1 Jury, 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 69 
they are manifestly largely gelatinous, with starchy and vegetable matters added, 
together with a small amount of extract. It is also to be borne in mind that a 
very dark extract is not necessarily a strong one, as the deep colour may be 
due to vegetable colouring matter. The keeping properties of extract are 
valuable, and the absence of the albumen has much to do with this charac- 
teristic. 
There is a meat fluid made which consists of lean meat chemically treated 
with acid and peptone, by which all the fibrin, albumen, and gelatine are 
rendered soluble after being digested in water at a temperature of 100 degrees 
Fahr. It is treated with other chemicals to remove the bitter taste, and then 
evaporated, and as such represents certainly all the lean meat. But for 
manufacture on a large scale,and froma commercial standpoint the “extractum 
carnis” is a more profitable undertaking, in that its manufacture is simple, 
easily conducted in large bulk, and no somewhat risky chemical treatment is 
needed for its production. On a large scale, too, this condensed solution of 
beef would, I imagine, be an expensive product; “extractum carnis” can be 
made cheaply and well, and has a big market ready for it. 
I think it only proper to refer to Brand and Company, who rank amongst 
the first producers of concentrated meats in this country. This house was 
founded in 1885 by a Mr. Brand, who had for many years been a cook in the 
kitchen of King George lV. Mr. Brand commenced business upon a modest 
scale in Little Stanhope street, and the goods he made a specialty of at first 
were chiefly patés and edible delicacies of varied kinds, supplied to an aristo- 
cratic clientele. The business continued thus until 1845, when the concern was 
disposed of to a Mr. Withall, who carried it on upon the old lines until 1861. 
In that year his friend, Dr. Druitt, urged him to endeavour to perfect and 
introduce to the medical profession some form of nutriment that patients 
might take in lien of medical stimulants, and which should embody the large 
amount of invigorative power in a small compass. Experiments were under- 
taken, and the result was the introduction of what is now known as “ Brand’s 
Essence of Beef.’ This preparation has from that time to the present day 
enjoyed an increasing sale, and Dr. Druitt was its first introducer to the faculty, 
he bringing it before the Obstetrical Society of London in May, 1861. The 
“Essence of Beef” and the ‘ Concentrated Beef Tea” formed a nucleus 
around which other specialties have since been gathered, and from that time 
onward the house has progressed upon its new basis with remarkable success, 
playing a most important part in the production of special articles of diet for 
invalid use. In 1878, Mr. Withall transferred the business to its present 
proprietors, Messrs. ‘Thomas Deuce and John James Mason, the latter of whom 
had for many years been the superintendent of the culinary department. 
T will deal now with the stock statistics of Queensland and New South 
Wales. We have no figures relating to the import of extract of meat. It is 
lumped together with ‘‘meat preserved otherwise than by salting,’ in the 
Board of Trade returns, and this country pays a bill of £2,000,000 per annum 
under that head. It is not likely that the trade frem the United States will 
greatly develop, its vast trade in cattle and beef being the line which is more 
suitable. We paid the United States of America and Canada nearly 
£10,000,000 for live cattle last year, besides £4,609,000 to the former for fresh 
beef. The trend in Argentina, too, seems to be towards live cattle and fresh 
beef export. It is to be noticed, too, that there has recently been a considerable 
advance in the value of stock in the United States of America, and this 
concurrently with an increase in number. Let us not forget America’s vast 
resources—in Texas alone there are 1,000,000 more cattle than in the whole of 
England, and a cow there is only worth from £3 12s. to £4, other cattle being 
valued at under £3. In Australasia, in 1895, there were, roughly, 12,000,000 
cattle, nearly 7,000,000 of these being in Queensland and 2,250,000 in New South 
Wales. New Zealand carries over 1,000,000 head, and is increasing her 
herds rapidly, possessing as she does immunity from disease. For the 
United States of America, 50,000,000 is a moderate estimate ; and Argentina 
