THE SOUTHERN PLANTER. 



341 



FATTENING ANIMALS. 



There are certain principles which apply to 

 the feeding of all animals which we will shortly 

 notice. 



1. The breed is of great importance. A 

 well bred animal not only affords less waste, 

 but has the meat in the right places, the fibre 

 is tender and juicy, and the fat is put on just 

 where it is wanted. Compare the hind leg of 

 a full-bloom Durham ox, and a common one. 

 The bone at the base of the tail extends much 

 further in the former, affording more room for 

 flesh, and the thigh swells out of convex or cir- 

 cular shape ; while in the common ox it falls in, 

 dishing and hollow. Now the " round" is the 

 most valuable cut, and is only found in perfec- 

 tion in high-bred stock. The same is the case 

 over the whole body. So well do eastern 

 butchers understand this, that their prices are 

 regulated by the breed, even where too ani- 

 mals are equally fat. They know that in a 

 Durham or Hereford ox, not only will there be 

 less offal in proportion to weight, the greatest 

 quantity of meat will be where it brings the 

 highest price when retailed, and will be of a 

 richer flavor, and more tender fibre. The same 

 is the case with hogs. A large hog may chance 

 to make more meat on a given quantity of food 

 than a small one, but the meat of the first will 

 be coarse and tasteless compared with the 

 other; and in the east, flavor and tenderness 

 greatly regulate prices. Consequently, mode- 

 rate sized, short-legged, small headed hogs, 

 always, in the long run, beat large breeds out 

 of favor. In preparing for a market, " fashion 

 and taste" must be as much considered by the 

 farmer as by the tailor. This one fact is at 

 present revolutionizing the English breed of 

 sheep. The aristocracy always paid high for 

 small Welch and Scotch mutton ; but the great 

 consumers, the mechanics, preferred large fat 

 joints. The taste is now changed. In Man- 

 chester and other such cities, these large joints 

 have become unsaleable ; and all the efforts of 

 the breeder are now turned towards small 

 breeds maturing early, with comparatively lit- 

 tle fat. According to late writers, the large 

 Leicester and Cotswolds are going quite out of 

 fashion. When we give $3,000 for a Durham 

 bull it is not that his progeny are " intrinsi- 

 cally" more valuable to that amount, but the 

 increased value and the fashion together, make 

 up the difference. And it is thus, that while 

 Durhams and Hereford s are preferred for ships 

 and packing, Devons are high in repute for 

 private families. The joints are smaller, but 

 the meat has a peculiar richness, probably 

 found in no other kind of stock ; and the pro- 

 portionate waste is said to be less than in any 



other breed. Thus in the London market, the 

 Scotch Kyloes, and then the Devons, (the for- 

 mer even smaller than the latter,) bring the 

 highest price, because preferred by the aristoc- 

 racy. So in Dublin, spayed heifers are sought 

 for. But the breed also regulates the profit. 

 There is nothing more certain than that one 

 kind of animal will fatten to a given point on 

 much less food than another, and as fattening 

 our stock is only another mode of selling our 

 grain and grass, those animals are to be pre- 

 ferred which come to maturity soonest, and fat- 

 ten on the least food. The difference in hogs is 

 very great and important. While some breeds 

 must be fed for two, or even three winters, 

 others are full grown and fattened at ten months 

 old ; and the difference in profit is enormous. 

 We cannot go into particulars, but the follow- 

 ing rules may be considered as applying to all : 

 An animal may be expected to fatten easily 

 when it has fine bone, and fine soft elastic skin, 

 with thin or silky hair; the head and legs short, 

 the "barrel" large, but chest and lungs small; 

 and when it is quiet, sleepy, and easy in tem- 

 per. An unquiet, restless, quick-tempered ani- 

 mal, is generally a bad feeder, and unprofitable. 



2. Much depends in fattening on outward 

 and mechanical management. Fat is carbon, 

 or the coal which supplies the body with heat. 

 If we are exposed to cold, it is burnt up in our 

 lungs as fast as it is deposited by the blood ; 

 but if we are kept warm, by shelter or cloth- 

 ing, it is deposited throughout the body, as a 

 supply on hand when needed. Warm stables 

 and pens are a great assistance in fattening, and 

 should never be neglected. So also quiet and 

 peacefulness are important. Every excited ac- 

 tion consumes some part of the body which 

 has to be supplied by the food, and detracts 

 from the fat. In the climate of Michigan, 

 warm stables, regular feeding at fixed hours, 

 and kind treatment, with perfect cleanliness, 

 save many a bushel of grain. Animals fed at 

 irregular times are always uneasy and fretting. 



3. Ground and cooked food fatten much 

 more profitably than raw food. Mr. Ellsworth 

 found that hogs made as much flesh on one 

 pound of corn ground and boiled to mush, as 

 two pounds raw unground corn; though the 

 first did not fatten quite as rapidly, as they 

 could not consume as much food in the 

 twenty-four hours. By grinding and smoking, 

 ten hogs will each gain 100 pounds in weight, 

 on the same food that five would do if it were 

 raw. 



4. A change of food helps in fattening. 

 Thus an ox fed entirely on corn and hay will 

 not fatten as fast, or as well, as one which has 

 roots, pumpkins, ground oats or buckwheat, 



