WEIGHT.] 



CATTLE, AND TIIEIE VAEIETIES. 



[weight. 



than the other, he reversed the order; and it 

 turned out that the animal now fed on cold 

 food, and before on hot, gained 3 stones 1 lb. ; 

 while the other, now fed on hot food, and 

 before on cold, gained 5 stones 11 lbs. ! But 

 this was not all. While the one fed on hot 

 food had only 5 stones 10 lbs. of Swedish turnips 

 per day, the one fed on cold food was not 

 satisfied till his feed was increased to 7 stones 

 of turnips in the same time, thus showing a 

 greater consumption of other food to make up 

 for the want of heat ! 



WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENT OF CATTLE. 



To estimate the weight and measurement of 

 cattle by the seuses of feeling and sight, is not 

 so easy an operation as some might suppose. 

 Indeed, it is so difficult a matter, that many 

 farmers, even of large experience, are unable to 

 perform the task with anything like accuracy. 

 A somewhat distant approximation is all they 

 can accomplish. Whilst this is the case with 

 the farmer who may not be moving quite in 

 the capacity of grazier, this latter has a still 

 more difficult duty to perform. He has to 

 purchase lean animals at a market or fair, and 

 to estimate their feeding qualities. He has 

 besides to calculate the stones they will weigh 

 when fat. It is all a money-calculating pro- 

 cess. On an average the farmer requires to 

 ihake £5 for grazing an ordinary sized animal 

 during the summer. Good grass will feed one 

 beast on an acre, and thus remunerate the 

 farmer. When beef is 5s. per stone, the 

 grazier must increase the weight by twenty 

 stones, in order to make his animals remunera- 

 tive. Hence, if he sees a beast which, in his 

 estimation, has frame and capabilities to weigh 

 fifty istones, he ought not to give more for it 

 than £7 5s. But this price will not compensate 

 the breeder ; therefore he and the grazier must 

 both suffer when the price is only 5s. per stone. 



The various elements which enter into the 

 calculation of the weight of animals, are breed, 

 quality, age, degree of fatness, quality of food, 

 duration of feeding, &c. Of some of these the 

 buyer may be able to judge, but of others he 

 can form no idea. lie may conceive the breed 

 to be good, the age to be proper, and the 

 quality sucli as he wants ; he may even find 

 the animal well fed up, both as to quality and 

 food; but ho may still be deficient in the re- 

 6G8 



quisite knowledge. The qfah of cattle have 

 also a material influence in regulating the 

 price. There was a time when the hide and 

 tallow would be an ample profit to the butcher ; 

 but that is past, and he must now sell the best 

 cuts of meat at more per pound than he gives 

 for the wliole, or he will be a loser of his fair 

 share of profits. 



The oftal of ordinary beasts may be esti- 

 mated as follows : — ■ 



stones. 



Hide, tail, and horns 



Tallow .... 



Head, &c. 



Heart, and eatable portions . . .11 



Lights, liver, &c. 



Blood 4 



Bag and entrails, with contents . . 14 



Mr. Ewart, of Newcastle, who paid very 

 great attention to this subject, and whose 

 slide-rule and cattle-gauge obtained for him 

 a degree of merit for skill which his labours 

 well merited, drew up a scale of per-centages, 

 which may be considered as a sort of standard. 

 He classes animals as to their peculiar proper- 

 ties ; and, in his first class, included the 

 following: — 



EiKST Class. — Short-horns, Herefords, Suf- 

 folks, and Devons. Their per-centage of fat 

 to live weight, he thus estimated : — 



Beef. Live Weight. . 



Half fat . . . . 55 to 59 



Moderately fat . . . 60 „ G2 



Prime, to very fat . . 63 „ 66 



Extraordinarily fat . . 67 „ 70 



Second Class. — Craven, Lancashire and 

 Irish short-horns, Lincolnshire, Galloway, 

 Angus, Aberdeenshire, Eifeshire, Norfolk, and 

 better sorts of Welsh : — 



Half fat 



Moderately fat . 

 Prime to very fat 

 Extraordinarily fat . 



Third Class. — Argyleshire, Highland, and 

 mountain breeds: — 



Beef. Live Weight. 

 Half fat . . . - 

 Moderately fat . 

 Prime, to very fat 

 Extraordinarily fat 



These estimates may help the buyer who 

 has not had experience sufficient to enable 



