Encouragement of Mutton Eating.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume I, Issue 19, 8 November 1879, Page 4

Encouragement of Mutton Eating.

The Chicago “ Live Stock Journal ” thinks that mutton is too much neglected as an article of food, saying : Americans are not mutton eaters to any such degree as they are beef and pork eaters. There is often good demand for mutton or lamb, but it is a comparatively limited one. At the great live stock markets, as Chicago, where there are receipts of thousands of cattle and hogs, there are but hundreds of sheep. In many a village meat market, mutton is rarely to be fouud. There has been gain in this direction ; mutton is eaten more commonly than was the case a few years ago ; there is an increasing appreciation of good qualitjr in the flesh of sheep, as there has been in the flesh of the ox. But the best interest of American sheep rearing would bo much advanced if the mass of the people could be induced to become habitual mutton eaters, as they nowarebeef and pork consumers. Reliance upon wool as the only source of profit in sheep rearing is to become a thing of the past in all the older settled portions of the country. No rapid change of habit in such matters is to be expected ; but the sheep growers can help—first, by having sheep of good quality with which to supply whatever demand exists : by themselves practicing what they preach, and by encouraging the butchers in the neighboring town or village to keep mutton in their shops and call attention of their customers to it. The export demand for American sheep is very encouraging. In 1879, the United States and Canadas shipped 84,000 sheep to Great Britain, almost as large a number as was that of the cattle exported. Since the restrictions placed on the exportation of live fat cattle to Great Britain, the number of sheep sent over is much greater than that of cattle. Thus the arrivals at Liverpool, the first week in May, were, 370 cattle, 2308 sheep and 1050 pigs. The same week, 1529 carcases of mutton were landed at Liverpool.