New-York tribune., 1900-04-02
EXPORT TRADE IN HEATS.
THE UNITED STATES THE WORLDS GREAT
EST PRODUCER.


Washington. April (speciaD present agi-
tation in Germany for the exclusion of American
meats lends a special timeliness TO the appearance
of a monograph Of the Treasury Bureau Of Sta
tistics on THE Provision Trade Of the United
States" This monograph. which appears in The
Monthly Summary" for February. is one Of a series
of dealing with the production, distribution
and consumption of American staples. and es-
pecially with transportation within this coun
The development of swine and cattle raising in
the United States presents features OF peculiar in
terest. The United States has achieved n unique
position among swine raising countries. with a
total of than one-half of the worlds supply
Of swine. The discussion shows that the develop
ment within the country has consisted chiefly in
a movement from the East TO the West. following
the broad of the belt and that this
westward movement has occurred still greater
with the horned cattle of the country.
The great growth of the swine raising industry
has been of the utmost importance to the farmers
Of the country since It has furnished them out
let otherwise difficult obtain for their surplus
corn. The hog has become not only a converter
but a condenser of values, and such has sought
out Eastern and European markets in cases where
it would have been quite improbable to transport
The development Of swine and cattle raising has
been also influenced by the phenon enal growth of
the packing industry Of the country. This evou-
ton presents features OF interest from the time
when in Colonial days primitive packing
ried IN New-England down to later times. when
about 1920 the prototype of the modern packing
house established In Cincinnati In those days
Cincinnati possessed peculiar advantages for this
industry. Adjacent to the fields of Ohio,
India 1a and Kentucky, Cincinnati possessed the
further advantage of being situated the Ohio
shipped to New-Orleans. TO be reshipped to Phila-
deiph!a New-York and Boston The westward
movement OF the centre of the corn belt, however,
and the successful competition OF the eastbound
railroads with the long devious and uncertain
Mississippi route, gave to Chicago in the early
sixties an immense advantage. and achieved for
that city a pre-eninence which II has since main
tained. although Kansas City and Omaha now
rapidly forging to the fore.
The monograph under consideration traces this
development of the packing industry down to the
present time II also gives statistics Of winter and
summer packing at various centres. together with
visions as well as statistics of the routes by which
they received or shipped and of their source
destination.
detailed analysis is made of the foreign trade
in 1--we animals and provisions, and statistics for
the last ten years furnished showing the
changes in the ports Of expectation or in the
country OF destination. The article further
tains tables the French and German importa-
tons of meats showing the effect of the policy
restriction in the early eighties and considera bic
market for provisions The monograph concludes
with a series of tables showing the statistics of
cattle, sheep and swine for q number Of years in
all the principal countries Of the world.
The United States is now the worlds greatest
producer and exporter of meats. which form one
the most important features of its export trade
In 1857 total expectation of provisions and live
animals sl02 4.si0, and in 1899 the total was
forming in 1893 i72 cent OF the exports OF