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prices ruling here as a consequence of the abundance of low priced refrigerated
beef from Argentina, and (c) the badness of the season in Canada, "which caused
the imports therefrom to be few in number and indifferent in quality, as
compared with previous years. Of sheep imported alive, the number was
small, while the quality left much to be desired ; in this connection, when
it is considered that Argentine sheep are regularly shipped to Antwerp,
slaughtered there, and then carcases, skins, fat, &c., sent on here, one cannot
help wondering what is saved by the process ; the splendid sheep market at
Deptford, probably the best in the kingdom, stands nearly idle, there they
would come under the supervision of the officers of the Corporation, and
would be prepared by British labour for consumption by the British public.
(e).—Beef is brought in refrigerating chambers (a) from the United States,
chiefly Chicago, (b) from Argentina. The first has been coming to this
country for more than 30 years, and has got to be looked upon as quite a
standard article on the British Market ; it is for the most part excellent beef,
the length of time it has passed in the cold chamber has been just enough
to make it ready for cooking; it has, for the last two years or so, had to face a
very keen competition from the Argentine article, and some of the importers
have made the mistake of thinking that competition was a question only of
price, they have therefore shipped an inferior article for which they were prepared
to take a low price, and so have, to some extent, sacrificed the reputation
of their own meat; others have continued to send the best they could get, and
now find themselves standing on a different level. The condition of this beef
has been almost invariably good throughout the year, and the quality furnishes
little room for comment beyond the remark made above. Argentine
refrigerated beef is the object to which all eyes are turned, because
probably the development of this trade contains the secret of the beef supply
of England for many years to come. Taken generally, the meat has been
more carefully handled, and the arrival of supplies better timed, than
previously, but much of it has been poorly selected, badly prepared for
slaughter, and not well handled on its arrival here ; this last is owing to the
fact that most of the importers being people who have been engaged in the
frozen meat trade, have taken for granted that like it, refrigerated meat
could be dallied with indefinitely, whereas the three weeks or so occupied on
the journey is about the utmost it will stand, and it should, on its arrival
here, be brought into consumption as quickly as possible. However, one of
the largest works has just passed into the hands of a Chicago firm, and
however undesirable that may be from a British point of view, there is no
doubt it will lead to the meat being more rapidly placed in the hands of the
consumer.
Another matter which may possibly have a bearing on this branch of the
trade is the introduction of the Linley system of preserving beef in sterilized
air. The s.s. "Guardiana" was specially fitted up for this system, and
landed her beef here in excellent condition. It would be unsafe to generalise