458 THE ox. — FATTENING. 



acquire nearly the same weight that he would have gained in the 

 course of seven or eight months in the meadows. There is nothing 

 surprising in this fact, inasmuch as the ration mentioned by M. Du- 

 bois, in our mode of viewing it, is equivalent in nutritive value to at 

 least 81 lbs. weight of hay; the quantity of oil-cake alone is enough 

 to supply a good pound weight of fat per diem. 



In old Friesland, where the pastures are excellent, results are ob- 

 tained which may be compared with those of the meadows in the 

 valley of the Auge ; an ox of from 770 lbs. to 990 lbs. weight will 

 be pushed to a weight of from 1100 lbs. to 1650 lbs. on a surface 

 of meadow land between 3000 and 3600 square yards in extent. 



In the meadows of the Auge the fattening goes on even during the 

 winter ; the oxen are received into the pastures between the 15th 

 of September and the 15th of November, and the animals pass the 

 winter in the open field ; but they receive from 12 lbs. to 26 lbs. of 

 hay per diem until the month of April, when the grass has already 

 grown sufficient to suffice for their keep. These oxen are gener- 

 ally fat and ready for market in July. 



In these observations of M. Dubois, the fattening has reference to 

 the neat weight of the carcass, sinking the ofial, as it is said, or esti- 

 mating the weight by the quarter. The most esteemed quarters are 

 the hind quarters, which are found to weigh rather less than the fore 

 quarters, although the difference is less, the higher the condition of 

 the animal. 



It is long since various means have been devised for ascertaining 

 the neat weight of a living animal, or in other words, the weight 

 which the carcass will have when it has been embowelled, flayed, 

 and the head and fat cut off. These various parts compose what ia 

 called the offal. It is readily to be conceived that one grand feature 

 in the excellence of an ox must consist in the great relative weight 

 of the carcass properly so called in comparison with the offal ; but 

 it may easily be imagined also that the relations in the weight of 

 these two different portions of the living animal will vary according 

 to the state of fatness, and also according to the breed and the age 

 of the beast. 



Mr. Andcrdon has found that an ox which is not absolutely lean 

 will give for every 100 lbs. of his absolute weight : 



Of marketable meat 58,6 lbs. 



An ox somewhat fatter will yield 55 " 



And one completely fat as many as. . .62.2 " 



Mr. Layton Coke's estimate is : 



For a lean ox 60 per cent, of marketable m«»t 



For an ox In middling condition. . . 65 " 



And for a fat ox 78 " 



These estimates appear to me exaggerated, and I much doubt from 

 the sales of cattle which we make ourselves, whether they would 

 readily be admitted by the buyers ; they are in fact too high as re- 

 gards the available meat. 



From a great number of actual trials made with animals of about 

 two years old, and which were all as nearly as poseble in the same 



