Report on the Trade in Animah. 
237 
already fitted with blast-ventilators. I never had the good 
fortune to secure a passage on board one of these boats, but 
1 witnessed the unloading of a cargo of Bremen cattle at Hull 
from a steamboat thus fitted belonging to the latter company, 
and was so struck with their cool and fresh appearance that 
I examined the vessel. The good condition of the cattle was, 
doubtless, due to the action of the machine ventilator, as I could 
find no other distinctive feature in the steamboat. These cattle 
presented to my mind a great contrast with those usually landed 
at Bristol and Liverpool, which have the steaming coat anil the 
tottering gait characteristic of a cargo of Irish beasts after a 
voyage of less than half the length of that from Bremen to Hull. 
The passage from Bremen, or Hamburg, to Hull, is said to 
occupy thirty-six hours, and in fair weather it ma}' be done in 
that time ; but I have been three nights and two days in a 
cattle boat from Hamburg to Hull, and occasionally the passage 
takes even longer. It is obvious that if cattle are to be landed 
in even tolerable, not to say superior, condition after a sea 
voyage of that duration, they must be supplied with a fair 
<juantity of fresh air as well as food, and must be allowed suffi- 
cient room to lie down. The practice of different companies 
varies somewhat in detail, but the principle is the same. On 
the steamer in which I travelled from Hamburg the fore-hold 
was reserved for cattle ; there was no machine-ventilator, but 
there were two downcast windsails forward, and two upcasts 
abaft the hatchway, which was also used for ventilating pur- 
poses. The floor of the hold had a thick layer of sand, partly 
for ballast, and partly to soak up the liquid excretions. The 
beasts were allowed sufficient room to lie down, and were fed 
twice a day by the crew, who received 'id. per head of cattle, 
divided between them, for performing this duty. I was informed 
that cattle will rarely eat the first day that they are at sea, but 
that afterwards they eat very well, though they drink little or 
nothing. After discharging the cattle, the sand and manure are 
taken out, the hold is washed with water, and then strewed w"ith 
chloride of lime. The Harlingen merchants prefer to send their 
own drovers to feed and look after their cattle, and they use 
sawdust instead of sand for litter. 
So far as I have been able to observe, it has seemed that the 
longer the average duration of the passage, the better the cattle 
are cared for, and the better do they appear when landed. This 
fact was forcibly illustrated at Harwich on one occasion when I 
had travelled from Rotterdam with a very full boat-load of 
cattle, sheep, and dead meat. The average length of the journey 
is from 12 to 14 hours, but, on this occasion, an adverse gale of 
wind had extended it to 28, of which 17 were spent at sea 
R 2 
