14 BULLETIN 1464, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
the animal is castrated when it is not more than a few weeks old. 
On the range, castration is sometimes deferred until the calf is 3 or 4 
months old. 
Steers have the following physical characteristics which are 
peculiar to their class and which differentiate them from other classes 
of cattle: Steers as a class are more rectangular and compact than 
other classes of cattle as regards general build, or shape. Top and 
under lines as well as the lines of the sides, are more nearly straight 
and parallel, owing mainly to the tendency toward evenness of 
muscular development in the different parts, such as neck, shoulders, 
loins, crops, back, and rounds, which is characteristic of steers. 
Steers have a greater thickness of muscular development than heifers 
or cows, but do not have as great a thickness of muscular develop- 
ment as stags or bulls. 
As a class they carry a larger degree of finish than stags or bulls 
but less than heifers or cows. The distribution of fat is more even 
in steers than in other classes of cattle and the fat covering is 
smoother and less patchy or bunchy. As a class the flesh of steers 
is more highly marbled than that of stags or bulls. As regards 
thickness of hide, fineness of hair, size of bones, and degree of smoth- 
ness at joints of the legs, steers represent a mean between two ex- 
tremes, being less thick of hide, finer haired, smaller boned, and 
smoother at the joints of the legs than either stags or bulls, but are 
thicker hided, coarser haired, larger boned, and rougher at the joints 
than heifers or cows. 
A heifer is a female member of the bovine family which has never 
had a calf and which has not reached a stage of advanced pregnancy. 
Heifers have certain physical characteristics which are peculiar 
to them, the possession of which differentiates them from other classes 
of cattle. As a class, heifers are inclined to be wedge-shaped, being 
narrower through the shoulders than through the hips and less deep 
in the fore than in the rear part of the body. The top and under 
lines and the lines of the sides usually show a slight tendency to 
converge at a point in front of the animal. They are generally some- 
what uneven in muscular development, being as a rule less heavily 
muscled in the fore than in the hind quarters. As a class heifers 
have greater thickness of muscle than cows of like age and weight, 
but are more deficient in this respect than steers, stags, or bulls. 
The distribution of fat tends to be slightly uneven in heifers, the 
fore quarter usually being less thickly covered than the hind quar- 
ters. The fat covering of the hind quarters has a slight tendency to 
be bunchy and excessive. As a rule they have thinner hides, finer 
hair, smaller bones, and a greater degree of smoothness at the joints 
of the legs than other classes of cattle, 
A cow is a female member of the bovine family which has had one 
or more calves or which has reached an advanced stage of pregnancy. 
Certain physical characteristics which are peculiar to cows and which 
differentiate them from other classes of cattle are as follows : 
