172 Oattle Froblems. 



feed, and reduction of flesh or muscle, resulting from the 

 reduced or prohibited exercise of large numbers of cattle, 

 and greater numbers of swine. 



A seeming mystery, which surprises many feeders of 

 ordinary steers, every season, is explained on this principle. 

 When put up to fatten, many steers gain in /<?/, and seem 

 to be doing well. But when put on the scale it is found 

 that they have gained but little in weight. The reason is, 

 having been active and their muscles full until they are 

 tied up, their muscle, that was much increased by activity, 

 is more rapidly reduced by confinement or disuse while 

 they are confined to inaction, and the substance of the 

 dead muscle goes to form fat. Thus, much of their fat is 

 formed at the expense of much of their muscle. We have 

 met with numbers of such cases. 



Richer feed is no cure for the waste of muscle;* for 

 that loss certainly results from inaction in any kind of 

 domestic animals; as, while cattle or other stock are inac- 

 tive, their rich feed, as well as much of their muscle, goes 

 to form fat, which may wall in a little heat in the body, 

 while much of the food is wasted in the droppings ; but 

 supplies neither food-value nor increase of weight when 

 animals are confined and restless. 



Active exercise is necessary for all other farm stock, or 

 for fatting cattle, as certainly as for horses, to prevent 

 shrinkage of muscle. 



When Dr. Windship, of Boston, the once famous lifter, 

 enormously developed the muscles of his chest and arms, 

 his brain, and particularly his legs, shrunk to a very small 

 size, showing that after mature growth, while muscle may 

 be increased by active use in some parts, it is equally re- 

 duced by inaction in others. This is according to the law 



* *' If deficient exercise bo accompanied by free indulgence of appetite, 

 perverted nutrition and ponitive disease will be tbe necessary consequence," 

 —Huxley's Pbyei,, p. 127. 



