784 PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURE. Part III. 



be distinguished by a general fulness and rotundity of shape ; that the chest should be broad, for no 

 animal whose chest is narrow can easily be made fat ; that the carcase should be deep and straight ; that 

 the belly should be of a moderate size; for when it is more capacious than common in young animals, it 

 shows a diseased state, and in older ones it is considered a proof that the animal will not return in flesh, 

 in milk, or in labour, the value of the extra quantity of food which it consumes; that the legs should be 

 short, for the long-limbed individuals of the same family or race are found to be the least hardy, and the 

 most difficult to rear or to fatten ; and that the head, the bones, and other parts of inferior value, should be 

 as small as is consistent with strength, and with the other properties which the animal ought to possess. 

 In animals bred for the shambles, the form must likewise be such as to contain the greatest possible pro- 

 portion of the finer, compared with the coarser and less valuable parts of the animal. This, by selection, 

 may be attained, and thus the wishes of the consumer may be gratified. As to the broad loins, and full 

 hips, which are considered as a point of excellence in particular breeds, it is evident that the old narrow 

 and thin make required improvement ; but the alteration is now carried to a faulty excess, and often 

 occasions great difficulty and danger irt-calving. 



4841. The form of animals has fortunately attracted the attention of an eminent surgeon, Henry Cline, 

 Esq. of London, whose doctrines we have already laid down at length, and the substance of which is : 

 That the external form is only an indication of the internal structure; that the lungs of an animal form 

 the first object to be attended to, for on their size and soundness the health and strength of an animal 

 principally depend; that the external indications of the size of the lungs are the form and size of the 

 chest, and its breadth in particular; that the head should be small, as by this the birth is facilitated ; as 

 it affords other advantages in feeding, &c., and as it generally indicates that the animal is of a good breed ; 

 that the length of the neck should be in proportion to the size of the animal, that it may collect its food 

 with ease ; and that the muscles and tendons should be large, by which an animal is enabled to travel 

 with greater facility. It was formerly the practice to estimate the value of animals by the size of their 

 bones. A large bone was considered to be a great merit ; and a fine-boned animal always implied great 

 size. It is now known that this doctrine was carried too far. The strength of the animal does not depend 

 upon the bones, but on the muscles ; and when the bones are disproportionably large, it indicates, in 

 Cline's opinion, an imperfection in the organs of nutrition. Bakewell strongly insisted on the advantage 

 of small bones ; and the celebrated John Hunter declared, that small bones were generally attended with 

 corpulence in all the subjects he had an opportunity of examining. A small bone, however, being heavier 

 and more substantial, requires as much nourishment as a hollow one with a larger circumference. 



4842.^iow^ the qualities for which thorough-bred cattle and sheep are distinguished, that of being gootl 

 growers, and having a good length of frame, is^ not the least essential. The meaning of which is, that the 

 animal should not only be of a strong and healthy constitution, but speedily should grow to a proper size. 

 Ajs specimens of rapid growth, a steer of three years old, when well fed, will weigh from 80 to 90 or 100 

 stone, 141b. to the stone ; and a two-year old Leicester wedder, from 25 to 281b. per quarter, immediately 

 after his second fleece is taken from him. Animals having the property of growing, are usually straight 

 in their back and belly ; their shoulders well thrown back, and their belly rather light than otherwise. At 

 the same time, a gauntness and paucity of intestines should be guarded against, as a most material defect, 

 indicating a very unthriving animal. Beinqr too light of bone, as it is termed, is also a great fault. A good 

 grower, or hardy animal, has always a middling-sized bone. A bull distinguished for getting good growers 

 is inestimable ; but one whose progeny takes an unnatural or gigantic size ought to be avoided. 



4843. Arriving soon at perfection, not only in point of growth or size, but in respect of fatness, is a mate- 

 rial object for the farmer, as his profit must in a great measure depend upon it. Where animals, bred for 

 the carcase merely, become fat at an early age, they not only return sooner the price of their food, with 

 profit to the feeder, but in general, also, a greater value for their consumption, than slow-feeding animals. 

