Report on the American and Canadian Meat Trade. 325 
disparity leaves ample margin to the New York shippers for a 
substantial profit. 
The prices current at the various great markets in the States 
seem to bear a pretty constant relation to each other ; the dif- 
ferences being caused by the varying freights from west to east, 
according to the distance to be travelled, and from causes which 
.are accidental and local — such as a sudden excess or diminution 
of receipts, — which are soon equalised again by shipments fol- 
lowing. The following prices are for actual sales transacted at 
the places mentioned on February 14th, viz. : — 
Wholesale per 100 lb. (live weight). 
Retail, 
per lb. 
Choice Beeves, 
1400 to 1550 lbs. 
Fair Beeves. 
1100 to 1300 lbs. 
Dollars. 
5-30 to 5-50 
Dollars. 
4-40 to 4-85 
Cents. 
11 to 15 
5-50 ,, 6-00 
4-80 ,, 5-25 
12 ,, 1G 
None sold 
4-871 „ 5-00 
10 15 
*ll-25 to 11-75 
10-00 ,,11-00 
16 , , 28 
G-37£ ,, 6-75 
6-00 ,, 6-25 
12 , , 28 
None sold 
5 25 ,, 5-75 
12 , , 25 
* Price for estimated dressed weight, 58 lbs. to 56 lbs. per 100 lbs. 
From the best information I can obtain it appears tolerably- 
clear that, whilst prices of flesh-meat have for some years been 
advancing in England, in America they have been declining. 
Mr. L. F. Allen, Editor of the ' American Shorthorn Herd- 
Book,' informs me, in a letter dated April 16th of the present 
year, that " beef is now about 15 per cent, less in price than two 
years ago." The depression in trade, no doubt, has largely con- 
tributed to this ; but the great and rapid increase of cattle up to 
the year 1870, by which the supply had outgrown the demand, 
contributed still more to it. Notwithstanding these things, 
however, there has been all along, and still is, a greater dis- 
parity between the prices of fat cattle in bulk and the retail 
prices of meat, than any recognised canon of trade I am ac- 
quainted with can explain. 
The retail prices given in the margin of the foregoing list 
show that the butchers — to use the language of an American 
correspondent — " seem to have a grip on their customers, and 
squeeze them unmercifully and unreasonably, especially in the 
eastern cities." They are, therefore, no criterion to the whole- 
sale prices, and they cannot have much influence over the export 
trade, nor it over them ; and they need not enter into any cal- 
