centres where the culinary art at one time defied all rivals. The sceptre of supremacy has passed into the hands of the great metropolis of the New World. It has been the writer's good fortune to gain experience on this subject from his observations in Europe as well as in this country. He can state, without fear of contradiction, that more first-class, well-fatted, and corn-fed cattle reach the markets of New York, than any other market of the United States. Whenever a first-class article of beef is required by one of the inland hotels, they send to New York for it. Ask the ordinary traveler, and he will tell you that a first-class steak, an "A i " chop, or prime roast beef is a rara avis in hotels outside of New York. London has excellent mutton and good beef; that is all. Paris gives plenty of variety, but it is all of an inferior quality with the exception of veal, which is good. The same may be said of northern Germany, where, in addition, the larger hotels in Hamburg and Bremen are able to supply good steaks, the cattle in that country being of fine quality. Yet no American, accustomed to his prime beef at New York, can be pleased at any of these continental hotels, as he loses sight of his favorite roast and steak. At the extensive cattle yards of Berlin, which are under control of an excellent administration, and perfectly arranged, it was impossible, for instance, on a well-supplied market day to find a single dozen corn-fed young steers that would make good enough beef for first-class custom in New York. The bulk of cattle offered for sale was made up of oxen that had been overworked — they had horns bigger than themselves — and the remainder were old cows and bulls. Of the bovine family, the branch most celebrated for the good quality of beef is the Durhams or Shorthorns. It is only fifty years ago that the first were imported to this country from England, and so well have they prospered and multiplied that the finest and best specimens of the race are now found in these United States. They are now freely exported, at large prices, to the mother-country, where they are highly prized for breeding purposes. There are farms in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and even in Missouri and Kansas, that turn out annually from 300 to 1,000 head of fatted, corn-fed cattle, from two to four years old, and weighing from 1,500 to 2,500 pounds per head. As to mutton, this country is already beginning to occupy a position second to none. We may probably not as yet surpass England in this respect, but we have learned a great deal on this subject during the past thirty years; hence the American breed of sheep has considerably improved. The quality and flavor of our mutton is improving to that extent that a long time cannot possibly elapse before the prejudice now existing in favor of the English article must give way to the honest acknowledgment that the American mutton, if not superior to, stands at least fully on a par with, the English rival. Our farmers and agriculturists have learned a great deal on this ques- tion. They now know that, as to early lambs, for instance, the ewes THE PLEASURES OF THE TABLE.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

centres where the culinary art at one time defied all rivals. The sceptre of supremacy has passed into the hands of the great metropolis of the New World. It has been the writer's good fortune to gain experience on this subject from his observations in Europe as well as in this country. He can state, without fear of contradiction, that more first-class, well-fatted, and corn-fed cattle reach the markets of New York, than any other market of the United States. Whenever a first-class article of beef is required by one of the inland hotels, they send to New York for it. Ask the ordinary traveler, and he will tell you that a first-class steak, an "A i " chop, or prime roast beef is a rara avis in hotels outside of New York. London has excellent mutton and good beef; that is all. Paris gives plenty of variety, but it is all of an inferior quality with the exception of veal, which is good. The same may be said of northern Germany, where, in addition, the larger hotels in Hamburg and Bremen are able to supply good steaks, the cattle in that country being of fine quality. Yet no American, accustomed to his prime beef at New York, can be pleased at any of these continental hotels, as he loses sight of his favorite roast and steak. At the extensive cattle yards of Berlin, which are under control of an excellent administration, and perfectly arranged, it was impossible, for instance, on a well-supplied market day to find a single dozen corn-fed young steers that would make good enough beef for first-class custom in New York. The bulk of cattle offered for sale was made up of oxen that had been overworked — they had horns bigger than themselves — and the remainder were old cows and bulls. Of the bovine family, the branch most celebrated for the good quality of beef is the Durhams or Shorthorns. It is only fifty years ago that the first were imported to this country from England, and so well have they prospered and multiplied that the finest and best specimens of the race are now found in these United States. They are now freely exported, at large prices, to the mother-country, where they are highly prized for breeding purposes. There are farms in Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and even in Missouri and Kansas, that turn out annually from 300 to 1,000 head of fatted, corn-fed cattle, from two to four years old, and weighing from 1,500 to 2,500 pounds per head. As to mutton, this country is already beginning to occupy a position second to none. We may probably not as yet surpass England in this respect, but we have learned a great deal on this subject during the past thirty years; hence the American breed of sheep has considerably improved. The quality and flavor of our mutton is improving to that extent that a long time cannot possibly elapse before the prejudice now existing in favor of the English article must give way to the honest acknowledgment that the American mutton, if not superior to, stands at least fully on a par with, the English rival. Our farmers and agriculturists have learned a great deal on this question. They now know that, as to early lambs, for instance, the ewes THE PLEASURES OF THE TABLE.

The table