MEAT: WHOLESALE AND RETAIL.

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1677, 5 April 1883, Page 3

MEAT: WHOLESALE AND RETAIL.

Thk buSifcWiAdi most' dheerMi place in London at fiye o'clock on such a miser; abl&ra^sinqr.ning.as that, of , yesterday (Jon, 1 d9th),< i» probably the LomlomCen^ traliMtSat' ami Poultry *nd" Provision' Markets— that liking the official descrip-' tiofl'o^.th^fine acreage oi: b\utcljngs commonly known .as Smithfuskl. The heavy fo» i.Mfhioji enwraps the, city • will not allow one, however, to dilate enthusiastically upon thMtoni of chqerf uluess. Indeed, the morning is like t tho ; succeeding day, one of London's dismallcst. But for the screatningpQf earjy morning locomotives in the neighbourhood 'of 5 railway sta^ibSf.Tii^aems to; be a;deserted city up about a, quarter-past five, when the working menDegm'to appeaf on their way to labour. Netfring l Smithfield,' however, everything is indicative of, bustle. There arc rattling traps on two and crawling vans on four wheels, all converging at various-clegrees of speed towards tne one common centre, the smart butchers's carta being driven at the rate which they may fairly claim as their own, the heavier vehicles proceeding at a pace more sedate. The coffee-stalls at the street corners are in full business, and the pavements resound with echoing footsteps. Seen dimly through the fog, the manifold lights of the market seem to indicate the whereabouts of a town, and not a series of buildings which may be traversed from end to end under cover. Countless lines of waggons, carts, and cabs are waiting outside, and have been watting, many ot them, since 4 o'clock, at which hour tho gigantic business of the gie.it meat emporium may be said to commence. The first occupation of a stray visitor ■to the avenues will be to learn how to dodge the meat porters (foaling with the earliest purchases. There is a notice ailixed to the entrance an 1 avenues stating that the dangerous practice of running with loads is strictly prohibited, and th.it the runners will be summoned. It may be that running with a load is not an offence easily dealt with by ordinary law. More probably the habit of the meat porter has necotfie second nature, and he is bound to run^|Lthc end of the chapter. The fact rerriQns that he cannot get rid of that well-known Smithfield shuffle, and that, as much as ever, lie cannons against all and sundry, not with apologetic regret, but with all his heart) especially if the obstacle in his path wears a black coa'u. "Whether this useful burclcn-beaier trots along staggering, under a side of beef, flopping, in greasy measure to his hurried tramp, or whether he be half-buried in the caivase of a sheop, it appears to be a necessity of his position to butt you unceremoniously out of the road. Having learned the art of walking circumspectly, you are able to realise at leisure the clamour, the bustle of the scene, bewildering though it may be at first. Home time will elapse before you can fully comprehend what an enormous thing it is to supply the metropolis with its daily rations of butcher's meat. Roughly speaking, thcro aie nearly 223,001 tons passed tlnough the Central Market in the course of a year. A maximum daily delivery m.iy be put down at 1,500 tons, but the daily aveiaye is 700 tons, and it is on record that the greatest weight ever brought in on any one day was 1,743 tons. The general revenue of the year 1882 will probably be less than that of ISBI. The exact figures are presented to the Corporation, through the Markets Committee, by Mr Stephens, the clerk and superintendent, as early as I ossible after tho turn of the year; but the known falling off in American supplies during last year must affect the total, even though, as we are informed, the general supply has maintained the steady increase of several years. An explanation of the decrease in American meat will probably be sought in the fact that during 1881 there was too great a supply. The large h'ims assure us that at the present moment, were it not for the Scotch and American consignments, wo should be sufFctinufrom a beef famine. The rapid giowth of the tiadc in American killed meat is remarkable. In 187 ft there'came to the rnaikefc .3,513 tons. The next year the supply bounded up to 14,000 tons. By 1878 it had i cached 19,000 tons. During 1879 it only increased by a little more than 1 ,000 tons. Then it rose to 2-3,000, and in ISSI it was 27,439 tons. The next returns will certainly reveal a considerable falling off. The Ameiican beef is still in high favour, but the mutton is considered as being below par, poor in quality, and bad in appearance. The meat from Australia and New Zealand has increased, though not to the extent that was expected after the successful experiments made with frozen meat in 