REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY. 361 

 METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION. 



Marked improvements have been made of late years in the meth- 

 ods of transporting live cattle and hogs to market. This applies 

 especially to cattle. There is still room for further development in 

 the manner of carrying hogs, so as to insure greater comfort and 

 immunity from accidental death or injury. Formerly animals of 

 all grades were carried in square open boxes, called cattle cars, into 

 which they were crowded without much regard for bruises or broken 

 limbs, and with little or no provision for feeding or watering them 

 on the road. That system, happily, has been changed. Improved 

 "palace" and "stable" cars have replaced the square box monstrosi- 

 ties in the carrying of all the best grades of cattle. The aim has 

 been, not only to provide means for properly feeding and watering 

 the animals en route, but to protect them as far as possible from in- 

 jury and loss of weight in transit, and to reduce the time occupied 

 by the journey to the briefest possible space. Ample compensation 

 for the extra cost thus incurred is found in the excellent condition 

 of the cattle when landed at their destination. 



One of the best equipped of the palace-car companies engaged in 

 carrying live-stock to market recently transported a herd of cattle 

 from Idaho Territory to New York City, a distance of 2,500 miles, 

 in one hundred and seven hours, and on disembarkation the cattle 

 showed an average shrinkage of less than 20 pounds per head, or 

 barely 2% per cent., as the result of the journey. The cars used by 

 this company are constructed on the model of the Pullman passen- 

 ger cars, with 42-inch steel-tired papier-mache' wheels, elliptic springs, 

 Westinghouse air-brakes, and automatic couplers so as to prevent 

 any jarring at starting or stopping. The cattle are driven into these 

 cars in the ordinary way, twenty to a car, and are then boxed oif 

 into separate compartments one to each if desired by transverse 

 slats lowered from the roof. Each stall affords room for the animal 

 to lie down at will. Food is dropped from a bin in the roof into 

 mangers let into the sides of the cars, and water is supplied in 

 troughs, similarly placed, from pipes running round the outside of 

 the car and connecting with a tank in the rear. Fan wheels at each 

 end, and a double roof, keep the cars well ventilated in the warmest 

 weather. This line has over five hundred palace cars in successful 

 operation. The method of construction is shown in the above sketch. 



