American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-07-06
A Few Hints on the Sale of Neat
Cattle.

After all the attention and labor which
the grazier may have bestowed, his eX
pectatiOns Will, to a considerable degree
be disappointed, unless he selects proper
time for the disposal of his fat cattle
The most common season for CRASHED
beef is from September to Christmas
but the markets are then more abundantly
and more cheaply supplied than at any
other period, because cattle that have
been fattened on luxuriant pasture grounds
are then ready for sale, and many farmers
are under the necessity of raising money
in order to meet the demands of the close
of the year. Hence the attentive grazier
who has sufficient capital to hold his stock
over will find it more beneficial, at this
time, to dispose only of such part as
being thoroughly fat, would not pay fol
longer keeping. The increase of prices
in the spring will generally be found to
remunerate him well. During the whole
of the winter, large heavy cattle are in
much request in Eastern cities, and will
produce remunerating prices; but al
other times they hang on hand, and fetch
an inferior price. Middle-sIzed handsome
cattle, or those not exceeding fourteen
hundred or sixteen hundred pounds, will
find the most ready sale. Under eight
hundred pounds there is prejudice
against them, unless the meat is particu
larly good.
In drawing off lots of cattle for sale, il
is the general practice to dispose of the
latest animals, and to keep those which
do not fatten kindly for additional feed.
ing. AS general rule this is proper; but
there will occasionally be exceptions to it.
If cilcake, or any other expensive article,
is to be used for fattening, or there
is probability of an insufficient
supply, and he is fully convinced that he
has a beast that is not kindly disposed
to take on fat, or is an Mdoer, the first
loss is obviously the best, and he should
dispose of the unthrifty animal at the
earliest opportunity.
In the country, Il common mode of sell
ing cattle for slaughter is by Jots; and in
this case, in order to prevent dispute be-
tween the parties, care should be taken to
fix the precise time in which any particu-
lar lot is to be drawn, in order that no I'M
necessary food may be consumed. This
was formerly the custom, and is so now,
in our larger markets. 1t is proceeding
which gives a manifest advantage to one
of the parties; for the farmer, unless he
has been accustomed to weighing his
beasts during the progressive stages of
their fattening, can only have a very I'M
certain idea of their weight; while the
butcher, from his continual practice, is
enabled to form tolerable accurate es-
innate. Hence, some have killed Il beast
out of a particular lot, with a view to as
certain the average weight of animals in
such lot; but, in order to obtain perfect
equality between the buyer and seller, it
would be better to dispose of every beast
by weight, and that can be easily ascer-
tanned by the steel-yard.
There are, however, various methods
by which the dead weight of the animal
the weight of the four quarters, sinking
the oifal-may be readily ascertained,
while the animal is alive. The farmer
passes string round the beast just behind
the shoulder blade, and then measures the
length of that string. This is, in simple
language, taking the girth of the animal,
and he writes il carefully down. Next,
from the bone of the tail whence IA line
would fall perpendicalarly, lust touching
the bullock, he measures along the back
to the fore part of the shoulder-blade,
and he registers the amount of this.
He has now the girth and the length of
the beast. He multiplies them together,
and has the number of square superficial
feet which the exterior of the beast com
prises. He next multiplies the product
of this by twenty-three-the number of
pounds allowed to each superficial foot in
all cattle measuring less than seven and
more than five feet in girth, and he OBJ
tains the sum Of weight in pounds.
suppose the animal weighed to he less
than nine and more than seven feet in
girth-thirty-one is the number of pounds
to each superficial foot, and, under five
feet, eleven pounds. For half-fatted
beast, one pound in twenty must be al
lowed, and twenty pounds in the whole
weight for COW that has had calves
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