The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-07-27

The movements of beef cattle from the
Panhandle continues good, with prices
much the same az last week. Exporters
are buying lights, not altogether on &C
count of the unsettled condition of the
European market, but also because little
stuff is offered of sufficiently good quality
to attract the buyers. Sellers find the
home consumption sufficient to use all
the offerings.
But little has been done in the feeder
line as yet, although a big corn crop is
an assured fact. Farmers, as usual, are
finding it hard to borrow money to buy
with This will no doubt, have its effect
on the market this season. ReallZlng inns
fact, the Siegel-Saunders Commission
company, of Kansas city, has come TO the
front with remedy by winch the seller
and the buyer may get together on terms
much 10 the advantage of both.
The market continues low in the old
world on both cattle and hogs, with but
little prospect OF anything better soon.
Sheepmen haven't a great deal 10 COM
plain OF this year. Prices Of good sheep
and lambs have held up better than any
thing else. The best cattle are Sl-2o per
hundred lower than year ago. Hogs are
$1.S0Q$200 lower, while the best fat sheep
are no lower and lambs are 5OQl5c. higher.
This cannot be explained on the ground
that the supply OF sheep has been lighter,
1OT On the other manu- llieLe HIS D6Cll a
steady gain all the year. The only expla-
nation is that there has been "a better de-
mand for mutton than other meat pro-
ducts. This shows that the consumption
OF mutton is growing rapidly in this coun-
try, for the exports of sheep have not
been very heavy.
The craft of man has found products
which do not grow from the soil, and sci
ence, no less than experiment, has ap-
proved their utility. Long ago the golden
Scepter of butter was wreSted away py the
mightier product of a factory, with which
neither farm nor creamery could compete.
Retorts yielded a culinary aid that was
beUter than lard. Scientific young men
produced jellies fairer in appearance than
that winch came from natural fruit.
In meat production the margin of profit
narrowed with the narrowing range.
AS free pastures disappeared with the ter
ritorleS TO make room for the states the
price of beef scared. Instantly that food
product became the target of inventive at
tempt. The inevitable law of commerce
was obeyed. And imitation meat followed
imitation butter into the tield-no, into the
market
For long time potatoes held a place pc
culiarly their own, but the main reason
was that potatoes could still, three years
in five, be cheaply produced. But the two
uncertain years would come, and the
rapid rise in price provoked attention. ES-
pertinent made short work of the potato.
A thing of starch was a. simple matter,
and farmers hung up their hoes, and
bOUSnl potatoes AT the factory, T6duy LOT
the kitchen, and at a rate which under
cut their cheapest effort.
Corn was more complex, but it surren-
dered. After all, what is it but a combina-
ton Of chemical properties which could
be found elsewhere. 1t was far less
trouble TO combine them in a substance
for maize than TO find the light by which
that substitute for maize might on winter
evenings be inspected.
Bread products were a matter of habit
and tradition. Give the race a food which
answered all the requirements bread had
supplied, and the race was too intelligent
TO decline it. Laboratories took the place
of fallow land. Pestle and mortar were as
reaper and mill. The hand skilled at COM
bining and compromising welded at once
the eXecutioner'S axe by which the head
or the baker was sundered-
A thing of steel. with handle bars and
chain, elastic tread and lamp by night,
had pedaled buZzing past the horse, and a
creature which had served man we'll for
ninety centuries limped useless away.
And with him went the field which had
maintained him. No need for oats since
this better than horse did not eat them,
nor of hay, since the animal to which
hay was one day feast had grown too
rare TO eat il.