B U L 



cool rctrtat, and with alternate vibrations of tlic tail defend 

 themfclves from tiie troublefome attacks of flies, gnata, and 

 otiier iiifcfts. The period when beef generally fetches the 

 beft price is towards the month of March ; hence, thofe 

 who arc fortunate enough to have any fat bealls in the 

 fpring, are certain to make a good market of them, efpc- 

 cially in years in which the crops of turnips turn out defi- 

 cient ; as when there are large growths of this root, vaft. 

 numbers of horned cattle are fattened on them in Norfolk, 

 and the adjoining counties, and thefe are often brought to 

 Smithficld in fuch herds as to caufe a confiderable reduc- 

 tion in the market. 



Befides the method of fattening bullocks on grafs lands, 

 there are feveral others in the wolds of Kent and SufTcx, 

 where the land is the moft fertile of any in the fouthern 

 parts of the kingdom, and where the meadows produce a 

 grafs of the moft rich and niitritio\i3 quality, and in an 

 abundance equal to the ftrcngth of the pallure, where the 

 ponds and rivulets yield a continual fupply of wholefome 

 and refrelhing drink, and where the hay, when well fecured, 

 pofFelTcs a virture anfwtrable to the green herbage : on thefe 

 feeding lands the gra/,icr finds his account in ilocking his 

 fami with bullocks of the largeft fize, either from the ifle of 

 Anglefca, or from Ynrklhire, StalTordfliire, or other places 

 remarkable for breeding the moft weighty beafts. Thefe 

 bullocks have generally been worked for fome years, a prac- 

 tice which not only i'erves to render them tradable and 

 docile, whence they he more quiet in the feeding paftures, 

 but which rcnde-.'S fuch beafts much more expeditious in 

 getting into flefli, than thofe which have not been accuftomed 

 to the yoke. Thefe bullociii having been raifed into good 

 condition by means of the grafs witlioul doors, are, at the 

 approach of winter, taken into the houfc, where they are 

 kept in feparate ilalis, and tended with a conftant fupply of 

 this highly nutritious fodder, the intriufic goodnefs of which 

 is often alone fufficient to complete the bulinefs, and render 

 the oxen fit for the butcher. But in order to accelerate 

 the progrefs, troughs are fet before them, which are con- 

 llantly filled with ground beans, oats, &c. as likewife with 

 oil-cake reduced into fmall pieces. This latter fubftance, 

 though apparently not calculated to plcafe the palate of a 

 graminivorous animal, tfpecially fo nice a feeder as a 

 bullock, is coveted by them with fuch avidity, that, after 

 they have been a few weeks accuftomed to the tafte of it, 

 they q\iit any other provender to feaft on this diet, fo that 

 a very fmall portion of hay will be required when the beafts 

 begin to feed heartily on the cake. But it is to be obferved 

 that water is of the utmoft conftqnence, and therefore 

 fhould be liberally given them during the time that they are 

 feeding on the cake, at which time they require a more copi- 

 ous fupply of liquid than when they are confined to any other 

 diet. Tluis provided with a due fupply of hay, oil-cake, 

 and water, the beafts make a quick progrefs in their fatten- 

 ing, and if in pretty good heart when ftiut up, will be ready 

 for the butcher at the time when beef is moft likely to ad- 

 vance in price in the markets. 



It is neceflaiy to remark, that in the feeding of bullocks 

 fither on hay, corn, oil-cake, or a mixture of each, thtir 

 feeds fhould be given them frequently, and in fmall propor- 

 tions at a time, for, if the fattening beafts are fuficrcd to 

 blow on any part of their food, they can never more be 

 brought to eat of the fame again, until compelled by hunper, 

 a fenfation which they ought never to be allowed to feel. 

