STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 725 



On entering upon this comparison, it is necessary that I should 

 explain my conclusions on a subject to which, as far as my read- 

 ing and information extend, little inquiry or attention has been 

 given, viz., the whole gain of weiglit and the proportions of useful 

 material and offal made by cattle whilst fattening. 



Weight of meat gained by fatteiwig cattle. — Not being a breeder 

 of horned stock, I pui'chase my milk cows and cattle for fatten- 

 ing in the markets of the neighborhood. I prefer, for fattening, 

 full-grown cows, which have had one, or, at the most, two calves, 

 at from three to five years old. The breeds of this district are 

 mixed Short-horns, the bulls used having a large admixture of 

 Short-horn blood. The live weight of the cattle I buy for fatten- 

 ing, is from 7 cwt. to 9 cwt. each. Their capability of carrying ad- 

 ditional weight maybe taken at 3 cwt., so that when prime fat, they 

 will weigh from 10 to 12 cwt. Tlieir dead or carcase weight, 

 if killed in a lean state, will be less than one-half their live 

 weight, varying probably from 43 to 46 per cent. In Mor- 

 ton's " Cyclopcedia," article on meat, the comparison of carcase 

 and live weight is stated as 50 per cent, when half fat, of cattle 

 of like quality. This tends to confirm my estimate of the propor- 

 tion of live to dead weight of lean stock. 



I will consider, for example, a lean animal weighing 8 cwt., 



and capable of weighing when prime fat, 11 cwt. live weight; 



when fairly started, and with proper feeding, I should look for 



an average gain of 14 lbs. per week live weight. At this rate it 



would require 24 weeks to bring it to a state of prime fatness, 



and the comparison of live and dead W'eight when lean and fat 



would stand as follows : 



J ( Live weight -= 8 cwt. 



' I Dead weight, at 45 per cent, = 28 J stone, 



P^ j Live weight =11 cwt. 



' I Dead weight, at 60 per cent, = 52 J '' 



Gain in dead weight in 24 weeks, 24 " 



or 14 lbs. per week, being precisely the average gain in live 

 weight. 



In the course of feeding there is a gradual increase of interior 

 fat of two desrri]»ti()ns — tat in the loins, whicli is weighed with 

 the carcase, and loose fat or tallow which counts as oniil. Even 

 though this loose fat counts as oilal, it is well known that cattlo 



