532 



farmers that on and after November 2, 1908 no cattle would be 

 bought from them without such warranty. It seems that the loss 

 to the Nottingham butchers on meat condemned by inspectors has 

 been from $1000 (5180 frs.) to $2000 (10360 frs.) a year. It is 

 understood that butchers generally throughout the country will take 

 similar action on November 2. 



This locality is particularly interested on account of the large 

 cattle market in Nottingham. Most of the beeves are bought by 

 butchers, and a boycott by them would destroy the market excep- 

 ting for cattle wanted for milk or breeding purposes. More impor- 

 tant to the public, however, would be the resultant scarcity and 

 high price of beef, at least temporarily. 



On the other hand, the farmers have organized to resist the 

 butchers' demands. They claim that a warranty would be unfair 

 to them, because tuberculosis is rarely discovered till after the 

 animal is slaughtered, and that a warranty is impracticable, because 

 the animal usually passes through several hands before reaching 

 the butcher, and a warranty could not follow it through, as iden- 

 tification would be impossible. A suggestion that the farmer could 

 protect his risk in giving a warranty by insurance on his cattle is 

 also considered impracticable on the ground of difficulty of iden- 

 tification. In a West of England district, however, a qualified form 

 of insurance has existed for many years. For each beef sold at 

 auction the auctioneer is paid sixpence (10 frs. 63 c.) or a shilling 

 (i fr. 26 c), for which he guarantees the animal to the first pur- 

 chaser, but no farther. 



Some farmers intimate that if the butchers persist in their de- 

 mand they will slaughter their own cattle and go into the meat 

 trade themselves, while expressions made at recent meetings indi- 

 cate that many farmers will quit raising beef cattle rather than 

 give the warranty. 



The butchers of this locality have been encouraged to stand 

 firm by information that in a section of the north of England far- 

 mers now warrant their cattle, paying a small sum on each head 

 sold, into a common fund from which compensation is made to 

 the purchasers in case tuberculosis is discovered. " 



R. H. REW. Dead Meat Trade. Standard Cyclopedia of Modern 

 Agriculture, ed. by R. P. Wright, vol. IV, p. 119. London 1909. 



The total quantity of dead meat annually imported into the 

 United Kingdom nearly approaches a million tons. Excluding rab- 



