Cheraw gazette. [volume] (Cheraw, S.C.) 1835-1838, 1836-03-15

low. 4 thick, firm skin, which is general
" covered with Il thick-sct, hard, short hair,
always touches hard, and indicates bad
feeder: y thin, mcagrc, papcry skin, COW
cred with thin, silky hair, being the opposite
of thu ono just described, docs not. howcv-
CT. afford good touch. Such il skin Is IN
dicativc of il weakness of constitution,
thoughof good feeding properties. \ per-
feet touch will be found with thick loose
skin, floating, us it were. on Il layer of soft
fat, Yielding o the lcastprcssurc. and spring
ing back towards the fingers like piece of
SOFT hick chamoiS leather, and covered with
thick, soft glossy hair. Such Il collection
of hair looks rich and beautiful, and seems
warm and comfortable to the animal. ltiS
not unlike Il bed Of fine soft moss, and
hence such skin is frequently styled 'mos-
sv." The sensation derived from feeling
fine touch is plcasurablc, and even de-
lightfrl to all amateur of breeding. You
cannot help liking an animal that has fine
touch Along with it is generally associa-
ted fine symmetrical form. \ knowledge
of touch can only be acquired by long
practice but after having acquired it, it is
of itself sufficient means of Judging Of
the feeding quality of the OK; because,
when present, the properties of symmctrl.
cal form, fine bone, sweet disposition, and
purity Of blood, are the general accompa-
nimcnts.
These are the essential points Of Judging
lean cattle; but there arc other and import
ant considerations which must claim the at.
icntion of the judge, in forming thorough
Judgment of the OK.
The proportion which the cxtrcmltles
bear to the body, and to ono another, is one
Of these considerations. Tho head Of the
OK should be small, and set on the neck as
if it appeared to be easily carried by the an
imal. This consideration is of great i'm
portancc in showing cattle to advantage in
market. The face should be long from the
eyes to the point of the nose. No face can
be handsome without this feature. The
skull should be broad across the eyes, and
only contract little above them, but should
taper considerably below to the nose. The
muzzle should be fine and small, and the
nostrils capacious. The crown Of the head
should be fiat and strong, and the horns
should protrudc horizontally from both sides
of it, though the direction of the growth
from the middle to the tip varies in the diff
ercnt breeds. The cars should be large,
stand a little erect, and SO thin rs to reflect
the sunlight through them. The neck
should be light, tapcring from the front OF
the shoulder and neck vein, with gradual
rise from the top Of the shoulder to the
head. The length of the neck should be
in prepertion to the other parts Of the ami
NAL but this is non.cssential point; tho
l would prefer an apparently short neck to
long one, because it is generally well cov-
cred with the neck vein.
A droop of the neck, from tho top Of the
shoulder to the head, indicates weakness
of the constitution, arising frequently from
breeding too near akin. The legs below
the knee should be rather short than long,
and clean made. They should be placed
where they apparently bear the weight of
the body most easily, and they should stand
wide asunder. The tail should be rather
thick than otherwise, as thickness indicates
strong spine and good wcighcr. 1tshoult
be provided with Il large tuit Of long hair.
The position of the flesh ON the carcass
is another great consideration in Judging
the OK, the flesh on the different parts Of the
OK being of various qualities. The part
called the sparc-rib in Edinburg, and the
fore and middle ribs i'll London, the loins,
the rump, or hook bone, are Of the finest
quality, and arc generally used for roasts
and steaks. Consequently the OK which
carries the largest quantity of beef Oh these
points is the most valuable. Flesh Of fine
quality is actually of finer texture in the fibre
than coarse flesh. 1t also contains fat in
the tissue between the fbrcs. This arrange
ment of fat and lean gives richness and
dclicacy to the flesh. The other parts, tho
not all of the same quality, arc used for
sailing and making soups, and do not fetch
so high price as the parts just described.
\ full twist lining the division between
the hams, called the "closing," with a thick
layer of fat, thick flank, and full neck
vein, arc generally Indicative of tallow in
the interior of the carcass; but it frequent
" happens that all these symptoms OF lay
ing on internal fat fail. The disposition to
lay on internal fat altogether depends on the
nature of the Individual constitution; Tor,
is often observed, that those individuals
which exhibit great fattcning points on the
exterior do not fill with internal fat so well
as others which want these points. On the
contrary, thin made oxen, with flat ribs, and
large bellies, very frequently produce large
quantities of internal fat.
The first part which shcws the fat in
feeding OK, is the point or top Of the rump'
which, in high bred animals, is Il prominent
L Il.