248 Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 



for feeding during winter and spring, and upon their return to mar- 

 ket in May they will still class as lambs, while native lambs of the 

 same age and similarly managed would class as sheep. 



In the late spring and early summer the market receives lambs 

 born the year previous, and also young lambs born within the year. 

 The latter are called "spring lambs" to distinguish them from the older 

 lambs. Therefore, at this season there are two classes of lambs, known 

 respectively as "lambs" and "spring lambs." The latter command 

 the higher prices. On the Chicago market this distinction is made 

 from about the first of April to the middle of June. After June 15, 

 the lambs of the previous year become yearlings, ewes, and bucks, and 

 the spring lambs are designated simply as "lambs." 



Guy C. Smith of the Commercial Research Department of Swift 

 and Company states:^ "Lambs begin moving to market first from 

 California. This occurs in April and extends through June. Then 

 come Texas lambs running through May, June, and July. These are 

 followed by lambs from Kentucky and Tennessee which begin coming 

 in June and extend through August. These are followed by lambs 

 from Virginia and Maryland in July and August. Spring lambs from 

 the north central states are marketed chiefly from July to November 

 and from eastern Canada during September and October. The lambs 

 from the range states run from September to November while fed lambs 

 from the north central states are marketed from December through 

 to April." 



To the foregoing it may be added that Colorado uses peas, corn, 

 and alfalfa extensively in lamb feeding, and that in Idaho, Montana, 

 and other western states, lambs are frequently kept over and finished 

 during fall and winter on hay, with or without the addition of barley. 



The grades of killing lambs are prime, choice, good, medium, and 

 common. The grade of a lamb depends upon its form, quality, condi- 

 tion, and weight. 



Prime lambs. — Only the best lambs, or those that are superior in 

 form, quality, condition, and weight, are graded as prime, and com- 

 paratively few lambs received at the markets can qualify as prime 

 lambs. They are used to supply the demands of the fancy city market, 

 hotel, club, and restaurant trade. (See Figs. 82 and 83.) 



L Form. — The buyer demands the form that shows the most 

 development of loin, back, and leg of mutton, these being the regions 

 of high-priced cuts. The lamb should be broad, deep, short of leg, 

 and free from paunchiness. Fullness and smoothness of form are 

 important as indications of high condition, thickness and evenness in 



1 Geographic Influences in Marketing Illustrated by the Meat Industry, Journal 

 of Geography, Oct., 1921, pp. 247, 248. 



