Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 241 



Sorting and selling. — Mixed loads of sheep and lambs containing 

 both killers and feeders may be sorted by the commission man prior 

 to selling them, or he may sell them to a packer buyer or order buyer 

 with the privilege of sorting or cutting out an agreed percentage or 

 number of them. The remaining animals may then be sold to a feeder 

 buyer. Mixed loads composed mostly of feeders may be sold to a 

 trader who buys them all. He then sorts them and sells the fat end 

 as killers and the thin end as feeders. Commission men also sell some 

 loads straight without sorting to packers, order buyers, and feeder 

 buyers, but a large proportion of receipts require preliminary sorting 

 or sale to traders in order to realize the best price for them. 



Commission men and buyers must handle all sheep, except shorn 

 sheep, in order to determine their condition, smoothness, density of 

 wool, and market value. It is impossible to buy and sell sheep on the 

 basis of their general appearance as cattle and hogs are bought and 

 sold at the markets. Different market men use different methods of 

 handling. One man may feel of the loin, another the back and ribs, 

 and another the dock. Sometimes both back and dock are handled. 

 The most common practice is to grasp the back and ribs with thumb 

 and fingers spread out to full width. In sorting, the thin sheep or the 

 fat sheep are marked on the backs with chalk. Then the load is driven 

 in single file through a narrow chute at the end of which is a small 

 gate controlling the entrance to two pens. The sheep marked with 

 chalk are admitted to one pen and those unmarked pass into the other. 



Seasonal variations in receipts and sale of sheep at Chicago. — 

 Fig. 81 shows the average monthly receipts of sheep and lambs at 

 Chicago for ten years. Largest receipts occur in the fall months, 

 September, October, and November, when heavy shipments arrive 

 from western ranges. The total number received during these three 

 months almost equals total receipts for the first half of the year. A 

 rapid rise begins in June and reaches a climax in October, followed by 

 a rapid decline until February, and a continued but slow decline from 

 February to May inclusive. In 9 of the 10 years, lowest monthly 

 receipts occurred from February to May inclusive. May is the month 

 of smallest average receipts. October brings the largest receipts. 

 This was true in 8 of the 10 years, with September highest in the other 

 two. October receipts average 2.4 times larger than May receipts. 

 Between May and October and October and May, monthly receipts 

 follow an even curve, upward in the first period and then downward. 

 Seasonal variations in receipts of sheep are much more marked than 

 those of cattle, and are somewhat greater than those of hogs. 



As shown in the chart, 75 per cent of the sheep annually received 

 at Chicago are slaughtered there. The number shipped monthly to 



