The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-21
HORSEFLESH FOOD.
a NEW BUT GROWING INDUSTRY IN
THE UNITED STATES.

an Artist Which VIII Startle tho Aver
age Reader.
The use of horseflesh for food is a COM
paratively now thiYg in the east, but 1t Is
growing.
1 met some time ago tho artist who lately
received commission to prepare pictures
for magazine article on this subject. He
had considerable trouble in executing tho
commission, because the horse meat bust
ness is conducted as II 1t were Illicit. To
be sure, 1t ought not to be, for there is no
law against horse butchering In this or
any other state.
There arc laws, moreover, against tho
slaughter and sale for food of diseased ami
mails, equine or bovine, and that may ex-
plain why tho artist experienced SO much
difficulty in passing tho barriers of the
trade. BY little f1nesse, however, he did
get into the largest butohery in the east
or perhaps in tho country. 1t Is situated
In that sparsely settled part of Brooklyn
called Centerville. The owner, Belgian
named Bosse kills about 300 head of horses
and mules q week. AS his profit Is some
thing like $40 head, 1t appears that Mr..
Bosso Is on the high road to fortune.
The artist got access to this place by rep
resenting himself as the American agent
Of French house desirous of opening up
an export trade. 1t is no secret thnt the
French are large consumers of horse meat.
They acquired the tasto during the starva-
ton regime Of tho commune, % years ago.
Now horses of special breeds are fottepcd
for the market.
That is the most important difference
between the French and American trade.
The horse butchers Of this country sell
their product for what it is not-for beef,
ham, pork, what not Theirs Is fraud
ulent business.
1t appears that tho fred hots" Crank
furter snusages) sold at Coney Island and
on the streets of New York are horse meat
or mule meat, to say nothing Of their be-
ing OF the very lowest quality at that
Bosso has plant covering several acres
His buildings aro tho merest shanties and
there is not even n pretcnse Of cleanliness
Twenty big savage dogs guard the place
against intruders.
He courts secrecy in this and other
ways. All his "oritters" are brought to
him and oil his manufactured product
taken away under cover of night. This Is
out of Difference to the great public, which
is perfectly oognizant of the nature Of his
business, but loves above oil things to be
humbugged.
The horses and mules arc bought in q
famous old market ut Ridgewood, devoted
to the purchase and sale Of broken down
steeds-old truck horses, "discards" from
tho street Cur service. At this cheerful
place there is an old law of custom under
which horse may be entered for sale at
fee Of 10 cents. The butcher buys them
In big lots at an average price of 90. 80.
For fancy lot he will pay 81.
There is On unpleasant report which, for
obvious reasons, am not able to confirm
that oil the Critters have not oven so
respectable an origin as this. 1t is said
that on several occasions when horse has
died on the streets, its body has mysteri-
ously disappeared at night, before the
health authorities could arrive to carry 1t
away.
Bosse, am told, sells great part of
his product to n firm in Newark, n. j. This
firm makes speciality of tho dainty known
as "chipped beef" Its brand on very
handsome tin boxes, may be seen in the
best groceries of almost any largo city, and
is an accepted standard of excellence. The
horse butcher makes no bones of Boosting
that this "chippcd beef Is from his
slaughter house. 1t is horse meat, smoked
cut very thin, daintily packed and fraudu-
lently labeled.
The slaughter of horse Is very much
like that of an OK. Tho animal Is knocked
in the head and its throat is cut. Tho skin,
which is stripped off instantly, fetches
from 81. so to s3 at tho tanncry. There is
a tannery In First avenue, New York city,
devoted exclusively to the tanning of horse
hides.
1t Is the hind quarters that go to the
Clipped beef factory. And it will be USE
full bit of information for housewives to
know that they can invariably distinguish
this bogus product from the real article by
the color. Horse meat is much darker than
beef Sometimes it is almost black.
The hoofs go to the glue factory and the
bones are boiled for the makers of phos-
pilates.
Bosses place in thronged at night by
butchers from the poorer quarters. They
get the first pick from the barrels into
which the flesh has been thrown, and
bright and early next morning their pur-
chases are ON sale as beefstcaks There is
no especial harm In this, except the fraud
have eaten horse steaks. They are not
to be distinguished from beof steaks unless
1t Is because they arc tougher. The steak
from an old street car horse Is as yielding
to the tooth Us rubber boot, but it IS
wholesome enough.
There are two classifications at the Bosse
establishment-lean and very lean. The
lean animal goes to the butcher and the
Clipped beef man. The very lean are re-
served for the frapkfurter man. Some Of
these latter animals could not be described
without offense. They are in the last
stages of famine and sometimes also of
disease. Where they come from the Lord
only knows. The butcher doesn't think 1t
worth while to carve them into fore and
hind quarters, but chops off the scraps Of
flesh from their skeletons directly they are
killed and throws them into barrels.
Heart, liver lungs-all the organs-go in
to the nauseating mess. The sausage Is
all horse, oven to the covering.
The "corned beef SO lavishly afforded