QUALITY IX BEEF CATTLE 



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Fig. 66. — Grand champion steer. International Live Stock Show. 



skin and its pliability. A tine, heavy, mossy coat of hair 

 is also desirable, as it indicates thrift and constitution. 

 Fineness of skin indicates fineness of meat fiber. Pliabil- 

 ity of skin indicates that the animal is in a good thrifty con- 

 dition, that it will do well on a fattening ration and finish oft' 

 well. Fineness of bone shows that the animal has fine fiber 

 throughout the body, and that the animal will have less 

 waste when killed. While the butcher desires fine bone, 

 the feeding steer may be too refined and not strong and 

 vigorous enough to feed out well. 



Finish. — Quality is also used to mean " finish " in the 

 animal. The feeder says that finish is the quality one must 

 feed into the animal. The market offers more money per 

 pound for the " finished " animal than for the thin animal, 

 because the finished animal will not only dress a higher 

 percentage of salable carcass, but the meat itself is more 



