Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1906-12-01
MEAT SUPPLY oF PARIS.
The Three Great AbattoIrs and the
Number of Cattle Slaughtered.

1b&ANOAA9 NAN ANA 6N9h Va WAANAAf Ar@
Nilette, is in the northern quarter of
the city; Vauglrard, which was open
ed in 1898 and replaced the old
slaughter house of Grenelle, and
VilleIuif, where horses are slain for
food. Any butcher may slaughter ami
mails at these abattoirs on payment
OF tax of two francs (forty cents)
per 100 Kilograms GAO pounds) on
the meat so prepared. Butchers Of
the more important class and spec
tally licensed are permitted to sell
the meat which they have thus pro-
vided directly to the smaller dealers
who keep retail meat stores through
out the city. Inspectors are in con-
slant attendance, and any meat found
infected with disease or otherwise
unfit for food is saturated with Pc
troleum and condemned.
Living animals which are found to
be contaminated are required to be
sold for a nominal price to the
"knacker." and this regulation is so
effective that OF the $50, 900 head of
cattle slaughtered annually in Paris
an average OF thirty only a month are
condemned. The abattoirs are open
to the public from 10 to Z O'Clock,
and invalids are frequently sent there
by their physicians to drink the
warm blood of the oxen, which is
thought by some authorities to have
a curative effect.
The slaughter house of La Villette
is located on the Rue de Flandres in
the extreme northeastern section of
- - = i-Ai--s I,.I I,U the canal
st. Martin from large and we'll
managed public market or stock
yard, where cattle, sheep and swine
are sold. The abattoir itself includes
space for 1850 cattle, 300 sheep
and 1900 calves. The most import
ant killing days are Tuesdays and
Fridays, which precede the princi-
pal market days of Paris. The rec
ord shows that the average daily
work during the autumn and winter
months is to slaughter and prepare
for market 1900 cattle, 500 sheep
and 500 calves. The record of an
average year is 100000 cattle, $685.
900 calves, 1876 900 sheep and goats
and 100000 hogs, and the product of
the last year was 10000 metric
tons of beef, veal and mutton and
10000 Of pork.
The hides are sold at a special
market, the Halle aux Cuirs (Which
was lately destroyed by fire and is to
be rebuilt. and considerable per-
centage of them are bought for ex-
port to the United States.
Vanguard, the second in import
ance of Paris abattoirs, employs fifty
butchers, and during an average year
slaughters 10000 cattle, $4,000
calves and 100000 sheep, which yield
1912 tons OF meat. The third and
smallest of the abattoirs, Villejuif,
provides meat for the board of pub
lie charities, and slaughters during
an average year $1,000 oxen, 1000
calves and $1,000 sheep. Both Vau-
girard and Villejuif have departments
for slaughtering horses, donkeys and
mules, and the total number of such
animals disposed of during a recent
year was $4,000 horses, $50 donkeys
and fifty mules. which yielded AIT
tons of meat. Butchers and meat
dealers who sell horse meat are re-
CURED to have a special sign,
horses head, over their places of
business, and 1t may not be sold at a
store not thus designated.
The last year for which complete
statistics concerning the meat supply
of Paris have been published is 1903.
From the reports of that year it APP
pears that 267,027 cattle, 274,390
calves and 2,047,770 sheep were
slaughtered at the city abattoirs and
produced 156,O07,750 Kilograms Tor
S27,616,485 pounds) of meat, of
which 123,712,1S0 Kilograms esq.,
795,578 pounds) were consumed in
Paris and 32,292,650 Kilograms ex-
ported. Some of the choicest of
French beef goes to England, where
the fllets and other prime cuts are in
demand for clubs. hotels and the best
class of restaurants. During the
same year there were killed 282,508
hogs, which yielded 27,657,350 kilo-
grams (58,080,435 pounds) of pork,
and 29,370 horses, which furnished
7,305,65 Kilograms Tor 15,341,S65
pounds( of meat, all of which was
consumed In Paris.
A striking feature OF all these sta
tistics is the very large percentage Of
calves slaughtered and veal consumed
In Paris In proportion to other meats.
This is mainly result Of the care
full thrift of the French peasant, who
makes it point to generally have on
which are fed on SKINNED milk
(Which is not allowed to be sold in
cities), combined with other food
materials produced at home, so that
the selling price of the fatted calf is
to a large extent clear profit. The
carefully enforced inspection system,
which subjects every animal intended
for slaughter to examination, pre-
vents the killing OF immature calves,
and the veal Of Paris and other
French cities is uniformly of excel
lent quality.
The average meat yield of oxen
killed in Paris in 1903 was 697
pounds, which was sold wholesale to
dealers at the "halles centrales" for
an average price of twelve cents a
pound. Calves yielded 1856 pounds
per head Of veal, which was sold for
about sixteen cents a pound. Sheep
yielded an average of forty-six
pounds of mutton, which sold for
seventeen cents a pound. Hogs 172
pounds each OF pork, the wholesale
price of which was twelve and half
cents a pound.-From Daily Consul
lar and Trade Reports.
Bachelor Brusqueness.
An old-time English barrister was