208 Gruii'th and Bevelopment of the Trade in Frozen Mutton. 
Six pounds out of every seven of foreign fresh mutton eaten 
in England now come from these two last-named countries alone 
— countries which a writer on the prospects of the trade only 
six years ago would have hardly taken into account at all. 
Sudden changes such as these urge caution in any conclusions 
based even on the figures that are now recorded. The follow- 
ing Table will, however, show at least the leading countries 
whence fresh mutton has actually reached us throughout these 
seven years, and it will enable us to mark the striking changes 
in the source of our supplies. I give the quantities here in 
cwts. for closer comparison, and to lighten the figure reading 
I omit " 000 " in each case, quoting for thousands only : — 
Countries op Origin op Fresh Mutton. 
(" 000 " omitted.) 
Year 
Holland 
United 
States 
Australia 
New 
Zealand 
Argentine 
Other 
countries 
Total 
cwts. 
cwts. 
cwts. 
cwts. 
cwts. ■ 
cwts. 
cwts. 
1882 
123 
29 
31 
6 
189 
1883 
83 
41 
31 
72 
4 
5 
236 
1884 
116 
32 
61 
241 
40 
13 
503 
1885 
81 
33 
54 
284 
112 
9 
573 
1886 
52 
6 
38 
347 
190 
20 
653 
1887 
64 
2 
43 
396 
251 
27 
783 
1888 
88 
1 
44 
499 
353 
4 
989 
This table will show the annual dimensions of the true factors 
in this growing trade, and their relative importance is thus 
made evident. 
When once we have the facts presented to the eye as in 
the above table, we see that the general term Australian mutton, 
applied colloquially to the frozen flocks which have multiplied so 
rapidly of late years in our markets, is, in its strict sense, an 
entire and absolute misnomer. The purely Australian section, 
which comes from the two colonies of Victoria and New South 
Wales, has varied little — or rather, after moderately expanding, it 
again contracted. The United States' supply has been of no par- 
ticular moment at any time, and is of no account at all at present. 
The Dutch supply is one of fresh, not frozen carcasses, and is 
fluctuating in amount. Consequently it is to the colony of New 
Zealand and to the Argentine Republic alone that the practical 
development of the frozen trade must be ascribed. 
There have been, it is true, some spasmodic but unsustained 
importations from special countries, unnamed above, which have 
altered the yearly volume of supplies in the " other countries" 
column. Some of these, perhaps, deserve a passing notice before 
