The Portland daily press., 1869-03-08
DAILY PRESS.
PORTLAND.
Monday Morning, March 8, 1869.
The Cattle Dist nse.
PORTLAND.

Monday Morning, March 8, 1869.
| The Cattle Disc nse.
In former articles we have spoken of this
disease, but there is no danger of having too
much light upon subject in which our
farmers have so deep an interest. Stock
raising in Maine is profitable business
Many portions of our State afford fine grazing
lands, and if cultivators do not take advan-
tage of them, the fault lies at their own doors.
Cattle in our State are generally healthy and
thrive well, especially If they are properly
cared for. The disease which has made
great havoc in many portions of our .eodntIy
and of Europe, has not afflicted our cattle TO
any great extent, and yet it may come upon
us when least expected.
At recent meeting of the American So
cial Science Association.at Albany, N. Y, Nj.
Go uld delivered an address on "The Cattle
Dl sease Commission in which we find many
valuable statistics. He said it was difficult
to fully comprehend the estimate that in
France $4,000 tons of meat were consumed
in year, in England 900, 900 tons and in
the United States 100000 tons. These tons
would make an enormous pie, quite mount
ain OF meat, and no wonder he said it could
notbe comprehended at single glance.
When the wal. broke out, there were 26OOO,-
OOO cattle in our country, and in Texas alone
100000. Five millions of beef cattle are
consumed annually in the United States In
view of the enormous consumption of meat
we must confess that our people are indeed
''carniverous sinners" No doubt we eat
more meat than is good for the body or the
mind. Is it true that gorging the stomach
with meat has tendency to make one saw
age and full of fight? But we will let that
pass, as its discussion does not properly come
in here.
From the books of Mr.. McCoy's establish
ment at Aberdeen, Texas, we learn the ex-
pense of supplying the cattle market from
that place TO New York, making the aggre-
ga te actual cost of the Texas animal weigh
ing 1000 pounds $23.5O head. Now Mr..
Gould says: New Yorkers could not get these
animals for much less than 500. per head.
The difference is the penalty which consum-
ers pay for violating Gods law by cruelty to
animals. The Texas drovers are very cruel
like most droveIs elsewhere They drive
them so hard that it takes off their flesh very
rapidly.
Again, there are certain elements in the
grasses of Texas which, under certain cir
cumstances, act as a poison in the
aab of he D,,+ Al.
germmate in the flesh Of the animals and be-
come poisonous until they become diseased
through the cruelty practised upon them.
When the spore begins to germinateit Crews
until the blood corpuscles are destroyed. This
is the blood disease that has destroyed so
many cattle in Texas. If the cattle are prop
erly and mercifully treated, the spores would
not germinate and the auimals would not be
injured, although the spores might be in them
Their termination and growth make them
poisonous and destructive
Mr.. Gould exhibited drawings showing the
the cattle disease. The natural Temperature
of the animal in the hottest July weather is
never above 80 degrees, but if it is found to
be 1O2 degrees, it is certain that the creature
is diseased, and when it reaches 107 degrees
the animal cannot live. 1t is ascertained
that the spleen is the main and most obvious
seat of the disorder, representation OF
which Mr.. Gould exhibited to the society.
This disease produces ulcers in the fourth
|. stomach.
When cattle, hard-driven and badly treated
reach Illinois, their flesh must be restored
before they are fit for the market. Large
quantities OF corn must be fed to them in
order to keep up their condition such as it
was on their arrival. They gain no flesh be-
cause they are kept out OF doors in the cold,
and the corn is thrown to them and the poor
creatures are compelled to crowd each other
and fight for it. Such cruel treatment occa-
siols great loss, which the consumer has to
pay for. Again, the manner of their trans
portation to. New York produces another
great loss, and all these losses account, in
some good degree, for the high price of beef
Mr.. Gould alluded to the relations of crime
to the supply of food, which was less where
food was abundant and more where it was
scarce.
Many of these animals are rushed through
to the eastern cities when the telegraph an
nounces scsnty supply in the market, and
the natural consequence is the public health
must suffer. The poor creatures are often
kept on the cars four days without food or
water! That is outrageous cruelty, and
must sooner or later meet the punishment it
deserves. Mr.. Gould says if we obeyed Gods
laws we should have beef S6S dollars per
head cheaper in the city of New York, and
we can safely add that such obedience would
not only make beef cheaper, but also save us
from numberless evils, which flesh is now
heir TO. This cruelty to dumb animals is a
sin that too easily besets dealers in cattle
How many times our heart has been panied
by seeing calves and lambs carted through
the streets of New York city in hot summer
days, the suffering creatures packed closely
together and frequently their heads hanging
over the tail-board of the cart, their nostrils
distended, their tongues out and their sides
heaving with extreme painl How gladly
would we have placed these dealers in the
we had only possessed the power. Such ex-
treme suffering, too, Injuries the meat of the
animals and renders it unwholesome. How
happy the farmer must be to 60 out into his
pasture in the morning when the dew is up
on the grass, and take one of his lambs for
food, instead of being compelled to eat the
flesh of one that has been driven through
heat and dust, or half murdered in being
carted about the city. Young men! don't be
in hurry to flock to the city,, Your chances
for an honest and healthy life in the country
are far greater than in the town.
AGRICoLA.
THE Como BLACKsToNE.-A series of
papers published some years since in Punch
by Gilbers Abbott a-Becket, has been thrown
into book form. The papers travesty the style
of that lucid, concise and altogether admira-
bic writer on tho elements of law, Black
stone, in manner that will amuse all read
xrvI,A 4Anr. lax