 'J'his ftiows the great neccillty of a conftant attendance on 

 thefe animals, in order that their food may be given in 

 due proportions, their water often changed, and their litter 

 iUl! kept frcfh and clean under them, forof all brute animals, 



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a bullock is the moft'dainty in the choice of his food; 

 whence, Mr. Bannifter fuppofes, " he has probably obtaiiied 

 the appellation of neat, a term perpetually ufed to difcrimi- 

 nate tliefe cattle." 



It is ftated by the fame writer that " when fed with oil- 

 cake, each beaft will require eight cakes per day, which are 

 to be broken into pieces, of wliich one cake will form about 

 four. Many people divide the cake by means of a large 

 mortar and weighty peftle ; but there is a far eafier and 

 more expeditious method of performing this work, which is, 

 by holding the cake for a few minutes before the fire, which 

 renders it, from a very hard fubftance, pliable and tender, fo 

 that it may be broken with the utmoft facility between the 

 fingers to any fi/.e that may be thought neceffary, though 

 it will be prudent not to break any more at one time than 

 may be fuppofed wanting for the expenditure of the current 

 day, that the beafts may enjoy their provender every day 

 frefti out of the loft. And here a hint is offered in refpedl to 

 preferring the cake, which is, that it be laid in a dry, clean 

 loft, where it may be kept free from any extraneous mixture, 

 but to be particularly careful that neither wet nor dampnefs 

 be admitted to come in contadl with it, which would cer- 

 tainly occafion it to be mouldy, and render it totally unfit 

 for ufe : this caution feems the more neceffary, as the cakes 

 are generally purchafed in the fummer months, when the 

 price is at the loweft, and kept for half a year or longer be- 

 fore they are ufed, in which time it is evident that either a 

 drip in the thatch or tiling, or a dampnefs in the walls, or 

 the flooring of the ftied or vvarehoufe wherein they are ftowed, 

 may bring no fmall detriment to the cakes ; and thus the 

 owner fuffers a heavy lofs in the firft expence, and is utterly 

 difappointed in his future views." Moreover " when bul- 

 locks are fattened on turoips and hay, they require only a 

 fmall allowance of water, as the moifture of the turnips 

 in a great meafure fupplies the place of other liquid. They 

 may either be turned into the field, and fed with a daily 

 portion, by dividing the clofe with hurdles in like manner as 

 is pradtifed for flieep, or the turnips may be brought home 

 and given to them in a yard or other inclofure ; or, laftly, 

 the beaft may be tied up in ftalls, as was diredled for the 

 cake-fed bullocks. Of thefe three methods, the laft feems 

 to be the moft eligible, as by this means the beaft will lie 

 mueh more at his eafe, and having his eyes detached from 

 every objeA but his food will fatten more kindly, and with 

 greater expedition, than when fufTered to enjoy a wider range. 

 The fecond method of bringing the turnips into a yard, and 

 fuffering the beafts to eat them there, is much preferable 

 to that of penning the bullocks in the field, where they will 

 probably not ieldom make their way into the ftanding turnips, 

 and be expofcd to the inclemency of the weather ; from both 

 which circumftances much time will be loft in their fattening. 

 Befides, they will be lefs under the infpeftion of the owner, and 

 therefore liable to various accidents, w hich might eitherbe pre- 

 vented or remedied when the other method ot feeding is pur- 

 fued. The dung, likewife, will be totally loft when the bul- 

 locks are fed in the field ; and this is a matter of great import- 

 ance to a farmer, and the valuable addition which the muck 

 from the ox ftalls makes to the contents of the yard, being 

 replete with the dung and ftale of the beafts, may well com- 

 penfate for the extra-attendance required on this occafion." 



Turnips for fattening bullocks ftjould be of the largeft 

 fize, and, when brought out ot the field into the yard, be 

 divcfted of their tops, and of the dirt which adheres to 

 them. The tops and fmall turnips may be thrown to the 

 cows and lean beafts, and the large roots, after having been 

 thus cleaufed, be divided into three or four pieces, and flung 

 into the trough before the fatting beafts, obferving not to 



give 



