30 BUTCHER STOCK. 



of this tissue, the value depends. Cutters vary in price 

 .according to their individual merit, but the fluctuation is 

 slight; and, in an animal classed as a cutter, there must he 

 a fair sized muscle over the back and loin. This is stripped 

 out and sold over the block. The balance of the carcass is 

 canned, and all animals of any kind that are so flat-ribbed 

 and poor as to have no muscles of any consequence on the 

 back and loin, are classed as canners. 



Veal calves complete the list of Butcher Stock class. 

 They are graded choice, good, common and heavy. Fat, and 

 the right age and weight, are the chief factors in grading 

 them. The grades given by Mumford are: 



Choice age 6-8 weeks; weight, 140-160 pounds. 



Good age 6-10 weeks; weight, 110-200 pounds. 



Common veals are usually too old for weight, or too 

 young and too light. Heavy veals exceed 200 pounds, and 

 are usually 10 weeks and over. 



In conclusion, it should be noted that classes arrange 

 cattle chiefly on the uses to which they are put. That grades 

 depend on the individual excellence of the animals. That 

 prime beef steers are the standard; all other grades merely 

 represent varying degrees of deficiency from that standard. 

 That the dividing lines between the lower grades are only rel- 

 ative; market conditions constantly modify classifications; 

 animals which would class as good grades on a day when 

 receipts were light, and demand strong, are liable to rank a 

 grade lower when the market conditions are the reverse. 



