CATTLE AUD DAIRY FARMING. 13 



The figures in this statement show that there are over 3,000,000 more 

 horned cattle in the six countries given, with a population of about 

 76,000,000, than there are in the principal countries of Europe practi- 

 cally the entire continent heretofore given, with a population of 

 324,000,000. 



In regard to the vast herds of cattle in the Argentine Eepublic, Uru- 

 guay, and Brazil, it may bo said, as a rule, that they are at present only 

 valuable for their hides, horns, tallow, &c., very large numbers not 

 being available even for these products, owing to their distance from 

 the seaboard and the lack of transportation facilities. A striking illus- 

 tration of these conditions is given by the consul-general at Eio de 

 Janeiro, who reports that, notwithstanding the 20,000,000 head of cattle 

 in the Empire, 54,000,000 pounds of dried beef were imported into that 

 city (during the year in which his report was written) from Uruguay 

 and the Argentine Eepublic. The conditions which prevail in the Ar- 

 gentine Eepublic are not much better than those which prevail in Brazil, 

 Consul Baker reporting that, with its 12,000,000 cattle, neither milk, 

 butter, nor cheese is produced in the country, and that the beef is of 

 execrable quality. 



Cattle in the Argentine Eepublic and in Uruguay are bred and 

 slaughtered almost wholly for their hides, the exports of which num- 

 bered 1,910,218 for the Argentine Eepublic alone in 1883. 



With the increasing demand for beef in Europe, it cannot be very 

 long before the waste beef of South America will be more or less util- 

 ized in that direction. The capitalists of Europe, it appears, are already 

 contemplating the import of fresh meats from the Argentine Eepublic, 

 for our consul at Mayence, in a report dated September 1, 1885, trans- 

 mits the following clipping from a leading German trade journal : 



FRESH-MEAT TRADE WITH ARGENTINE. 



The proposal to establish a company to carry on the importation of fresh moat from 

 Argentine is being taken up in various quarters. Hamburg is to be the chief Euro- 

 pean depot, and 3,000,000 marks (about $700,000) are proposed as the capital. It is 

 contended that there is a great opening in Germany for a concern which will provide 

 cheap food, and especially flesh, for the people. The La Plata states, and Argentine 

 particularly, are especially eligible for the supply of stock on a large scale. A begin- 

 ning is to be made with mutton. In the Argentine Eepublic alone the flocks of sheep 

 number 80,000,000 head. The meat will bo brought in cold apartments, the ma- 

 chinery for the Argentine refrigerating establishment being obtained in Germany. 

 German refrigerating machines have proved their efficiency. Recently Herr A. Neii- 

 bccker, engineer, of Offenbach, made experiments attaining 15 of cold, and after 

 six weeks the object still showed 8, while for the transport by ship 1 is sufficient. 



The consul, in transmitting this " news item," pertinently asks why 

 our people cannot supply some of this " cheap food, especially flesh, for 

 which there is said to be a great opening in Germany." 



During the year 1884 we exported over 120,000,000 pounds of frcsli 

 beef, of which 115,000,000 pounds went to the United Kingdom, and 

 not a single pound to any other country in Europe. This would seem 

 to imply either one or all of three points, viz, that our exporters have 

 overlooked the German market, that our beef is too dear for that mar- 

 ket, or that there is no " great opening " in that market for foreign fresh 

 beef. The second would seem to be the true point, else why should a 

 syndicate be formed for experimenting in Argentine beef, while Amer- 

 ican beef, beyond the experimental phase, is within easy reach. 



In regard to Australasia, noted for its valuable breeds of cattle, as 

 well as for its intelligent cattle-breeding, it maybe said to hnvo passed 

 the experimental stage in its exports of fresh beef to the United King- 



