The  Meat  Industry  in  its  Relation  to  Agriculture.  137 
Analysis  of  Supplies,  1910. 
Source  of  supply 
Beef 
and 
veal 
Mutton 
and 
lamb 
Pork 
Poultry. 
game, 
rabbits 
Totals 
Ratio 
per 
cent. 
Tons 
Tons 
Tons 
Tons 
Tons 
The  United  Kingdom  . 
40,241 
33,715 
8,520 
12,021 
94,497 
225 
Australasia  . 
Canada  and  United 
20,434 
80,828 
191 
4 279 
105,732 
25'2 
States 
43,096 
67 
136 
304 
44.203 
10-5 
South  America 
Holland  and  other 
100,830 
21,457 
5 
53 
122,345 
29-2 
countries  . 
10,920 
9,300 
22,555 
9,998 
52,773 
126 
216,121 
145,367 
31,407 
26.655 
419,550 
100-0 
These  figures  indicate  that  only  22  5 per  cent,  of  the  total 
supplies  are  derived  from  the  United  Kingdom.  This  is  the 
lowest  figure  on  record,  and  it  is  quite  in  conformity  with 
the  gradual  decline  in  the  supply  of  British  meats  to  the 
Metropolitan  area  of  London,  which  has  been  taking  place 
during  the  last  thirty  years.  In  fact  it  would  appear  that 
at  the  present  day,  four  out  of  every  five  tons  of  meat  dealt 
with  at  Smithfield  Markets  are  imported.  It  would  therefore 
seem,  from  the  evidence  of  these  actual  figures,  that  the  British 
stock  producer  is  gradually  being  eliminated  so  far  as  our 
principal  market  is  concerned. 
The  general  relationship,  however,  existing  between  the 
imported  meats  and  the  home  supply  which  maintains  at 
Smithfield  Market,  is  not  borne  out  throughout  the  United 
Kingdom,  as  may  be  gleaned  from  the  brief  summary,  on  page 
138,  of  the  figures  for  beef,  mutton,  and  lamb,  showing  the  total 
estimated  weight  available  for  consumption  in  the  United 
Kingdom  during  the  last  three  years.1 
These  figures  show  the  enormous  extent  to  which  we  have 
carried  the  importation  of  foreign  meats,  and  it  is  quite  evident 
that,  so  far  as  can  be  at  present  seen,  such  supplies  are  likely  to 
be  largely  increased,  notably  from  Argentina. 
Argentina. 
In  the  early  history  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  it  is  recorded 
that  the  first  prize  sheep  imported  to  that  country  was  a South- 
down,  which  was  sent  out  there  in  1825.  In  1844  the  first 
Shorthorn  bull  was  taken  out,  and,  working  from  these  small 
beginnings,  the  first  shipment  of  frozen  meat  was  sent  from 
Argentina  to  England  in  1873. 
At  the  present  day  the  quantities  of  meat  products  coming 
from  that  country  are  simply  enormous,  72  per  cent,  of 
1 Weddel  & Coy’s  Review  for  1910. 
