Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 55 



much to suit the average consumer. This excess of tallow adds practi- 

 cally nothing to the value of the carcass as food. In a way, the fat- 

 stock shows set a wrong example for feeders to follow. Such a finish 

 results from a long feeding period of 8 to 10 months, and in some cases 

 even longer. A 3 to 6 months feeding period gives a carcass which 

 suits the consumer better, and such a plan is undoubtedly more profit- 

 able to the feeder, because the first gains a steer makes are acquired 

 much more cheaply than the last ones. This does not mean that the 

 farmer should send thin cattle to market; it means there is a place to 

 stop in the feeding of a bullock which results in greatest profit to the 

 producer and best satisfaction to the consumer. A smooth and firmly 

 finished steer is the sort this implies. As bearing on the matter of 

 cost of gains, the Kansas Station ^ found the grain required for 100 

 pounds of gain with fattening steers for different periods to be as 

 follows: 



Grain for Increase of 



100 lbs. gain feed required 



Up to 56 days 730 pounds of grain 



Up to 84 days 807 pounds of grain 10 per cent 



Up to 112 days 840 pounds of grain 15 per cent 



Up to 140 days 901 pounds of grain 23 per cent 



Up to 168 days 927 pounds of grain 27 per cent 



Up to 182 days 1,000 pounds of grain 37 per cent 



These figures indicate the heavy cost of thoroughly fattening a 

 steer, and the importance of selling as early as it is possible to attain 

 the proper degree of finish. 



5. Marbling. — The highest quality of beef is that which contains 

 the largest proportion of well-marbled lean. 



6. Color of lean meat. — ^The meat from grass-finished cattle is 

 often dark in color. Grain feeding gives the best color— a bright, rich 

 red. Dark color is due to the presence of much blood in the tissues. 

 Exercise or excitement will bring about this condition, hence the dark- 

 colored flesh of western range cattle, and of grass-fed cattle in general, 

 is not due to the nature of the feed, but to the amount of exercise 

 made necessary in ranging about at pasture. Stags and bulls kill out 

 dark because of their restlessness, and of heifers in heat the same is 

 true. Dark carcasses break down (decompose) quicker than light- 

 colored ones, and consumers object to the appearance, hence butchers 

 have two good reasons for disliking a dark-colored carcass. 



7. Color of fat. — A clear white color of fat is desired. An un- 

 attractive yellow color is rather frequently met with. Some packers 

 believe the yellow color is due to the kind of feed upon which the animal 

 was fattened. Cottonseed meal has been charged with this fault, but 

 experimental work has shown that cottonseed meal does not produce 



iKan. Bui. 34. 



