SHEEP 387 



OUTLINE CONTINUED. 



BREEDING SHEEP 



(Native and Western Sheep) 



(Fancy Selected 

 Choice 

 Good 

 Common 

 (Not graded) 



MISCELLANEOUS 



Hot House Lambs 

 Export Sheep 

 Throw-outs 

 Dead Sheep 

 Goats 



Lambs. It is estimated by traders upon the Chicago market 

 that at least eighty per cent of the sheep received at that place are 

 lambs. This observation in part confirms the current statement that 

 mutton production has become very largely a lamb proposition. As 

 stated in the discussion under Mutton Sheep, both the producer and 

 the consumer prefer lambs to older sheep. They are preferred by 

 the producer because they make cheaper gains than sheep, and by 

 the consumer because they are more palatable and more convenient 

 to use. 



At from twelve to fourteen months of age lambs pass into the 

 yearling and ewes classes. But it is the degree of maturity the young 

 animal has attained rather than a set, definite age which determines 

 whether or not it belongs to the lamb class. Native lambs usually 

 reach maturity at an earlier age than western lambs because they 

 receive a greater abundance of feed, and they are generally free 

 from Merino blood. Let it be understood that the above statement is 

 no disparagement to Merino blood. The most important factors in 

 determining the grade to which lambs belong are form, quality, con- 

 dition and weight, and the grades recognized on the market are 

 Prime, choice, good, medium, common or culls. 



Prime Lambs. It is understood that when lambs are graded as 

 prime they are the very best of the class that may be generally ex- 

 pected on the market. Prime lambs are taken largely for fancy city 

 market, hotel and restaurant trade. Such lambs are practically 

 above criticism in quality, condition and weight. They are usually 

 secured by sorting the best out of a band. This is especially true 

 of native lambs where the offerings in one shipment are likely 

 to be very uneven. Before a lamb is graded as prime it is determined 

 by sight and touch that it possesses the form, quality, condition and 

 weight demanded by the dealer in high-class mutton. 



The butcher demands the form that shows the most develop- 

 ment in the loin, back, and leg of mutton. He demands develop- 

 ment in these regions because they are the parts from which the 

 high priced cuts are secured. The animal should show a great 

 deal of depth and .breadth and no tendency to be paunchy, because 

 pnunchiness adds to the percentage of waste in slaughtering. The 

 prime lamb should present a general fullness and smoothness of out- 

 line, both of which indicate thickness and evenness of flesh. 



