The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1874-01-09
Saving Fat.

Flesh, fat, hide, horns, hair, and
everything that goes to make up the
substance, whether it be of the carnivo-
rous or h~erbivorous animal, comes origi-
nally from grass or its product, grain ;
for the grass-feeder is devoured by the
f~esh-eater, and returns again to that
grass from which it was taken. Thus
it goes on, in one unceasing round,
from generation to generation, from
century to century, and from cycle to
cycle, nothing being lost, nothing
gained, only changed; for nature, the
great restorer, brings all things back
again in the end to dust, from whence
all sprang. The observing farmer
knows that the profit or loss in feeding
animals consists in the economy with
which the food is assimilated. It takes
a certain amount of food to supply the
waste, to keep up the animal heat.
This being accomplished, the balance
builds up the animal structure, adds to
the growth of the several parts, or, in
the mature animal, accumulates fat,
either in masses or contained in tt q
various tissues. In warm weather, on
full feed, both fat and flesh are stored
largely. In cold weather it wastes
away and supports combustion and
bLAO III "d6JCs AlHoIO1O1OR LII 1IE
tening animals, if we intend to reap
profit from their feeding, they must be
provided with quarters where the waste
from cold will be but slight, or else the
food must be so cheap, or in such guam
titles as to compensate for this loss.
The amount of shelter which will be
most economical the farmer must de-
eide for himself. Without someshelter
from winds and rains, unless in excep-
tional seasons, the animal must IN
doubtedly lose flesh unless exceedingly
well fed. The bones, horns, hoofs, and
hair of the animal do not waste. They,
with the blood and skin, constitute fully
one-half of the dead weight of the ami
NAL. Therefore, if the animal dress
only 500 pounds of meat and bone, the
butcher can not afford to pay nearly so
much per pound as he could is it dress
1000 or 1000 pounds, with only the
same amount of bone, etc., as in the
first instance. This is one of the prin-
cipal reasons why really fat cattle. bring
SO much more than indiferently fatted
ones, another reason being that the
muscular structure of fat cattle and
other stock is far superior to that of
lean ones. The feeder, THEREFORE, who
allows his animals to fall away in flesh
loses not only the price of the meat, but
double and sometimes treble that price,
and the flesh lost is equivalent to money
thrown away. Hence the necessity :
First, of good shelter for feeding !; sec
ond, good care and regularity in the
feeding and watering /; and, third, an
abundance of both food and water Of
the best quality. Those in the west
who practice feeding their rough grain
to animals, rather than send east, or to
Europe to fatten animals there, are well
off. The most prosperous farmers in
any country are the breeders and feed
ers of stock. The markets of the world
can never be glntted with meat, for in
creased production in pasked meats
causes an increased consumption, and
but a slight depreciation in price in the
markets of the world, while an increased
production of all grains soon gluts the
market, to the loss of the grower.
Western men are beginning TO realize
this. The fear has been expressed that
the expectation of meat would be over
done. No danger of that. There is
ample room for expansion in this direc-
ton without danger of Quitting the mar
ket.