[ 157 ] 



Remarks on the late Cattle Procession in Philadelphia^ 

 with Directions how to effectually promote the Breed 

 of Ca :tle. By James Mease ^ M, D. Vice President 

 of the Philadelphia Society for promoting Agriculture. 



Read March 20tb, ia21. 



Now that the recent " Splendid Show" of fat cattle 

 has passed,* it may be well to reflect upon the exhibi- 

 tion ; to exannine the justness of the claims it had to the 

 imposing tide of its alleged object, and utility ; to ask 

 ourselves, whether that object and that end will be in the 

 least promoted by such a procedure first and last, as we 

 have witnessed ; and whether there are not other mea- 

 sures more calculated to attain both, and at a much 

 cheaper rate, than those which have been adopted. 



The exhibition was entitled " Pennsylvania against the 

 WorldP Sixty-five oxen, 4 hogs, 19 sheep, 10 kids, 

 3 deer, and 4 bears, had been kept for different periods at 

 an extra allowance of pasture and short feed, for the pur- 

 pose of seeing how much flesh and fat could be put on 

 their bodies, and how much fat be made to cover their 

 intestines. The object as alleged, is the " improving the 

 breed of cattle." Let us reflect a moment, and ask, how 

 such an end can be obtained by the measures pursued. 



It is apprehended, that it will not be diflicult to prove, 

 that the desirable object contemplated will not be ef- 

 fected ; that the zeal and spirit of the concerned have 

 been most egregiously misapplied ; that the exhibition 

 was calculated to keep up a bad fashion and ruinous 



* The cattle were exhibited in stalls in the upper part of the 

 city from the 8th to the 12th March. They were then killed, 

 and their quarters carried about the city in formal procession 

 in carts on the 15th of that month. 



