192 Comj)arative Fattening Qualities of Sheep. 



carcass weight tban either the Hampshire or Sussex sheep of the 

 previous experiment ; both of these, however, as has already been 

 stated, were put earlier in the season upon the fatting food than 

 the Cots wolds, and were kept upon it later. 



These long-woolled sheep were, indeed, very fully ready for 

 the butcher. They very remarkably, too, manifested the charac- 

 teristics of the white- faced, long-woolled sheep, as contrasted 

 with the black-faced Down. Thus, although, as we have stated, 

 their proportion of carcass was greater, and the carcasses them- 

 selves were much fatter than in the case of either of the other 

 breeds, yet the kidneys of these Cotswolds were by no means 

 well made up. The rumps, and saddle generally, and breast, 

 were, however, too fat ; indeed, the fat was chiefly accumulated 

 outside the frame instead of inside, as is more the case with the 

 Downs : there was, too, a deficiency of lean in the Cotswold 

 carcasses. Some of the rumps and breasts were extraordinarily 

 fat, especially of the 5 animals which had given the greatest 

 increase. The 10 of medium increase were the best made up on 

 the kidneys, and had also the best distribution of lean. The 

 5 of least increase were the whitest and most delicate ; they were 

 in every way less fat ; they had altogether less of the character ojf 

 the fat long-woolled sheep, and would well have borne to be fed 

 a little longer. On the other hand, the carcasses of the 5 sheep 

 of largest increase were much coarser in appearance, and the sur- 

 face was much more streaky and vascular. 



It may be remarked, that there is no clearly evident connexion 

 between rapidity of fattening and the proportion of carcass. 

 There is nearly equal variation in regard to proportion of carcass 

 weight, among the animals of greatest, of least, and of medium 

 increase respectively. 



As to the actual proportion of dead or carcass weight to live 

 weight, in these early ripened sheep, we may observe that 

 57* 14 per cent, of carcass is equal to a stone of 8 lbs. dead for a 

 stone of 14 lbs. alive, and that the average proportion of carcass 

 of each lot of these sheep is higher than this. Thus, taking the 

 calculations upon the gross, or unfasted, live weight, the 5 

 animals of largest increase gave an average proportion of carcass 

 of 59*14 per cent., the 5 of smallest increase of 57*4 per cent., 

 and the 10 of medium increase 57*8 per cent. The average of 

 the whole 20 killed is 58*1 per cent. The 5 animals of largest 

 increase, which gave such a large actual iceight of carcass, and 

 upon the whole, the heaviest proportion of carcass, were never- 

 theless deficient in kidney and inside fat generally. 



Looking to the column of loose, or caul and gut fat, we see 

 that the average proportion of it in 100 of the fasted live weight 

 of the 20 Cotswolds was 5*3. In the Hampshire and Sussex 

 sheep it was more than 7 per cent. The Table shows also that 



