The New York herald., 1868-05-13
TIE FARMERS, CLUB.
Bcrsh a pophasist-Interesiing Fucts and
Statistics.

Bcrgh a ppophagist-Interesiing Fncts and
Statistics.
The debates Of the Farmers Club were yesterday
strangely interrupted by the appearance on the
t,Im of Mr.. Henry Bergh, who introduced to the
gentlemen Of the Farmers Club preliminary TO a dis
course on horse flesh as an article OF food for the
generations OF men 1t really pleasure to listen
to the solemn voice of the honored Bergh-the phi
lanthropst Bergh OF the Cruelty TO Animals Society
while advocating the juicness OF old horse roasted.
And yet what he labored TO persuade the toughhead
ell cutivators who had moment before had been
discussing the origin of knots and fuDgi-on trees,
OF course-of the toothsomeness Of Dobbins who had
dragged their ploughs and narrowed their fields and
their feelings for many years, the Latin saying would
Obtrude itsef-MO,As- parturte'tS nacetuS ridicAes
nues The Bergh labored, the mountain
brought forth; but t wOuld be unwise to say IL
delivered Of mouse, or the lecturer OF aught Orgi-
nal lie talked of Gods creatures four-footed crea-
lures, and invited his audience to go with him TO
Chicago and return to New York by rail on the cattle
trains II they would do so he contended that the
abuse the quadrupeds received on the way and their
landing and butcbery In tins city, would scken them
of bovine esh and nstlnctively they would turn TO
the horse to the mule to the ass for that food which
was essential to the general stomach. To fortify
his arguments and clnch his conclusions, Henry in
formed his auditors rst that he spoke with facility
nearly all the European languages, and 'therefOreo
could talk advisedly of the feeling which prevailed
among equine admirers for horse roasted, horse
boiled horse In SOUP horse rdgOut horse pie and
horse ad ndusedm. in Paris, Vienna and London.
AS the great professor Of philanthropy proceeded
he waxed warm, and even went 30 FAR as 10 come
down TO particulars. lie had glanced at the census
and ascertained that in 1860 there were eigh-
teen millions Of horses in the United States.
There were now, he assumed, twenty-five mil
lions OF This particular species OF animal,
n the country from the Rio Grande to the Penobscot
and from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts numbered
suming that live millions Of these die from disease
there are left twenty millions aud suppose the ave-
rage weight OF each TO be four hundred pounds, we
have here the enormous amount Of eighty million OF
pounds OF rich, succulent, nutrltive meat, 10 the
taste like venison, and delicate as a porter house
steak and all this flesh goes To WasteiS absolutely
lost TO the world.
From the mentally exhaustive subject OF statistics
Henry took leap into history and Informed the club
that the gems OF great Roman families had their
origin In the names Of vegetables which they had
been celebrated for cultivating This was going To
the root Of the matter lie next informed them that
Cato and Cncinnatus were great Romans; that the
last named was cultvator Of the soil, his farm ex
hazard the assertion that they hankered after the
flesh OF the equine" The Germans, however, he
broadly asserted did love the meat OF the horse and
not even "bu" from the Pope could shut mp their
flesh traps. Hippophagously inclined notions could
not be slenccd aud again the horse in the stew and
in the roast, but not on the shell, was asserting
itself.
1t would occupy unnecessary space to repeat all
that the professor Of bcnevoence said in behalf Of
horsenesn. When he had, by many quotations from
divers writer's horses, exhausted himself and his
subject, he retired from the platform, to the very
anxious to speechify in behalf OF humanity
vote OF thanks was passed to the speaker for his
''pece,n which the good natrired reporter thought
should be printed, that all might read 1t and worship
its kind hearted author Henry Bergh Esq., President
OF the Society for the Prevention Of Cruelty to AMI
mails
Al a subsequent stage Of the proceedings but not
until Mr.. Bergh had retired, with the blessings OF the
club on his exalted head the annexed resolution
offered and put under the table by an all but unani
nous vote-That the Farmers Club Of the American
Institute recommend borsenesh as suitable food.
Comment IL unnecessary.