Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1914-07-20
URUGUAY AND
TROUBLESOME
MEAT QUESTION
100000 Head of Cattle and
100000 Sheep Are Now
Roaming the Hills

Roaming the Hills
Washington. July 1s.-With porterhouse
steak at so cents a pound retail as an
imminent fact. the beef-eaters of the
world are getting somewhat worried, es-
pecially those who happen to be domi-
ciled in the United States. Argentina is
supplying some of her product, but when
the enormous total of Uncle Sans con-
sumption is taken into consideration the
quantity imported is not even as much
as the proverbial drop in the bucket
Where can we look for more meat?-is
the all-absorbing question.
In this connection it Is interesting to
note an article in the July number of
the Monthly Bulletin of the Pan Ameri-
can Union. Washington. y. c., in which,
under the title of Uruguay as Cat
tie Country" some interesting details as
to the live stock industry of this rich
little republic of South America are
given.
Something over a hundred years ago
the hacendados (ranchmen) of Uruguay
complained to the government that over
45d, 900 head of cattle were being killed
annually for their hides alone! The car
cases were thrown to the dogs, or left
on the rolling pampas for the vultures
TO devour. Beef in Uruguay was so
plentiful that it was something of a nui-
sance evidently OF course that day has
passed, but they still have cattle enough
down there to convert some 100000 head
into 100000 pounds of jerked beef in
one year, most of which is sold to Brazil,
Cuba, Porto Rico. and other tropical
countries. Think of the juicy tender
poins of 100000 head of cattle going into
jerked beef
Again, many thousands of Uruguayan
cattle are annually converted into eX
tract of beef Perhaps but few people
know that the nrst great factory for
the production of beef extract known to
the world was established at Fray Ben
tos, little city on the Uruguay River
about 100 miles above Buenos Ayres, the
cosmopolitan capital of Argentina, and
that it is still doing business lat the
same old stand" although the stand"
has grown enormously larger since the
time it became the pioneer in the beef
tea industry The worldwide reputation
of this concern is perhaps largely due to
the high grade of the cattle of Uruguay.
as well as to the clearly and scientific
manner of the preparation of the pro-
duct The writer of the article in the
Bulletin states:
Fray Bentos has been called the
greatest kitchen in the world. On some
days $500 head of cattle are slaughtered,
then treated so as to get the finest meat
from them. the bones and ribs, the in
testines, tails. sinews. hoofs, and other
parts being reserved for their various
uses. But this special meat is subjected
to scientific preparation; it Is cooked, to
be sure, in real kitchen, and with the
best possible care and attention to detail.
There are chemists, Laboratories, engi-
GERS, and authorities on technical mat
tiers, all engaged in cooking the beer so
as to turn it out in the most acceptable
form as the well known and popular ex-
tract The company is organized with a
system of help to the employees, for I'M
proving their physical, material and
moral welfare. 1t maintains an almost
CITY 10 SS"-''
a reputation for enterprise and fair deal
ing which gives it an enviable place IN
the business world
OF more interest to the people OF the
United States, however, is the fact that
Uruguay has upwards of 100000 head
of cattle and 29000,Oo sheep on its fer
tile plains. and that 1t will very soon be
taken into serious consideration as
source of meat supply for the great re-
public of the north. During the first four
months of 1914 the United States import
ed meat to the value of 1920, 752 from
Uruguay If the months of March and
April may be taken as a criterion the
annual importation will amount to about
S. 900, and the trade is as yet in its
first stages. With the rise in price OF
refrigerated beef Uruguay can be de-
pended upon as being an important fac
tor in the markets of the world, and in
stead of converting it's fine cattle into
jerked beef, new refrigerating plants
will be sending chilled or frozen quar-
tiers to New York by the ship-load. The
demand exists now, and the only ques-
ton is, how much can Uruguay supply?
With 375O0,00o acres of its territory de-
soted to pasture and grazing, the sturdy
little country ought to cut some con-
siderable figure.