BELGIUM. 369 



by nearly 1,000,000 kilograms than for 1882 and most probably the same 

 for the present year. The imports of butter into Belgium for 1882 was 

 7,842,000 kilograms, valued at 28,501,648 francs, the bulk of which went 

 to Holland and France; to the former 13,697.299 francs, and to the lat- 

 ter 8,528,234. 



IMPORTS OF MEAT AND MEAT CATTLE INTO BELGIUM. 



The quantity of cattle or meat imported into Belgium for home con- 

 sumption is hard to arrive at. The tables transmitted with the present 

 for translation by the Department will be as near as can be ascertained. 

 A vast amount of the imports of beef and cattle are merely in transit 

 to some other country. The consumption of meat in Belgium is not so 

 great as in England, because of the better compensation received by 

 the English laborer, which enables him to supply his table more liber- 

 ally. Few workmen in Belgium are there that taste meat (other than 

 pork and horse flesh) more than once a year. Even the better classes do 

 not consume beef in proportion to the same classes in the United States 

 and England. During Lent and on Fridays Catholics do not eat meat, 

 and, with five millions of people, that would make a vast difference in 

 the annual consumption of an article. But for all this Belgium does 

 not produce nearly one-half enough meat for home consumption. The 

 tables inclosed will show the Department from what countries Belgium 

 makes up her deficiency. That the United States takes such an insig- 

 nificant part in the profits of this business is deplorable, and can come 

 from nothing but lack of effort on our part. Every business man knows 

 what is wanted to introduce and extend his business at home, and 

 from that he must surely be able to draw conclusions as to what he 

 must do to extend it beyond our borders. It would seem almost folly 

 to repeat a thing so simple, viz : It is only to supply a good article 

 cheaper than any one else can supply it and make it known to dealers 

 in such articles abroad by samples or otherwise. Cheapness is the thing 

 that goes further than anything else, and it is hard to hide a cheap 

 article even if we want to hide it, and therefore it is very easy to make 

 it known. 



COUNTERFEITING AMERICAN PRODUCTS. 



There are prejudices here now against our products which Americans 

 at home can destroy by continuing to prove that they supply good and 

 pure articles. They can in this way show to the people here that great 

 rulers and their ministers can descend to misrepresentation for a purpose. 

 I called personally on every important dealer here in American supplies 

 and asked him to apprize me if at any time there should be any complaint 

 against any American article that might pass through his hands. Only 

 a few days elapsed before one sent me a note saying that he would like to 

 have me call. I did so without loss of time. He said that there had been 

 complaint about some American butter that the inspector had examined 

 and pronounced it mauvais and artificial. I asked him if he had received 

 the butter direct from the United States. " No," he said, "it came from 

 a house I trade with inMastricht." On looking at the firkin that con- 

 tained the butter it had the name of a house in Newark, N. J., but I 

 could see at a glance that the printing on the label had not been done 

 in the United States. I summoned the inspector and insisted that the 

 label be torn off, which was reluctantly done. Underneath the label 

 was the Dutch brand that had been burned into the wood of the firkin, 

 H, Ex. 51 24 



