Refrigeration Systems.—Refrigeration, in the modern sense, was invented in 1861 but it was some years before it became satisfactory and reliable for purposes of transportation.
The successful transportation, under refrigerated conditions, of dressed meat from the packing-houses in the middle west to the eastern seaboard paved the way for shipment across the ocean. In 1874 frozen beef "as hard as stone" was sent to Smithfield market in boxes, but the consignment was small and the financial result unsatisfactory. The first shipment of "chilled" beef was made from New York on Oct. 1, 1875. It arrived in good con dition and with this consignment the trade in chilled beef was established. By 188o all the steamship lines running across the Atlantic were equipped with cold storage plants. The refrigerating equipment was at first somewhat crude, usually consisting of an ice box and fans to circulate the cold air. Another device was to pump a freezing mixture—salt and ice—along pipes between the hanging carcasses.
Argentina and Australia followed closely on the United States. In 1878 frozen meat was first brought from South America and in 1879 the first shipment was made from Sydney.
There were of course many difficulties to be surmounted and much experimental work was done before the methods of refrig eration were perfected. The creation of "freezing-works" soon followed and the meat is now all frozen or chilled before being placed in the cold chambers of the vessels for the voyage. But for about forty years the trade has been organized on its present lines and its magnitude and importance have steadily increased throughout the meat-producing countries of the world.
World's Future Meat Supplies.—One of the most marked results of the World War was to increase the demand for meat on the Continent. There are no statistics of any value on the point but there are indications that while the number of meat-consumers increases steadily, the average consumption per head tends to de crease. It is accepted as a sociological truism that as the standard
of comfort rises dietary becomes more varied. The consumption of meat in working-class houses in England, for example, was probably greater in the middle of the 19th century than in the 20th century when there is a larger variety of food available. Nevertheless the total world demand for meat is almost certainly greater than at any previous period and increases annually.
In addition to this increase of 6o millions in the number of cattle there was also in the same period an increase of 121 millions in the number of sheep.
There is no reason to suppose that South America has yet come within measurable distance of the limits of its capacity for meat production. Vast areas of land suitable for carrying cattle and sheep still await development. The improvement of the native stock proceeds continuously and, in Argentina especially, the re sults of the importation of high-class bulls from Great Britain are widely evident. The process is necessarily slow but, apart from increased numbers, there is a steady increase in the output of meat per animal, as a more economic type replaces the old "scrub." The geographical potentialities of Australia for rearing more cattle and sheep are immense but they are at present restricted by physical difficulties. There can be no doubt that these difficulties will in time be largely overcome and Australia's contribution to the world's supplies will be indefinitely increased. In South Africa the production and export of meat have been only very recently taken up with vigour, but there is little doubt that within the next two or three decades it will become an important con tributor to the total supply.