STATISTICAL STUDY OF BODY WEIGHTS 321 



width of head, length of head, distance from chest to ground 

 and hock to ground. The greatest increase in width took place 

 in the hind flank rather than in the paunch, where it would 

 seem natural to have the greatest increase because of feed 

 capacity and condition. The thick layer of flesh and fat de- 

 posits in the region of the hind flank, together with the disten- 

 sion of this region of the body in a fattened steer, are respon- 

 sible for the greater width in this part of the body. The width 

 of loin, hips, thurls, shoulders, and front flank shows 

 changes in dimensions caused mainly by increased condition 

 of flesh. 



The increase in height at the withers of 4-646 inches is not 

 all due to growth alone, a larger portion of this increase being 

 caused by the flesh covering over the withers and the deposi- 

 tion of fat in the muscular tissues of the shoulder region. The 

 fat deposits and muscular development cause the shoulder- 

 blade to be held more rigidly ; thus the body in the chest 

 region rises between the shoulder-blades!, as indicated by the 

 greater distance between the withers and the upper border of 

 the shoulder-blade. The greatest change in the body measure- 

 ments was the circumference of the paunch. This, however, 

 was proportionately less than the increase of 7-321 inches in 

 circumference of the hind flank. The fact that the distance of 

 chest to ground and hind flank to ground did not show greater 

 difference was due to lowering of the flank by deposition of fat 

 in that region and the fat covering over the region of the chest. 

 The region of the body possessing the most valuable eatable 

 parts on the whole are affected most in the fattening 

 process. 



Correlation Tables. — The following table (p. 322) is 

 here presented as illustration of the methods used in obtaining 

 the facts presented in Tables III and IV : — 



