The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1885-07-10
HloH.PRIcEp soAP-cREAsE

1
Breeders and Feeders Give Fat Instead Of
Lean Because It Costs Less to Produce 1t.
1t is pretty evident feeders and breed
ers are beginning to consider the de-
mands of consumers that in first-class
butchers meat there shall be more lean
and less fat. or. in other words, maxi.
mum of tallow shall give place to a fair
proportion of tender and juicy meat
The consumer who now buys joint of
first rate ripe beef. mutton or pork,
pays for three pounds of fat and bone
to one pound of lean, and the fat being
good for little else than soap-grease
the portion available for eating costs
him three prices. 1t is worth our while
perhaps to consider the changes which
have taken place in the character Of
butchers meat within fifty years or so.
aud how fat has usurped the place of
lean.
Then, If, when steak or joint was
bought, the butcher ventured to re-
move a portion of the fat, the buyer
protested, being DESTROYS of getting as
much fat as possible. not only because
it was scarce, but more because the fat
of those days, when cooked. could be
eaten with relish But now the con-
sumner insists the dealer shall give him
as little fat as possible. because he has
more of it than he knows what to do
with. since when cooked it can not be
eaten. The difference between the
quality OF the fat of fifty years ago and
that OF the present consists in this. that
formerly fat was largely male up of
cell tissue. the result of the then system
or manner of feeding class of animals
in which the flesh and muscles We're de-
veloped in much larger proportion
than the fat and fatty tissues.
Now the system Of feeding having
been radically changed on account of
the abundance and cheapness of corn,
the entire animal has been changed. too,
in its physiological make up and has
become little more than an animated
frame on which to hang a maximum
of fat, once minimum of lean.
Take the prize fat steer. for example.
and note the six or seven inches
of pure fat or tallow covering his
back and sides; note the champion,
whether of the same class with a
blanket IF four or five inches of suet
over his shoulders, and look at the
prize fat pig smothering under six or
seven inches of lard. and though each
may weigh enormously for its age and
race the amount of eatable substance
in the dressed carcasses does not much
exceed that obtained from the carcass
of an animal in fairly good condition
for slaughter. at half the weight.
That is, the aim seems to have been
to produce fat only, with small regard
to the increase of lean, and this be-
cause it appears to be understood that
if an animal is fed high for long time
the result will be fat out of all proper
ton to lean. But the fact is, some races
or classes of cattle. sheep and hogs.
run to lean as others run to fat, and it
having been proved that when corn is
abundant and cheap. tallow and cor
responding weight is put on cheaper
than muscle or fash, breeds and races
of the latter characteristic have been
chosen to multiply from in preferences
to the former. This the consumer APP
pears to have found out, and in future
will demand that his beef. mutton and
pork shall have a due proportion OF
of lean to fat. whether in steaks, chop.
joint or roast.-B. f. johnson, IN n. 7.
Tribune.