WEIGHT 345 



through it adds to its palatability by making it more juicy and of 

 better flavor. 



" Desirable quality of flesh is indicated by firmness along the 

 back, at the loins ovei the sides and at the leg of mutton. ' Hard 

 as a board ' is a favorite phrase with many sheepmen to describe a 

 back having a desirable quality of flesh, but with this single idea 

 in mind bareness or lack of flesh might be mistaken for firmness 

 of flesh. While the flesh should have that firmness which would 

 seem hard to an inexperienced man, it should have just enough 

 springiness to yield slightly to the touch. 



" It rarely happens that lambs are made too fat for the prime 

 grade, but very often they fail to grade as prime because they are 

 not fat enough. Because lambs are finished for market before they 

 have ceased growing, they do not have the tendency to lay on fat in 

 large, soft bunches at the rump and in rolls at the girth, and hence 

 it is difficult to carry them to the point of excessive fatness. The 

 development of fat essential to the prime lamb is indicated by a thick 

 dock, a full, mellow purse, thickness and smoothness on the back and 

 over the ribs, fullness at the neck and a plump well-filled breast. 



" By merely looking at a lamb in the wool, one can not tell its 

 condition with exactness, and hence it is necessary to judge condi- 

 tion by placing the hands on the animal. Experts rely upon placing 

 the hand but once; for example, by spreading the hand so that the 

 back and ribs will be touched by one stroke, or by grasping the loin, 

 or by getting the thickness and fullness of the dock ; but none risk 

 their judgment upon sight alone. A great deal is determined by 

 the stroke that touches the back and ribs because it not only reveals 

 the condition as evidenced by the degree of smoothness present, but 

 also the amount and quality of the flesh by the thickness and firm- 

 ness of it. This stroke also aids in determining the kind of pelt a 

 lamb may have with respect to thickness of skin, density of wool, 

 and presence of foreign material. 



" Weight. Weight is a factor that varies somewhat with the 

 different seasons of the year, but, in general, the lamb of prime 

 quality and condition and weighing 80 pounds sells at the highest 

 price. When spring lambs first appear on the market they weigh 

 little more than 60 pounds; but if they have the quality and the 

 finish they easily command top prices. During the summer months, 

 when people are apt to eat less meat, consumers of mutton, as a rule, 

 desire small cuts, and this gives rise to a strong demand for lambs 



