1 26 American Cattle MarTcets and the Dressed Beef Trade. 
West was a mighty country from whose latent soil there could 
be extracted thousaiids of dollars where one would come from 
the bowels of the earth. Like the old farmer digging round all 
his apple trees in hopes of finding a pot of gold, the American 
people in their wild rush for the precious metal had discovered, 
as it were, a new continent. The silent wealth of ages was to 
be dormant no longer. The rich black soil of the prairie was 
to send forth its liches in the shape of wheat and Indian corn, 
in beef and pork, and in every other product known to agri- 
culture. Gold was the goal ; but in reaching it a mine of 
practically inexhaustible wealth was opened, and not only the 
Americans themselves, but countless immigrants, are ploughing 
up its treasures to-day. Following the discovery of the Colorado 
gold and silver mines came the War. The work of Western 
immigration was practically stopped, and for four long years 
little progress was made. When Richmond fell, however, and 
the sword was laid aside for the ploughshare, there commenced 
that settlement of the West which has changed to a great 
extent the agriculture of the world, and in whose centre have 
been located markets for grain and stock of unparalleled magni- 
tude. The history of the American cattle business, aside from 
a mere local industry, commences with the close of the War. 
Shortly after that time the markets which control the supply 
came into existence, and have yearly been growing in import- 
ance. 
The process of centralisation has been gradually increasing, 
and, so far as we can see, it is bound to keep moving in the same 
direction. The tendency of the age is to concentrate and 
create great markets at certain points, and in no instance has 
this fact been more clearly exemplified than in connection with 
the American beef trade. Before, however, taking up in detail 
our great market centres, it will be well to glean from the 
Government returns (which are as nearly correct as it is possi- 
ble to get figures of this kind) the numbers of cattle, their 
average price and values, in the different States and Territories 
comprised in the Union. Those figures and values refer to the 
year 1887, the latest official information obtainable. 
From a perusal of the Table on page 127 it will be noticed that 
the Eastern States are distinctly dairy States ; that in the South 
the numbers of the dairy and beef breeds are pretty equally 
divided ; while the West has a strong preponderance of strictly 
beef cattle. The further West, the stronger is the tendency to run 
to the latter class. Where a country is closely settled there are 
bound to be more milch cows, and thus the above returns show 
that the march of empire, so far as beef is concerned, is toward 
