106 Qattle Problems. 



muscles or muscular organs are vital, or necessary to life ; 

 while fat, accumulating without organization is not vital, 

 as it can be dispensed with without endangering life. The 

 vascular system is generally in proportion to muscularity, 

 while the latter is the source of power and activity ; and 

 is only maintainable by activity or exercise, as under in- 

 action the muscles waste away — particularly muscles that 

 are active during locomotion and in breathing — and their 

 disorganized substance goes to form fat by mere accretion. 

 The vascular system and vital circulation are, also, reduced 

 according as muscle — which supplies the lean basis of flesh 

 in meat-food — is diminished in quantity or total extent. 



The muscular, active breeds of cattle — the Devons, for 

 instance — have become muscular from their greater and 

 continued activity, necessitated, probably, in gathering 

 food ; while fat-forming cattle, like many of the Short- 

 horns, have become fat-forming from their indolence or 

 ?'«activity, whether voluntary or enforced, or arising from 

 the abundance of their food. The fat-forming tendency 

 In Short-horns, or other breeds of cattle, has been so long 

 established as to be transmissible to their progeny — even 

 to their grades, a fact that is well known. 



In good comrribn cattle we have fairly full muscularity 

 — acquired by necessary and long-continued activity; and 

 this supplies the muscular or lean basis of meat in their 

 beef product. In numbers of large Short-horns the pro- 

 portion of muscle is much smaller than in common cattle, 

 and still smaller than that of the North Devons. 



It is very important that vital or muscular growth be 

 transmitted ; and the influence of the cow in transmission 

 is as strong as that of the bull, this being necessarily so as 

 to vital growth like muscle, in comparison with non-vital 

 or stored-up fat. 



When Short-horn bulls are used on common cows the 

 leading tendencies of bo):h muscle and fat-forming are com- 



