Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1903-08-20
FLESH AND FAT IN BEEF.
The Relation of Breeder, Feeder
Butcher and Consumer.


AS improved cattle take the place of
our common stock the problem of feed
ing. for lean meat will become more and
more important To have high grade
or pure bred cattle does not always in.
spire the man who raises cattle for the
chasing pure bred cattle. One of our
best judges of beef cattle. both alive
and on the block, is quoted as saying,
"Our- improved breeds of beef cattle
were getting to contain so large a per
cent of fat that they were not as profit
able from the butchers standpoint as a
palmer bred steer, and, as far as quail
ty is concerned, palmer bred steers
carcass would have sufficient quality if
the steer has been properly fed and rip
ened"
1t would undoubtedly be better adj
vertisement to pure breed to have its
slaughtered animals show as nearly the
ideal condition as possible on the block
Unfortunately, fat in excess is fire.
quently upheld as the standard of ex.
LII Liz PdOl1C SdlCo VI II
is the fat animal that brings the high
est price even though there is by its
side Il better framed animal that is in
far better breeding condition. For
breeding purposes fat is a hindrance
rather than a help. Breeding stock
fat reduced after the show season is
over. 1t taxes the skill of the breeder
to the utmost to reduce this fat, as q
mistake at this time may ruin an ami
NAL for future usefulness as a breeder
The farmer or amateur breeder visits
stock in plump, fat condition, and, as
this condition is pleasing to the eye, he
holds up these animals as his standard
and demands animals in fat condition
when he buys. AS long as the demand
is for fat animals the breeder will sup
ply this demand even though it is det-
riment and useless expense both to the
seller and buyer When we are able to
recognize merit without its being pad
ded with fat it will mean saving of
thousands of dollars to breeders of live
stock. Utility, not excessive fat. should
be our standard of excellence.
Fat. or the fat tendency, that would
be condemned by the butchers may
have it's place in bulls that are to be
crossed upon scrub or common cows
that are deficient in the fat element,
but all such crosses should be made
infoIIiOop+Ixv hrr +I,o Ioroo5o,.
The Feeder.
The average feeder may not be guilty
of getting his cattle too fat For this
reason it is sometimes suggested that
he be encouraged to get his cattle as
fat as possible in order not to fall be-
low the market requirements. While
it is doubtless true that many feeders
fail TO get the proper finish to their cat
tie, this is no reason why they should
remain in ignorance of what consti-
tutes proper finish. The feeder should
be taught as to what is meant by an
ideal beef and encouraged to reach that
ideal whenever it is possible and to be
able TO recognize it when it is reached.
Such knowledge will inspire feeder
TO do better feeding and will undoubt-
eddy result in the marketing of better
cattle. Another class of feeders may
market their cattle in finished CON
dition. but not being able to recognize
this condition may be led by unscrupu-
lous buyers to imagine their cattle are
not fat enough and sell them according
ly. Feeders need to know what they
have and what their cattle will show
upon the block. The more knowledge
feeders have along these lines the more
certain they are to be respected and to
get their just dues.
Butcher and Consumer.
The butcher buys a beef animal for
the amount of lean meat he is able to
cut from it and especially for the
amount of lean in the high priced cuts.
He wants just as little waste as posi-
BILE 1t is his business to cater to the
desires of the consumer, and whatever
the consumer demands he tries to Sc
cure in the purchase of beef animal
The consumer dictates to the butcher,
the butcher to the feeder and the feeder
to the breeder. In other words. the
consumer is the supreme judge as to
what constitutes good beef, and all the
others must bow to his Judgment
There is no question but that the con-
sumer is demanding more lean and
less fat. As indicated in cooking tests,
there must be enough fat distributed
among the fbers of the lean to make
the meat tender and well favored, but
the heavy layers of fat are now rele-
gated to the tallow box and not served
on the meat platter. If this be true it
behooves both the breeder and feeder
to produce beef animals that will fur
nish the largest amount of well mar
bled meat in the highest priced cuts
with the least amount of extraneous
fat.--D. II. Otis. Kansas Experiment
Station.
When Removing a Fence.
The illustration, from New England