for the year 1871. xlv 



eminently fitted for producing a large supply of flesh food 

 beyond their home requirements ; and on the other, to the 

 more densely-populated countries where such food is not only 

 scarce and dear, but where also cattle appear to be unusually 

 liable to disease and deterioration. The Australian preserved 

 meats are rapidly growing in favour in Europe. Although 

 at first they met with a cautious reception and frequent 

 unfavourable comparisons, samples of these recently returned 

 to the colony by our agent-general, along with samples of 

 the best dockyard preserved meats, were opened and tried 

 here, and were ascertained by impartial judges to be mark- 

 edly superior to dockyard samples. The verdict in England, 

 however, was the other way. 



It ought to be explained that the judges in Melbourne did 

 not know which were Australian and which were dockyard 

 samples until after their decision had been arrived at and 

 announced ; while at the dockyard trials the circumstances 

 were difierent in this respect, the judges deciding upon 

 samples of known origin. The preservation of meat promises 

 to become one of the largest industries in Victoria, and 

 although prices in Europe have declined since the war, 

 there can be no doubt of the ultimate prosperity and extent 

 of the enterprise as long as the manufacturers maintain 

 the reputation they have already achieved. 



While on this subject, I might mention that in October, 

 1857, Mr. Sizar Elliott read a paper before this Society 

 on the preservation of animal substances, and opened 

 a tin of meat which had been put up 10 years 

 previously. The contents were declared by those present 

 to be of excellent quality ; and it appears Mr. Elliott had 

 carried on the preservation of meat on a commercial 

 scale in New South Wales as early as 1846 and 1847, 

 and we see his name mentioned on several occasions as 

 having obtained first-class medals for his preserved beef. 