1881. Fiom /565 tons in that year it rose last year to about 1,700 tons. The immense advantage predicted from cargoes of mutton and beef from the Antipodes still lies therefoie, in the future. It has been shown that the meat can be delivered in London in splendid condition. It is habitually eaten in the belief that it is homo produce. The illimitable resources) of the Australian pastures require no proof. But so far the public benefit little. It must not be lorgotten that we ha\ c as yet, in tins source of meat supply, been expeiimenting only, because, although the possibilities of a successful trade have been satisfactorily proved, the Australian producers (including New Zealand in the category) required time to form companies and establish their plans. Hence from Australia our Central Market has received no regular supply. October, for example, In ought exceptionally heavy cargoes, but there was a marked fulling off m the last two months of tho year. In these days of portentous butchers' bills and ever-increasing taxes, the householder of moderate means mny derive much useful information ftom a morning visit to the Central Market. He will probably have been told by his butcher on that occasion when he went with heavy heart to settle tho melancholy weekly account, and talk in a. friendly way over the items, that the mutton joint cost twelve, thirteen, fourteen, or even fifteen pence per pound in carcase. Wo arc, however, assured by one of the best-known Smithfield salesmen that the highest price paid during the last few months for whole sheep has been elevenpence per pound. The prices yesterday oeemcu to be about a shilling for best joints of mutton,> and about llsd per Ib. for Scotch roasting beef — the best in the market. The butcher, purchasing at this figure, has of course to consider the waste rendered necessary by the cuttings and trimmings without which his customers would be dissatisfied; and we were told by a broker, whose dealings are of the largest, that latterly , butchers have been losing by eveiy sheep bought by them. This may be mentioned as a sort of negative consolation to the 4Luelly-pinched householder. Things Sive been looking brighter during the few days. Beef, in bulk of one or wwo sides, was fetchimg at seven o'clock yesterday morning B|d per lb, and a salesman would rather sell in that manner, and at that figure, than the smaller quantities of prime roasting beef at 11-Jd. The West-end butchers, however, have no .use for the coarser parts, and they take the choice lots. Everything is done here by ' private bargain, though IreSuently the privacy would only exist in lie caselbf ( a deaf bystander. From halfpast' four,to ( five o'clock the best business is done. The butchers from the suburbs, or from the country, who are not' 'of West-end .fastidiousness as to quality arrive about six o'clock, made' their purchases sharply, and, drive off without 'deV 4ay7 On Monday, | «m.d, Tuesday, which n 'are / the busiest days, butchers come at ; all hours, on the iook-outior small lots that answer their particular purpose. We were bidden ,to notice, a West-end retail, butcher yesterday who of ten deals with thirty salesmen, and spends £1000 •pen-week at the-ma^et. This of. course n lit emphatically goov business. A thriv--jing 1 suburban butcher (meaning in market "parlafico all but West and East enters) is flipped, fo turn py^r f^om £300,

weekly, and many butchers who do what is,called a •' cutting" trade purchase to that amount per week. , .. j There artf difficulties '"innumerable 'jo; the wa# of thepfirchaleof srtiall joinW by the ordinary housekeeper at the Central Market. It is not the custom of the place, nor Jts purpose. Yet it is objected by*tnany in" the nlavket that the practice ''prgyaifc too, Jafgely. Some of ( £he salesmen's mnn are allowed to enter into trifling retail transactions, and on Saturdays there is a good deal of miscellaneous selling to private purchasers. Throngs of working people go to the market on Saturday nights to pick up what may be left, and this is a cii3tom which, objections notwithstanding, ought to be a boon to both buyer and seller. But as a rule the private purchaser soon gets tirud of going to Smithtield. The trouble is too great. He generally does not understand, what or how to buy. Bearing home his bargain he is disgusted at the undeniable proofs laid hefore him I that he has acquired an undue percentage of waste ; and lie is content to place | himself henceforth in the hands ot the ! butcher, and pay as best he may for the luxury of haring precisely what is required at a minimum of trouble, reflecting meanwhile that while there is no subject more discussed, moie vieal, than that of our meat supply, there Is none respecting which there has been so little piactical reform. — Daily Xcws.