LIVE WEIGHT OF CATTLE. 241 



to prove the most valuable race of animals ever known among us for 

 dairy purposes, and equal to any of which we have any information." 



TO ESTIMATE THE LIVE WEIGHT OF CATTLE, etc.— Drovers and butch- 

 ers by long experience become very expert in estimating, by simple 

 inspection, the weight of live cattle ; and in making purchases, they thus 

 have a decided advantage over the less experienced seller. Hence, the 

 importance to the latter of some means by which he can know^ and not 

 guess at the weight of his live animals. 



The following rules, the result of careful experiments, and which we 

 take from The Valley Farmer^ will enable any one to ascertain the 

 weight of live animals with a close approach to accuracy : — take a 

 string, put it around the breast, stand square just behind the shoulder- 

 blade, measure on a rule the feet and inches the animal is in circum- 

 ference ; this is called the girth; then, with the string, measure from 

 the bone of the tail which plumbs the line with the hinder part of the 

 buttock ; direct the line along the back to the fore part of the shoulder- 

 blade ; take the dimensions on the foot-rule as before, which is the 

 length ; and work the figures in the following manner: — girth of the 

 animal, say six feet four inches, length five feet three inches, which mul- 

 tiplied together, makes thirty-one square superficial feet, and that mul- 

 tiplied by twenty-three, the number of pounds allowed to each superficial 

 foot of cattle measuring less than seven and more than five feet in girth, 

 makes seven hundred and thirteen pounds. When the animal measures 

 less then nine and more than seven feet in girth, thirty-one is the number 

 of pounds to each superficial foot. Again, suppose a pig or any small 

 beast should measure two feet in girth and two along the back, which 

 multiplied together makes four square feet, that multiplied by eleven, 

 the number of pounds allowed to each square foot of cattle measuring 

 less than three feet in girth, makes forty-four pounds. Again, suppose 

 a calf, a sheep, etc, should measure four feet six inches in girth, and three 

 feet nine inches in length, which multiplied together make fifteen and a 

 quarter square feet ; that multiplied by sixteen, the number of pounds 

 allowed to cattle measuring less than five feet and more than three in 

 girth, makes two hundred and sixty-five pounds. The dimensions of 

 girth and length of horned cattle, sheep, calves, and hogs, may be ex- 

 actly taken in this way, as it is all that is necessary for any computation, 

 or any valuation of stock, and will answer exactly to the four quarters, 

 sinking ofi"al. 

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