and next, a healthy power of digestion; for the greater the quantity he
can eat, and the more rapidly he can digest what he has eaten, the more
quickly will he fatten; and the faster he can be made to increase in
flesh, without a material increase of bone, the better is the breed
considered, and the more valuable the animal. In the usual order of
nature, the development of flesh and enlargement of bone proceed
together; but here the object is to outstrip the growth of the bones by
the quicker development of their fleshy covering.