CATTLE. 193 



weight are to be desired in cattle for the beef market, the quality of the beef produced is a 

 more important consideration, and when that which is first-class in quality is combined with 

 heavy weight in the animal, the breeder and feeder can truly be said to have attained the 

 most economic and successful standard in beef production. 



Weighing with a Tape Line. It is sometimes convenient to be able to estimate 

 the weight of cattle on foot when purchasing, where the means of obtaining the actual weight 

 are not at hand. For doing this, the following method will be found serviceable, although 

 of course only an approximation to the actual weight of cattle can be attained by the use 

 of a tape line. See that the animal stands square, resting equally upon his four feet, then 

 take his circumference just behind the shoulder blade, which is the girth. Then measure 

 from the bone of the tail which plumbs the line with the hinder part of the buttock, directing 

 the string along the back to the forepart of the shoulder blade; this will be the length. 



These dimensions will then be used as follows: Assuming the girth of a steer to be six 

 feet four inches, and the length five feet three inches, these multiplied together make 

 thirty-three square superficial feet; and these multiplied by twenty-three (the number of 

 pounds allowed for each superficial foot of cattle measuring less than seven, and more than 

 five feet in girth,) makes 759 pounds. When the animal measures less than nine, and more 

 than seven feet in girth, the rule is to allow thirty-one as the number of pounds for each 

 superficial foot. 



When an animal measures less than three feet in girth, the number of pounds allowed in 

 weight for each square foot is eleven; for instance, if a small animal measures two feet in 

 girth, and two feet in length, these two dimensions multiplied together make four square 

 feet, which, multiplied by eleven, gives forty-four pounds as the approximate weight of the 

 animal. When an animal measures less than five feet in girth, and more than three, the 

 number of pounds allowed for each square foot of surface is sixteen. To illustrate, suppose 

 a calf, or sheep to measure four feet six inches in girth, and three feet nine inches in length; 

 these figures multiplied together make sixteen square feet, which multiplied by sixteen (the 

 number of pounds according to the rule, which are allowed to each square foot), gives a weight 

 of 256 pounds. The dimensions of all animals such as cattle, sheep, calves, and hogs can be 

 taken in this manner, and the weight of the four quarters of the animal be very nearly 

 ascertained, sinking the offal. A deduction is usually made for animals that are fat, of one 

 pound in twenty; and for a cow that has had calves, one pound is allowed in addition to the 

 one for not being fat, upon every twenty. 



How to Cut Up a Carcass of Beef. The accompanying diagram illustrates the 

 manner in which a carcass of beef is cut up for the wholesale trade by butchers generally. 

 It is somewhat difficult to show upon a flat surface the exact position of the lines, but to 

 those at all familiar with the anatomy of the ox, the diagram will be sufficiently 

 intelligible. 



The parts are named as follows: 1, rump; 2, loin; 3, rib roast; 4, chuck; 5, round; 

 6, flank; 7, plate (with the dotted line enclosing c, the shoulder clod, taken off); 8, shank. 

 The piece 2, the loin, is divided in the meat market into a and b, as shown by the dotted line 

 in the diagram. From a is cut the &quot; sirloin &quot; steak, and from b the &quot; porterhouse &quot; steak. 



Training Steers. The best working oxen, and the most easily trained, are those that 

 have been accustomed to be handled from birth, and made gentle by kind treatment. We 

 have seen calves not three months old nearly as well broken as working oxen, and as obedient 

 to every word and motion, the training having been accomplished by a boy who made them 

 his pets, and without whipping or abuse of any kind. By commencing early with calves they 

 can be taught, by kind and patient effort, to perform many things that would seem, from the 

 natural intelligence of the ox, to be entirely beyond his comprehension, all of which shows 



