The supply of food for cats and dogs is far greater than may be generally thought. "Vy, sir," said of the dealers to me, "can you tell me 'ow many people's in London?" On my replying, upwards of millions; "I don't know nothing vatever," said my informant, "about millions, but I think there's a cat to every people, aye, and more than that; and so, sir, you can reckon." [I told him this gave a total of cats in London; but the number of inhabited houses in the metropolis was more than this, and though there was not a cat to every house, still, as many lodgers as well as householders kept cats, I added that I thought the total number of cats in London might be taken at the same number as the inhabited houses, or in all.] "There's not near half so many dogs as cats. I must know, for they all knows me, and I sarves about cats and dogs. Mine's a middling trade, but some does far better. Some cats has a hap'orth a day, some every other day; werry few can afford a penn'orth, but times is inferior. Dogs is better pay when you've a connection among 'em."

The cat and dogs'--meat dealers, or "carriers," as they call themselves, generally purchase the meat at the knackers' (horse-slaughterers') yards. There are upwards of of such yards in London; or are in Whitechapel, in Wandsworth, in Cow-cross — of the last mentioned is the largest establishment in London—and there are about . The proprietors of these yards purchase live and dead horses. They contract for them with large firms, such as brewers, coal-merchants, and large cab and 'bus yards, giving so much per head for their old live and dead horses through the year. The price varies from to the carcass. The knackers also have contractors in the country (harnessmakers and others), who bring or send up to town for them the live and dead stock of those parts. The dead horses are brought to the yard — or upon cart, and sometimes . The live ones are tied to the tail of these carts, and behind the tail of each other. Occasionally a string of or are brought up, head to tail, at time. The live horses are purchased merely for slaughtering. If among the lot bought there should chance to be that is young, but in bad condition, it is placed in the stable, fed up, and then put into the knacker's carts, or sold by them, or let on hire. Occasionally a fine horse has been rescued from death in this manner. person is known to have bought an animal for , for which he afterwards got Frequently young horses that will not work in cabs—such as "jibs"—are sold to the horse-slaughterers as useless. They are kept in the yard, and after being well fed, often turn out good horses. The live horses are slaughtered by the persons called "knackers." These men get upon an average a day. They begin work at at night, because some of the flesh is required to be boiled before in the morning; indeed, a great part of the meat is delivered to the carriers before that hour. The horse to be slaughtered has his mane clipped as short as possible (on account of the hair, which is valuable). It is then blinded with a piece of old apron smothered in blood, so that it may not see the slaughterman when about to strike. A pole-axe is used, and a cane, to put an immediate end to the animal's sufferings. After the animal is slaughtered, the hide is taken off, and the flesh cut from the bones in large pieces. These pieces are termed, according to the part from which they are cut, hind-quarters, forequarters, cram-bones, throats, necks, briskets, backs, ribs, kidney pieces, hearts, tongues, liver and lights. The bones (called "racks" by the knackers) are chopped up and boiled, in order to extract the fat, which is used for greasing common harness, and the wheels of carts and drags, &c. The bones themselves are sold for

The London cat and dogs'--meat carriers or sellers—nearly all men—number at the least .

The slaughtermen are said to reap large fortunes very rapidly—indeed, the carriers say they coin the money. Many of them retire after a few years, and take large farms. , after years' business, retired with several , and has now large farms. The carriers are men, women, and boys. Very few women do as well as the men at it. The carriers "are generally sad drunkards." Out of , it is said at least spend a head a week in drink. party in the trade told me that he knew a carrier who would often spend in liquor at sitting. The profit the carriers make upon the meat is at present only a penny per pound. In the summer time the profit per pound is reduced to a halfpenny, owing to the meat being dearer on account of its scarcity. The carriers give a great deal of credit—indeed, they take but little ready money. On some days they do not come home with more than with a middling walk pays for his meat per day. For this he has half a -weight. This produces him as much as , so that his profit is ; which, I am assured, is about a fair average of the earnings of the trade. carrier is said to have amassed at the business. He usually sold from to cwt. every morning, so that his profits were generally from to per day. But the trade is much worse now. There are so many at it, they say, that there is barely a living for any. A carrier assured me that he seldom went less than , and frequently miles, through the streets every day. The best districts are among the houses of tradesmen, mechanics, and labourers. The coachmen in the mews at the back of the squares are very good customers. "The work lays thicker there," said my informant. Old maids are bad, though very plentiful, customers. They cheapen the carriers down so, that they can scarcely live at the business. "They will pay halfpenny and owe another, and forget that after a day or ." The cats' meat dealers generally complain of their losses from bad debts. Their customers require credit frequently to the extent of " party owes me now," said a carrier to me, "and many ; in fact, very few people pay ready money for the meat."

