been foreseen, no preparation for it had been made." 1 It was es- 

 timated that 250,000 cattle died from exposure on the range during 

 that winter. During the following season only about 300,000 head 

 were driven north; but in 1873 the trade revived because of in- 

 creased demand, and approximately 450,000 Texas cattle were 

 driven into Kansas. Gradually the practice of taking southwestern 

 cattle to the northern ranges of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana 

 increased, and continued during the 70' s and 8o's. In 1884 it was 

 estimated that 415,000 head were trailed over this route. Follow- 

 ing that date, railroads developed more rapidly and carried a large 

 proportion of the cattle to northern pastures, and by 1890 the old 

 trails were abandoned. 



Along with better facilities for shipping live cattle came im- 

 proved methods for transporting dressed beef and beef products. 

 The invention of the refrigerator car in 1868 made it possible to 

 slaughter cattle in the West and ship the dressed beef to the large 

 eastern cities and to Europe. Thus the fresh-meat trade extended 

 over the summer season as well as the four cold months to which it 

 had been previously confined. This invention greatly reduced the cost 

 of transportation besides making it possible for the packers to oper- 

 ate thruout the entire year. For example, from Chicago to New York 

 in 1908 the freight and other expenses of the road on an export 

 steer of average weight (1250 pounds) varied from $4 to $4.40, 

 while the freight on the carcass of the same animal (700 pounds) 

 was only $3.15, not including the expense of icing. From Kansas 

 City to New York the difference between live and dead freight was 

 still greater, amounting possibly to $2.25 or $2.50 per head. The 

 total cost of shipping a live steer from Chicago to Liverpool, in- 

 cluding freight, feed, and attendance is estimated to have been 

 $13.60 to $16.70, or considerably more than double the cost of ship- 

 ping the average weight of fresh beef yielded by the animaL 2 



Fresh beef was first shipped in a refrigerator car from Chicago 

 to Boston in September, 1869, but it was not until 1875 that this sys- 

 tem became well developed. About the same time, the tin car was 

 introduced into the meat-packing industry and it contributed still 

 further to the successful shipment of beef products to markets in 

 distant parts of the world. The utilization of previously wasted 

 by-products for the manufacture of valuable products also began to 

 receive close attention. These factors, together with the settlement 

 and extension of the cattle-producing* regions of the West, the build- 

 ing of railroads, and the development of agriculture and industry 

 in general, combined to mark the most important turning point in 

 the annals of American beef production. 



IB. O. Cowan, Breeder's Gazette, Jan. 22, 1913, p. 193, 

 2U. S. Dept. of Agr., Yearbook 1908, p. 243. 



