488 Twenty Years' Changes in our Foreign Meat Stipplies. 
The slight local differences sometimes commented on between 
the specially cow-keeping and the other districts of the United 
Kingdom sink into insignificance when contrasted with the 
large cow stock of Norway, Sweden or Denmark. If we try 
how far the same features obtain elsewhere in Europe we shall 
find matters stand thus : — 
Count) ies. 
Total number 
of Cattle. 
Of which Cows. 
Percentage 
of Cows. 
Holland 
Franco 
Germany 
Switzerland 
Italy 
(000 omitted.) 
1,471: 
i,as3 
13,105 
15,780 
1,212 
8,584 
4,783 
(000 omitted.) 
870 
790 
6,414 
9,087 
0G2 
4,139 
1,805 
7 
57-6 
48-9 
57-5 
54-6 
48-2 
39-0 
Thus every State, for which the distinction can be shown 
from the latest returns, already exceeds largely the United 
Kingdom in the proportion of cows, Italy alone falling nearly 
as low on the scale. The German Empire, with half as many 
more cattle than we have, has, it seems, nearly five times as many 
cows. Since the future possibilities of larger exports depend on 
the natural process of increasing the annual production by 
keeping more cows, there is clearly some presumption that no 
margin for extension here remains. Our experience here would 
tend to show that the Continental farmer has his maximum 
breeding stock now. But do not these facts suggest that we 
could profitably increase our own proportion of cows? 
Again, it would be quite worth while to enquire to what 
extent the ratios of the meat consumption of the several 
nations vary. It is difficult to find reliable figures. The 
Commissioner of Agriculture in the United States, in his 
speech to the Cattle Convention of 1885 at Chicago, after 
accepting the 109 lb. I have spoken of as representing our own 
annual consumption of meat here in all its forms, and claiming 
for his own country (I am disposed to think not unreasonably) 
as much as 150 lb. per head, asserts that no European country 
other than Great Britain consumes more than 76 lb. per head 
of butcher' s-meat. To Denmark he allots that figure, refusing 
to France more than 70 lb., or to Belgium more than 74 lb. ; 
Germany he takes as consuming G6 lb. per head, and Austria 
53 lb. ; but to Holland, Spain, Portugal and Russia he will 
only allow an annual ratio 5 lb. or 6 lb. short of the latter 
figure; while Italy is placed as low as a consumer of 18 lb. of 
meat only per head per annum. 
