12 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
FATTENING ANIMALS. 
There ai-e certain principles which apply to the feed- 
ing of all animals which we will shortly notice : 
1. The breed is of great importance. A well bred ani- 
mal not only affords less waste, but has the meat in the 
right places, the fibre is tenaer and juicy, and the fat is 
put on just where it is wanted. Compare the hind leg of 
a full blooded 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 tliigh swells out of 
convex or circular shape ; while in the common ox it falls 
in, dishing and hollow. Now the ‘h'ound” is the most 
valuable cut, and is only found in perfection in high-bred 
stock. The same is the case over the whole body. So 
well do eastern butchers undei-stand this, that their prices 
are regulated by the breed, even where two animals are 
equally fat. They know’ that in a Durham or Hereford 
ox, not only will there be less offal in proportion to weight, 
but 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 wdth the other ; and 
in the east, flavor and tenderness greatly regulate prices. 
Consequently, moderate sized, short-legged, small headed 
hogs, always, in the long run, beat large breeds out of 
flavor. In preparing for 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 mechan- 
ics preferred large fat joints. The taste is now changed. 
In Manchester 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, wdth 
comparatively little 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 “intrinsically” more valuable to 
that amount, but the increased value and the fashion to- 
gether make up the difference. And it is thus, that while 
Durhams and Herefords are preferred for ships and pack- 
ing, 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 an^^ other breed. 
Thus in the London market, the Scotch KyJoes, and then 
the Devons, (the former even smaller than the' latter,) 
bring the highest price, because preferred by the aristroc- 
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 preferred which come to 
maturity soonest, and fatten on the least food. The dif 
ference 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 dif 
ference in profit is enormous. We cannot go into particu- 
lars, but the following rules may be considered as apply- 
to all : An animal may be expected to fatten easily when 
it has fine bone, and fine soft elastic skin, w^th 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 temper. An unquiet, restless, quick-temper- 
ed animal is generally a bad feeder, and unprofitable. 
2. Much depends in fattening on outward and mechani- 
cal management. Fat is carbon^ or the coal which sup- 
j)lies 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 clothing, it 
is deposited throughout the body, as a supply on hand 
when needed. "Warm stables and pens are a great assist- 
ance in fattening, and should never be neglected. So, 
also, quiet and peacefulness are important. Every ex- 
cited action 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 ; though the first did 
not fatten quite as rapidly, as they could not consume as 
much food in the 24 hours. By grinding and soaking, 
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, &c , fed to it at regular periods. The latter 
may contain intrinsically less nourishing matter than the 
corn, but the change produces some unknown effect on 
the stomach and system, that adds to the capability of de- 
positing fat. The best feeders change the food very fre- 
quently, and find that they make a decided profit by so- 
doing. Salt should be given with every meal to cattle-— 
say an ounce a day. It preserves the appetite and pre- 
vents torpor of the liver, to which all fattening animals are 
subject. This torpor, or disease, is, to a cei'tain extent, 
conducive to fat; but carried too far the animal sinks un- 
der it. 
5. In cattle the skin should be particularly attended to. 
A fat animal is in an unatural state, and consequently 
easily subject to disease. Taking no exercise, it has not 
its usual power of throwing off poisons out of the system ; 
and if the skin is foul, the whole labor is thrown on the 
kidneys. It is found by experience that, oxen, regularly 
curried and cleaned daily, fatten better and faster than 
when left to themselves ; and if the legs are pasted with 
dung, as is too often the case, it seriously injures the ani- 
mal. 
6. Too much rich food is injurious. The stomach can 
only assimilate a certain quantity at once. Thus an ox 
will prosper better on 30 lbs., of corn and 30 lbs of cob 
ground together daily, than on 40 lbs. of ground corn.. 
These mixtures are also valuable and saving of cost for 
hogs when first put in the pen. If an animal loses its ap- 
petite, the food should at once be changed, and if possible 
roots, pumpkins, or steamed hay may be given. 
7. Oxen will fatten better if the hay or stalks are cut for 
them, but care must be taken not to cut too shoi’t. An 
inch in length is about the right size for oxen, half or 
three-quarters of an inch for horses. — Farmer’’ s Com. and 
Horticultural Gazette. 
Human Life. — Ah! this beautiful world. Indeed. I 
know not what to think of it. Sometimes it is all glad- 
ness and sunshine, and heaven is not far off; and then it 
changes suddenly, and it is dark and sorrowful, and the 
clouds shut out the sky. In the lives of the saddest of 
us, there a: e bright days like this, when we feel as if we 
could take this great world in our arms. Then come the 
gloomy hours, when the fire will neither burn in our 
hearts or on our hearths, and all within is dismal, cold and 
dark. Believe, every heart has its secret sorrows^ which 
the world knows not ; and oftentimes we call a man cold 
when he is only sad. — Longfellow. 
