Douglas's encyclopaedia : a book of reference for bacon curers, bacon factory managers, bacon agents, meat purveyors, meat inspectors, meat salesmen, abattoir superintendents, city, county, or local authority officiers, cold store proprietors and managers, sausage and pork pie makers, and all other industries associated with the meat, pork, provision, and general food trades / compiled and published by William Douglas & Sons Limited.

Date:
[1901]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Douglas's encyclopaedia : a book of reference for bacon curers, bacon factory managers, bacon agents, meat purveyors, meat inspectors, meat salesmen, abattoir superintendents, city, county, or local authority officiers, cold store proprietors and managers, sausage and pork pie makers, and all other industries associated with the meat, pork, provision, and general food trades / compiled and published by William Douglas & Sons Limited. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    Abattoirs. lately fortunate in dropping upon a ease of this sort, and then, having had the diseased beast watched until slaugh- tered, secured a conviction after a deal of expense, anxiety, and ridicule. The system of meat slaughtering and inspection in Berlin seems to be perfect, and to give satisfaction not only to the public, but also to the cattle and butcher trades. A cattle market and slaughter-house have been provided on the north-east of the town, near to the city and railway. This has been built at a cost of about half a million of money. The buildings placed upon the site cover fully twenty-seven acres. All cattle that are to be offered for sale in Berlin must be brought hither, and the slaughtering of cattle is absolutely forbidden anywhere else in the municipal bound- ary. On market days all cattle sold for slaughter are trans- ferred to the butchers’ stalls in the slaughter-house. All dead meat of animals slaughtered in the country or abroad, and intended for consumption in Berlin, must be brought here for inspection; no butcher being allowed to expose for sale meat intended for human consumption with- out bearing the official stamp of the inspecting department. The inspecting department consists of a chief meat inspec- tor — a veterinary surgeon — with twenty - two veterinary surgeons and assistant surgeons to help him, as well as special inspectors, microscopists, and stampers. The micro- scopical examinations are made by forty-five women, who are paid about YU5 Per year, and work five hours daily. Even after paying for sinking fund, interest on capital, maintenance, and the cost of the inspecting staff, there is a revenue of about 4 per cent, on the capital outlay. Carcases of animals affected with tubercle, trichinosis, anthrax, and other diseases are destroyed ; whilst in cases of local unsoundness, and in other cases, the meat is treated by Rohrbeck’s process, and then sold for human food, being ticketed as such, and in special shops. (Freibanks.) In Paris, at La Vilette, there is a very perfect slaughter- house, with a staff of eight veterinary surgeons to inspect the animals before slaughter; there, again, all the organs must be retained until inspected after slaughter. In Brussels, Antwerp, and Copenhagen there are similarly equipped slaughter-houses. The public slaughter-house which is now erected in Black- pool, and is in partial use, has been in contemplation since 1885, and the plans were not prepared until after a full and careful inquiry into similar buildings elsewhere. The objects sought to be attained by the erection of this slaughter-house were (1) The provision of one suitably situated building in the Borough, with a special siding from the railway, so that cattle might be brought directly to the building. (2) The closing of all private slaughter-houses in the town, which not only are nuisances when near to dwellings, but also difficult and costly to supervise as to their cleanliness. By the council having wisely gained power in an Improvement Act in 1879 to close all private slaughter-houses erected after that date, when a public slaughter-house was provided, in a few months, I shall be able to close every private slaughter- house in the town, with perhaps one exception. (3) The institution of a thorough inspection of each carcase and its accompanying viscera. (4) The provision of places to deal with the guts of animals slaughtered, the blood, skins, and other offensive trades which are carried on after slaughter- ing. All these places being constantly under the surveillance of the Corporation servants, they may be kept clean and as free from offence as possible, and at the same time removed Abattoirs. from the habitations of the people. (5) The provision of a cattle market for all beasts, etc., brought into the town for sale. On the border of the railway siding are placed twelve pens, into which the animals can be directly untrucked. Then comes a paved street, about twenty feet wide, on the other side of which are the entrances to the twelve fasting lairs. From these there is an entrance to the slaughter- house, but it is so arranged that a living animal may not see the process of slaughtering going on. There is an opening from the slaughter-house proper to the hanging room. We have therefore built twelve slaughter- houses, but the partition wall between the two central ones has not been built, so that this can be used as a public slaughter-house. The other ten are let off to butchers, on the understanding that if necessary they will be required to sub-let to another butcher, if required to do so by the Corporation. The two central ones are intended for butchers who have not a sufficiently large business to warrant them taking a slaughter-house, or joining with another butcher for one, and who will pay so much per beast, etc., killed. The interior of the lairs, slaughter- houses, and hanging rooms are lined with white glazed bricks to a height of eight feet six inches, and above that with ordinary bricks whitewashed. The floors are laid with good three inch flags, set in cement on a concrete basis four inches in thickness. It was decided that this would be better than any cement covering, as it would not be so slippery. The buildings run nearly east and west, with a skylight in the northern slope of the roof, so that there may be plenty of light with as little heat from the sun as possible. Ventilation is provided for by hit and miss ventilators to the under part of all the windows of the hanging rooms and lairs. Along the whole ridge of the roof there is a louvered raised section, so as to afford a large outlet for air. The sewers are to be ventilated by being connected with the shaft of the chimney, and leaving the manhole coverings at the dead end open. The pig slaughter-house consists of five styes, made of good, smooth flags bolted together, set on a floor of good cement. This leads to the slaughter- house proper, where there are two scalding tubs. There is also a hanging room provided. In all the slaughter-houses the latest hoisting apparatus, rails and blocks have been provided. Adjoining this there is the boiler house, with a large Lancashire boiler for the supply of steam. Then there is a common room for the butchery, and a room for con- demned meat. Away from these there have been provided three out-buildings, one for blood, and the others for gut- scraping purposes. Two houses are to be provided in connection with the slaughter-houses, one for the caretaker, who has been recently appointed, and was previously a butcher, and the other for the meat inspector. The total cost will be about YA3>°°°- There is land around to an extent of about sixteen acres for grazing purposes. There does not appear at present to be any difficulty in getting butchers to give up their present unsatisfactory slaughter-houses, and use the public abattoirs. But for some years past, in consequence partly of the anticipated completion of the slaughter-house, and also of the increased efficiency of the meat inspection in private slaughter-houses, some of the butchers have erected slaughter-houses in the rural districts just beyond the confines of the Borough. By educating the public as to the needs of an efficient inspec- tion of all carcases immediately after slaughter, I hope to checkmate this movement; and if no general legislation is