The  Meat  Industry  in  its  Relation  to  Agriculture.  139 
While,  however,  this  great  increase  from  Argentina  has  to 
be  placed  on  record,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that,  apparently 
owing  to  the  economic  changes  in  North  America,  and  par- 
ticularly in  the  United  States,  the  large  exports  of  meats  from 
that  part  of  the  world  to  the  United  Kingdom  are  gradually 
dwindling,  and  it  is  within  the  region  of  possibility  that  in  a 
few  years’  time  the  United  States  will  cease  to  export  meat  of 
any  kind,  as  it  will  all  be  required  for  home  consumption. 
New  Sources  of  Supply. 
The  general  tendency  of  the  facts  which  have  been  noted  has 
been  to  instigate  agriculturists  in  foreign  countries  to  put  them- 
selves in  a position  to  supply  meat  to  the  British  markets,  as  the 
prices  which  have  ruled,  and  are  ruling,  in  the  United  Kingdom 
are  highly  remunerative.  It  is  therefore  not  altogether  astonish- 
ing that  from  South  Africa  and  from  some  of  the  Australian 
Colonies,  which  have  hitherto  not  supplied  any  great  quantity 
of  meat  to  the  United  Kingdom,  there  are  reports  of  great 
expansion  in  freezing  works  such  as  are  necessary  to  the  proper 
carrj  ing  on  of  an  export  meat  business. 
Nearer  home,  an  interesting  development  has  taken  place 
in  Ireland,  where  works  for  the  supplying  of  meat  to  London 
and  Manchester  markets  are  in  course  of  construction.  These 
works  are  being  installed  at  Wexford  and  Drogheda,  and  have 
been  decided  upon  as  the  result  of  experiments  which  have 
shown  that  it  is  quite  possible  to  conduct  such  a dead  meat 
trade  at  prices  remunerative  to  the  Irish  promoters.  Should 
the  industry  develop  largely,  it  is  quite  evident  that  it  will  have 
a highly  beneficial  effect  in  Ireland,  but  will  seriously  injure 
the  cattle  feeding  industry  of  Great  Britain. 
Store  Cattle  Trade. 
The  conditions  of  agriculture  in  the  greater  part  of  Great 
Britain  are  such  that  it  is  difficult  for  farmers  to  breed  cattle 
for  feeding  purposes  at  a profit.  Farming  expenses  are  so  great 
that  the  industry  of  rearing  young  cattle  does  not  pay,  hence 
the  necessity  for  a store  cattle  trade  with  Ireland,  where  working 
expenses  are  so  much  less  and  the  consequent  price  of  store 
cattle  so  much  lower  than  it  can  possibly  be  in  Great  Britain. 
Such  cattle  are  exported  from  Ireland  at  the  age  of  from  six 
months  up  to  a year  or  eighteen  months,  and  they  are  distri- 
buted over  various  markets,  notably  in  the  Lowlands  of  Scotland 
and  the  North  of  England,  where  the  business  of  feeding  store 
cattle  so  purchased  is  extensively  carried  on. 
The  dimensions  of  this  industry  may  be  gauged  from  the 
fact  that  the  numbers  of  cattle  shipped  alive  out  of  Ireland, 
