No. 5. 



Smithfield, London. 



141 



weight of animals, when plaiiiziitcrcd, by 

 external measurement of tlicm wiien alive. 

 The salesmen in Smithfield do not rely upon 

 these rules, but estimate the weipht of cattle 

 by the eye; and more judy;nicnt, founded 

 upon long practice, evinces most extraordi- 

 nary approaches to exactness, seldom vary- 

 ing but lew pounds. The rules, however, 

 to whicli I refer, have a value to persons 

 who are not accustomed to estimate by the 

 eye ; and a scries of tables have been con- 

 structed upon these rules, which, if they 

 s could be relied ujxjn, would be of consider- 

 able use in private practice. The girth of 

 the ox — for it docs not appty to cows as well 

 as to oxen, as their shape is much less regu- 

 lar — is to be taken directly behind the shoul- 

 der, and the length is to be measured from 

 the front of the shoulder-bone to the end of 

 the lK)ne on the rump, where a line dropping! 

 down at right angles with tlie line on the 

 back, would just clear the tliigh or buttock. 

 Then, according to a rule given me by Lord 

 Spencer, "Reduce the feet into inches; mul- 

 tiply the girth by the length, and that pro- 

 duct by the fraction .001944, which will 

 give the weight in pounds;" or, in another 

 form, as the rule is quoted by Mr. Hillyard, 

 *' Estimating the weight of a cubic inch of 

 meat at 171 gntins, then girth 7 feet 6 inches, 

 and length 5 feet 4 inches, gives 41,285.84 

 cubic inches, which, multiplied by 171, gives 

 7,051,328 grains, equal to 125 stones, 7 lbs.. 

 of 8 lbs. to the stone." Another mode of 

 estimating the weight of cattle, is to ascer- 

 tain their live weight upon a platform bal- 

 ance, common enough in the United States. 

 Then, according to some authorities, every 



112 lbs. live weight will produce 72 pounds 

 of beef; but a coarse, large-boned ox, will 

 not produce so much. Another way is to 

 deduct one-third of the live weight, which 

 is commonly deemed a fair allowance; and 

 also if the beast is not quite fat, from 2| to 

 5 per cent, in addition. Another able au- 

 thority states, "that the proportion which 

 the dead weight bears to the live weight of 

 animals was reckoned at one half the live 

 weight; but subsequent experiments in the 

 more improved breed of animals show that 

 this is much too small a proportion, it being 

 more correctly represented by the fractional 

 quantity .605, the weight of the animal being 

 assumed as 1. This would be about three- 

 fifths for the dead weight. The gross weight 

 of the animal being then multiplied by .605, 

 will give the result in the same denomina- 

 tion in which the gross weight is given." It 

 is obvious, however, that such rules can be 

 little more than an approximation to exact- 

 ness, since the circumstances under which 

 the animal is weighed, whether upon a full 

 or an empty stomach, must essentially affect 

 the result. It will be interesting, I am per- 

 suaded, to many of my readers, if I give an 

 account of the weights of some of the mo.=-t 

 remarkable animals which, within a few 

 years past, have been exhibited at the show 

 of the Smithfield Club, which takes place 

 annually in December; and the account, be- 

 sides giving the weight of the animals, will 

 show, at the same time, how nearly the 

 weight calculated by rule, and the weight es- 

 timated by the judgment of experienced men, 

 corresponded with the actual weight, ascer- 

 tained upon the animals' being slaughtered. 



Lord Spencer's Durliam o.\, . . . .. 



The Scotch heiter, 



Mr. Townsend'.s Durham heifer, 



]Mr. Bakers Durham ox, 



Mr. Buckley's Hereford ox 



Lord Spencer's Durham ox, 



Lord Oxford's Hereford ox, 



Mr. Hillyard's do. heifer, . . 



Lord BrovvnloW3 do. do 



Marquisof Exeler'sdo. do 



Lord Spencer's do. do 



Lord Spencers Durham ox, .... 



Lord Spencer's do. do 



Marquis of Tavistork's do. do. 



Lord Leicester's Devon ox 



>rr. Gihiet's one year old Devon, 



Mr. Bakers' heifer 



Mr. Hillyard's Devon ox, 



Marquis of Exeter's Durlinm ox, 

 Duke of Bedford's Hereford ox. 



BTONE OF EIGHT POUNiS. 



