JUDGING THE MUTTON TYPE OF SHKKP 383 



Fig. 208. "The judge comes to the front of 

 the sheep, by the left shoulder, and grasps the 

 neck in his right hand and feels its thickness." 



properly 1lic ntn- 

 mal as a whole, 

 first inspect from 

 a distance, as for 

 example ten or 

 twelve feet away. 

 Begin the examin- 

 ation from in 

 front, facing the 

 head, a n d then 

 slowly walk about 

 the animal, noting 

 the matter of pro- 

 portion, closeness 

 to ground, quality 

 and general char- 

 acter. 

 The weight of the fat sheep is a matter of importance. 



The large, heavy mutton is not popular, and the American 



market prefers the 



more handy weights 



approximating 8 



pounds for a lamb 



and 140 pounds for 



yearling wethers. 



Heavy sheep at one 



time were popular 



when large joints 



were in favor, but 



the present day 



market seeks early 



maturity, not too 



much fat, and small 



cuts. However, the 



English still use the 



laro'C "joints of mut- Fig. 200. "The left hand may be lowered 



to the brisket, where the width here may be 

 ton, but even in determined." 



