234 



JUDGING FARM ANIMALS 



Fig. 128. "With the fingers close together, 

 the judge passes the hand over the parts where 

 one should find a smooth, thick, firm covering of 

 flesh." 



over the animal be- 

 fore him. The coat 

 may be too fine, in- 

 dicating lack of 

 constitution, but 

 this is not at all 

 frequent. Quality 

 is also manifested 

 in the size of head 

 and ear, and the 

 coarseness of 

 joints. The head 

 that is large and 

 heavy in compari- 

 s o n to size of 

 body, indicates 



lack of quality. Big joints suggest heavy bone and 

 too great a per cent of offal to dressed meat at slaughter. 

 Large, heavy horns also indicate coarseness. Quality is 

 one of the most important features in the animal, and it 

 perhaps has more influence on the price paid for fat cattle, 

 than any other one thing considered by the buyer. There- 

 fore, the judge 

 should attach much 

 importance to qual- 

 ity, scoring down 

 severely if coarse- 

 ness predominates. 

 The term "con- 

 dition, ' ' as applied 

 to fat animals, re- 

 fers to the degree 

 and character of 

 fat or covering of 

 flesh over the body. 

 The judge deter- 

 mines the condi- 



Fig. 129. "Cattle in high condition frequently 

 have rolls of hard fat on the ribs." 



