590 BULLETIN No. 129. [November, 



GOOD LAMBS 



Upon the market, buyers and salesmen often prefer to speak of 

 a band of lambs as being "good to choice" rather than using either 

 of the terms separately to describe them. This doubtless is partly 

 due to the unevenness in bands of lambs, which suggests two 

 grades rather than one. If there is a pronounced unevenness in an 

 offering, that alone is sufficient to prevent them grading better than 

 good. But the individual lamb must be noticeably deficient in 

 form, quality, condition or weight, or slightly deficient in each, thus 

 making a lower grade through a combination of deficiencies. In 

 discussing the choice grade it was pointed out that condition is the 

 factor in which most lambs in that grade fall short of prime, but 

 in the grade under consideration a lack of quality is almost as fre- 

 quently apparent as lack of condition. No matter how much fat 

 they may have, lambs having heavy pelts, as evidenced by folds or 

 wrinkles over the body, rarely grade higher than ^ood. Very 

 coarse native lambs, especially ram lambs, may be in choice con- 

 dition but out of consideration in that grade through lack of qual- 

 ity. See plate 6. 



PLATE 6. GOOD LAMBS. NOTE THE FAULTY FORM AND ESPECIALLY THE UN- 



DERFINISHED CONDITION. 



MEDIUM LAMBS 



Lambs of this grade do not have, by a great deal, the condi- 

 tion and quality necessary in the prime lamb. It is in this grade 

 more than any discussed above that faulty form is apparent. Long, 

 loosely coupled bodies, with little spring of rib, and rough outlines 



