, 1885-02-15
a-EEFsrEAk SECRETS.
A Butchers Analysis Of the Cost OF Beef
and h Profit He Makes.

From the Philadelphia Press.
Now, my dear" said Mrs. Chestnut
Of Arch street, yesterday morning, as she
deposited that mornings edition of the
Press on the breakfast table and addressed
her better-half, nov | see what makes
all the butchers so fat. No matter which
one we trade with or which market we 10
to. the man that sells beef is always fat
and looks awfnlly forehanded."
May l be 50 bold as to inquire in
terrupted the energetic little woman's
spouse, what you are driving at?''
why, l see in the Pfesst that cattle are
sold for from six to six and one-half
cents 4 pound"
Rash womanl' interrupted her all
wise husband again, II see that you are
trihing with the commercial page Of a
daily paper. Greater minds than yours
have been wrecked in trying to solve the
intricacies Of these columns. l warn you
to beware"
Il do wish you would stop your grandi-
loquent nonsense and explain this to me.
They sell cattle at six cents a pound, and
yet u butcher charges me twenty cents a
pound for a roasting piece. It's no won
der that they are fat. I say"
Calm yourself. dearest, it is highly
probable that somebody has lied. You
had better go down to the office Of the
paper and offer to quote the live stock
market for them. Or you had better get
a real live reporter and go about inter
viewing the butchers and the cattlemen.
Good by. 1 must 20 to the Office and
the im~perturbable man of business, who
only wanted his beef tender and Of good
favor and did not care much about a few
cents difference in the cost pushed back
his empty coffee cup on the table and
pulled himself into his great coat
Little Mn. Chestnut is only a type of a
great many woman Of Philadelphia who
sometimes struggle with the sixth page Of
the Inress. Two hundred and thirty-three
per cent is. they think, a rather large
profit The point hal they fail to accept
is that the "critter' is not entirely COM
posed of sirloin steaks and rib roast. The
head, horns, hoofs and tail do not pro
duce many te~nderloins, even when par
boiled, and In consequence the revenue
deprived from that portion Of the beast is
correspondingly small. However, Mrs.
Chestnut was energetic enough to follow
the sarcastic advice of her humorous hus-
band. She appeared at the office of the
Press and asked the assistance Of a re-
porter. Together then they visited the
Fifth street market and interviewed one
of the well known butchers of the city.
Here is lady said the reporter,
who thinks you are making too much
money. VIII you give us some facts and
figures about the cost of your cattle, the
way in which you dispose of it, and
prices p
The genial beef dealer, now fifty years
in the business, laughed as he sat Mrs.
Chestnut a chair, and replied:
Now. you are mistaken, madame, re
make but very little. Take the hide, the
horns and the tallow, and that makes our
profit Now, that's a fact. / buy cattle
ranging from 200 to 1880 pounds in
weight. buy them at the stock yard as
they come from various parts of the state,
from Ohio and from Virginia. Some
times l send a lot down to Tinicum. on
the Delaware, where | have a big farm,
and get them into especially good condi-
ton. They don't fool me often by salt
ing them.
What do you pay for them on the
hoof?"
From 81 to 7 cents a pound; that is. a
steer weighing 1000 pounds would cost
alive, on the average. at o. cents a pound,
s67. So"
Every good. Now, if you will call off
the different cuts and their prices, | will
set them down"
First, there are hide, the horns and
tail. These we sell to our hide and tallow
association. They will weigh, in a l,500
pound 'critter-for we can reckon him up
to best advantage-about 100 pounds,
and at the rate of 81 cents n pound, will
bring IS. so. Eighty pounds of tallow, at
6 cents a pound. gives me 81. The
So. SO derived from these two items |
reckon as my profit on a beef hat costs
me, at Ct cents a pound, $l0l.25. Now,
let US see how / shall come out
THE head goes to the pork butcher,
who boils it up and makes sausages and
scrapple and such things Of it, Together
with the liver and tongue it brings 81. so.
There are $50 pounds Of ~sirloins and rib
roasts at 20 cents, $50; $50 pounds Of
rump and round at l2l cents, when well
cut, $ls.7 rs; $50 pounds of chuck ribs at
10 cents, SIS; 100 pounds of plate and
briskets at 6 cents, &c, and finally the $50
pounds remaining at G cents per pound,
| the neck, suet and shoulder 'clods,' $27.
now add that up and you will have 1900
pounds for SILL IS, about 81 cents per
pound. Then see how much we have
made on the whole carcass; SOL. 25 from
$1ll.75 leaves $40. so. There, l am just
g short of my first rough calculation.
That canbe made up by skillful cutting.
Some Of my men can cut up Il carcass to
even more than hat advantage over the
men working beside them. They don't
leave any waste, you see. An artistic
butcher can cut 81 worth more of sirloin
steaks from a steer than a greener one. |
am very careful to have experienced men
about me"
but that does not explain" said the
little lady visitor. .'hoW Won all ret