Saving of Muscle. 179 



The question here arises ; Why is it that cattle fed in 

 the open air, and having opportunity to indulge in moder- 

 ate voluntary exercise, make so excellent a quality of flesh, 

 and supply so good a quality of meat, as to satisfy the 

 best judges of meat either in American or English mar- 

 kets ? The answer involves several facts and advantages, 

 all traceable to one main cause, which is out-door exercise. 



First, the nutritive value generally of meat is according 

 to fullness and bright color of its muscular or fleshy parts. 

 Second, the bright color and fleshy proportion are accord- 

 ing to the proportion of muscular flesh, and its bright red 

 color, which result from adequate voluntary exercise and 

 breathing, while augmenting weight by fattening, without 

 diminishing muscle, by inanition and waste, or by fatty de- 

 generation arising from inaction. Third, in addition to its 

 substantial nutritive value, the flesh, or muscular propor- 

 tion of beef-meat, contains and supplies the nutritive juices 

 as well as the flavoring qualities of roasts and steaks, and 

 of the general meat product of beef cattle, showing con- 

 clusively that the success attending open-air feeding, which 

 provides opportunity for adequate exercise, consists in 

 maintaining the proportion of muscular flesh of the cattle 

 undiminished while they are being fattened, so by moder- 

 ate action maintaining circulation and life in the muscle, 

 and thereby producing healthy, juicy, fine-flavored flesh, 

 with sufficient fat in the cellular tissue, thus supplying a 

 far more nutritive, juicy, and finer flavored quality of 

 meat than is possible by stall feeding, or feeding under 

 close confinement. 



The quality of fat also in cattle that exercise while fat- 

 tening, is far superior to that formed under close confine- 

 ment and inactivity, as in stall-fed cattle. 



Steers generally, when freshly tied up after active summer 

 grazing, frequently gain but little in weight, although well 

 fed and having the appearance of doing well. The reason 



