44 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



and by our State Legislatures. When or where did 

 any American Legislature ever encourage the scien- 

 tilic investigation of either stable or barn-yard ma- 

 nure ? ^Vhy should a Nation of Farmers, whose 

 votes control all legislation, be forever dependent on 

 Ivarope for experimental farming, seeing that the 

 i!un«- of their six hundred million dollars' ■worth of 

 live stock is vv'orth more than all their foreign com- 

 merce ? Can any man give a good reason why pro- 

 jjorty to the amount of hvmdreds of millions in the 

 food of plants is not as worthy of governmental care, 

 as deserving of legislative assistance, a3 a smaller 

 amount of property in ships and trade ? We never 

 complain of the aid extended to American commerce 

 and manufactures; and we rejoice at the pains taken 

 by government to advance and foster these important 

 interests. But why stop short when the duty of 

 legislation is less than half performed ? A httle as- 

 sistance from Congress would put one hundred million 

 dollars a year into the pockets of farmers, by putting a 

 little more knowledge into their professional Uterature. 

 The able and experienced Scotch farmer whose ex- 

 periments we have examined with pleasure and instruc- 

 tion, says that if barn-yards were covered with tile 

 in the most durable manner, the shelter afforded to 

 etock and manure would be equal to a high interest 

 on the cost of the structure. Of this fact we have 

 no doubt; but it ought to be demonstrated in the 

 plainest manner by actual experiments, in every State 

 lu the Union, so that all husbandmen might see and 

 fully appreciate the desirable improvement. We now 

 send abroad many millions of dollars for wool and 

 woolen fabrics eveiy year, which ought to be produced 

 in our own country. 



THE POINTS FOR JUDGING FAT CATTLE. 



Agreeably to our promise to devote more atten- 

 tion to stock in this volume of the Genesee Farmer 

 Uian we had done in previous ones, we give below a 

 ieiitJ-thened and highly interesting article from the 

 Mark Lane Express, on "The Points for Judging 

 Fat Cattle." It will well repay the most careful 

 perusal: 



" The form of the carcass is the chief point in the 

 *ihape of an ox. It is found, the nearer the section 

 of the carcass of a fat ox, taken longitudinally verti- 

 cal, transversely vertical, and horizontally, approaches 

 to the figure of a parallelogram, the greater quantity 

 of flesh will it carry within the same measurement. 

 That the carcass may fill up the parallelogram, as well 

 as its rounded figure is capable of filling up a right- 

 nnjled figure, it should possess the following couflgu- 

 ration: the back should be straight from the top of 

 the shoulder to the tail, and better if the straight line 

 extends over the shoulder to the root of the horns; 

 Ihe tail should fall perpendicularly from the line of 

 the back; the buttocks and twist should be well filled 

 out; the brisket should project to a line dropped 

 from the middle of the neck; the belly should be 

 straight longitudinally and round laterally, and filled 

 at the flanks; the ribs should be round, and should 

 project homontally and at right-angles to the back; 

 the hooks should be wide and flat, and the rump from 

 the tail to the. hooks should also be fat and well 



filled ; the quarter from the aitch-bone to the hock 

 should be long: the loin-bones should belong, broad, 

 flat, and well filled, but the space between the hooks 

 and tnc ehort-ribs should oe rather short, and well 

 arched over with a thickness of beef between the 

 hooks: a long hollow from the hooks to the short- 

 ribs indicates a weak constitution and an indifiereut 

 thrivcr; from the loia to the shoulder-blade should 

 be nearly of one breadth, and from thence it should 

 taper a little to the front of the shoulder; the neck 

 vein should be well filled forward, to complete the 

 line from the neck to the brisket ; the covering of the 

 shoulder blade should be as full out aa at the but- 

 tocks; the middle-ribs should be well filled, to com- 

 plete the fine from the shoidders to the buttocks 

 along the projection of the outside of the ribs. 



" These are the chief points of the form of a fat 

 tened ox. The examination by the touch follows the 

 appearance of the eye. 



" The position of the flesh on the carcass is a great 

 consideration in judging of the ox, as the flesh on the 

 different parts is of various quahties. The finest 

 meat hes on the loins and on the rump, and on the 

 fore and middle ribs; consequently the ox that car- 

 ries the largest quantity of beef on these ' points ' is 

 the most valuable. Flesh of fine quality is of finer 

 texture in the fiber than coarse flesh, and it contains 

 more fat in the tissue between the fibers. It is this 

 arrangement between the fat and the lean that gives 

 the richness and delicacy to the flesh. The other 

 parts, of various qualities, and used for soups and 

 salting, do not fetch the high price of the parts de- 

 scribed. 



" The point or top of the rump is the first pai't of 

 a feeding ox that shows the fat, and in a well-bred 

 animal it becomes a very prominent point. Some- 

 times, by protruding too much M'hen the quantity of 

 fat is out of proportion to the lean, it misleads an 

 inexperienced judge in the true fatness of the ox, 

 as fat may be felt on that point, and be veiy de- 

 ficient on the other parts which constitute a valuable 

 frame. 



" A full twist, lining the division between the hams 

 with a thick layer of fat, a thick flank, and a full neck 

 vein, are generally indicative of prime fattening, and 

 also of the secretion of internal fat; but it frequently 

 happens that these signs wholly fail, and it is observed 

 that a fine exterior does not warrant a similar inside 

 of the ox; and thin-made beasts, with flat ribs and 

 large bellies, very often produce a large quantity of 

 internal fat The Alderny cattle furnish an example 

 of this case. Their outward gaunt appearance seema 

 deficient in every fattening point, and yet few animals 

 afibrd so much inside fat in proportion to the quan- 

 tity of carcass fat. 



" The parts that are the last in being covered with 

 flesh are the top of the shoulder and the point of the 

 shoulder joint. AVhen these points are felt to be well 

 covered, the other and better parts may be considered 

 to be in perfection, and a prime condition may be 

 expected. But the, general handling must estabUsh 

 the real condition, for there is a wide difl'erence be- 

 tween the apparent and real fatness of an ox. The> 

 flesh may feel loose and flabby of an ox that has ap- 

 peared very fat to the eye, and a truly fattened ani- 

 mal always feels 'hand fat' Such handlers never 



