New Self-contained Units.

Ice-Chests for the islands.

Hundreds of lives have been lost in the Pacific Islands over the last half century, owing to lack of refrigeration for the proper storage of foodstuffs.

The cause of death often has been given as fever or other tropical dis ease, whilst actualy it has been pto maine poisoning. Science has now evolved a method by which efficient refrigeration can be maintained with out the aid of electricity or gas. That is to say, the freezing unit is self-con tained, and the only adjunct necessary to ensure its proper functioning is our old and trusted friend, the primus stove. What that means to families and communities that heretofore have been unable to keep a supply of fresh meat and vegetables can well be im agined—from the point of view of health alone.

The price of this amenity is within the reach of everyone. The manufac turers of the “Freez-all” refrigerator, advertised in this issue, are offering their machine to the public at the moderate price of £27/10/-, f.o.b. Syd ney. Incorporating the very latest scientific discoveries, the “Freez-all” re frigerator has been subjected to severe tests, and it is claimed to be thoroughly efficient. The freezing unit is of very

rugged construction, and is practically indestructible, whilst the chemicals which it contains are of the non-cor rosive type, maintaining their efficiency unimpaired for very long periods.

The actual method of using the “Freez-all” is very simple. A primus stove is supplied with each refrigera tor, over which the freezing unit is heated for about one hour, after which it is plunged into cold water. This causes the necessary chemical action, and the unit is then placed inside the refrigerator, where it will operate per fectly for between 24 and 36 houvs, maintaining a sufficiently low tempera ture to freeze water if required, or to keep the contents of the larder fresh and palatable. The cabinet of the re frigerator is porcelain lined, which en ables it to be kept clean quite easily, and is large enough to take the whole carcase of a sheep, cut into joints; or half a box of butter, as well as the very necessary cool drinks.

A remarkable thing about the “Freez all” refrigerator is the small cost of maintenance. Actuary' speaking, the running cost is the quantity of kero sene required each day to heat a primus stove for one hour—in other words, it is negligible. It is as well to add that Messrs. McLeod, Bolton & Co. Ltd., an old-established firm of Is land merchants, who are the sole dis tributors for “Freez-all” refrigerators in the Pacific Islands, give a compre hensive guarantee with each machine sold, thereby offering adequate protec tion to the man off the beaten track.*