JUDGING THE MUTTON TYPE OF SHEEP 391 



of the discriminating judge. He passes his hands along over 

 the backbone, to note whether it is smoothly and evenly 

 covered, or whether there are bare spots. It is quite liable 

 to be bare over the shoulders and a dimple or tie is often 

 found in the middle of the back. The sheep in right con- 

 dition will often show a shallow groove over the spine, from 

 tail to withers, with no hard, bare spots along this line. It 

 is not at all uncommon for animals in high condition to 

 have rolls of fat on the sides or back, or patches of fat about 

 the end of the rump. Sheep thus affected are discriminated 

 against by buyers, and judges pass them by in the ring for 

 the smooth sort that show the least waste in killing. The 

 fact is, no animal shows so much waste as the over-condition- 

 ed sheep, with a very restricted demand for the excess fat. 

 The important thing in judging, is to note the fleshing and 

 the way it covers the frame. It is rarely that the animal is 

 equally well covered, some parts being bare and hard to the 

 touch, while others are nicely laid in under a cover of flesh. 

 As a first principle, the judge should place a premium on 

 the covering being firm, smooth and thick over the more 

 valuable cuts, such as the back and leg of mutton. There 

 may be some bareness about the shoulder without much 

 affecting values, but on the top and rear end, the condition 

 should bespeak desirable, high-priced cuts. In judging, 

 emphasize two things, first, uniform smoothness, of the cov- 

 ering of flesh, and second, its firmness to the touch. It is 

 better to have a sheep not fat enough, rather than too fat, 

 and the scoring by the judge should be guided accordingly. 

 Further, if there is some bareness in front, but with the 

 back and legs behind nicely covered, do not grade too low ; 

 a good carcass is probably in hand. 



The head and neck of the mutton sheep should each be 

 short, as characteristic of meat-producing animals. These 

 two parts in harmonious relation to each other, always 

 favorably impress the intelligent feeder or butcher. The 

 head as a whole should not only be short, but also broad 



