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THE EXPORT DEPOT.
A VISIT OF INSPECTION.
On Thursday morning the Minister of
Education and Agriculture (Hon. R. But
ler), anil Messrs. A. McDonald, W. A.
Blacker, J. Livingston, and J. T. Morris,
M.P.'s, visited the Export xjepot at
Port Adelaide. His Honor Mr. Justice
Dashwood rvas unable to be present.
The manager (Mr. R. W. Skevington) con
ducted the party over the works and ex
plained the methods adopted in killing,
chilling, freezing, and storing carcases
or lamb or mutton, and freezing and stor
ing rabbits. Improvements are continually,
being made at the depot and the_ high
state of efficiency at present reached is not
by any means the goal aimed: at. The
pens for yarding sheep and lambs were
first inspected. These were much extend
ed recently, and now they are capable of
holding twice as many sheep as before.
The adjustable race for running the sheep ■
from the railway trucks to the spot de-.,
sired was admired for its simplicity and
efficacy, and the cleanliness of the whole
arrangement was appreciated. An addition
which is at present in course of construction
is a pit of brick and cement for
converting the blood into manure, and
thus securing to the department an asset
which has hitherto been wasted.
The erection of new chemical works
for the Adelaide Chemical Works
Company in the neighborhood will
be of much benefit to the depot and a con
tract has already been made with the com
pany to take all the heads and offal from
the depot as soon as the works are started.
Had this arrangement not been made it .
would have been necessary to erect diges
tors at the depot and deal with the offal
there. The long shed, with a separate bay
or recess for each raboit exporter, was then
examined and the mode of receiving, grad
ing, and packing the rabbits explained.
In the cooling and freezing chambers con
siderable alterations are being made.
Extra brine circulation is being provided
for. and instead of the system or brine
tanks previously in use an arrangement of
pipes will be called into requisition. These
pipes are already being applied to the
large room hitherto used for wine storage.
The I! in. pipes are being placed all over
the rcof of the chamber, with spaces at
regular intervals-to allow of. the construe*
tion of hatches, through which the carcase® :
will be lowered from the freezer im
mediately overhead. This chamber, which
is on the ground floor, will be utilised as a
storage room, and will be capable of hold
ing-. 20,000 carcases, while the store at
present in use can hold 10,000 carcases.
The new storeroom will be ready shortly,'
while the other alterations which are in
progress will also be completed within a
few weeks. Upstairs, the four chambers
previously used for chilling will now be .
used for freezing also, so that the carcases
can be chilled and frozen in the one room.
Thus once the chamber is filled the door
can be closed, and not opened until the
carcases are properly frozen, the intensity
of the cold from each chamber being re
gistered in the engine-room, and controlled
by a turn of a stopcock by the engineer.
When the carcases are properly frozen'
they are shrouded in a wrapper of whith
calico, bearing the exporter's brand, with
the grade ana weight,and removed direct
to the store by . means of hatches in the
floor. This is a much more economical.
way of Avorkmg than the style just aban
doned, following which the carcase was
first placed in the chilling chamber, then
run down the length of the corridor into
the freezing chamber, and from this into
the storeroom, before it could be shrouded.
It is intended that next year the upstairs
storeroom (at present containing about
io7,000 rabbits) shall also be utilised as
a freezing chamber, and then all
the freezers will be upstairs, and
all the storerooms below. The four trans
formed, chilling chambers, before alluded
to, will freeze 500 carcases each, and with
the addition of the present freezer and the
storeroom, which it is intended to trans
form, the capacity of the freezers will be
4,500 carcases. The chambers are all
beautifully clean, having been freshly
painted everywhere, but the visitors dia
not display an undue anxiety to linger in
admiration, with the thermometer grovel
ling around zero. About 700 tons' of but
ter are expected to pass through tflie store
this season, so provision is being made
for its reception. In one of the corridors
an electric fan was bard at work ventilat
ing its neighborhood. This fan is shifted
from place to place as required. An in
novation, the utility of which is apparent
at once, is a system of electric signals be
tween the various chambers and the engine^
room. It is of course necessary when a
man is at work in a chamber that the door
should be shut. Should any illness over
take the workman, or should he be un
able to open the door, bis position would
be extremely dangerous if be had no com
munication with the outside. In every,
chamber, therefore, is placed an electric
button and a code of signals. On enter
ing a room, one short touch to the but
ton signifies to the engineer that a cer
tain chamber orders "light up," and the
electric lights instantly render the place
as light as day. The distress signal rings
continuously, xintil three short flashes
from the electric lights in the chamber
notify the prisoner that help is coming.
By means of flashing the lamps in any
particular chamber messages can also be
conveyed to the various workmen. The
storage capacity of. the depot is 30,000 car
cases, while the utmost killing capacity is
1,000 sheep, or 1,500 lambs daily. .There
are 10 hooks, one for each slaughterman,
in the slaughterhouse, and about 800 lambs
can be killed in eight hours. When more
than this number is required the men of
course have to work longer. It is antici
pated that , before long the slaughterhouse
will be extended to allow of 2,500 lambs
being treated daily. This will be, it is
believed, as many as the depot .will be
called upon to deal with for some time to
come. The visiting party expected to see
the produce loaded for export, but the
Wakool, of the Blue Anchor line, which is
to take away a big shipment of rabbits,
did not arrive during the day. This stea
mer will, however, take away between
4,000 and 5,000 crates of rabbits, as well
as a first shipment of kangaroo tails and
haunches.
An unpleasant time lias lately been ex-"
perienced by the captain, officers,.and crew
of the small steamer Beagle. On June 20,
according ;to a report supplied by Captain
Cowan, the master of the vessel; which the
Marine Board considered at their meeting
on Thursday. afternoon, the steamer
grounded on the north end of the eastern
shoal, Spencer Gulf, and remained aground"
for about six hours. No damage was oc
casioned. The board were also notified
by telegram, received that-day from Cap
tain Brimage, the harbormaster at Port
Pirie, that the Beagle had a broken shaft,
and was ten miles south, of Mount Young.
The engineer's surveyor (Mr. J. Campbell)
is to enquire into the mishap, and to re-',
port to the board, who will await the
master's report upon this second accident
before taking action.
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