36 
BERLIN. 
MW. 
Berlin has a large and well-equipped public abattoir, through which the bulk 
of its fresh meat supply passes. There is a special abattoir for horses, however, 
and this is under police control. The municipal cattle market serves as a dis 
tributing centre for a large area of Prussia. Most of the meat consumed in 
Berlin comes from the East of Prussia, Mecklenburg, Pomerania and Schleswig- 
Holstein, but sheep come from Bavaria and Hesse as well, formerly there were 
large imports of live cattle for the Berlin market, but those from the West have 
been stopped by the stricter veterinary measures now enforced. A few sheep 
come from Austria, but no pigs now come from abroad. During recent years 
there has been a steady diminution in the consumption of fresh meat per head. 
The rate has been estimated as follows by the Berlin Statistical Office, the area 
of calculation being the city and a radius of about 5 miles :— 
Consumption of Fresh Meat in Berlin. ¡ 
1894 
1895 
1896 
1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
Year. 
Consumption per head. 
lb. 
165- 70 
167*16 
168-89 
166- 87 
165-11 
168-61 
178-20 
176-75 
16520 
16621 
No estimate has been attempted since 1903, because the available data of 
calculation are no longer sufficiently exact. In 1905 4'9 percent, less meat 
was killed at the municipal abattoir as compared with 1904, though the popu 
lation had increased by 2 5 per cent., and owing to the higher prices it is 
unlikely that the present consumption per head is greater than that of 1903. 
Returns of weekly expenditure were obtained from 413 families, com 
prising 1,863 persons. These showed an average meat consumption per head 
of 29h ounces, or at the rate of 96 lb. a year. Of this 291 per cent, was pork 
and bacon, 29 per cent, sausage, and 26 per cent. beef. Mutton amounted to 
8 per cent., an unusually large proportion. 
The following return of animals slaughtered in the abattoirs is instructive 
as showing the kinds of meat of which the consumption is specially liable to 
fluctuation :— 
Cattle 
Calves 
Sheep 
Pigs ... 
Horses* 
1905. 
167,279 
166,150 
464,364 
964,612 
13,752 
1904. 
162,398 
166,996 
439,163 
1,005,027 
11,192 
1903. 
153,426 
156,984 
413.388 
895,206 
11,218 
1902. 
162,167 
156,017 
445,972 
761,097 
12,616 
1901. 
190,390 
163,342 
461,356 
797,165 
11,693 
* Including 862 killed at Rixdorf in 1905 and 416 in 1904 ; in 1901-3 there were no 
horses slaughtered at Rixdorf. 
Pork is the meat most favoured by the working classes, and even a slight 
increase in price seriously affects the sales. Thus, the number of pigs 
slaughtered in 1905 was 40,415, or 4 per cent, less than in 1904 ; but the 
actual decrease of meat was still greater, for the average weight of the animals 
sank from 185-9 lb. in 1904 to 172*7 lb. in 1905, a further decrease of 7T per 
cent. Nor was the deficiency covered by the larger slaughter of cattle and 
sheep, for these only increased by 4,923,182 lb., against a deficiency in pork of 
20,246,028 lb. Thus in 1905 the consumption of pork was 10 lb. per 
head less than in 1904. After pork, the working classes consume the 
cheaper qualities and cuts of beef by preference ; mutton is not popular, and 
veal is too dear. Taking the averages of all the mean retail prices of meat at