BOB VEAL AND THE PUBLIC * 
By Pierre A. Fish, Ithaca, N. Y. 
In the consideration of bob veal, the question of primary im¬ 
portance is whether or not it is unwholesome as a food. The 
law in prohibiting its sale encourages such a belief. Its purpose 
is to protect the consumer, but a just law must also consider 
the interests of the producer. With an increasing population and 
diminishing cattle supply, the time is not far distant when serious 
attention must be given to the conservation of the meat supply. 
With an increasing demand for pure food and a growing num¬ 
ber of veterinarians as local inspectors for meat and milk, there 
should be some knowledge as to any definite nutritive value pos¬ 
sessed by bob veal. 
In those countries in which meat is most used as a food there 
has been the highest development of the livestock industry. The 
food question has, therefore, given a special impetus to the breed¬ 
ing and feeding of stock which will excel in the quality and flavor 
of the meat. In earlier years age was considered one of the im¬ 
portant factors when it came time for slaughtering. At the be¬ 
ginning of the nineteenth century the standard of perfection in 
the United States and England was the steer of five or six years 
of age. Even in the early eighties a steer was not deemed ma¬ 
ture or profitable enough for slaughter until four or five years 
old and was of large size and weight. Since 1891 finished steers 
more than three years of age have been the exception rather than 
the rule on the markets, while two-year-olds are gradually be¬ 
coming the maximum. With the reduction in age came a reduc¬ 
tion in size, which brought out as the butcher's ideal the “ pony ” 
beef, the animal weighing from 1,200 to 1,400 pounds when fully 
finished. “ Pony ” beef was eventually followed by “ baby ” beef 
—practically a pony steer finished at a younger age. 
* The substance of this paper was presented at the Conference for Veterinarians at 
the New York State Veterinary College, Ithaca, N. Y., and at the Meeting of the Pennsyl¬ 
vania State Veterinary Medical Society, at Philadelphia, Pa. 
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