MARKET CLASSES AND GRADES OF CATTLE 83 
with the seam of the twist appearing much too high. The fleshing 
of the animal is very thin, the fore quarters being especially thin in 
flesh. The lines of the animal are depressed or sunken to a marked 
degree. The development and balance of the different parts indicate 
that the animal when finished and slaughtered will have a low 
percentage of ribs, loins, and rounds in its carcass. 
The fat covering is very thin over the entire body. There are 
very small deposits of fat in the brisket, flanks, and twist, and the 
hide at these points is usually very much wrinkled. The fat covering 
is not of sufficient thickness on any of the parts to cause any apparent 
roughness or lack of uniformity in its distribution. 
Cows of this grade are generally very refined or very coarse and 
very ill bred and ill-cared-for. The bones of the legs are either very 
small or very coarse. The hide is very thick or very thin and tight 
to a marked degree and very unpliant. The hair is very coarse and 
is usually very dry and harsh. As a rule the flesh of the animal is 
very soft or slightly hard. 
Cows of this grade usually indicate by their general conformation 
that they are of pronounced dairy type or nondescript breeding, but 
they usually have color markings which show that they also carry 
some of the blood of beef- type animals. They range from around 
2 years old up, with very few under 3 years of age. They are 
regularly on sale at most markets in fairly liberal numbers through- 
out the year. During the summer and fall months the supply 
generally exceeds the demand, but as a rule they are relatively scarce 
during April and May. 
Inferior or No. 5. — Inferior or No. 5 grade feeder and stocker 
cows are very deficient in conformation, finish, and quality. The 
head is very long and narrow and the neck is also very long. They are 
very* rangy and angular, the body being very narrow and occasionally 
very shallow in proportion to its length. The legs, which are set very 
near together, are very long in proportion to depth of body. The top 
line is very irregular and uneven, and the underline is very irregular 
and usually has a very pronounced sag in the middle. The lines of 
the sides are very irregular and oblique, converging very much 
toward a point in front of the animal. The middle is very poor, the 
crops being very depressed or sunken and the chest very narrow and, 
as a rule, shallow. The back and loins are very narrow and often 
low and the ribs are very short and flat. The belly is extremely 
paunchy and the rear flank is extremely high. The hips are very 
narrow and the rump is very narrow and peaked, with the tail head 
very high or drooped when compared with the rest of the top line. 
The thigh is very narrow and tapering and the twist is very shallow. 
The fleshing of the animal is extremely thin, this being especially 
marked in the forequarters. The bones of the shoulders and hips 
are very prominent. The backbone and ribs are also prominent to 
a marked degree. The lines of the animal are very depressed or 
sunken. The development and balance of the different parts indi- 
cate that the animal when finished and slaughtered will have a very 
low percentage of ribs, loins, and rounds in its carcass. 
The fat covering is extremely thin over the shoulders, back, ribs, 
loins, and rump. There are extremely small deposits of fat in the 
brisket, flanks, and twist, and the hide at these points is very wrinkled 
