Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 127 



as stockers and feeders. The best that can be said of them is that 

 they carry enough condition to escape classing as cutters. Many are 

 of dairy type and breeding. 



Heifers.^ — Two to four heifers mixed in with a load of beef steers 

 may be passed without any cut in price if they are similar to the steers 

 in all respects except sex. This is more often true of mixed loads of 

 light-weight steers and heifers than of heavy weights. With greater 

 weight and maturity, differences due to sex become more noticeable. 



Butcher Stock 



Butcher stock includes lieifers, cows, bulls, and stags sold for 



i<i(;. i5. — Prime butcher heifer. 



slaughter and suitable for block-beef purposes. They dress from 50 

 to 61 per cent. The carcasses are largely sold to city and country 

 retail dealers or butchers, hence the term "butcher stock" is applied 

 to this class of market cattle. Butcher stock includes some fed cattle, 

 but it contains a much larger proportion of grass cattle than does the 

 beef steer class. 



Heifers. — The grades of butcher heifers are prime, choice, good, 

 medium, and common. The same conformation, quality, and condi- 

 tion are demanded in prime heifers that have already been noted as 

 characteristic of prime steers. The only noteworthy difference is that 

 of sex. (See Fig. 26.) Choice and good heifers are very similar to 

 steers of the same grades. The medium and common grades contain 



