176 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



of fat. The actual amounts of both the nitrogenous and the 

 mineral matter do, indeed, augment during the fattening process, 

 as will be seen presently, when I come to speak more directlj'' of 

 the composition of the increase itself; but as they do so in so 

 much less proportion than the fat, it results that their proportion 

 in a given live weight becomes less and less, whilst that of the 

 fat increases as the animal matures. 



The quality of the meat depends, however, much upon the dis- 

 tribution and the character of the fat deposited as well as upon its 

 amount. Different breeds store up their fat very diflerently — some 

 more outside upon the carcass, some more around the internal 

 organs, some in more intimate mixture with the nitrogenous or 

 fleshy portion of the meat, and so on. Then, again, complaints 

 are sometimes heard of the fat, particularly of pork, boiling away. 

 Such faulty deposition is generally attributable to the character of 

 the food, and is found to result when too much oily matter is 

 given, or when pigs are fed freely with roots or other succulent 

 food. 



Proportion of Parts, in Animals of different Descriptions, and in 

 different Conditions of Maturity. 



Passing from the question of the chemical composition of oxen, 

 sheep and pigs, it will be desirable, before considering the relation 

 of the increase and manure produced to that of the food consumed, 

 briefly to point out some characteristic differences of structure or 

 relative proportion of certain of their internal organs, as in these 

 will be found the key to the difference in the character and amount 

 of food which the three descriptions of animal respectively require. 

 Table II. illustrates this part of the subject. 



It is seen that whilst 100 lbs. live weight of the ox comprises 

 about 11| lbs. of stomach and contents, that of the sheep contains 

 only 7|, and that of the pig only 1^ lbs. Of intestines and con- 

 tents, on the other hand, the ox contains only 2|, the sheep 3^, 

 and the pig 6| per cent. Again, of stomachs and intestines (and 

 their respective contents), taken together, the ox contains about 

 14|, sheep about 11, and pigs 7| per cent. Thus, of the recep- 

 tacles and first laboratories of the food, the oxen contain by far 

 the largest, and pigs by far the smallest proportion, which would 

 appear to indicate a great diflerence in the requirement for bulk of 

 food, such, indeed, as we know in reality exists. Oxen require a 

 larger proportion of woody fibre in their food than sheep, and 



