634 BULLETIN No. 129. [November, 



THROW-OUTS 



This is a term applied to lambs rejected as feeders. After a 

 band of lambs has been divided into the mutton and feeder classes, 

 the purchaser of the feeder end usually has the privilege of reject- 

 ing those not suitable for feeding purposes. Lame lambs, those 

 appearing unthrifty, entire males, those large enough to be sus- 

 piciously near the short yearling age, and frequently black lambs, 

 make up the rejections. Black lambs are not always rejected, but 

 a number of Ohio and Michigan feeders object to them because 

 they make the band of lambs less uniform in appearance. 



Throw-outs sell late when most of the sales for the day have 

 been effected. There are but few of them and these few are not 

 uniform in weight and condition. They are never fat enough to 

 be turned into other than a cheap grade of mutton. All these sur- 

 rounding circumstances make them the quest of small city butchers 

 who cater to a cheap trade. Throw-outs are often called "rejects," 

 but they are never known as culls or by any of the terms which 

 denominate the grades under the regular classification. Sometimes 

 they sell on a basis of cull lamb prices; at other times, upon that 

 for medium lambs. 



DEAD SHEEP 



These are sheep that meet with death in transit. Losses are 

 greatest in warm weather when deaths are frequent if close crowd- 

 ing in the car is practiced. Native shippers often experience a loss 

 of sheep in transit by making them part of a mixed load with either 

 swine or cattle. They usually try to guard against such losses by 

 partitioning the sheep off to themselves, but the bumping of the 

 car in switching often breaks down the partition by throwing the 

 animals against it. 



Dead sheep have a value chiefly for their wool. The best are 

 worth twenty-five cents per head. It is claimed that fifty percent 

 of them are worthless on account of the wool being mangled and 

 trampled off. 



GOATS 



Goats are sold for slaughter provided they are in good condi- 

 tion, but they do not sell on a par with sheep. Only a few are 

 sold on the Chicago market, and hence they are not graded. If 

 they are too thin in condition to sell for slaughter, they are sold 

 to go to the country to browse over brush lands. This demand is 

 very uncertain, and offerings for this purpose are frequently held 

 for several days before they can be sold. See plate 47. 



