44 



TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 



A 720-pound carcass will yield a 360-pound side. When 

 the side is cut up, the weights of the various wholesale cuts, 

 their wholesale prices per pound, and their total values are as 

 given in the following table, the figures for weights representing 

 averages for good steer carcasses. Prices are given for No. 1, 

 No. 2, and No. 3 grades. 



High-priced and low-priced cuts. The average price for 

 the entire No. 1 carcass is, then, 28.4 cents per pound. From 

 the foregoing table it is seen that the loin, rib, and round con- 

 stitute half of the carcass weight, but bring a little more than 

 65 per cent, of the return from the sale of the wholesale cuts. 

 The 180 pounds of loin, rib, and round have an average price 

 of 37.7 cents per pound, while the remainder of the side, also 

 weighing 180 pounds, brings an average of 19.2 cents. Hence 

 the packer wants cattle as highly developed in back, loin, rump, 

 and round as possible. Buyers of cattle for slaughter emphasize 

 this point. They want cattle smoothly and heavily fleshed in 

 all parts, and especially in the four parts mentioned. The sell- 

 ing price of a load of cattle is greatly dependent on this feature. 



Variations in carcasses. A study of the carcasses in any 

 cooler brings out striking differences. Some are large, being 

 from 1,500- to 1,600-pound animals; others are from younger 

 beeves that weighed 800 to 1,100 pounds. Some are compact 

 and wide, others are long and narrow. Some are well developed 

 in the regions of high-priced cuts, while others are deficient in 

 this respect. Some carry heavy fleshing, others are very poorly 

 covered indeed. The layer of external fat is very thick in some, 

 these being highly finished cattle fed on grain. Others show 

 practically no external fat. These are from grass-fed cattle- 

 poor pasture too, for a steer puts on some fat on grass if the 



