The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-03-04
A NEW ANIMAL.

 ticle of diet on us. Not that this is such rare occurrence. for almost any day we can, find something new adyer- tised which we are expected to eat. ask Ing no noquestions. Probably if we asked we would be none the wiser. for there are many things now eaten about which the eater knows very little.
 The new diet is called "catalo," and if the average reader were asked to run it down, he would probably find himself on, a blind trail, but it is the flesh of an animal formed by crossing the American bison or buffalo on or dinary cattle. This produces new animal partaking of the nature and qualities of both it's parents. and the flesh is said to be good, and very good. We can we'll credit the claim, for we know that a. really fine beef roast or steak is about as good to the healthy and hungry man as anything eatable can be, and the same may be said with even more emphasis of buffalo. In the old days when buffaloes roamed at will on the plains of the great West, and grew and fattened on the rich and sue culent grasses which covered all that region, it was claimed that certain por- tions of young and fat animal formed the finest, most appetizing and nutri- tious meal that could be procured from any member of the animal Kingdom Much has been written of buGalo steaks and roasts, and we are bound to be- Iieye that those who praised the meat so highly knew what they were talking about. Unfortunately, we missed the opportunity of testing 1t and only speak of what we have heard and read on the subject.
 Admitting. then, that buffalo meat was as good as represented, and know ing the excellence of goed beef we, ars prepared to admit the claims made for "catalo," which word is plainly l formed from the names of the two | kinds of animals in the combination In fact, wild ones are practically ex- tinct, if not entirely so. Quite a num- l Der are yet living in parks and pre- 1 serves, but of course they are toe scarce and valuable to be used as food except on very rare occasions. If ths new meat is so good, however. it might soon become an important article oi food. There appears to be no difhculty about crossing them on our common cattle, and by careful selection and breeding it ought not to be dihicuili task to breed enough in few years te make the industry a desirable and profitable one, for we suppose there car be no doubt that the meat would bs popular.
 Of course we do not mean to be un- derstood as intimating that this cross ing of animals is a very recent dis covery, for experiments along this line have been made at various times, but as we are informed, there has been noth- ing like systematic efforts to make a business of it. On this subject, The New York Mail says that the final fate of the buffalo will be to lose it's identity l in the blood of the domesticated cattle, as that of the Indian will be to shade off into the white man. The business of mixing the wild cattle and the tame cattle has not been carried on sys- tematically,. except to very limited extent. However, it has been done, and has resulted in the production of a robe which is unrivaled in size and magniacence. The catalo skin, if pro- | duced with the right admixture is larger than the best buffalo robe, and probably finer fur in every way. The Durham or Devon breed in its purity and perfection, crossed with the best specimens of the buffalo, would prob ably result in an animal which would justly become famous for its robe and its beef