and the Cattle Census. 403 



and pigs, as so mucli food for the people. . We know that, practically, 

 a great number of these animals do not at once find their way to the 

 butcher; that a large number are taken into different parts of the 

 country, where they are fed as store stock, and afterwards they come 

 in as food. "We also obtain from Ireland a considerable sujiply of 

 cattle ; and w-e must, therefore, in the retiu-ns of our stock, take care 

 not to confound the quantities that are sent from Ireland with that 

 which we produce in England. It seems also to me that as there 

 would, perhaps, be little or no difficulty in ascertaining these facts, as 

 far as they arc applicable to Ireland and the Continent in general, it 

 would be only right for us to take the same care with reference 

 to Scotland, because in some parts of the country store stock is 

 introduced from Scotland, and fed, and not produced within this 

 country. There should be some machinery in operation for the 

 purpose of ascertaining all the imports that have taken place into 

 this country, in order to guard against any duplicate returns, or 

 rather, I should say, false returns, that might be made as to the 



number of store stock and the fat cattle 



" It is well known that if we look to the Continent of Europe we 

 not only get retui'ns of the qiiantity of stock in a given country, 

 but we also have returns as to the state of health of that particular 



stock At the in'esent time there exists in this country, and 



has existed for many years, a most destructive epizootic disease, 

 which has raged on the Continent, and also to a considerable extent 

 in Ireland; and we not only do not know anything of the losses 

 which the country sustains in consequence of the prevalence of that 

 disease, but we are at a loss to imderstand the location of the disease. 

 Now I think every gentleman will admit that this is not such a state 

 of things as ought to be permitted to exist in a country like England. 

 On the contrary, if I turn to France, or Belgium, or Austria, or any 

 part of the Continent of Europe, I find there are retui-ns made fi'om 

 each department of the number of animals affected w'ith any disease, 

 the number of deaths that take place from such affections ; and in any 

 measure which might be recommended for general adoption by this 

 country, I think we should not lose sight of this particular part of the 

 question. The losses are sometimes very frightful. We have all 

 heard of the great increase in the price of provisions, in consequence 

 of the scarcity and the increased value of agricultural produce ; that 

 meat has risen considerably in price. Every one knows that there 

 have been many causes in operation for that, and among them the 



great destruction of some of the crops of last year This 



has had a considerable influence upon the value of the stock. 

 There is also another cause, and that is the cause I have alluded to, 

 namely, the ini'oads of epizootic disease among the animals, and the 

 great number that have been destroyed by it. I will only take 

 one instance, which was brought to my knowledge through the kind-, 

 ness of Lord Berners, in his o-wn district of Leicestershire, where the 

 mortality among the sheep has amounted to something like 50 per 

 cent, of young sheej) this year, not including the lambs of this year." * 



* Int. Stat. Congress Report, p. 315, 



