122 Cattle Problems. 



Breathing, and the vitalization of the blood, ma)^ be in- 

 creased loo per cent, or more, by active exercise and 

 breathing, in contrast with the slow breathing of rattle 

 under confinement ; and it is probable that both initial 

 and embryo breeding capacity, may — with sufficient suit- 

 able food, such as good grass — be increased to a great 

 extent, in contrast with the small extent of fertility which 

 hangs on the narrow edge of transient and fitful exercise 

 by chance merely. 



The infertility of indolent or inactive cattle is due im- 

 mediately to an insufficient quantity of vitalized or oxy- 

 genated blood, this defect being due to a diminished total 

 in circulation, the reduction in blood resulting from wast- 

 ing of muscle, and increase of fat ; the reduced vitalization 

 of the blood being the consequence of the diminished 

 breathing, resulting from reduced activity. 



The reduced activity of many Short-horns resulted orig- 

 inally from the augmented food, which diminished the ne- 

 cessity for exercise in gathering food, in the proportion that 

 the food supply was increased in abundance. This took 

 away the natural incentive to activity, and increased the 

 extent of inactive repose. Reduced activity in this way 

 led to a reduction in muscular substance and proportion, 

 and to an increase of fat, the fat-forming tendency being 

 thus clearly traceable to reduced exercise, and an equally 

 reduced rate and extent of breathing. 



To increase the fat-forming tendency still further, vari- 

 ous kinds of fat-forming food, such as oil-cake, shorts, corn 

 meal, and others were supplied, and even added to abund. 

 ance of grass, and in some instances under pretty close 

 confinement, the result being in beef cattle, in the words 

 of Prof. E. W. Stewart, " monster Christmas cattle,* 



* It seems to be a fact that marbled meat results from fatty degeneration of 

 muscle, or the deatb of portions of muscular tissue. See Huxley and You - 

 niuTis' Physiology, page 389. 



