392 BRITISH HUSBANDRY. [Cli. XXXV. 



covered with flesh in the manner required to constitute a perfect shape, 

 it may be concluded tliat he has been well fed; especially when his 

 hip-bones — or, as they are sometimes termed, his ' huckle bones,' — 

 are round, his ribs smooth, his flanks full, and his cod round, ^\'hen 

 these marks are perceptible, the beast may be handled, and his lower- 

 most ribs felt ; if the skin be kindly or mellow, — that is, soft, yet firm 

 to the touch, — it is certain that he is well fed outwardly ; or, in other 

 words, ' upon the bones.' 



" Next, the hand may be laid upon his huckle-bones, and if the 

 parts there likewise feel firm, round, and plump, it may be safely con- 

 cluded that he is w^ell fed both externally and internally, — that is, both 

 in flesh and tallow. He may then be handled at the setting on of his 

 tail, which, if it be thick, full, and soft to the touch, is also an indica- 

 tion that the beast is well fed externally : the same circumstance is 

 likewise evinced by the " nach-bones," — which lie on either side of 

 the setting on of his tail — feeling mellow, or soft, and loose. 



" Lastly, the cod may be examined of an ox, or the navel of a cow, 

 and if they respectively feel tliick, round, large, and plump, it is a 

 pretty certain criterion that the beast is well tallowed within ; and 

 when any of these parts or members handle contrary to the rules 

 above mentioned, a contrary judgment must be formed." 



WEIGHT. 



Having thus formed a correct judgment of the condition of the beast, 

 the next consideration, as between the buyer and the seller, is its weight. 

 This, indeed, may be duly ascertained by means of the steel-yard, which no 

 extensive grazier should ever be without, for by its constant use while the 

 cattle are fatting, lie can instantly ascertain the state and 'progress of the 

 beasts, and thus compare together their expense and their improvement ; 

 but it cannot be employed with accuracy unless the animal has fasted during 

 at least twelve hours. When judged by the eye, it is, liowever, to an inex- 

 perienced person, a matter of much uncertainly, and even when conquered 

 there is the still greater difliculty of estimating the difference between the 

 live and dead u-eights. These are, in this country, usually calculated per 

 stone of 14 lbs. for the live, and 8 lbs. for the dead iccight ; but in some 

 other parts of the kingdom the following are also in use, namely : — 



lbs. oz. 



Smithfield . 8 of IG 



N. Country . 14 „ 16 



Common Scotch . 16 „ 16 



lbs. oz. 

 Glasgow Tron . 1 G of 22 



Ayisbire ditto . IG „ 24 



Dutch . . l/i ,, 16 



It has been very commonly calculated by salesmen that the dead weight 

 is one half of what the animal weighs alive ; but although submitted to by 

 the grazier, it is yet well known by the butcher to be more, and w'e believe 

 that, in most cases, it is found to be nearer to three-fifths than one half of 

 the live weight. The stock-bailift" of the late Mr. Curwen always calculated 

 from his experience that the dead weight was equal to tVW> — that is to 

 say, about eleven-twentieths of the live weight ; or that, supposing a live 

 bullock to weigh .'lO stone, the four quarters should, when dead, give a 

 fraction more than 27 stone 11 lbs. Thus one of the heifers to which we 

 have alluded in the chapter on summer soiling, having been slaughtered at 

 one of the Workington Meetings, was found to be precisely 55 stone, when 

 alive, and to yield 30^ stone of beef, with 2 stone of loose fat. This 

 animal, it should, however, be observed, had not attained a state of perfec- 

 tion, yet thus considerably exceeded one half of her live weight ; jmd the 



