MUNICH'.

379

Meat.

In  addition  to  a  public  abattoir,  designed  on  modern  principles,  Munich  has
a  public  market  for  the  sale  of  meat,  and  this  market  is  largely  resorted  to  by
the  working  classes,  though  a  considerable  trade  is  done  by  the  small  butchers
in  the  streets  inhabited  by  these  classes,  chiefly  in  inferior  and  cheaper  joints  of
meat.  Many  of  these  butchers  buy  their  stocks  from  the  larger  higher-class
traders,  and  do  not  kill  for  themselves.  There  are  three  departments  of  the
public  market—the  high-class  stalls  (known  collectively  as  "  Bank  ”  or  bench),
which  only  deal  in  the  best  meat,  which  is  ox  meat  ;  the  second-class  stalls
which  deal  with  the  cheaper,  yet  very  good,  cow  meat  ;  and  the  "  Freibank,”
by  which  is  meant  the  stalls  which  deal  in  meat  of  distinctly  inferior  quality,
which  the  market  officials  will  not  allow  to  be  sold  on  the  open  stalls,  yet  which
they  do  not  feel  justified  in  condemning  as  unfit  for  human  food.  For  the
meat  displayed  in  the  stalls  of  the  third  class  there  is  always  a  ready  demand  on
the  part  of  the  working  classes  and  the  poorer  buyers,  who  are  to  be  found  at
seven  o’clock  waiting  for  the  market  to  open.  The  rush  generally  clears  the
stock  in  short  time,  and  the  “  Freibank  ”  has  done  its  business  much  sooner  than
the  ordinary  butchers.  In  1905  there  were  sold  as  “  Freibank  ”  meat  396  oxen,
2,236  cows,  146  young  cattle,  1,636  calves,  4,334  pigs,  and  180  sheep.  As  a
rule  from  l\d.  to  8Jd.  per  lb.  is  paid  for  good  beef  (except  steak,  which  costs
9f\d.  to  Is.  Id.)  ;  for  mutton  6d.  to  8f¿/.,  according  to  the  cut  ;  for  veal  7^d.
to  8f/A  ;  and  for  pork  8Jd.  to  9|d.  For  the  sake  of  comparison  the  prices  of
inferior  “  Freibank  ”  meat  are  given  :  Beef  4\d.  to  7f\d.  (the  latter  for  ox  meat)  ;
mutton  3d.  to  4d.  ;  veal  3bd.  to  6£d.  ;  and  pork  4d.  to  T^d.  It  is  seldom  that
the  butchers  in  the  working-class  quarters  have  large  stocks  of  meat,  for  they
sell  in  very  restricted  quantities,  yet  their  shops,  whose  sign  is  generally  a  mass
of  growing  ivy  covering  the  lower  half  of  the  window,  are  clean  and  orderly.
There  are  horse  meat  shops  in  the  poorer  districts,  and  they  do  an  increasing
trade.  The  meat  is  offered  in  various  forms—common  cuts,  which  cost  something ­
  under  3d.  per  pound,  fillet,  which  commands  about  2d.  more,  boiled  meat,
cured  and  rolled  meat,  fat  and  sausage.  The  public  abattoir  has  a  special
department  for  the  killing  of  dogs,  but  it  is  maintained  that  only  a  small
portion  of  the  flesh  is  used  as  human  food,  and  even  then  only  because  of  the
belief  that  dog’s  flesh  is  an  antidote  against  tuberculosis,  a  belief  prevalent  in
many  parts  of  Germany.  In  1905  110  dogs  were  killed,  against  99  in  1904
and  166  in  1903.

For  some  years  there  has  been  a  gradual  decrease  in  the  consumption  of
meat  in  Munich.  The  highest  figure  reached  was  during  the  five  years  1881-5
when  the  consumption  annually  per  head  of  the  population  was  20T5  lb,  of
meat  of  all  kinds,  fresh  and  prepared.  There  was  a  fall  during  the  years  1891-5
to  175*3  lb.,  then  a  recovery  during  the  years  1896-1900  to  179  0  lb.,  followed
by  a  further  fall  to  165*8  lb.  during  the  years  1901-5,  the  consumption  in  1905
being  157*7  lb.,  and  in  1  906  153*1  lb.,  per  head.  The  incorporation  of  adjacent
communes  and  unfavourable  economic  conditions  would  help  to  explain  a
smaller  average  consumption  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  decade,  yet  the
significant  fact  cannot  be  overlooked  that  the  decrease  has  been  spread  over  a
number  of  years,  and  has  synchronised  with  the  increasing  cost  of  this  and  other
articles  of  food.  It  is  also  noticeable  that  the  diminished  consumption  has  been
more  striking  in  the  better  and  dearer  kinds  of  meat  than  in  others.  The
following  animals  were  slaughtered  in  the  years  named  :

Oxen  ...
Bullocks
Young  Cattle
Cows  ...
Calves  ...
Pigs
Sheep  and  Goats
Horses  ...

1901.

30,566
10,647
15,385
21,471
240,065
213,323
37,829
2,055

1902.

30,322
10,372
14,407
22,835
228,971
193,085
36,718
2,305

1903.

30,802
16,885
3,*798
20,772
204,920
223,595
29,914
2,459

1904.

30,310
16,002
2,978
18,750
193,957
242,631
30,460
2,592

1905.

28,432
16,568
4,122
21,424
201,793
198,800
33,596
2,898

29088

3  B  2