Rural School Leaflet. 



1037 



best quality of mutton is found among the higher grades of this class. 

 They are fed for three or four months on a grain ration. 



The feeding of the fourth class of lambs has become an industry of 

 some importance in the western part of New York, principally around 

 Batavia. The lambs for this class, called feeders, are not produced in 

 the state but are brought in from the ranges of the West, are fed for some 

 time and then sold on our markets. These feeding lambs are of no 

 particular breed, but most of them show Merino blood. The large 

 flocks of range sheep are made up of ewes with a comparatively large 

 amount of Merino blood in them, both because of a larger wool production 

 and because the Merinos will run in large flocks better than the strictly 

 mutton breeds. The rams used are of the long-wool type rather than 

 of the Down breeds. 



In the selection of feeding lambs, the feeder has to keep in view the 

 fact that there is most demand for the lamb weighing about 100 pounds 

 when fat. The lamb must be of good quality, so that when mature 

 he will be in good flesh with a large proportion of lean and not much 

 fat in the meat. The low, thickset type possesses these merits to a 

 large degree. From the butcher's standpoint, as shown by Fig. 86, it 

 would not be necessary to have any head or neck or legs at all. The 

 neck has a value of ic. per lb., the shoulder 2c, and the shanks the same. 

 The rib running from the joint of the shoulder to the loin has a value of 

 IOC per lb. From the consumers' point of view, the value of the different 

 parts of the carcass is much the same. Therefore it is important that 

 the feeder have a good knowledge of the proper form atid quality of the 

 lamb from which he may hope to get the largest returns. 



Fig. 84. — The cuts of lamb. 



