114 JUDGING SHEEP 



the condition of the sheep, is perhaps most influenced by 

 the fineness of the bone, thickness of the pelt and other 

 features, which all have a marked influence on the profit 

 from the butcher's standpoint. In this connection to show 

 how important it is to have the dressed weight yield a 

 large percentage of valuable cuts, it will be interesting 

 to quote some results obtained from an experiment at the 

 Iowa Station under direction of Professor Curtiss. He 

 found in a lot of ten pure bred Oxford lambs marketed 

 by the Iowa Experiment Station, that the leg cuts con- 

 stituted 31.87 per cent of the whole carcass by weight 

 and sold for 42.63 per cent of the total value. The leg, 

 rib and loin cuts together aggregated 73.74 per cent of 

 the total weight and sold for 92 per cent of the total. 

 162. Consideration of the Consumer. The butcher 

 and the consumer are very similar in their demands, but 

 there are a few points that are of peculiar importance to 

 the latter, and among these may be mentioned the charac- 

 ter of the flesh. A clear distinction should be drawn be- 

 tween flesh and fat, or, as it may be otherwise stated, be- 

 tween muscle and lean meat and tallow. The ideal sheep 

 from the consumer's standpoint is one that carries a large 

 proportion of flesh or lean meat with but a limited quan- 

 tity of fat. In live sheep this is indicated by a firm, even 

 covering over the parts of the body. The flesh has a 

 firm but springy touch and is smooth over all regions, 

 especially thick where it has the highest value. The con- 

 sumer asserts his preference for another feature and that 

 is a marked desire for lamb in contrast to matured sheep, 

 owing to the desirability of small cuts and the supposi- 

 tion that lamb is more tender than older sheep. 



163. The Qualities of the Fleece In estimating 

 the worth of a sheep or judging it, not only is it fair to 

 consider the demands of the feeder, the butcher and the 