 This desirable property greatly depends on a mild and docile disposition ; and as this docility of temper is 

 much owing to the manner in which the animal is brought up, attention to inure them early to be familiar 

 cannot be too much recommended. A tamed breed also has other advantages. It is not so apt to injure 

 fences, or to break into adjacent fields ; consequently it is less liable to accidents, and can be reared, sup. 

 ported, and fattened at less expense. The property of early maturity, in a populous country, where the 

 consumption of meat is great, is extremely beneficial to the public, as it evidently tends to furnish greater 

 supplies to the market ; and this propensity to fatten at an early age is a sure proof that an animal will 

 fatten speedily at a later period of his life. 



4844. The possession of a hardy and healthy constitution, is, in the wilder and bleaker parts of a country, 

 a most valuable property in stock. Where the surface is barren, and the climate rigorous, it is essential 

 that the stock bred and maintained there should be able to endure the severities and vicissitudes of the 

 weather, as well as scarcity of food, hard work, or any other circumstance in its treatment that might 

 subject a more delicate breed to injury. In this respect, different kinds of stock greatly vary ; and it is a 

 matter of much consequence to select, for different situations, cattle with constitutions suitable to the place 

 where they are to be kept. It is a popular belief, that dark colours are indications of hardiness. In moun- 

 tain breeds of cattle, a rough pile is reckoned a desirable property, more especially when they are 

 to be kept out all winter: it enables them to face the storm, instead of shrinking from it. Hardy breeds 

 are exempted from various diseases, such as having yellow fat, and being blackfleshed, defects so injurious 

 to stock. 



4845. The prolific quality of a breed is a matter deserving attention. The females of some breeds both 

 bear more frequently than usual, and also have frequently more than one at a birth. This property runs 

 more strikingly in sub-varieties, or individual families ; and though partly owing to something in the 

 habits of animals, and partly to their previous good or bad treatment, yet in some degree seems to depend 

 upon the seasons, some years being more distinguished for twins than others. In breeding, not only the 

 number, but the sex of the offspring, in some cases, seems to depend upon the female parent. Two cows 

 produced fourteen females each in fifteen years, though the bull was changed every year : it is singular, 

 that when they produced a bull calf, it was in the same year. Under simdar circumstances, a great 

 number of males have been produced by the same cow in succession, but not to the same extent. 



4846. By the quality of their flesh, breeds are likewise distinguished. In some kinds it is coarse, hard, 

 and fibrous; in others of a finer grain or texture. In some breeds, also, the flavour of the meat is supe- 

 rior ; the gravy they produce, instead of being white and insipid, is high coloured, well flavoured, and 

 rich ; and the fat is intermixed among the fibres of the muscles, giving the meat a streaked, or marbled 

 appearance. Breeds whose flesh have these properties are peculiarly valuable. Hence two animals of 

 nearly the same degree of fatness and weight, and who could be fed at nearly the same expense to the hus- 

 bandman, will sell at very different prices, merely from the Known character of their meat. 



4847. A disposition to fatten is a great object in animals destined for the shambles. Some animals pos- 

 sess this property during the whole progress of their lives, while in others it only takes place at a more 

 advanced period, when they have attained their full growth, and are furnished at the same time with a 

 suitable supply of food. There are in this respect other distinctions r most sorts of cattle and sheep, which 

 have been bred in hilly countries, will become fat on lowland pastures, on which the more refined breeds 

 would barely live ; some animals take on fat very quicklv, when the proper food has been supplied, and 

 some individuals have been found, even in the same breed, which have, in a given time, consumed the least 

 proportional weight of the same kind of food, yet have become fat at the quickest rate. Even in the liuman 

 race, with little food, some will grow immoderately corpulent. It is probably from internal conformation 

 that this property of rapid fattening is derived. ^ ^ ^ *! 



4848. The advantages and disadvantages of fattening cattle and sheep, at least to the extent frequently 

 practised at present, are points that have of late attracted much public attention. But any controversy 



