358 NUTRITION OF FARM ANIMALS 



TABLE 71. COMPOSITION OF FAT-FREE MEAT OF SHEEP 



It is computed that the actual gains during the fattening of 

 the fat animal were as follows : 



Insoluble protein 38.7 Grms. 



Extractives : 



Protein 82.0 Grms. 



Non-protein 4.2 Grms. 



Ash 9.2 Grms. 



77.0 Grms. 



Total 115.7 Grms. 



Somewhat similar results were obtained later by the same 

 authors in experiments on fattening lambs. Evidently this 

 increase in the soluble nitrogenous compounds of the muscles 

 is one of the factors going to make up the observed gain of 

 protein by fattening animals. 



446. Object of fattening. The fattening of animals as a 

 commercial process is a practice based on experience, which 

 has shown that the tenderness and palatability of the meat are 

 materially increased thereby, so that the consumer is willing to 

 pay a higher price for it. It is to this improvement in quality 

 in the first instance, and only secondarily to the gain in weight, 

 that the feeder looks for his profit. 



The facts as to the composition of the increase in fattening 

 recorded in the foregoing paragraphs serve to show what are 

 the principal factors in this improvement in the quality of the 

 meat. They are, first, the deposition of the intermuscular 



