St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-12-14
THE FAT STOCK SHOW.
Horses Were the Main Attraction,
But There Were Some Fine Cat

Horses Were the Main Attraction,
But There Were Some Fine Cat
tie.
Some-many. indeed-of those who
were there will declare at once that it
was more of fat horse than fat cattle
show, and some others will assert that
it was more of a circus or a hippodrome
than either, says correspondent OF the
Country Gentleman. AT any rate, hGrses
were the main attraction tnat drew the
crowd, and so successfully that the
event of 1888 was the only one that paid
expenses, to say nothing Of leaving
something over. But let it be remem-
bered. it was not the fat horses, the
Normans. Clydes, PercherOns, Shires, land
other draft breeds, that charmed the
few and enthuSed the multitude, but
Cleveland Bays, the coach horses OF old
England, the demiSangS of France, and
the hart-dravers of Oldenburg, Ger
many. These were few in number COM
pared with the drafts, but they were all
good specimens of a ''hOrSe that is
horse" all with certain portion of
racing blood in their veins, and all de-
ScendantS-remote, to be Sure-Of the
Incompatible Arabians. The American
RACER AND TROTTER
were there, butrepresentedi in so limited
numbers that their presence hardly
added to the attraction, nor would their
absence be remarked.
The cattlemen, breeders and feeders,
complained. and from their point of
view with justice, that the fat cattle
were RENTED to the sheds in the far
Their ends and sides of the building, and
hot hi, ~ f,,,,r ,1lo fba 1..oH
ing attraction, in the center OF the
course of an eighth of mile measure.
To be sure, the fat cattle were allowed
to lie shown and judged at one end, and
paraded along the whole course to show
their points and their ribbons, but
horses in greater or less numbers were
almost always present. But when we
consider that the fat cattle idea
belongs to a period when tallow
and lean meat were of nearly equal
value on the markets and to the
consumer, and now that the best rough
tallow is worth not over scents pound,
and the best lean beef costs from 20 TO
25 cents, it is not strange the popular
estimate of a fat steer has fallen so low
that the representatives of their order
may with justice be consigned to a sec
ond or third place. This point the au-
thorities may not have consciously con-
sidered, but unquestionably it had due
weight. Nothing better demonstrated
how excessive tat had degraded the
public estimate of these cattle than the
neglect of the leading hotekeepers Of
Chicago to purchase and placard them
after this manner: Bought by the Le-
land hotel, !" Secured for the guests of
the Grand Pacific" This for the tables
of the Sherman house," and so
on. Nothing of the kind was
seen this year, the sole placard be-
ing that pinned to the latest carcass
on the dressed-beef tables, announcing
it had been secured for the Chicago
Packing company. Hotelkeepers have
learned by rather costly experience
that prize beef is not sought for by
8 cir guests, for the reason the fat dis
gusts and is rejected by all but the
grossest appetites, while the lean is apt
to I've tough and sure to be oily, if not
rank. Yes we are at the end of the fat
cattle idea, and the steer that pro-
duces the largest proportion of juicy
lean meat is coming to the front to
take the prize, and he will take it in
quite as conspicu US a position as the
heavyweight fat horse will then hold.
In the award of premiums for the
best carcass of dressed beef the Here
fords and Sussex carried Off
THE ENTIRE HONORS,
the former taking two and the latter
three of the ribbons. which included
the sweepstakes. However. in looking
over the awards of the committee, not a
few candid obSery ers, having no special
interest in this, that or the other breed,
were OutSpOken in saying that, as far
aS.they could see, half a dozen carcasseS
of other breeds were as much entitled
to the prizes as those which took them,
so equal in merit were those that
failed with those that received ribbons,
The carcasses of the Michigan Agricult-
ural college steers were shown on the
tables with the others. but not III COIL
| petition. The quarters of the beef
| breeds, the HerefordS. the short horns,
| the GallOways, and the DevOns, were
| tall0wed nearly up to the mark of the
| corn-fed prize cattle. In the case of
the Jersey and the Holstein there was
no excess of fat. and possibly more eat
| able meat IN either than in the two
carcasseS of the Polled-Angus sweep
| stakes steer, and that noble Over-fed
| beast. the steer from the Bow Park
| herd. Prof. johnson was understood
| to say that in feeding he rather
neglected corn, and confined The
steers to oats, bran, linseed
meal and the like, with the object
| in view of aScertaining how far feed i'll
| fiuenced the development of muscle at
the expense of fat. So far as could be
seen from hasty examination, the
beef breeds mad put on tallow as freely
as ii their sole diet had been corn. indi-
eating that where long use has bred the
habit of fat, the result is not far from
the same, whether the food is more OF
| less nitrogenous or carbOnaceous. The
meat development in the Jersey and
| the lIoistein was surprise to many, as
| before the beef-lille appearance of the
; Jersey steer had produced something
! like Il sensation on feeders and breed
ers, and both these milk breeds secured
q reputation fer beef that has always
been refused them.