52S ANNUAL REPORT OF THE OfiE, Doc. 



you discard her, sayiug, she puts her feed on the back instead of 

 in the belly; and along that line steers from the dairy breeds will 

 not dress as high a per cent, because not so thick and meaty. There 

 is more waste in the internal organs. The digestive capacity has 

 been developed to increase the capacity in the dairy cow and all 

 the steers Take the same points in their development and so the 

 steers of the dairy breeds will not dress as high a per cent. 



Another fact which has to do with the dressing per cent, is in- 

 dividuality. There is a difference in steers of the same breed which 

 we can only account for by individuality. In the slaughter tests in 

 the Michigan Agricultural Colege along the line of determining 

 the dressing per cent, of cattle of different market grades, and to 

 illustrate the differences which you find in cattle of different grades, 

 we took steers of the ffve market grades as you find them quoted 

 in the different livestock dailies and the daily papers, prime, choice, 

 good, medium and common steers. There were slaughter records 

 kept and they showed that prime steers dressed on an average of 

 03 per cent. ; the choice steers, 01.9 per cent., about 02 per cent. ; 

 the good steer 00.7 per cent. ; the medium steer about 58 per cent., and 

 the common steer 50 per cent. These figures, of course, would vary a 

 little. These figures are not necessarily the figures that would be 

 shown for averages of cattle of these grades, but they grade down 

 very nicely from the best market grades to the poorest. The breeds 

 will also show some variation. Figures taken from the slaughter 

 tests that have been conducted by the different experiment stations 

 throughout this country show that the beef' breeds, for example, the 

 Shorthorns, Herefords and Angus, in the averages of all slaughter 

 tests taken showed a dressing per cent, of 08 per cent., 04 per cent, 

 and 05 per cent.; while the dairy breeds as compared dressed 00 

 per cent, to 02 per cent., a difference of some 3 per cent to 5 per 

 cent., and with a much wider variation, but these are average per- 

 centages. There is also a difference in the dressing per cent, of 

 heifers and cows as compared to steers. Steers will dress a higher 

 per cent, than cows or heifers. That fact is one o fthe reasons for 

 the difference in the prices paid for steers over heifers in practically 

 the same condition in the market. The buyers always prefer the 

 steers when they can get them and largely because they will dress 

 a better per cent. When we come to judge the carcass the high 

 dressing per cent, is important because it indicates that the steer 

 it fat; it indicates a finished condition, or a fat, finished condition. 



JUDGING CARCASSES 



To take up the points of judging carcasses, or meat in detail as 

 they would be followed through, if you were watching a judge in 

 a carcass contest, the first would be the sides that were hung in 

 the coolers and the judge would examine them, having his figures 

 to show the dressing per cent. ; having looked them over he would 

 examine the sides for the general conformation or shape. The 

 shape that is desirable is a very compact, very thick fleshed, com- 

 pact, solid, blocky form; just the same practically as you like in 

 , the live animal in judging fat steers or cattle. In comparing the sides 

 we like to find the hind quarters or the round very full, thick and 

 short. Now if I had a rack so that these quarters could have been 



