MARKET CLASSES AND GRADES OF SHEEP. 581 



PRIME LAMBS 



It is understood that when lambs are graded as prime they are 

 the very best of the class that may be generally expected on the 

 market. Prime lambs are taken largely for fancy city market, ho- 

 tel and restaurant trade. Such lambs are practically above criticism 

 in quality, condition and weight. They are usually secured by sort- 

 ing the best out of a band. This is especially true of native lambs 

 where the offerings in one shipment are likely to be very uneven. 



Before a lamb is graded as prime it is determined by sight and 

 touch that it possesses the form, quality, condition and weight de- 

 manded by the dealer in high-class mutton. 



FORM. The butcher demands the form that shows the most 

 development in the loin, back, and leg of mutton. He demands 

 development in these regions because they are the parts from which 

 the high-priced cuts are secured. The animal should show a great 

 deal of depth and breadth and no tendency to be paunchy, because 

 paunchiness adds to the percentage of waste in slaughtering. The 

 prime lamb should present a general fullness and smoothness of 

 outline, both of which indicate thickness and evenness of flesh. 

 There should be an absence of roughness because the waste in the 

 dressing of the rough, ungainly lamb is large in proportion to th? 

 carcass, and furthermore, the appearance of the carcass of such 

 a lamb fails in attractiveness when placed on exhibition in the 

 market. It is generally conceded that form is enhanced if the body 

 is supported by short legs. However, many prime lambs have only 

 moderately short legs. Very lono- legs detract from the dressed 

 yield and from the appearance of the carcass, when displayed, and 

 on this account lambs that are decidedly upstanding do not grade 

 as prime. 



QUALITY AND CONDITION. fi) General Quality. The degree 

 of development in this characteristic is one of the most important 

 in determining the value of fat lambs. General quality is indicated 

 by a medium sized, clean cut head, ears of fine texture, and fine, 

 but strong bone, a light pelt, and full, well-rounded outlines. All 

 these suggest a freedom from that coarseness which adds to the 

 waste in dressing, and the unattractiveness which works against 

 the value of the carcass. Of the items of general quality enumer- 

 ated, lightness of pelt is the most essential. By pelt is meant the 

 skin and wool combined. To secure a pelt of light weight, the 

 skin should be comparatively thin and free from folds or wrinkles, 

 and the wool should not be very dense or oily. The only time 

 when the heavier weight of pelt seems to be favored is in the spring 

 when both shorn and unshorn sheep and lambs are being marketed. 



