Judging Cattle 141 
smoothly covered with flesh, compact, and blending neatly with 
the body. The crops or withers should be full, thick, and broad. 
Both shoulders and crops should be covered uniformly with flesh. 
Rough, angular shoulders, unevenly covered with flesh, are among 
the most common defects of feeding cattle. 
233. Body. — The chest should be wide, deep, and full, with light 
development of brisket, yet sufficient to fill out the squareness of 
the body. Narrow-chested animals are, as a rule, poor feeders. 
The ribs should be well sprung and long, giving an abundance 
of room for the vital organs, such as lungs and heart, and to pro- 
vide large digestive capacity. The back should be broad and 
straight from the shoulder to the tail-head, and covered with 
thick, even flesh. The loin should be wide. and joining the body 
to the hindquarters, with little or no departure from a straight 
line. 
234. Hindquarters. — As a whole, the hindquarters in the 
feeder should be wide, long, and deep. The hips should be wide 
and in proportion with the other parts, but not prominent. The 
rump should be long from the hips to the tail-head, with pin-bones 
and thurls rather high and wide, but not prominent. The rump 
should be level and free from hollowness. The thighs should be 
full and fleshed well down to the hock, with twist full. 
235. Fat steer.— In judging fat steers, one must keep in mind 
the demands of the butcher. He desires a steer to dress with 
a relatively small percentage of offal; with a relatively large 
percentage of meat in the region of the valuable cuts; and an 
animal that is in the proper condition to slaughter, that is, neither 
over nor under fed. Fullness at the base of the tongue and just 
in front of the point of the shoulder, a full twist, a full, thick flank 
that stands out and rolls as the animal walks, fullness at the tail- 
head and along the rump, indicate that degree of fatness essential 
to the highest quality of beef. 
236. Market classes of beef cattle. — On the market, beef 
cattle are divided into classes according to age, condition, and 