The carriers frequently serve as much as pennyworths to person in a day. gentleman has as much as lbs. of meat each morning for Newfoundland dogs; and there was woman—a black—who used to have as much as pennyworth every day. This person used to get out on the roof of the house and throw it to the cats on the tiles. By this she brought so many stray cats round about the neighbourhood, that the parties in the vicinity complained; it was quite a nuisance. She have the meat always brought to her before in the morning, or else she would send to a shop for it, and between and in the morning the noise and cries of the hundreds of stray cats attracted to the spot was "terrible to hear." When the meat was thrown to the cats on the roof, the riot, and confusion, and fighting, was beyond description. "A beer-shop man," I was told, "was obliged to keep or dogs to drive the cats from his walls." There was also a mad woman in , who used to have lbs. of meat a day. The party who supplied her had his money often at and at a time. She had as many as cats at times in her house. Every stray that came she would take in and support. The stench was so great

My father was a baker by trade," said a carrier to me, "but through an enlargement of the heart he was obliged to give up working at his trade; leaning over the trough increased his complaint so severely, that he used to fall down, and be obliged to be brought home. This made him take to the cats' and dogs' meat trade, and he brought me up to it. I do pretty comfortably. I have a very good business, having been all my life at it. If it wasn't for the bad debts I should do much better; but some of the people I trust leave the houses, and actually take in a double quantity of meat the day before. I suppose there is at the present moment as much as 20l. owing to me that I never expect to see a farthing of.

The generality of the dealers wear a shiny hat, black plush waistcoat and sleeves, a blue apron, corduroy trousers, and a blue and white spotted handkerchief round their necks. Some, indeed, will wear and handkerchiefs round their necks, this being fashionable among them. A great many meet every Friday afternoon in the donkey-market, , and retire to a public-house adjoining, to spend the evening.

A "cats' meat carrier" who supplied me with information was more comfortably situated than any of the poorer classes that I have yet seen. He lived in the front room of a floor, in an open and respectable quarter of the town, and his lodgings were the perfection of comfort and cleanliness in an humble sphere. It was late in the evening when I reached the house. I found the "carrier" and his family preparing for supper. In a large morocco leather easy chair sat the cats' meat carrier himself; his "blue apron and black shiny hat" had disappeared, and he wore a "dress" coat and a black satin waistcoat instead. His wife, who was a remarkably pretty woman, and of very attractive manners, wore a "Dolly Varden" cap, placed jauntily at the back of her head, and a drab merino dress. The room was cosily carpeted, and in corner stood a mahogany "crib" with cane-work sides, in which of the children was asleep. On the table was a clean white table-cloth, and the room was savoury with the steaks, and mashed potatoes that were cooking on the fire. Indeed, I have never yet seen greater comfort in the abodes of the poor. The cleanliness and wholesomeness of the apartment were the more striking from the unpleasant associations connected with the calling.

It is believed by who has been engaged at the business for years, that there are from to horses, averaging cwt. of meat each—little and big—boiled down every week; so that the quantity of cats' and dogs' meat used throughout London is about lbs. per week, and this, sold at the rate of per lb., gives a week for the money spent in cats' and dogs' meat, or upwards of a year, which is at the rate of -worth sold annually by each carrier. The profits of the carriers may be estimated at about each per annum.

The capital required to start in this business varies from to The stock-money needed is between and The barrow and basket, weights and scales, knife and steel, or blackstone, cost about when new, and from to -hand.