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them; both vessels were lost within six weeks of one another in the icebergs off the Horn. There
is, however, no doubt that this marked the turning point for the New Zealand farmers, who were
at that time in a very bad way.
Many shipping companies by now were having steamers fitted, and new ones constructed, for
the carrying of frozen meats from the Argentine, Australia and New Zealand, and the stockraisers
in these countries were alive to the immense possibilities of the Meat Export Trade, and the necessity
of improving the flocks and herds which had been bred chiefly for wool and hides.
Pedigree sheep were imported into New Zealand and beef into Australia and the Argentine,
the variety of breeds used depending on the nature of the country and the pasturage. The Argentine
growers greatly improved their cattle by purchasing champion bulls from England, by taking a
census of the cattle then in the country, and by introducing registers and herd books. This had the
good effect of practically eliminating the old native breed which had been introduced from Spain
over 300 years ago, since these beasts, though suitable for the salting and sun-dried works, were quite
unsuitable for the English market.
As the pure bred and cross-bred herds increased new methods of feeding were introduced,
these purer animals requiring more feeding than the hardy thick skinned native animals. Alfalfa
grass was sown, climate conditions being excellent, which rapidly took hold, with the result
that to-day Argentine herds enjoy the finest feeding pastures in the world, thus producing some of
the best meat that can be seen anywhere.
The growth of the Argentine Meat Export trade coincided with the decline of the U.S.A. Export
trade, as the meat in that country was required for internal use.
While the frozen meat trade was in full swing, the shipping of chilled meat practically ceased,
coming to a standstill during the Great War. Despite the fact that chilled beef as a marketable
article is superior to frozen beef, one of the reasons why it was not adopted was that engineers
thought that the life of chilled meat was limited to about 18 days, yet in August, 1894, the
s.s. "Port Pirie" was loaded with 1,000 quarters beef to carry to England in a chilled state, but on
the homeward run it was found that to save the meat it had to be frozen down. Three more trials
were made in different vessels, carrying the meat at 28½° P., and of these one consignment was
successful. The next attempt was a shipment of a few quarters in 1896 in the s.s. " Urmiston
Grange." This meat had been dipped in oil prior to shipment to prevent the formation of moulds,
and on arrival in England the meat was compared with the American chilled, but adverse opinions
were passed, and so this trial was also a failure.
Nine years later New Zealand made a move, and 1,200 quarters of beef were shipped on board
the s.s. "Tokomaru" at Dunedin by the New Zealand Refrigerating Company. Through various
causes the voyage was a long one, and on discharging the meat in London it was found to be
heavily infected by Black Mould, and the Port Sanitary Authority seized the whole consignment.
Like many other experiments it failed owing to the lack of knowledge of how to prevent the development
of mould, and was a total loss to the shippers.
Argentine entered into the chilled beef trade in 1901; after experimenting for 18 months, The
River Plate Fresh Meat Co. fitted a chamber in the s.s. "Zuleika" to hold 500 quarters beef. After
the vessel had made three successful voyages, arrangements were made with the Royal Mail Lines
to continue carrying on the trade. By 1908 the chilled beef industry had become a successful
trade as far as the South American shippers were concerned, and several of the large packing firms
built or acquired freezing works in the Argentine.
Although the chilled meat trade was now an established fact on the engineering side, very little
advance had been made on the biological side, and in consequence extensive and serious losses from
mould occurred.
Much research was made on this problem, and later J. A. Luiley brought out a sterilising plant,
the system being to blow a sterilising agent into the chamber while empty, and again after the meat
had been hung. During the voyage, the return air from the chambers was passed over sticks of
chloride of calcium, and as the air was again drawn back to the chambers it passed through rotating
discs kept moist with sulphuric acid. However, it was not long before it was realised that cleanliness
was the chief factor, and straight forward chilling and freezing systems were instituted both for
plants and vessels.
Both Australia and New Zealand desired to ship chilled meat, but how was it to be done in view
of the long period at sea. The answer came from the results of experiments carried out in the
laboratories of the Low Temperature Research Station at Cambridge, where it was found that
chilled beef could be maintained in first-rate condition with the aid of carbon dioxide. So in July,
1933, we in London examined the first consignment of gas treated chilled meat, brought over from
New Zealand by the s.s. "Port Fairy." This meat found ready buyers, in fact, the system was so
strikingly successful that regular shipments of increasing quantities are now arriving from both
Australia and New Zealand.
The days of experiments are not yet over; 2½ years ago a South American firm placed 12 hinds
of beef in the chilled chambers of the s.s. "Andalucia Star," each quarter had two steel spikes fitted
one in the leg and the other in the wing end. Attached to the spikes were electric wires connected
to the engine room, and during the voyage a light current of electricity was passed through the meat
every few hours, thus slightly raising the internal temperature and preventing the formation of ice