Scraps From the "Live Stock Journal,"

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1165, 25 July 1885, Page 2 (Supplement)

Scraps From the "Live Stock Journal,"

THE BEGINNING OF HIGH PRICES. It is commonly said that improved breeding in Great Britain began with Bakewell, and there can be no doubt that he was the man wbose practice obtained general attention. ' But he had predecessors. Bos well, who, in his "Life of Johnson,' r has preserved so many carious facts, includes this one— that a Bay. Mr. Taylor, " Sector of Ashbourne and Squire of Bosworth," had cows, 1.770 A.D., for which he was offered £120 apiece, and bulls which were " gigantic" Possibly Bakewell's contribution (like C. Colling'B) may have been that he avoided " gigantic " bulls. There is abundant evidence to show that very big animals were not infrequent in the beginning of the century. Some old Herefordshire papers speak of a bull which had a live weight of 35 owt., breed not stated. Our American contemporaries — like some English statisticians, who recently would not believe in the existence of a centenarian — have expressed the opinion that no " bovine " ever reaou \ ; a live weight of 4,0001b5. Possibly this may be true, but it is certain that weights exceeding this have been claimed for several animals. There used to be a legend in Yorkshire of a " bull which weighed alive two tons. Tet, to borrow a phrase of Cordinal Newmans " perhaps it was a brag." FATTED JEBSETS. Among noteworthy facts of recent displays of fatted beasts must be mentioned what is called a " running calf," which formed part of the Christmas meat shown by a large butcher in Norwioh. A running calf means •the offspring of a cow or heifer which is reared on the dam, both being fed with a view to early slaughter. If the dam gives a fair quantity of rich mQk, very wonderful ycung beasts are produced in this way. Of course, when the dam's milk is poor, or where the other food is injudiciously selected, failure will result. In the instance referred to, the running calf was the produce- of* a Jersey dam; and the breed of the sire was not stated. The young- animal was only 11 months old ; and had a carcase weight of no more than 29 stones of 141bs. To this there was actually 10 stones of suet. Such a proportion is enormous : could only have been produced by Bucking a dam whose milk contained a very unusual proportion of butterfat; the cow being fed' throughout as to stimulate to the utmost a natural inclination to secrete butter-fat. Supposing this suet to be converted into butterihe, to what extent would it differ from the ordinary produce of the churn? _____^^___