TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 121 



flesh might at some seasons of the year, class among the poorest 

 butcher heifers, the best cutters, or as a stock heifer, with the 

 chances of each about even on an average market. Such a case 

 is not decided until the animal is sold. If a buyer of butcher 

 stuff bids the most, she will be used that way. If the cutter 

 buyer for the packer gets her, she is a cutter. If she is bought 

 by a commission firm for a farmer, she is a stock heifer. She 

 will sell to the highest bidder on that day's market. 



Commodities such as hardware, dry goods, metals, and 

 many other articles may be bought and sold in large quantities 

 without examining the articles because they are standardized 

 so that the buyer knows exactly what he will get. Even the 



Fig. 36. Choice Veal Calf. 



grain market has been standardized. But not so the live-stock 

 market. So many factors enter into consideration in deter- 

 mining the value of an animal, and these factors vary so much, 

 that live stock must be bought and sold in the presence of the 

 parties concerned in the transaction, or their agents. The men 

 engaged in buying and selling on any market differ considerably 

 in their opinions as to the exact requirements of the various 

 classes and especially of the various grades in each class. They 

 usually agree very closely on the price, yet one prominent buyer 

 may call a certain fat steer a typical "choice" steer, and another 

 equally well-qualified buyer may call him a typical "good" steer. 

 This difference of opinion is largely explained by the fact that 



