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TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 



carcass is wanted that is free from prominence on the underline. 

 Hence, barrows are always preferred to sows because sows carry 

 more cheap belly meat, this being expecially true of sows that 

 have had several litters of pigs. Such sows are called "seedy, " 

 and they bring a lower price than neat, trim animals that are 

 well tucked up along the belly. The accompanying drawings 

 show the importance of the underline in determining the value 

 of the side cut from a hog. The trimming from a seedy sow 

 goes to the rendering tank and is made into a cheap grade of lard. 



Side from 

 low-flanked hog 



Side from 

 high -flanked hog 



Side from 

 seedy sow 



Fig. 97. Effect of Underline on Trimming of Side. 

 T, trimming. 



2. Finish. This is indicated by the depth and evenness 

 of fat covering the carcass, especially along the back and over 

 the sides; also by the amount and quality of leaf fat. The leaf 

 is the internal fat and includes the kidney fat and extends down 

 to the flanks and "skirt" or diaphragm. It is important that 

 the fat be white and firm. Packers like hogs well fattened be- 

 cause this means a higher yield of lard and a higher dressing 

 percentage. As a rule, the heavier the hog the more fat he 

 carries, because the nearer an animal approaches maturity the 

 more easily he takes on fat. This is shown by the following 

 figures giving the percentage of yields and percentage of parts 

 of carcasses of swine of different live weights. The fat backs 

 were all rendered into lard. 



Figures from Boore & Company, Chicago. 



Figures from Sinclair Packing Company, Cedar Rapids. 



