THE GENESEE FARMER. 



247 



the atmosphere ; while the latter — light soils — are 

 more easily reduced to fine tilth, and so have less need 

 for a lono' fallowing, and are at the same time more 

 exposed to a loss of fertilizing ingredients by too 

 much exposure to the atmosphere, and so should not 

 be fallowed unnecessarily. A good rule is to begin 

 the preparation of the ground long enougli before 

 hand, and to continue it sufficiently often to secure a 

 good tilth. Any thing more than this is at least un- 

 necessary, if not injurious. An important considera- 

 tion with regard to wheat sowing, is, that if the soil 

 be naturally light, that portion of it which is directly 

 under the seed should be consohdated by artificial 

 means. A common way of effecting this, in England, 

 has heretofore been to turn large numbers of sheep 

 upon the field immediately after sowing and harrow- 

 ing. The effect of this, however, is rather to harden 

 the surface than to consolidate the soil below the 

 seed: and for this reason the following method is now 

 practiced by very many English and Scotch farmers, 

 viz.: In preparing light, sandy or loamy soils for 

 wheat, two plowmen go ahead, one following the 

 other, and a boy, with a one-horse cart, having two 

 wheels on the off side and but one on the near side, 

 follows them both. Let it be understood that the 

 wheels are all on one axletree. The two on the off 

 side are about one foot apart, and the distance can 

 be varied at pleasure. As the boy follows the plow- 

 men, these off wheels run in the furrows made by the 

 two plows, or rather in the channel between the fur- 

 rows, thus pressing down and hardening the portion 

 of soil on which the seed will lie, after being sown 

 broadcast, and so harrowed as to be made to fall into 

 the channel prepared for it. There is no reason to 

 doulit that this or some hke operation would be highly 

 favorable to the wheat-growing capabilities of the 

 alluvial soils in the Connecticut valley. — Cmmecticiit 

 Valley Farmer. 



GAIN OF WEIGHT IN CATTLE FEEDING. 



I.^i the various publications to which I have had 

 recourse, with the view of informing myself as to the 

 treatment of cattle, I have found no attempt to esti- 

 mate and distinguish the gain of useful material made 

 by them in the process of fattening. On seeking to 

 explain my views on this subject, I feel less hesitation, 

 as I supply data and figures from which my conclu- 

 sioas are derived, the soundness and correctness of 

 which it is not difficult to estimate and ascertain. 



The cattle I prefer for fattening are well-grown 

 heiters, or cows which have had their first calf at 

 three to five years old. The breeds of this district 

 are to a considerable degree Short-horns, the bulls 

 used being more or less of this description ; they 

 may be termed of " fair " to " good " quality. Their 

 live weight, when bought in a lean store condition, 

 ranges from 7 cwt. to 9 cwt.; their capability of 

 carrying weight, when prime fat, may be taken at an 

 addition of 3 cwt. Although it is not used to kill 

 beasts in a store state, and little positive information 

 can be gained as to the carcass weight of lean stock, 

 yet, from observation and inquiry, I am disposed to 

 think that this will be no less than one-half of the 

 live weight, probably not more than 43 to 47 per 

 •cent. In Morton's Cyclopedia treatise " On Meat," 



the comparison of carcass to live weight is stated ag 

 •iO to 5.5 per cent, when half fat, and as 61 to 63 

 when prime fat, for cattle of the like quality. I 

 •juote this as tending to confirm what I have stated 

 as to the comparative proportions in lean stock. 



I will consider, for example, a lean animal weighing 

 8 cwt., and capable of weighing when prime fat 11 

 cwt, live weight ; when fairly started, and with pro- 

 per feeding, I should look for a gain of 14 fts. per 

 week, which in my practice is a moderate average ; 

 at this rate it would require 24 weeks to bring it to 

 a state of prime fatness. On comparing the weights 

 when lean and fat — 8 cwt. or 64 stones lean, at 45 

 per cent, will leave 28| carca'js weight; 11 cwt. or 

 88 stones fat, at 60 per cent., will leave 52| carcass 

 weight. The difierence is 24 stones, or 14 lbs. per 

 week, for the 24 weeks, being precisely the gain per 

 week in live weight. 



During the progress of feeding there is a gradual 

 increase of interior fat of two descriptions — fixed fat 

 in the loins, commonly called suet, which will vary 

 from 8 lbs. when lean to more than 30 lbs. when fat, 

 this is weighed with the carcass ; and loose fat, or 

 tallow, which counts as offal. If we take two beasts 

 of equal live weight, and suppose, on killing, one 

 contains 9 stones of loose fat or tallow, the other 

 only 5 stones ; now, though this loose fat counts as 

 offal, it is known that the carcass weight of the ani- 

 mal with the 9 stones of loose fat will be heavier 

 than the one with only 5 stones. A consideration of 

 this matter led me to infer that, with the increase of 

 interior fat, there occun'ed a displacement of mate- 

 rial in the process of evacuation. On inquiry of 

 butchers of experience with whom I deal, they tell 

 me that it is a characteristic of a beast, which 

 " proves " well, to have a little stomach. On looking 

 over the items of offal, they appear capable of little 

 increase or variation in one or the same animal, with 

 the exception of tallow and of the stomach, in the 

 weight of each of which there is a difference of 100 

 lbs. or upwards. I observe that the writer of the 

 paper from which I have quoted attributes this com- 

 parative increase in the carcass weight of fattened 

 beasts to its greater solidity, to hollows being filled 

 up, and protuberances being formed ; it seems, how- 

 ever, clear that this would equally affect the live with 

 the carcass weight, and therefore does not satisfacto- 

 rily explain the mailer. 



If my premises be correct it will appear that, be- 

 sides the gain of carcass weight (which is shown by 

 comparison to be 14 lbs. per week on an animal 

 which gains this in live weight), there is an additional 

 gain of interior loose fat which counts as offal. From 

 observation and inquiiy I am led to think, then, that 

 this will not be less on the average than 3 lbs. per 

 week, or, in the 24 weeks, 72 lbs. of loose fat, making 

 together 17 lbs. per week gain of useful and venda- 

 ble material — a result at varience with the impression 

 I held before I entered upon this inquiry. I may at 

 some future time seek to draw attention to the proba- 

 ble proportion and description of this material gained 

 in the process of fattening. — F, in the Lojidon Ag- 

 riculiural Gazette. 



The only legitimate strike is the strike of the iron 

 when it is hot 



