Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1857-07-18

THE METROPOLITAN CATTLE MARKET.
1rnm nlcknnk nou.ehald Wont

One dry cold moonlight morning, at the special
suggestion OF my friend and fellow member OF the
Social Agronomicals, Tom Ashtick,-Tom being a
real farmer grazicr, 90 !, only an honorary memher
Of the said Association, ! took my place in the
North London Railway for Copenhagen Fields, in
company with n fair load OF other passengers we'll
clad in somewhat greasy garments, with blue
aprons which however they wore, rs it in the
way of business. Their unbrushod clothes ny no
means Tailed with the neat precision Of their con
Versation in a word, my foilow-traycllers were
London butchers, who, from constant conversation
with lady customers, acquire a certain conversa-
tional refinement, and, from the hurry Of their oc-
cupation, a certain curt, condensed, authoritative
style Of dictation. Our station was the Ualedoniar
Road, a stones throw from the greatest meat
market in the world.
Now a-days we go every where by railway; we
generally go away by railway, after being married.
and sometimes even to DO buried, When we
reached our hating place, the last groves had taken
their appointed places; the noedful dog.barkiug
and man-shouting had ceased and we walked
through Il broad road, along which a few score o
untaxed suburban butchers carts, generally car
rying six inside, were furiously careering toward
tho square Of thirty acres which has superseded
old Smithfeld.
As VIC enter tho gate, ] cannot help wondering
why the architect, who we'll planned this Roya
Exchange of Live Stock, did not take British
breeds for his-orpamental types. Tie mild Shor
Horn and the savage Highlander tho obese Leices
ter, add the lively, succulent Shutdown, instead
of the Roman bulls and Spanish merinoes whiel
now crown the gate pillars.
In the market square,in parable. lines or streets
diyergiRG from q central clock tower (f any point
can BIO the centre Of a square) thousands of fat
cattle are ranged, each tied by the head to q rail,
which forms one side Of n narrow lane. There
are thirteen thousand feet Of these rails. Thus
these broad streets bordered by tails and living
legs. destined, when dead, for soup where the
statesmen stand, ash-stick in hand, and receive
their customers, who stroll up and down, pricing,
bargaining, and finally buying; and there are
narrow lanes, bordered on each side by horned or
polled heads, meekly awaiting their doom these
lanes being useful as afording views Of the fore
quarters Of the cattle, and providing convenient
thoroughfares through the market. One side OF
the square, divided by the clock and an avenue, is
devoted - beasts the other to one thousand eight
hundred sheep.pens, and pigpens, with a special
elevated rooted platform for calyes-at this par
ticular time Of year chiefly occupied by sheep
dogs, resting from their drover duties.
The clock-tower, c%ontrived a double or say"treble
debt to pay" contains on its basement the Cattle
Banks, institutions peculiar to the London butcher
trade; q druggists shop, equally provided with
indictments for man and beast, distinguished from
all ordinary druggists by barrels of red ruddle, for
the supply Of sheep-purchasing customers and a
retail warehouse Of warm jackets and blankets,
thick boots, brides and saddles-once shipped IN
haste for the Crimean army now sold dirt cheap,
A survey from the clock tower, shows, on one
eide, several acres of white squares with black
borders. These are the sheep pens on the other,
parallelograms Of divers cattle colors,-red most
prevails and, next to that, the most popular COW
color, white mixed with red here and there d
score or SO of white faces on red bodies mark q
batch Of Uerefords, huge oxen only to be raised on
good fat pastures. Black and dark gray patches,
and pale dun, tell Of Scots and Welsh mountain
GERS while, in a remote corner, black, mOttled
and white, hail from the polders and grain distil
leries of Holland. In no part of the market ii
there any crowd or confusion; the fat beasts, com
fortably tied, are as quiet as if in a fold yard and
as for the butchers in search of beef and mutton
they are lost in space. Noise except q below nov
and then, a little bleating, or the distant barkin
of q discontented dog imprisoned in a calf pei
there is none. The scene is no. Arcadian, althoug
green fields are to be seen beyond, not yet invade
by the bricklayeI it is more like a well-orderC
camp at day-break, substituting beeves f
chargers.
Descending to terra frma and details, l begi
my march, meeting from time to time with mai
II country friend, interested in the sale of a doz
fat oxen or a few score of fat sheep. On the wi
dow of the market Office the numbers entered (
sale are written up:
$500 cattle 1850 sheep.
There was at least a quarter Of a million
pounds of live beef, without counting the off
loose fat, or suet, which costs the butcher nothin
and forms at Christmas time, say from Decemb
to the end of January, an important part of t
butchers profit in sale for plum-puddings. A (
OK on a pedestal Of plum pudding would typil
better than any of the old-iashioncd emblem
modern British agriculture; for, without the pu
ding it would be difficult to say what would becon
Of the extra fat, which roots, cake, and corn COZ
Iine to lay up on Christmas prize cattle.
Of the days supply. the largest, the latest, al
the youngest were, as they always are, She
Horns, invented by the brothers Colling6, improy
by a long series of breeders down to the late Ea
Spencer and Ducie; the present brothers Booth
kIlarhu e. &tr fha-lag Il pirhflr pf Inv hunt,
fame Squire Towuley, u Lancashire mill
colonel Richard Stratt0n, a yoemnn-farmer
Wiltshire Gunter, a militia captain of Middles
Ia name eminent for sweets as well as roasts), a
q crowd Of others, amongst whom are div
Scotchmen; and, among lrishmen, Lord Talbot
Malahide and Captain Ball. OF Short Horns q
their crosses,-the true meat for the million, viii
fifty years ago, was scarcely known out of thu
northern counties, and which is fit for the butcl
at an age when most other breeds are little bett
than hObbledehoy calves,-it was estimated Il
full three thousand oxen and fat cows and heift
stood in the great market, held before Christina
and not one Of the Long Horns, the prime bre
of Arthur Ioung's time, Short Horns are br
now everywhere, and fed everywhere. They a
bred side by side with native breeds in northe
Scotland and as far south as DevOnshire.
Ireland they are supersediog the native LoI
Horned breed to such an extent as to afford a ere
export Of yearlings, which finish their educati,
IN the warm yards, stalls, and boxes CT the Nj
land and metropolitan counties. Next in size a.
beef-making qualities is the huge red white-fac
Hereford OK, fattened to perfection alike on ShrC
shire pastures and Midland grass, feeding also
corn,eake and roots. The Hereford COW, unli
the Short Horn, is small and insignifcant,o of sm,
value in the dairy, although a~Gording neat Jul
ribs and sirloins. The lleret3y1 is not, and ney
will be widely spread, like toe Short Horn; he
rarely found, out Of three or four counties rou
the city that gives hin his name; only one mob
man, the Duke of Bedford, out of that distri
breeds him for be has no reputation as a Gro
for improving other breeds, while the Short Hol
improves, whether for milk or beef, every bree
But, be is a great faYorite with the butcher.
trade term, he dies well, In his native district /
has a reputation as being powerful and docile
the plough. Ox-ploughing, however, is too so
tor modern high farming. In the Midland cou
ties, and as far north as Norfolk, the white face
the Hereford may be seen placidly Illuminating
root-teeding winter yards but, he is seldom to
found further north than Norfolk. and. even the1