MARKET CLASSES AND GRADES OF SHEE A J . 579 



blood to make them markedly different in appearance from natives 

 which are mostly from mutton-bred parents. But even were they 

 identical in breeding, buyers and salesmen on the market could 

 easily distinguish between them because of differences resulting 

 from the way in which they are fed and managed. On markets 

 where both native and western sheep are received, the daily reports 

 nearly always distinguish between them, but in this bulletin no at- 

 tempt is made to classify them separately where they are both put 

 to the same use. Hence both native and western sheep are placed 

 in the mutton and in the breeding classes, but only western sheep 

 are placed in the feeder class. While thin natives are often bought 

 up in the country and successfully fed, those that reach the market 

 in low condition do not sell as feeders because they are usually in- 

 fested with internal parasites, thus making it difficult and in many 

 instances impossible to fatten them. 



Upon our larger markets and in daily live stock reports, west- 

 ern sheep and lambs are not infrequently distinguished by the name 

 of the state in which they were supposed to have been produced or 

 fed, as Montanas, Colorados, Mexicans, Idahoes, etc. No attempt 

 has been made, in this bulletin, to attach importance to such terms 

 because the differences between sheep from different western states 

 are many times almost imperceptible and those differences are due 

 to condition, quality, and breeding which must inevitably vary 

 somewhat within a state. 



In this connection may be mentioned another very common 

 practice which is to prefix the word "fed" before a certain class 

 and grade to distinguish grain from grass-fattened sheep. The 

 term is used for a short time in the autumn and in the spring when 

 both grain and grass-fattened sheep are coming to market, and it 

 signifies so little that it is not given recognition in the outline of 

 this work. 



MUTTON SHEEP 



All sheep and lambs sent to market for slaughter, no matter 

 what the condition, age, or weight, are classed as mutton sheep. 



Of the various sub-classes, the one known as lambs is by far 

 the most important, due to the fact that the producer can most 

 profitably market his sheep as lambs and also that lamb is preferred 

 to mutton by the consumer. However, mature mutton sheep will 

 always be a feature on the market because it is the channel of dis- 

 posal for surplus and spent breeding stock. 



Mutton sheep- upon the Chicago market are either slaughtered 

 at the Chicago packing houses or reshipped, principally to Phila- 



