130 THE WORLDS MEAT FUTURE 



I lower, with a, carrying capacity of at least live tons. Each 

 car is equipped with a complete refrigerating plant, so that 

 as the car travels it will keep meats at a low temperature for 

 export shipment. The Argentine cattle growers plan to kill 

 the cattle on their properties, dress the beef, load it in re- 

 frigerator cars, and so send it to the stores at the seaports 

 and ship it to North America and Europe. The estancia above 

 referred to, which purchased the hundred refrigerator motor 

 trucks, is 260 miles from a railroad station. Cattle have 

 hitherto been driven afoot from the property to the nearest 

 railroad station or city, and there slaughtered and trans- 

 formed into export beef. The new plan will cut out the slow 

 movement of cattle on foot, and save much time and money. 

 It will also open up new meat sources. 



The Director of Rural Economy and Statistics of Argentina 

 recently presented the following report to the Government 

 and a statistical return concerning cattle and the consumption 

 and exportation of meat for the year 1917, with comparative 

 figures for the quinquennial period 1913-1917 : — 



Total killings during 1917 were as under : — 



At Liniers slaughterhouses 



At meat freezing works, " saladeros," 

 and meat factories 



At tin- i!.'i."»«> municipal and private 

 slaughterhouses which have sup- 

 plied data . . . . 



4,028,139 3,786,187 386,324 



In order to arrive at the total killings for the whole country 

 it would be necessary to ascertain the number of animals 

 slaughtered on estancias and farms for their own meat 

 supplies, and in some small slaughterhouses of which we 

 possess no data. We endeavour, however, to arrive at this 

 total f gure by another means, viz. by taking the number of 

 hides exported and utilised in the country. During 1917, in 

 round figures, the number was 5,873,000. Compared with 

 the ascertained killings, this fgure shows a difference of 

 1.845,000, so that our statistics regarding killings comprise 

 over 68.5 per cent of the total. 



