FATTENING CATTLE. 



501 



FATTENING CATTLE. 



A DISSERTATION ON THE PHILOSOPHY OF FATTENING CATTLE.. . .PART I. 



.Next to understanding properly the chem- 

 ical analysis of soils, the application of proper 

 manures, and the crops which slioiild be 

 grown from tlie land by pro|)er tillage, there 

 are but f(nv subjects more deserving the at- 

 lention of the practical agriculturist than a 

 knowledge of the proj)er connection which 

 exists and should be duly preserved between 

 the members of the animal and vegetable 

 kingdoms. As I obsen-ed in my Lectures on 

 the " rhilosijphy of Agriculture," so may I 

 now repeat, man is an omnivorous animal — 

 he is destined by the Almighty, who has so 

 created his masticatory and digestive organs, 

 that he can live and flourish under a com- 

 pound diet of animal and vegetable food; we 

 are also told, by Divine authority, that " man 

 shall not live upon bread alone ;" consequent- 

 ly, as it is necessary that he should have re- 

 course to substances of a different nature to 

 use in combination, so is it equally of para- 

 mount importance that he should direct his 

 care, skill, knowledge and attention to the 

 management of cattle, so that they should be 

 able to afford him the greatest possible amount 

 of nutritious food, and at the least possible ex- 

 pense in money to himself, and waste or loss, 

 or both, in the preparation of the same. 



It is my intention in the present Lecture to 

 make a few observations on this subject, to 

 show you the wisdom that experience has 

 taught us, and which 1 have drawn from many 

 sources, the results of the labors of practical 

 men. To some I may have the pleasure of 

 addressing, the theme I shall discuss may be 

 novel ; while I doubt not that many who are 

 here present will be able to confirm many of 

 the truths which I shall utter. 



The existing link between animals and veg- 

 etables forms one of the most beautiful chains 

 in Nature, and one which cannot be dissolved ; 

 it is one of the greatest val ue to the practical 

 farmer, because it so materially affects his op- 

 erations in the breeding, rearing and feeding 

 his cattle. 



In considering this subject philosophically, 

 we must first of all examine what are the sub- 

 stances which enter into the office of nutrition, 

 and ascertain by what means, as far as our 

 limited knowledge extends, nourishment is 

 afforded to the animal. The veget^ibles upon 

 which not only cattle but ourselves are fed 

 consist of two portions, viz. an organic and an 

 inorganic ; and, upon instituting a chemical 

 analysis, we find that the organic is chiefly 

 composed of a considerable cpiantity of water, 

 much carbonic acid in combination with the 

 salts of ammonia, and nitric acid ; the iuor- 

 (1021) 



ganic portion is entirely derived from the soil 

 from which they gi'ow, and the science of 

 Chemistry informs us that it consists almost 

 entirely of the various saline constituents, and 

 earthy particles, which, upon incineration or 

 burning, constitute the ashes of tlie plants. I 

 reft;r you to what I stated in my Lectures on 

 the Philosophy of Aginculture, as to the man- 

 ner in which these particles are absorbed by 

 the plants, and which you will find published 

 in Nos. I. and II. of " The Plow," detailed 

 at length ; but I may here briefly remark that 

 these substances are taken into the texture 

 of the vegetable by means of the leaves and 

 roots, which, under the chemical action and 

 influence of the light from the sun, are decom- 

 posed — the oxygen becoming retimied to the 

 atmosphere which originally gave it ; while 

 the elements of water, with the carbon, unite 

 to fonn starch, sugar, gum, or woody fibre, 

 and with the elements of ammonia or nitric 

 acid, ccmstituting albumen, casein, or gluten. 

 Thus, the plant derives its food almost entirely 

 fnmi the inorganic kingdom, while the animal, 

 on the contrary, from its anatomical confonn- 

 ation, can only e.xist upon organic matter. 



During the present contuiy, such great dis- 

 coveries have been made in the science of Or- 

 ganic Chemistiy, particularly by the discov- 

 eries of the late Sir Humphiy Davy, Dr. Ed 

 ward Turner, Professor Brando, Drs. F'araday 

 and Gregory, and last, though not the least, 

 that of Bai'on Justus Liebig, of Giessen — to 

 which may be added the labors of a rising 

 young chemist, Dr. Lyon Playfair — that much 

 valuable knowledge has been imparted to the 

 philosophical and agricultural world, up )n the 

 physiology of animal life, and the manner by 

 which the system is nourished and supported. 



We now, therefore, can well comprehend 

 why one species of diet is fomid to possess a 

 greater quantity of nourishment than another 

 — why the inhabitant of the frozen regions 

 of the North, as I liave seen in the ])ersons of 

 the Esquimaux and Greenlander, should re- 

 quire great quantities of train-oil with his 

 daily food. And why ? His stomach will 

 digest the rancid flesh and blubber from their 

 whales and seals, while the same species 

 would not only be disgusting to us, but actu- 

 ally prove both physically and mentally inju- 

 rious to the inhabitantsof more congenial and 

 warmer climates. We also understand from 

 the same source how it is that we cannot feed 

 animals or exist ourselves upon a diet wholly 

 composed of sugar, starch, gum, or gelatine; 

 and yet, although we cannot live upon any 

 one of tiiese substances, yet when they are all 



