TENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 401 



"It is understood that when lambs are graded as prime they are the 

 very best of the class that may be generally expected on the market. * 

 * * 



"Before a lamb is graded as prime it is determined by sight and touch 

 that it possesses the form, quality, condition, and weight demanded by the 

 dealer in high-class mutton. The butcher demands the form that shows 

 the most development in the loin, back, and leg of mutton. He demands 

 development in these regions because they are the parts from which the 

 high-priced cuts are secured. The animal should show a great deal of 

 depth and breadth and no tendency to be paunchy, because paunchiness 

 adds to the percentage of waste in slaughtering. The prime lamb should 

 present a general fullness and smoothness of outline, both of which in- 

 dicate thickness and evenness of flesh. There should be an absence of 

 roughness because the waste in the dressing of the rough, ungainly lamb 

 is large in proportion to the carcass, and, furthermore, the appearance of 

 the carcass of such a lamb fails in attractiveness when placed on exhibi- 

 tion in the market. It is generally conceded that form is enhanced if the 

 body is supported by short legs. However, many prime lambs have only 

 moderately short legs. Very long legs detract from the dressed yield and 

 from the appearance of the carcass when displayed, and on this account 

 lambs that are decidedly upstanding do not grade as prime. * * * 



"General quality is indicated by a medium sized, clean-cut head, ears 

 of fine texture, and fine but strong bone, a light pelt, and full, well- 

 rounded outlines. All these suggest a freedom from that coarseness which 

 adds to the waste in dressing, and the unattractiveness which works 

 against the value of the carcass. Of the items of general quality 

 enumerated, lightness of pelt is the most essential. By pelt is meant 

 the skin and wool combined. To secure a pelt of light weight, the skin 

 should be comparatively thin and free from folds or wrinkles, and the 

 wool should not be very dense or oily. * * * 



"The weight of a pelt may be appreciably influenced by the condition 

 of the wool with reference to foreign material and moisture in it," the 

 presence of large amounts of these greatly reducing the price that will 

 be offered. 



"Occasionally the general quality of lambs may be developed to such a 

 marked degree that they will sell as prime, even though they be some- 

 what deficient in form. A notable example is the fat INIexican lamb. 

 From the standpoint of form the Mexicans are not especially attractive, 

 since they are upstanding and have narrow bodies and long necks, but 

 they are unequaled in the fineness of their features and their lightness 

 of pelt. Without their high development of general quality they would 

 not receive favorable consideration from buyers, but because of it, when 

 fat, they top the market. 



"The terms 'quality' and 'condition' are frequently used inter- 

 changeably on the market, and chiefly because the quality of flesh is 

 largely dependent upon condition. By condition is meant the degree of 

 fatness of a lamb. The reasons why a lamb should be fat are: (a) Other 

 things being equal, there will not be as high, a percentage of offal as 

 in the half fat or the thin lamb; (6) the fat adds to the attractiveness 



