346 STATE BOARD OF AGEICULTUEE. 



AFTERXOOX SESSION. 



( 



A paper was read by Prof. C. L. Ingersoll of the Agricultural College on the 

 ^Kelation of Live Stock to the Farm " (see lectures aud addresses following 

 report of Institutes.) 



Dr. M. Miles of Lansing gave an address, of which the following is an abstract 

 from the Lansing Republican : 



''the foem of animals as an index of internal qualities," 



and illustrated it with crayon sketches on canvas of shorthorns, Galloway, and 

 Hereford cattle, to show the meat producing types, while the dairy cow was rep- 

 resented by a sketch of an Ayrshire. There was also a sketch of the native 

 "Lyerey" breed to show defects in form. Of sheep he had sketches of the 

 Southdown aud Cotswold. The doctor claimed that the external form of ani- 

 mals serves as an index to the internal characteristics which give value. There 

 are two methods of determining the quality of animals : one by the study of 

 ancestry, and the other by the characteristics presented in the external form. 



Comparative anatomists recognize the law known as that of the correlation 

 of parts, or the balancing of organs. This is illustrated in the kangaroo, which 

 shows great development of hind legs and a corresponding deficiency in fore- 

 legs. Carnivorous animals have teeth for cutting and tearing, the crowns cov- 

 ei'ed with enamel, with jaws so regulated as to give motion only in a vertical 

 direction. These parts are in harmony with the digestive organs. 



In herbiverous animals the same correlation of structure is noticed. They 

 have teeth for grinding, and tlieir jaws move laterally as well as vertically; 

 their legs are used entirely for locomotion, and they have complex stomachs 

 and digestive organs. The comparative anatomist is able from a single bone 

 or tooth to tell not only the group to which an animal belonged, but its habits 

 and the food necessary for its existeuce. Prof. Owen's discovery of the dinornis 

 was alluded to. He had only a fragment of a leg bone about six inches long, 

 but from this he calculated that it belonged to the ostrich tribe, but was larger 

 and more sluggish. It had rudimentary wings, a large, powerful beak, legs 

 used for scratching, and it fed on roots. Subsequent discoveries proved that 

 the professor was correct in every particular. 



The same principles control our domestic animals, and we should apply them 

 for the purpose of getting a knowledge of their internal structure. Each breed 

 has qualities of its own, but the meat-producing breeds should have character- 

 istics in common with each other. These are a good constitution, good feeding 

 qualities, early maturity, flesh of good quality, fine fiber and marbled, and there 

 should be a large proportion of the choice j^arts of the meat and a correspond- 

 ing diminution of those parts which are of low value. The form should be of 

 good length, with a proportionate depth or thickness of carcass. If the body is 

 excessively long without corresponding depth, with long legs and a coarse skel- 

 eton, the animal will be a slow feeder, slow of maturity, and often weak in con- 

 stitution. An animal that is very short in body with a good depth and thickness 

 of carcass Avill fat readily, with fat frequently laid on in masses, will mature 

 early, but on the Avhole there would be a deficiency in weight. 



One method of determining the relative proportion of the choice parts to the 

 inferior is by drawing a line from the stifle to the point of the shoulder. The 

 animal having the larger proportion above this line will be the most valuable. 



