TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 299 



head is left on, the leaf fat and kidneys in, the hams not faced, 

 and the backbone not split. Some variation also occurs in the 

 manner of splitting the carcass. All dressed hogs are cut open 

 along the underline and through the aitch bone and brisket, 

 but the best heavy carcasses, called loin carcasses, are split 

 through the center of the backbone, while the inferior heavy 

 carcasses, called packing carcasses, are sometimes split on one 

 side of the backbone. Bacon carcasses are usually cut with a 

 knife on each side of the backbone and then split on one side 

 and the backbone taken out, making sides suitable for the Eng- 

 lish bacon cuts. 



Fig. 94. Dressing Hogs. 



The offal and the dressing percentage. The parts which 

 the hog loses in dressing are the blood, hair, head, viscera, leaf 

 fat, kidneys, and ham facings. The dressing percentage is 

 determined in the same manner as with cattle and sheep. Hogs 

 dressed packer style range in dressing percentage from 68 to 80 

 per cent., and average about 75 per cent. Hogs dressed shipper 

 style have a dressing percentage about 8 per cent, higher than 

 those dressed packer style, the difference being due to the head, 

 leaf fat, kidneys, and ham facings, which are not removed in 

 the shipper style of dressing. Hogs dressed shipper style easily 

 dress 83 to 85 per cent. Some hogs in the carcass contests at 

 the International Live Stock Show have dressed as high as 89, 

 89.3, and 89.6; but these were hogs of show-yard quality weigh- 

 ing 417, 429, and 520 pounds respectively, they had been with- 



