(34 I^IVESTOCK i)S TUIO PAKM 



must be remembered that the young of all animals, except tho 

 pig soon after birth, do not have the same form as the mature 

 and finished product. They are more rangy and upstanding. 

 The accompanying illustration is a good example of a young 

 animal with good prospects of a fine finished specimen. 



CONDITION 



By condition is meant the workableness of the machine and 

 the amount of fat carried by the animal. 



When an animal is out of condition it is in worse shape than 

 an old worn-out automobile or a broken-down threshing 

 machine. Worn-out and broken-down mechanical machines, 

 can, with a little time and some expense, be repaired, but when 

 an animal is out of condition it takes a long time to get it 

 back into running order. It requires feed for maintenance, 

 time, labor, etc. Even then an animal may never get back 

 into as good "shape" as it was before. 



Lack of condition or disorder of the animal machine is 

 brought about by sickness, disease, lack of feed, too much feed, 

 improper housing, etc. 



To determine an animal's condition, appeai'ance and handling 

 qualities should be observed. An animal that is in good con- 

 dition will have a glossy and sleek appearance, the hair and 

 skin will be clean and smooth and the animal will be bright, 

 active and happy. By handling qualities are meant pliability 

 and looseness of skin. This simply means that the skin is in 

 good working condition. And if the skin on the outside of the 

 animal is in good working condition then the skin on the in- 

 side, which is the inside of the digestive tract and does the 

 work of digestion, is also in good order. The relationship 

 between these two is clearly evident. The inside of the diges- 

 tive tract and the outside skin are one continuous structure 

 or tissue. 



Condition is also indicated by the amount of fat an animal 

 carries. An animal may be in breeding condition as when it 

 carries just enough fat to produce the best kind of offspring. 

 Or it may be in market condition and have fat enough for the 

 market requirement. Of course, animals vary a great deal 



