SMITHFIELD, LONDON. 309 



eye ; and a series of tables have been constructed upon these 

 rules, which, if they could be relied upon, would be of consid 

 erable use in private practice.* The girth of the ox (for it does 

 not apply to cows as well as to oxen, as their shape is much less 

 regular) is to be taken directly behind the shoulder, and the 

 length is to be measured from the front of the shoulder-bone to 

 the end of the bone on the rump, where a line dropping down at 

 right angles with the line on the back would just clear the 

 thigh, or buttock. Then, according to a rule given me by Lord 

 Spencer, &quot; Reduce the feet into inches ; multiply the girth by 

 the length, and that product by the fraction .001944, which 

 will give the weight in pounds ; &quot; or, in another form, as the rule 

 is quoted by Mr. HiUyard, &quot; Estimating the weight of a cubic- 

 inch of meat at 171 grains, then girth 7 feet 6 inches, and 

 length 5 feet 4 inches, gives 41,235 T 8 cj 4 b- cubic inches, which, 

 multiplied by 171, gives 7,051,328 grains, equal to 125 stones. 

 7 pounds, of 8 pounds to the stone.&quot; Another mode of estimat 

 ing the weight of cattle is to ascertain their live weight upon a 

 platform balance, common enough in the United States. Then, 

 according to some authorities, every 112 pounds live weight 

 will produce 72 pounds of beef ; but a coarse, large-boned ox 

 will not produce so much. Another way is to deduct one third 

 of the live weight, which is commonly deemed a fair allowance : 

 and also, if the beast is not quite fat, from 2 to 5 per cent, in 

 addition. Another able authority states, &quot; that the proportion 

 which the dead weight bears to the live weight of animals was 

 reckoned at one half the live weight ; but subsequent experi 

 ments in the more improved breed of animals show that this is 

 much too small a proportion, it being more correctly represented 

 by the fractional quantity .605, the weight of the animal being 

 assumed as 1. This would be about three fifths for the dead 

 weight. The gross weight of the animal being then multiplied 

 by .605, will give the result in the same denomination in which 

 the gross weight is given.&quot; It is obvious, however, that such 

 rules can be little more than an approximation to exactness, 

 since the circumstances under which the animal is weighed. 



* These tables are to be found at large in Mr. Hillyard s useful and sensible 

 book, entitled &quot; Practical Farming and Grazing,&quot; a fourth edition of which ap 

 peared in London in 1844. 



