450 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



grades in the various classes, the great majority of sheep owners, and 

 many feeders, must depend largely upon the market reports for such in- 

 formation, and the value of these reports to the man who proposes to buy 

 or sell sheep is determined by the extent to which he can apply them to 

 his particular purchase or sale." 



MUTTON SHEEP. 



Under this head are classed "all sheep and lambs sent to market for 

 slaughter, no matter what the condition, age, or weight," including both 

 native and western sheep. 



"Native sheep are those produced, ordinarily in small flocks, on the 

 farms of the Central, Southern and Eastern states. Western sheep are 

 those produced, usually in large bands, on the ranges of the Western 

 states. As a rule, western sheep have enough Merino blood to make them 

 markedly different in appearance from natives which are mostly from 

 mutton-bred parents. But even were they identical in breeding, buyers 

 and salesmen on the market could easily distinguish between them be- 

 cause of differences resulting from the way in which they are fed and 

 managed. On markets where both native and western sheep are re- 

 ceived, the daily reports nearly always distinguish between them, but in 

 this bulletin no attempt is made to classify them separately where they 

 are both put to the same use. Hence hoth native and western sheep are 

 placed in the mutton and in the breeding classes, but only western sheep 

 are placed in the feeder class. While thin natives are often bought up in 

 the country and successfully fed, those that reach the market in low con- 

 dition do not sell as feeders because they are usually infested with inter- 

 nal parasites, thus making it difficult and in many instances impossible 

 to fatten them." 



It is stated that a common practice is "to prefix the word 'fed' before 

 a certain class and grade to distinguish grain from grass-fattened sheep. 

 The term is used for a short time in the autumn and in the spring when 

 both grain and grass fattened sheep are coming to market." 



Lambs. — Of the various subclasses of mutton sheep "the one known as 

 'lambs' is by far the most important, due to the fact that the producer 

 can most profitably market his sheep as lambs and also that lamb is pre- 

 ferred to mutton by the consumer. * * * 



"It is estimated by traders upon the Chicago market that at least 80 

 ■per cent of the sheep received at that place are lambs. * * * 



"At from 12 to 14 months of age lambs pass into the yearling and ewe 

 classes. But it is the degree of maturity the young animal has attained 

 rather than a set, definite age which determines whether or not it belongs 

 to the lamb class. Native lambs usually reach maturity at an earlier age 

 than western lambs, because they receive a greater ahundance of feed, 

 and they are generally free from Merino blood. * * * 



"The most important factors in determining the grade to which lambs 

 "belong are form, quality, condition, and weight, and the grades recog- 

 nized on the market are: Prime, choice, good, medium, common, or culls. 



