manufacture 

 of margarine. It has been found, too, that the extraction of 

 the oleo largely increases the proportion of stearine in the 

 residue, which is used for the manfacture of the better sorts of 

 candles. 



It seems that for some time after the initiation of the Aus- 

 tralian frozen meat trade there was a difficulty in obtaining 

 freight. At first, the shipping companies insisted upon receiving 

 a guarantee that a certain amount of meat would be provided 

 for their vessels at stated periods, before they would agree to fit 

 them up and send them to the ports at which it was desired to 

 load the meat for London. This had the eflfect of retarding the 

 development of the trade ; and it was not until within a few 

 years ago that a change began to take place in this respect, 

 partly through the increase of the meat export trade, partly 

 through the freezing companies and shipowners coming to a 

 better understanding, and partly also through the development 

 of a trade in other produce, such as butter, cheese, and fruit. 

 Within the last three or four years, considerable additions have 

 been made to the fleet of steamers carrying frozen meat, and the 

 cost of freight has been lowered very considerably. The charge 

 for freight, which, at the commencement of the trade, was as 

 high as 2^d. per lb., has fallen to Id., and sometimes to |d 

 per lb. 



The situation of the Australian colonies as regards climate and 

 distance from the principal markets of the world renders it 

 absolutely necessary that there should be ample cold storage 

 accommodation both in the colonies and in the countries to which 

 colonial produce is exported. Every year more cold storage is 

 being pro^'ided, not only in Great Britain and Ireland, but also 

 on the Continent, and there are indications that the demand for 

 this description of accommodation will continue to increase, 

 especially as its cost is diminishing, while the uses to which it 

 can be tamed are multiplying, and its benefits are being more 

 widely acknowledged. It has been suggested that if sufficient 

 cold storage accommodation could be provided at a reasonable 

 outlay in the Colonies a good deal might be done by storing at 

 home to prevent the glutting of the London markets, without 

 taking the extreme step of closing the meat works in Australia. 

 The cost of cold storage in London is said to be about one- 

 eighth of a penny for four weeks, including receiving and 

 delivering. 



It may be interesting to show here the quantities of fresh 

 mutton imported into the United Kingdom since 1885 

 from the several Australian colonies and Jrom New Zealand, 



