CHAPTER IV. FROM OVERSEAS PASTURES TO 
BRITISH PORTS. 
It is a long journey from the wide open spaces of the southern 
hemisphere to the table of the British consumer. Starting from 
the pastures, the stock is drafted either to sales-yards, or direct 
from the farms to the freezing-works. Stock bought at sales- 
yards are usually drafted at once to the works, but stock bought 
on farms await instructions as to the time of forwarding. On 
arriving at the works, the stock is usually rested in adjacent 
paddocks before being killed. The dressed and weighed carcases 
pass to a cooling chamber, where they hang for a day in order 
that all body heat escapes before they pass into the refrigerating 
chamber. Government Veterinary Inspectors examine all stock 
before killing and after dressing; every carcase passed fit for 
human consumption carries a certificate in the form of a tag 
which is fastened to it and remains attached until the carcase 
reaches the market in this country. After being frozen, the 
carcases are bagged” in cotton webbing—beef being also 
wrapped in hessian— and piled in a cold store attached to the 
freezing works where they remain until they are placed in the 
refrigerated holds of steamers bound for British ports. Chilled 
beef is not piled but hung both in store and ship. The control 
of these operations is the function of the companies which own 
the freezing works. Sometimes these companies have their own 
organisation for handling the meat on arrival here; sometimes 
they work through agents. Then again there are large importing 
firms which do not own freezing works but operate on the 
British market on their own account and obtain their suplies 
direct from overseas. 
The Dominion (i.e., the Australian and New Zealand) trade, 
and the South American trade are, however, distinct in their 
trading conditions and methods. Each has its own characteristic 
rrganisation and, for clearness, each is separately described. 
(i) Dominion Trade.— There are several classes of firms 
engaged in the Australian and New Zealand meat trade. Roughly 
they may be classified as follows :— 
(1) British firms owning works in the Dominions and 
possessing their own selling organisation or wholesale 
depots in this country. 
(2) Dominion firms owning works, with agencies in this 
country. 
(3) Farmers’ co-operative works in the Dominions having 
agents in this country. 
(4) Operators in both countries who do not own works. 
Before the meat-works in the Dominion open, they must 
have a certain head of stock at their command. In some cases, 
the works have their own farms. All the works have expert