92 Oattle Problems. 



parts ; their ?«activity indicating small size in their lungs, 

 and in other muscular and vital organs. 



Now, the two questions arise : Why are thin-skinned 

 cattle tender? and why are cattle thin in their enveloping 

 integument, the skin ? Good constitution or strong en- 

 durance in cattle consists in power to bear exposure with- 

 out injury, and to resist adverse influences of any kind, as 

 well as to digest thoroughly, to maintain vigor perma- 

 nently, and to breed readily. All these attributes of good 

 constitution result mainly from abundant daily activity, 

 which, with ample food, insures full muscular growth. 

 Tenderness in cattle, or other farm stock, that are thin- 

 skinned, and susceptible to cold, is, therefore, immediately 

 due to there being too little substance in the hide to admit 

 of a sufficient supply of heat from tissue change to keep 

 the skin comfortably warm ; the supply of heat and blood 

 being reduced, as the thickness of the skin and extent of 

 exercise are diminished ; and the ability to endure expos- 

 ure in a cold temperature is reduced, according to the 

 diminished supply of heat, and the reduced extent of as- 

 similation in thin skins, compared with thicker integu- 

 ments. So the reduced, or small, extent of substance in 

 a thin skin, and the diminished extent of heat liberated 

 within it, is the two-fold cause of the tenderness arising 

 from a reduced supply of heat, and correspondingly feeble 

 ability to bear exposure to cold, in cattle that suffer more 

 than others, because they have thinner skins, and a smaller 

 supply of heat therein. 



But why is the skin integument thinner in some cattle 

 than in others? The answer involves important facts 

 and influences. 



The skin is a muscular organ, and its substance is formed 

 and maintained by nutrition from the general circulation. 

 The extent of substance and thickness in the skin corre- 



