Cooper's Clarksburg register. [volume] (Clarksburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1851-1861, 1855-10-17
duigulturaI anA DotIlRSttr.
FATTENING ANIMALs.

FATTENINCS ANIMALS:
There are certain principles which APP
ply to the feeding of all animals which
we shortly notice.
/. The breed is of great Importance
A we'll 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. Com
pare the hind leg of full blood Durham
OK, 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 d convex or
circular shape while in the common OK
it falls in, dishing and hollow. Now the
Ground" 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
understand this, that their prices are regu.
lated by the breed, even where two ami
mails are equally fat. They know that in
q Durham or Hereford OK, not only will
there be9less offal in proportion to weight,
but the greatest quantity of meat will be
whereit brings the highest price when re-
tailed, and will be of richer flavor, and
more tender fibre. The same is the case
with hogs. A large hog may chance to
make more meat on 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, moderate sized, short leg
ged, small headed hogs, always, in the
long run, beat large breeds out of favor.
In preparing for a market, {" fashion and
taste" must as, much be 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 Manches>
ter and other such cities, these large joints
have become unsaleable and all the eff
forts Of the breeder are now turned to-
wards small breeds maturing early, with
comparatively little fat. According to
late writer's, the large Leicester and Cots
wolds are going quite out Of fashion
When we give $4,000 for Durham bull
1t is not that his progeny are instrinical
ly" 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 Here
lords are preferred for ships and packing,
Devons are high in repute for private ia
miles. The joints are smaller, but the
meat has a peculiar richness, probably
; found in no other kind of stock and the
proportionate waste is said to be less than
any other breed. Thus in the London
market. the Scotch Kyloes, and then the
Devons. (the former even smaller than
the latter. bring the highest price, be-
cause preferred by the aristocracy. 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 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 particu-
lars, but the following rules may be con-
sidered as applying to all: An animal
may be expected to fatten easily when it
has 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
temper. An unquiet, restless, quick-tem-
pered animal, is generally bad feeder,
and Improbable.
2. Much depends in fattening on out
ward 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 ar
kept warm, by shelter or clothing, it lie
deposited throughout the body, as a sups
ply on hand when needed. Warm stables
and pens are great assistance in fatten-
ing, and should never be neglected. So
also quiet and Peacefulness are important.
Every excited 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.
s. Ground and cooked food fatten much
more proitaby than raw food. Mr.. Ellis
worth found that hogs made as much flesh
on one pound of corn ground and boiled
to mush, as on two pounds of raw un>
ground corn though the first did not fat
ten quite as rapidly, as they could not
consume as much 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