184 Cattle Problems. 



cause assimilation is slow and imperfect, and the parts of 

 the blood, that, with sufficient exercise would be organized 

 into muscle or other living structure, are not organized at 

 all ; but accumulate as unorganized accretions of fat, that 

 arc not nutritive as meat-food. 



But turn thirty steers into the same lot of grass, as early 

 as there is a fair bite, so that two hours' exercise will be 

 taken while the steers are filling themselves. With such 

 an extent of exercise in gathering their grass feed, most of 

 the growth and increase in weight in the steers will arise 

 from increase in muscle, and other organized structure, 

 that is nutritive when used for food. So by managing in 

 a way to allow young cattle to become indolent, inactive, 

 and quite fat at pasture, they increase their muscle and 

 food-value but little, and the meat consumers get but little 

 nutritive food from the grass so appropriated to forming 

 fat. But when the same quantity of grass feed is consumed 

 by growing cattle that are active two hours at a time three 

 or four times a day, from 20 to 30 per cent more muscle 

 and nutritive food, in the form of fleshy meat, is produced 

 from the same quantity of grass feed. So by developing 

 muscle and allied structure from the influence of regular 

 exercise, we obtain real food-value indirectly by convert- 

 ing grass into organized flesh structure. But if the cattle 

 are allowed to become indolent and inactive, they increase 

 more in fat than in muscular structure, or nutritive value, 

 and the grass feed produces far less food-value in fat from 

 inactivity, because it does not form near as much nutri- 

 tious meat or muscular flesh, which is developed only with 

 regular exercise. 



Cattle that are well grown in their muscular parts, and 

 in smooth condition, afford an abundance of fat for the 

 cuisine and condimental purposes, a fact which consumers 

 are now generally appreciating more than formerly. 



Many other modes of management that secure regular 



