No. 7. 



Method of Ascertaining the Weight of Cattle. 



215 



tion to their size, without being so tough as 

 to be prejudicial to their capacity of fatten- 

 ing. It appears, from Columella's descrip- 

 tion of the best kind of ox, that the ad vantage 

 of a soft skin is not a new discovery, but was 

 perfectly well known to the husbandmen of 

 ancient Italy." These are the observations 

 of Sir John Sinclair, who adds the following 

 as a summary of good points to be attended 

 to in choosing cattle. They should be — 1. 

 Of a moderate size, unless where the food is 

 of a nature peculiarly forcing; 2. Of a shape 

 the most likely to yield profit to the farmer ; 

 3. Of a docile disposition, without being de- 

 ficient in spirit ; 4. Hardy, and not liable to 

 disease ; 5. Easily maintained, and on food 

 not of a costly nature; 6. Arriving soon at 

 maturity ; 7. Producing considerable quanti- 

 ties of milk ; 8. Having flesh of an excellent 

 quality ; 9. Having a tendency to take on 

 fet; 10. Having a valuable hide; and, lastly, 

 Calculated (should it be judged necessary) 

 for working." It is thought best to begin 

 to break-in oxen at three years old, and to 

 give them full work at four. 



With respect to judging of cattle by their 

 horns and teeth, we offer the following ob- 

 servations from the " Cyclopedia of Practi- 

 cal Husbandry, by Martin Doyle," (Rev. 

 Mr. Hie key). 



" The ordinary guide for ascertaining the 

 precise age of cattle is the horn, which is 

 also indicative of the. breed ; at three years 

 old (this is laid down as a rule) the horns 

 are perfectly smooth, after this a ring ap- 

 pears near the root, and annually afterwards 

 a new circle, so that, by adding two years 

 to the first ring, the age is calculated ; but 

 the contributors to the volume so frequently 

 quoted, have clearly shown that this is a very 

 uncertain mode of judging; 'that the rings 

 are only distinct in the cow ;' and that, ' if a 

 heifer goes to the bull when she is two years 

 old, or a little before or after that time, there 

 is an immediate change in tiie horn, and the 

 first ring appears, so that a real three-year 

 old would carry the mark of a four years 

 old.' ' In the bull they are either not seen 

 until five, or they cannot be traced at all ;' 

 nor in the ox do they 'appear until he is five 

 years old, and they are often confused ;' be- 

 sides, 'there is also an instrument called a 

 rasp, which has been said to make many an 

 arm ache a little before a large fair.' With- 

 out any delusive intentions, however, an 

 ugly set in the horns of young cattle is often 

 remedied by filing a little off the sides of the 

 tips opposite to the direction which it is de- 

 sired that the horns should take. 



Some men have an antipathy to horns al 

 together, and would even carry their dislike 

 so far as to extiroate them from the brows 



of all their cattle ; they can indulge their 

 taste by paring off the tops of the horns when 

 they first break through the skin. Perhaps 

 it is not generally known, that the larger 

 the horn the thinner the skull. 



The age is indicated with unerring cer- 

 tainty by the teeth, to those who have judg- 

 ment and experience, until the animal 

 reaches the age of six or seven; until two 

 years old, no teeth are cast, at that age two 

 new teeth are cut; at three, two more are 

 cut ; and in the two succeeding years two 

 in each year ; at five the mouth is said to be 

 full, though not completely so until six, be- 

 cause until that period the two corner teeth 

 (ihe last in renewal) are not perfectly up. 

 The front, or incisor teeth are those consi- 

 dered, for a full grown beast has altogether 

 thirty-two teeth." 



METHOD OF ASCERTAINING THE WEIGHT OF 

 CATTLE WHILE LIVING. 



" This is of the utmost utility for all those 

 who are not experienced judges by the eye, 

 and by the following directions, the weight 

 can be ascertained within a mere trifle: — 

 Take a string, put it round the beast, stand- 

 ing square, just behind the shoulder-blade; 

 measure on a foot-rule the feet and inches 

 the animal is in circumference ; 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; di- 

 rect 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 bullock, 6 feet 4 

 inches; length, 5 feet 3 inches ; which, mul- 

 tiplied together, make 31 square superficial 

 feet ; that again multiplied by 23 (the num- 

 ber of pounds allowed to each superficial 

 foot of cattle measuring less than 7 and 

 more than 5 in girth), makes 713 pounds; 

 and, allowing 14 pounds to the stone, is 50 

 stone 13 pounds. Where the animal mea- 

 sures less than 9 and more than 7 feet in 

 girth, 31 is the number of pounds to each 

 superficial foot. Again, suppose a pig or 

 any small beast should measure 2 feet in 

 girth, and 2 feet along the back, which, mul- 

 tiplied together, make 4 square feet; that 

 multiplied by 11, the number of pounds al- 

 lowed for each square foot of cattle measur- 

 ing less than three feet in girth, makes 44 

 pounds; which, divided by 14, to bring it to 

 stones, is 3 stone 2 pounds. Again, suppose 

 a calf, a sheep, &c., should measure 4 feet 

 6 inches in girth, and 3 feet 9 inches in 

 length, which, multiplied together, make 

 16^ square feet ; that multiplied by 16, the 

 number of pounds allowed to all cattle mea- 



