GRADES 341 



teeth have been replaced by permanent teeth the animal would not be 

 classed as a lamb. Lambs constitute about 75 per cent, of the sheep 

 sold as mutton. They are preferred to older sheep because their 

 meat is tender, free from strong flavor, and they yield cuts of con- 

 venient size. 



Yearlings are castrated males and they are properly called 

 yearling wethers. As a mutton product they are used as a substi- 

 tute for lamb, and in order to serve this purpose they* must bear 

 considerable resemblance to lambs in form, quality, weight, con- 

 dition and immaturity. They are identified by the two broad teeth 

 in front of the lower jaw and by the epiphyseal cartilage, or " break 

 joint/' The presence of the latter is determined by grasping the 

 foreleg between the forefinger and thumb and rubbing up and 

 down just above the pastern joint, where a rather sharp prominence 

 will be felt if the epiphyseal cartilage has not disappeared. 



By removing the forefoot at the epiphyseal cartilage a reddish 

 indented surface is exposed which is quite different in appearance 

 from the surface exposed when the foot is removed at the regular 

 articulating joint, as must be the case with mature sheep because 

 the cartilage is knit or ossified. On this account the presence of 

 the cartilage is important, for it furnishes evidence that the carcass 

 is that of an immature animal. Yearling ewes are not classed as 

 yearlings, because they mature earlier than yearling wethers and 

 often fail to show the " break joint " soon after they pass out of the 

 lamb class. 



Wethers are castrated males that are too mature in development 

 of body or too inferior in quality to class as yearlings. In case a 

 male is not castrated until it develops the coarseness of feature 

 characteristic of a mature ram it is classed as a stag. Yearlings 

 and wethers form only a small part of the sheep that are sold for 

 mutton. 



Ewes are females too far advanced in maturity to class as lambs ; 

 the class includes all ages from yearlings up. 



Bucks and stags include entire males too mature to class as 

 lambs and castrated males showing the coarseness of feature com- 

 mon to mature rams. This class forms a very small part of the 

 offerings on the market. 



Grades. Each subclass, bucks and stags excepted, is divided 

 into from three to five grades, the full list being prime, choice, good, 

 medium, and common or culls. The term " prime " is replaced by 



