142 American Catth MarTieis and the Dressed Beef Tmde. 
of the Ccattle sold in the Chicago market reach the consumer may 
now be attempted. 
Years ago, when the writer used to live at Berwick-on- 
Tweed, he saw the dressed meat business carried on in a small 
way at that place. A large local dealer used to kill from 500 to 
1,500 sheep a week, and send them up to London for sale in the 
Metropolitan Meat ]\[arket. Handling even this small amount 
of stock was looked upon as quite a big business in that neigh- 
bourhood ; but when we think that some of the large slaughter- 
ing-houses in Chicago put through three to four thousand cattle 
a day, the little wholesale butchering place at the old border- 
town becomes a pigmy in compai'ison. 
The dressed beef business in America was founded some 
twenty years ago. A few years later the work was taken up by 
the late Mr. George H. Hammond, of Detroit, who may be termed 
the father of this business. He was a man of fine executive 
ability, and he built up through his energies a magnificent trade. 
He died, unfortunately, just when he had reached the zenith of 
his powers. Other parties took up the business, and it has gradu- 
ally grown (figuratively speaking) from a grain of mustard-seed 
to a very large tree. Mr. T. Eastman, one of the largest live-stock 
shippers in America, branched off into this trade ; Mr. Nelson 
Morris, well known to every cattle-man both at home and abroad, 
also took a hand ; in 1880 Mr. G. F. Swift began upon a most 
extensive scale ; while two years later Messrs. Armour & Co. 
also commenced the business. We have now in Chicago four 
immense concerns — viz. Swift & Co., Armour & Co., Hammond 
& Co., and Nelson Morris & Co. These firms, along with Libby, 
McNeill & Libby, buy a very large proportion of the cattle 
coming into our market. As facts speak for themselves, we took 
the liberty of propounding a series of questions to the various 
parties, and herewith we give the result : — 
1. Number of cattle killed during 1888 ? 
Answers: 815,031. Armour, im,WQ). Hammond, 283,8Qi. 
2. Number of cattle slaughtered for dressed beef during 1888 ? 
Answers : S^vift, 678,896. Armour, 290,000. Hammond, 283,894. 
3. Number of cattle slaughtered for canners during 1888 ? 
Answers : Sxoift, 136,135. Armour, 190,000. Hammond, None. 
4. Number of buyers employed ? 
Answers : Swift, 10 to 12. Armour, 7. Hammond, 7 to 9. 
5. Number of men employed ? 
Answers: Swift, About 4,000. Armour, 5,000; this also includes 
men employed on pork-packing : probably 3,000 would cover beef 
employes. Hammond, About 900. 
6. Some details as to wages and salaries paid ? 
Answers: Sv-ift, Varies from ^1.50 to ^4.50 per day, according to 
skill of labourers ; only the very highest class of skilled labourers 
