528 Abstract Report of Afjricultiiral Discussions. 



supplies of pork are converted into bacon, hams, and lard for London 

 consumjition. Nay, more, the immense importations of j)igs into 

 Bristol from Ireland are slaughtered fur the same piu-pose. 



With all these objections before us, it is j^ossible, if facilities are 

 afforded, to supply London from distant localities with an adequate 

 supjdy of meat in cold weather, or say during six months of the year. 

 During the rest of the season, a live-meat market would be indis- 

 pensably necessary, or we should have an amount of loss which would 

 far exceed that sustained by the cattle plague. 



Earl Cathcakt felt very much indebted to Mr. Herbert for his 

 observations, and thought it must be satisfactory to the meeting 

 to have had the discussion opened by a man of such practical 

 knowledge, one who had written so much on the subject. It appeared 

 to him that the real question raised by Mr. Herbert was as between 

 Kve and dead meat markets. They ought not to lose sight of the 

 fact that, long before the cattle plague was thought of, the idea was 

 entertained that, in consequence of the introduction of steam and 

 railway conveyance, great alterations would take j)lace in the dead- 

 meat markets of large towns. One important point which they had to 

 consider was the great increase of the population, in conjunction with 

 the limited area of this country, and the consequent necessity for very 

 considerable importations from abroad. There were about twenty mil- 

 lions of people in England and Wales ; and the number of cattle within 

 those limits, according to the last Cattle Census, was under foiu- millions. 

 Therefore, if the cattle in this country were divided amongst the 

 population, there would be about one-fifth of an ox, or beast, for each 

 person ; so that, if we were dependent for meat upon England and 

 Wales alone, that number of beasts would not hold out for a month. 

 Hence, our great reliance was upon large imports from abroad — a 

 state of things which must tend very much to increase the dead-meat 

 markets, because it would be unsafe, owing to the existence of the 

 cattle plague on the Continent, to have foreign beasts travelling 

 thi'ough the country on our railways without a system of quarantine ; 

 and, rather than have quarantine, abattoirs would be established at 

 the ports of debarkation, where the foreign cattle might be slaughtered 

 and sent to London as dead meat. 



Mr. Herbert had spoken of ofial, and he had himself witnessed the 

 difficulty in large meat markets of transporting offal. It was packed 

 in baskets, and sent in a most disgusting state ; but he saw no reason 

 why travelling larders should not be constructed, in which the offal 

 might be hung up and be supplied with a free circulation of air, 

 so that it might arrive at its destination in fair condition. Something 

 had been said about railway charges ; and he really thought it an 

 unjust proceeding to make capital out of what was a public calamity, 

 by charging higher rates for the carriage of dead meat than for 

 live. He was willing, however, to attribute this to the possible 

 circumstance that new arrangements had not yet got into working 

 order, and he presumed that the tariff for the conveyance of dead 

 meat would be in proportion to that for live, when the thing had 

 been more fully developed. With reference to the statement that 



