The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1879-09-05
Animal Food.

Animal Food.
The flesh food that civilized people
consume. is either vegetable, or meat
derived from vegetable feeders. The
principal meats are beef, mutton, veal,
lamb, domestic fowl and game. The
nutritive value of each kind of meat de-
pends on age, mode of life, nature of
feeding, mode of death and upon the
i peculiar character of each kind of flesh.
The flesh of the young is more tender
than that of the old, but it is less easily
digested, veal and lamb are harder Of
digestion than that of beef and mutton.
The flesh of the young is more gelatin
Gus, less stimulated and less nutritious
than that of the old. which contains
ing principle The flesh of very young
animals, as calves of ten days old is soft,
| fiat and insipid. Experience shows that
cattle of middle age yield the best fla
vored beef, and more nutritious and
more easily digested than that of young
animals. Sex influences the quality of
the flesh-that of the female is more
finely grained and delicate than that of
the male.
It is matter of common observation,
| that most animals are in a better state
| for the consumption of the human fam
| lily, in some seasons than in others. Or
dinarily, it is in it's best condition in the
late autumnal and early winter months,
| simply because animals usually have a
large supply of fresh summer and au-
tumnal food. Mutton and beef are al
ways good, but still are more succulent
| and juicy during summer, autumn and
early winter. The yenison of the male
deer is in its best condition from June to
Sentember That of the doe in that
| winter The expression sin season and
out of season" applied to animals is full
of meaning, and indicates, among other
| things, that the flesh of animals is IN
| better, healthier state for human food at
| some seasons than at others. The mode
| of life has an influence upon the flesh of
| animals. Those that lead wild and
active life are less fat than those who are
| lazy and well fed. The flesh of the wild
has higher color than that of the tame,
and is decidedly gamy.
The food animals consume mOdlfes
the character Of theif flesh. Turnips
yield peculiar flavor to mutton. The
| favor of mutton from sheep who have
lived upon the highland, is different
from that of sheep who have obtained
| their food chiefly from the lowlan0s.
| The garlic of the meadows and some fra
grant herbs modify the flavor of the
meat. Oily food tends to make the fat
soft. Hens partly fed on scraps of de-
caying meat, yield eggs that are at once
unpleasant to the taste and unhealthy.
Feeding animals for human food, is,
then of great Importance and demands
experience. It is not enough that food
makes fat-it should also impart an
agreeable flavor.
mi. 4. .4c ofTo o%e
the flesh, is well illustrated by the fact
that violent exercise just previous to
death, increases its tenderness. The
flesh of the hunted animals is well
known for its tenderness. Slaughtering
animals by bleeding then involves
waste of nutritive material, but it rem
| ders their flesh more pleasant to the eye
and more delicate to the taste. It rem
| ders their meat whittier, better favored,
and susceptible of keeping for consid-
erable length of time without tainting.
The Jews of the present day are wise,
and will not eat the flesh of any animal
that has not been slaughtered in har
mony with their ancient laws, and by
one of their own order of faith and prac-
| tice.
Meat is more or less improved by al
lowing it to hang in cool temperatures
SOul6 udyS d1UCI GAC OICUbulC llS1o IC-
| tired from life. The analyses of meat
greatly vary. The relative amount of
| lean and fat depends upon the many cir
| cumstances to which we have just referred
| and to the amount of exercise the animal
| may take to the temperature in which it
| lives, and the purity of the air it may in
hale and absorb The general character
| istic of special meat should be known.
Beef has irmer texture, is more salts
flying to the stomach, and possesses
greater strengthening power than NUT
ton, but mutton is more easy of diges.
! tion, and still few persons may be
| found who cannot digest it. It induces
| violent vomiting and diarrh9a in some.
Veal and lamb, though tender, yet resist
/ the digestive force of some stomachs,
and yield less strength than beef; so
/ they should not be given to children
! with weak stomachs.
Pork is the most difficult of all meats
j to digest. Smoked meats are much less
digestible than fresh. With lean meats,
as veal, chicken, rabbit, or with food
rich in plaster material, as eggs, beans
and peas, give the proper supply of
plaster and heat making materials. Ven
| ison is lean and savory; it is one of the
most digestible of meats.
| The relative amount of bone in ami
| mails varies with their condition. Twenty
per cent. of the entire animal may be
! fair average. In the neck and brisket of
| beef it is 10 per cent. In the shins and
legs, an everage may be 30 per cent. of
its total weight
/ Birds of various sorts are nutritious.
| Some wild birds, as the pheasant feed on
| the buds of the laurel, or as the
partridge on the same become poisonous.
/ The flesh of birds differ from that of
/ mammals, in that it is not marbled, or
its fibres are not mixed with fat. The
! flesh of different birds varies in it's color
| ing, from white to dark. The wings and
| breast are drier, whittier, and more deli
cate in taste than legs, but the latter are
higher favored. The color varies in
different parts of the same birds. In the
black cock the outer layer of the breast
is brown, while the inner layer is white.
1 The fowl, turkey and guinea-fow1
amongst poultry have white flesh, that is
tender, delicate and easy of digestion
is more stimulating than ordinary meat,
and SO is fit for the weak stomach of
every human life, and those persons who
Il are in a state of convalescence. The flesh
Of the goose and duck is richer, harder,