48 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



proximatively returned at 10,000,000; sheep 36,000,000; 

 and pigs 6,000,000. 



These last numbers, if at all to be relied on, show a 

 very fair proportion to population, compared with 

 the live stock in the United Kingdom, Austria, and 

 other countries. But the animals are by no means 

 equal in size and weight to those of Great Britain. 

 The progressive increase in proportion to population is 

 also remarkably small. As respects cattle, the increase 

 is kept down by the very large slaughter of calves, un- 

 precedented as compared with other countries. The 

 reason ascribed for this destruction of animal food at 

 the very source is the poverty of the farmers, which 

 compels them to convert their produce into money as 

 quickly as possible. The consequence is that few 

 calves are reared, and the production of meat is con- 

 tinually declining, whilst the price advances and the 

 consumption proportionately diminishes, especially in 

 the Departments. 



In 1851 the consumption of meat for Paris (the po- 

 pulation then being 1,053,202), was officially stated as 

 follows : Furnished from the abattoirs — beef, veal, 

 mutton, and goats' flesh, 48,353,011 kilogrammes; 

 offal and interior of animals, 904,524 kilos. ; pork and 

 lard, 3,631,228 kilos. ; offal and interior of animals, 

 &c., 494,260 kilos.; suet and melted fat, 2,874,636 

 kilos. Furnished from the departments — beef, veal, 

 mutton, and goats' flesh, 11,249,714 kilos. ; offal and 

 trimmings, &c., 960,784 kilos. ; fresh meat, lard, wild 

 boars, sucking pigs, &c., 5,219,253 kilos. ; offal and 

 trimmings, &c., 707,806 kilos.; " charcuterie" — in- 

 cluding hams, tongues, sausages, &c. — 1,234,054 kilos., 

 making a total of 76,789,936 kilos., equal to 172,777,356 

 pounds. This gives a proportion of 172f lbs. of meat 

 and fat per head ; but excluding the tallow and entrails. 

 Sec, it would be about 1591bs. per head per annum. 



The consumption of London is about 270,000 oxen, 

 30,000 calves, 1,500,000 sheep, and 30,000 pigs, &:c. 

 Comparing this with Paris, we find that the average 

 annual consumption for a population which is only 

 about a third of this metropolis, is 88,000 oxen, 

 77,000 to 80,000 calves (nearly two-thirds more than 

 are eaten in London), and from 20,000 to 25,000 

 cows, &c. 



M. E. Blanc, a French writer, in his " Mysteries of 

 the Butchery," thus comments upon these figures : 

 " Now, reducing these classes to kilogrammes (2ilbs.), 

 we find the following difference between the alimentary 

 condition of the two classes. The 270,000 oxen of 

 London are superior in weight to those of the French 

 oxen, and weighing in nett meat a minimum of 400 

 kilos., allow for the 2,600,000 inhabitants of that city 

 47 kilos, per head (about 1131bs.), and the 30,000 

 calves, a food destitute of all nutritive qualities, 86 

 grammes only. The 88,000 oxen of Paris, on the con- 

 trary, weighing on an average but 345 kilos., allow to 

 the 1,200,000 inhabitants of that city only 25 kilos. 

 300 grammes per head; and the 77,000 calves, 5 kilos,, 

 which makes a difference in favour of the population 

 of London of 24 kilos. 70 grammes of beef per head, 

 and a difference in favour of the population of Paris of 



4 kilos. 14 grammes of veal — the former being sub- 

 stantial, and the latter unsubstantial food." 



From these figures we find that the entire consump- 

 tion of beef in Paris in only 66^1bs. per annum, whilst 

 that of London amounts to lOSvMbs. ; the meat of the 

 latter being almost wholly good wholesome ox beef, 

 whilst that of the former consists of a large proportion 

 of diseased and cow beef and veal, the cows being 

 usually both milked and worked until they are past 

 use for cither. 



In the foregoing statement no account is taken of 

 the sheep and pigs slaughtered in London, which 

 would add at least from 381bs. to 401bs. per head per 

 annum to the general consumption. 



France had in 1840, 32,151,431 sheep, and killed of 

 these in the year 5,804,700 head ; but while the num- 

 ber has not very largely increased in the last twenty 

 years, standing now at thirty-six million head, the 

 proportion slaughtered annually appears to have risen 

 to about eight million. In France sheep husbandry is 

 directed more to the production of wool than flesh ; 

 hence the return of meat is scarcely half that of our 

 well-fed sheep. It was stated some few years ago that 

 there were 35,000,000 sheep in France : that 4,000,000 

 head of cattle were annually slaughtered there, of the 

 average weight of 2 cwt., while in England there were 

 not half the number slaughtered, but the average 

 weight was 5 cwt. 



The French Minister, M. Rouher, at the Agricultura 

 Show at Poissy, in 1856, said that the consumption 

 of meat in Paris, which in 1846 was 1,240,000 cwts., 

 and in 1851, 1,440,000 cwts., had risen in 1856 to 

 1,680,000 cwts. The period of the last five years, as 

 compared with the preceding five years, presents an 

 increase of consumption of 24 per cent, for Paris ; and 

 the individual consumption, allowing for the increase 

 of population during the same period, has risen from 

 1301bs. to 1601bs., that is from 16 to 17 per cent. 



M. Moreau de Jonnes, in his Agricultural Statistics 

 drawn up from official documents, estimated some 

 years ago six millions of sheep as the number annu- 

 ally slaughtered in France ; 261bs. of mutton as the 

 average yield, and 160,000,0001bs. of meat as the total 

 produce. 



M. de Lavergne, another statistical writer in the 

 Revue des Deux Mondes in 1853, raised the estimate, 

 which appeared to him to be too low, to eight millions of 

 head slaughtered, which at the average of 361bs. of nett 

 meat, gives 288,000,0001bs. of mutton. 



The number of cattle maintained in France is 

 reckoned at 10,000,000 ; but although the United 

 Kingdom does not own so many by about two 

 millions, the weight of beef obtained shows our supe- 

 riority of breeding. In France, the number of cattle 

 annually slaughtered is four millions of head, pro- 

 ducing 886,000,0001bs. of meat, at the rate of 2001bs. 

 average weight per beast ; but other statistics cal- 

 culate the average weight of the animals at 2501bs. 



In the British Isles, the annual number slaughtered 

 is two millions of head ; and this M. Lav :['ip esti- 

 mates to yield a total of 1,000,000,0001b?. of n: it at 



