24 BULLETIN" 1464, IT. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
to 1924, inclusive, were taken as a basis. For these four years the 
average of the average monthly price of good grade steer carcasses 
on the Chicago market was $16.10 per hundredweight while the cor- 
responding price of No. 2 steer ribs was $23 per hundredweight, or 
1.42 times as much as the carcass on a purely quality basis. Multi- 
plying the quantity value of 6.65 per cent for the rib cut which was 
previously arrived at by its quality value of 1.42 gives a total value 
of 9.44 per cent for the rib, or its value on a combined quantitative 
and qualitative basis. 
Hence the crops and back or parts of the live animal which cor- 
respond closely to the rib cut in the carcass should have approxi- 
mately the same value of 9.44 per cent on the chart. Therefore on 
the chart the crop and back were given a combined value of 9 per 
cent, 4 per cent being assigned to the crops and 5 per cent to the back. 
The value of 4 assigned to the crops was divided equally between the 
conformation and finish of this part, a value of 2 being given to each 
of these two factors. The value of 5 allotted to the back was also 
equally divided between the conformation and finish of this part, 
each of these parts as shown on the chart having a value of 2.50 per 
cent. Values for the conformation and in most instances for the 
finish of each of the other parts of the live animal, which are shown 
on the chart, were arrived at by the same method of procedure. 
In using the chart, each minor item listed under the heading of 
" General description," and the conformation or both the conforma- 
tion and finish of each part listed under " Detail description," are 
graded or judged separately and the adjudged value or degree of 
perfection of the animal with respect to each individual item is 
checked off on the chart and this value transferred to the column 
headed " Detail score." For example, the animal may be given a 
value of 1.83 in compactness or any other one of the 23 different 
values appearing after the characteristic of compactness, these values 
ranging from 2 per cent down to 0.60 per cent according to the 
adjudged degree of perfection which the animal has in so far as com- 
pactness is concerned. 
Every other characteristic, and the conformation and finish of each 
part as noted, are also graded and each given a value which rep- 
resents its degree of perfection or nearness of approach to the ideal. 
The total of all these values determines the grade of the animal. If 
the sum of all the different values totals between 96.67 and 100 per 
cent, or nearest the value or percentage grade division of 98.33 per 
cent on the chart, which represents the spread or range in grade or 
quality for the top third of the prime grade, the animal would grade 
top prime. Again, if the total of all of the different values were 
85.90 per cent the animal would grade medium choice, as 85.90 per 
cent falls nearest the percentage grade division of 85 per cent, shown 
on the chart, which represents the spread in grade or quality extend- 
ing from 83.33 per cent to 86.67 per cent or the middle third of the 
choice grade. 
These illustrations emphasize the fact that although each grade 
has a certain width and covers a certain range which includes a 
number of different degrees of variation in the characteristics of an 
animal listed under the heading of " general description " on the 
chart, and that although an animal may vary considerably in respect 
