INSTANTANEOUS KILLING.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume V, Issue 246, 18 January 1878, Page 15

INSTANTANEOUS KILLING.

Experiments were yesterday,' October l^th, made at J the^lslinglon cattle market to illustrate tnexise of dynainitc as anieans ofslaiightfering cattle humanely. | Mr. Thomas Johiison of_ Dudley three bullocks in thisrrway.! To show the safety with which the explosive 1 (3S[pble's cly^iajsniite)' can. be ' employed, small quantities -were first burnt without -any explosion. v \ j ( The chargp ,\vith' which the cattle were, afterwards killed consisted oC about an ounce, oi a pinkish pa^ty snbstanee,-into which' -had been plunged a detonator on a fuse. The bullocks^ bought that morning in the market, were led. into Mr. Thomas Oi'oss's 'slaughter house, and tied upr to posts there in the ordinary way, Although other animals had recently been despatched with the pole-axe close b'yj the bullocks selected betrayed' no (consciousness of their approaching fate. There was no tremor of sweat upon them. ' * - The operator, fondling them, passed across the foiohcad a fillet of string ' secured round' tnc^b r ornVitnd W> arranged l that midway between horns and eyes, and .thus in the centre of the forehead, the charge of dynamite was placed',- -which formed the central and only .ornament of the fillet. Then the fuse-was fired, and iv two cases the bullock was killed at once by the explosion of the ounce of dynamite. A hole was. niade in the skull by the force of the explosion, but 'the concussion was entirely local and people standing closely felt nothing. , They. heard a loud report. Thcvaninials were.immediately pihuod' by passing a cane dowjn their spinal marrows to "remove -all sensibility, -and in a quarter of sjn,, hour- their eavcass,^ stripped of, the hide/ and i divided.into two, were hanging up as sides of beef, really 1 to r be transported to the Metropolitan Dead Meat Market.' "' ■ " ~ ■u-,ju -,j Therbi-ain was found tobe entirely t broken up. With- the' :; firsfc bullock itricd the /experiment ,wasTicss .successful. " The r charge had been jjlaccd' too jlowj . The animal t was,' fe}lcd, but struggled oif the ground: - . A man was, however,' rea'dj' with tlje pole-axe.' • ' He' 'smote once, and no more, aud the poor beast, was ( Qui of its ftgony. Afterward, a bullock was killed i by one blow of the pole-axe, and another by the French method, -the vertebras being' severed a-'lsnife at the back of the neck. In each'case the cane was" used immemately afterward. '' ' \ , r • , t T , iU ' All three mode^ of slaughter, properly-^arried'mt'o effect, seemed as little cruel as is consistent with the,-neccs&ity of inflicting death, •but the,polc-axe and knife, both used with -consummate skill yestcr- : day.jirpquire considerable practice to be employed witli dexterity. Iv /Qountiij; slaughteij-hpuses, Avherethe mcnliave less experience, a thickbrowed bull is-sqmctimes struck again aiid again' before heidies^^Thc .dynamite may Jjo applied at leisure to the proper place, and' the operaLtoii ought to ; be ablc|to count on keeping it ,there. An objection to its use is in thejreport which it makes/ [The second bullock was obviously frightened by the no'iscof £&q cxnloijvqn qf the, first charge. The three animals were killedm nin.e'ntiu.utcs at;the explenso of jibout 3d. Country, wb'ere" 'dynaraitejts commou as a> blasting materuil fpr mines, it is said^tp' lsd* already m~ pHciticaL I'ise' inLtlie slaughter house^-itmtfoH. Timcs?' [^'v>' t'' ?>'■> A1 o^