9 6 THE FARMER'S OUTLOOK 



price of meat is due to special and transitory 

 causes. The drought of ign caused a falling off 

 in the sheep and cattle stock of the United King- 

 dom, and the outbreak of foot and mouth disease 

 in 1912 dislocated the meat trade. On the Con- 

 tinent the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in 

 1911 had disastrous effects. These unfortunate 

 occurrences would not of themselves have been 

 sufficient to cause a considerable rise in price, had 

 they not come at a time when imports from the 

 North American Continent had so largely fallen 

 off. 



Amongst much that is alarming to meat 

 consumers, there appear one or two considerations 

 which to some extent offset the tendency to higher 

 prices. The present high price ruling for hides, 

 included in what in England is known as the 

 " fifth quarter," reduces the net cost of the car- 

 case. In fact the high prices ruling for leather 

 should give additional weight to any well-consi- 

 dered measures taken with a view to preventing 

 the indiscriminate slaughter of young calves in 

 the United Kingdom. 1 In much the same way the 

 better price of wool should stimulate the breeding 

 of sheep. Though Co-operation is somewhat 



1 See Board of Agriculture Journal, Nov., 1912. 1 11 

 the issue of August, 191 1, a correspondent shows that 

 over one million calves are wasted yearly, almost 

 exactly the number required to produce the beef which 

 we annually import. 



