348 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 



industry, and to a degree of system and perfection not attempted in 

 any other part of the country. The district of Gittadella in particular 

 is reputed for its products, and uses every art to maintain their quality. 

 Mention has been made of the improved character of the cattle industry 

 in the valley of the Brenta as it descends toward the province of Padua, 

 from Bassano, which is already a center of some importance ;. here, beyond 

 theconfme, is its culminating point. The district is not exceptionally fer- 

 tile, and portions of it toward the west are wasted bj; the gravel of the 

 Brenta. Around Gittadella, in the center, it is calcareous, argillaceous, 

 with. a calcareous subsoil, is tolerably well irrigated, and produces good 

 forage. The western border, argillaceous, calcareous, silicious, is more 

 perfectly irrigated, and the forage is considered superior. The remaining 

 surface to the north and cast is fair vegetable soil for every cultivation, 

 but with a rather porous substratum. To the extreme south and south- 

 west, where clay predominates both above and below, the land is espe- 

 cially good for rice and forage. The latest statistics give 11,202 head of 

 cattle, with a rate of 1 animal to 2.G acres; 2 in every 10 are reserved 

 for slaughter. From 400 to 1,300 animals are fattened here annually, 

 out of 3,000, the estimated number for the province. 



HOW CATTLE ARE FATTENED IN PADUA. 



The number of cattle enumerated as belonging to the district are here 

 of no moment, as a certain quantity are purchased for fattening from 

 abroad. The treatment adopted most usually to attain the result in 

 the shortest and most economical way is thus described: It should be 

 premised that all practicians do not make it a point to bring their prod- 

 ucts to a point of extreme obesity, and notable differences in this re- 

 spect may be seen among animals offered in the market. With this 

 qualification, the following is the method adopted by the most skillful 

 and experienced breeders to arrive at a moderat.0 result of weight and 

 volume : 



In winter, when fresh forage is wanting, the animals, with an average 

 of 300 kilograms (pounds G60), after several days of entire repose, with 

 ordinary treatment, are bled, in case their coat, by its want of softness 

 and luster or any other symptom, should indicate the necessity. This 

 being done, they are submitted to a regular and special regime, being 

 fed with fine rich hay, clover, or the like. This is continued from one 

 to two months, as the animals show more or less readiness to gain flesh. 

 After this they are served with a ration of Indian corn shucks, softened 

 in boiling water and sprinkled with linseed meal, in quantity, 11 to 13 

 pounds a day. During four months of this treatment two beeves con- 

 sume about 3,520 pounds of choice forage and 1,100 pounds of linseed 

 oil-cake, and attain a weight of 1,870 pounds. In the summer much 

 the same method is followed, using, however, fresh forage, such as hay, 

 grass in general, clover, medic, and the like, the oil cake being omitted. 

 Use is also made of the green tops of Indian corn, and of mulberry 

 leaves, provided these last have not been touched by frost, and thus 

 rendered unwholesome for the animals. This summer treatment lasts 

 nearly as long, with about the same cost and the same economical re- 

 sult, as the winter treatment. 



To obtain beeves of still higher quality the whole secret consists in 

 prolonging the above treatment, and those who desire extra fine prod- 

 ucts keep the animals on regime as long as six or seven months or 

 more. In such cases a pair of beeves will consume as much as 5,280 

 pounds of forage and 3,300 pounds of oil-cake, reaching a weight of 

 2,420 pounds. 



