S96 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



or unhoaltliy mutton-chop, from the loin of tlie gold- 

 medal Southrt(iwn. Further on we turn to " the dis- 

 eased heart of a Devon heifer, by conversion into fat"— 

 his Royal Higlmcs^ the Prince Consort exhibitor and 

 breeder. There is only one grand moral example want- 

 ing, and that forms the illustration of a whole page — 

 " the diseased heart by conversion into fat," of the 

 gold-medal Short-horn— Mr. E. Wortley exhibitor and 

 breeder. There is no mistake, no shy fighting here. 

 In the first place, you are shown the heart of an animal 

 in the healthy state it should be, and then that of 

 one diseased by over-feeding. Let Mr. Gant's text 

 speak further to this. He is now going the round of the 

 yard:— 



" My limited opportunity for examining thera enabled me 

 to detect no external sign of disease, except in two Devon 

 cows, Class IV., Nos. 32 eu.i 33, prize £5, each of which was 

 snfferina; from prolapsus varjinm. One of them looked very 

 ill, and laid her head and neck flit on the ground, like a fcrey- 

 hound. I pointed out these animsls to a man who was draw- 

 ing water, and I asked hira if their condition wa-i one of com- 

 mon occurrence. He said, ' I knows nothing of them beasties 

 in p'ticler, b\it it's the case with many on 'em, I knuws that.' 

 I passed on to the \A%i. A pea of three pigs, bvlongicg to 

 His R yal Highness the Prince Consort, happened to be placed 

 in a favourable light for observation, and I particularly notii:ed 

 their rondition. They lay helplessly on their sides, with their 

 )i03es propped up against each other's backs, as if endeavour- 

 ing to breatha more easily; but their res;iratiou was loud, 

 suffocating, aid at long intervals Then yo-i heard a short, 

 catching snore, which shook the whole body of the animal, 

 and passed with the motion of a wave over its fat su-fare, 

 which, noreovcr, ftlt cold. I tho'ight how much the heart, 

 under such circumstances, must lie labouring to propel the 

 blood through the lungs, p.nd throughout the body. The gold 

 medal pigs of Mr. Morland were in a similar condition, if 

 anything, worse; for they er.ored and gasped for breath, their 

 mouths being opened, as well as their nostrils dilitel, at each 

 irispiration ; yet these animals, only twelve iriotiths and ten 

 days old, were marked 'improved Chilton breed.' They, with 

 their fellows just mentio:ied, of eleven montlis and tAcnty- 

 threc days, had early come to grief. Three pigs of the black 

 breed were in a sinnlar state at sevtn months, three '^ecks, and 

 five days ; yet such nuima's ' the judges highly commend.' " 



This is very graphic, and almost amusing in its tone, 

 were not the injury said to be of so serious a character. 

 We shall not follow our author into the dissecting-room, 

 of his labours, in which he gives further and yet more 

 useful illustration. We must be content, tlie rather^ 

 with the chief resnlt and its consequences : — 



" Under the present system of rearing and feeding, one dis- 

 ease is of most frequent occurrence, naratly, conversion of the 

 heart into fat. I am supported in this opndon by the invalu- 

 able testimony of Professor Quekett, of the Rojal Collpge of 

 Surgeons, who re examined the hearts in question, and con- 

 firmed my observations." 



The consequences are — 



"That in over-fed, corpulent animals of foiced growth, tlie 

 muscular substance of the most vital organ, the hrari, is 

 pallid, soft, and greasy ; and t lat its fibres then contain fat 

 instead of the fihrilioe, in w-hich reside both tiie contractu? 

 power of muscle, and its nutritive value for human fool We 

 therefore say that such meat no longer retains its healthy 



Etructuae and nutritive quality, although when degenerated 

 into fat, it. may still present the seaablauce of ordinary 

 muscle, and thereby deceive both buyer and seller. We 

 should therefore expect in vain to replenish our own 

 muscles by the use of Euch food, nor should animals thus over- 

 fed be regarded as prize specimens of rearing end feeding. The 

 heart, being converted into fat, no longer retains its contrac- 

 tile power, but beats feebly and irregularly. The blood, 

 therefore, now moves onward in a slow and feeble current. 

 Hence the panting breathlessness due to stagnation of blood 

 in the lungs, which the heart labours (in vain) to remove, 

 while the skin and extremities are cold. Hence the stupid, 

 heavy-headed expression of a congested brain, and the 6/ood- 

 ft lined appearance of meat after death. The slightest exer- 

 tion to an animal, under such circumstances, might suddenly 

 prove fatal. Were a man, in this condition, to present him- 

 self at an insurance office, it would refuse to insure his life at 

 any premium. Yet, tinder similar circumstances, a sheep is 

 awarded gold and silver niedtils, and its feeder a prize of 

 £20 .' .'" 



Mr. Gant's remedy — for we prefer that he should 

 speak for himself — is : — 



" Instead of pursuing the present system of rearing cattle, 

 much as it may test the qualities of food, and other matters 

 of minor impDrtance, let breeders, feeders, exhibitors, and 

 prize judges alike visit the slaughter-houses ; let them do thia 

 with a due knowledge of diseased appearances, and let them 

 thus discover that system of rearing which is roost co'npatible 

 with the health of cattle, a".d which produces the largest 

 amount of the most riutritious food for man. Under the pre- 

 sent system the public have no guarantee, and are not insured 

 the best, if icdeed the cheapest food. The bulky withers of a 

 fat bullock are no criterion of health, and its flit tubular back 

 may conceal the revolting ravages of ditease." 



If we recollect aright, in the early days of the Smith- 

 field Club this was done. The judges inspected the 

 carcases of the animals after they were killed, and re- 

 vised or confirmed their decisions accordingly. As the 

 Society increased in influence and numbers, no doubt 

 the practice was found inconvenient, if not altogether 

 impracticublc. Si ill, the fact that this has been done 

 gives weight to the suggestion, and shows that Mr. 

 Gant asks nothing but what the Club itself has already 

 some precedent for. His pamphlet, originally the sub- 

 ject of a communication to the Observer newspaper, is 

 called "Evil Results of over-feeding Cat- 

 tle — A New Inquiry," and is dedicated to the 

 agriculturists of Great Britain aud Ireland. However 

 sound or unsound his deductions may be, we must do 

 Mr. Gant the justice to say that he has spared no trouble 

 nor expense in perfecting his wcrk. The plates alone 

 must have been very costly, and for the original of one 

 — the diseased heart of the Shorthorn— he paid no less 

 than half-a-guinea ! 



There is one reflection forces itself upon us here. If 

 animals intended for the butcher are really in this dis- 

 ease d condition, what evils must follow from breeding- 

 stock being almost equally over-fed ? And yet our ex- 

 perience of only last summer recals pigs and sheep in 

 this panting, heli)less state; while one of tlio prize fat 

 cows at this very Christmas Show was sent home again 

 in calf I To us it is very satisfactory to feel, that of this 

 branch of the evil we have long continued to complain. 



WOOL AND WOOLLENS. — IMPORT AND EXPORT. 



Incidental mention was made by Mr. Ashwoith, in a an admixture of cotton with wool in various fabrics; 

 paper on cotton lead at a recent meeting of the Society " the attractions of the article manufactured, together 

 ot Arts, of the Increased Production of British Wool, with its compnrative cheapness," according to his 

 and he inferred that the increased consumption and dictum, having called for more wool, and, with this 

 enhanced prices were mainly due to the introduction of , increased demand, led to a greatly-improved price, 



