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  distributing ­
  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  population ­
  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,  comprising ­
  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