The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-07-31
THE NEW SAFEGUARDS.

The recent purchase of land by COM
pany of cattlemen and others in San Mateo
County is the first step toward the organl-
cation of the cattle trade of San Francisco
upon substantial basis. As matters stand,
the cattle-rauges of this coast, including
California. Arizona, Nevada and Oregon,
do little more than supply the wants OF this
city and the adjacent towns which rely upon
San Francisco for their meat Those wants
amount to a demand for something like $50
head OF cattle per day. This is far below
the capacity of these ranges to supply.
Their output might be doubled if suitable
facilities were afforded for marketing the
stock. 1t is to furnish these facilities that
the recent purchase has been effected.
The new Stock-yards cover an area of
about $500 acres, with railroad cOmmunica-
ton to the north and south aud a water
front on San Francisco Bay, on which
wharveS and abattoirs can be constructed.
4 canal now exists from deep water along
the south shore of San Bruno Point to the
mouth Of the creek; it is to be deepened so
as to admit vessels of great draught to the
heart of the yard. BY system of leveeS
the marsh land on the east side of the yard
will be reclaimed and converted into pas
ture. At present. when drove of cattle
arrives here from the interior, the beasts
have to he fed on pasture land, at con-
siderable expense, until the market is ready
to take them; when the new yard is COM
pleted they Will be driven into it and held
there at small cost.
From the want of such facilities, our cat
tie trade has never assumed the proportions
to which it is entitled A large proportion
of the avail able ranges on the Pacific Slope
are untenanted because of the expense at
tending the shipment of cattle to Chicago
and the absence of a market here. There
Is idle grass in California, Arizona and Ne
vada to raise herds of which it would be
| difficult to estimate the number; all this
| pasture land will be turned to account
| when the cattle-raiSeT is assured of an i'm
mediate market at a point of convenient
access.
The effect Of this will be twofold. First,
| it will develop a resource for the State
| which has been thus far only partially
utilized. 1t is hard TO set limit to the ca
| paclty of the countries within easy reach
| of San Francisco to consume meat Little
or no meat is grown in the regions on the
| Pacific Slope between the latitude of Mex
| leo City and Valparaiso. There is a de-
mand for fresh meat in all the Pacific cOun-
tries north of Polynesia. Thus far, owing
TO the lack of facilities for handling fresh
meat in bulk, San Francisco has been I'M
able to supply this foreign demand. When
we can load ships at San Bruno with car
goes of refrigerated meat it will figure
among our exports side by side with our
cereal products.
And next the price of meat in this city
has been unnaturally high, owing to the
limited production of the ranges. The
trade has never been organized. The
owner of range has never felt sure that
| he could sell his cattle here at profit in
competition with the great cattlemen who
| control the abattoirs and stock-yards
| hence he las resisted the temptation to
| double his output. The consequence has
| been that, with back country containing
pasture land almost unlimited, San Fran
cisco pays as much for beef and mutton as
| New York, and has to content itself with
an inferior grade of both. We eat one
| year-old mutton, sometimes called lamb,
| and two-year-old beef, which is almost
veal. In the East and in Europe first-class
beef is cut from six-year-old beasts, and
sOuthdOwn mutton is taken from sheep five
and six years of age. This mature meat
| contains twice the Dutriment, pound for
| pound, that is found in our immature meat.
| II we could buy 4 hindquarter of mutton
| for 10 cents q pound, or roasting ribs of
| beef for the same figure, we might console
| ourselves for the quality. But the butcher
| business has been so managed that steaks
| and chops and choice cuts cost just as
much here as they do in cities which get
their meat from pastures three thousand
| miles away,