MARKET CLASSES AND GRADES OF DRESSED BEEF. 17 
with the class. In other words, the starting point was not the same in 
both instances. For instance, in the case of steer beef the weights 
might run as follows: Conformation 20, finish 30, and quality 50, 
whereas in cow beef the weights might be assumed as : Conformation 
15, finish 25, and quality 60. Considering grade No. 2 as 20 points 
under grade No. 1, the same weights would be applied to the differ- 
ent characteristics, and so on with grade No. 3 and the lower grades. 
With this in mind, it is apparent that although grade No. 3 in cow 
beef is indicated by 60 just as it is in steer beef, and for that reason 
grade No. 3 in cow beef is 40 points under grade No. 1, and despite 
the further fact that all grades are based on the same three funda- 
mental characteristics, the fact remains that grade No. 3 in cow beef 
differs from grade No. 3 in steer beef not because it is made up of 
different characteristics, but because in the two classes those charac- 
teristics appear in different proportions. 
In a word, the beef grader does precisely what the student in stock 
judging does when the latter uses a score card. In his mind the 
beef grader assigns certain weights to each of the characteristics — 
conformation, finish, and quality — and, while those weights are uni- 
form throughout a given class, they vary between classes. 
To sum up, in the system of grading outlined herewith, the best 
or top grade of cow beef is called No. 1 or Choice, instead of No. A 1 
or Prime, simply because the degrees of conformation, finish, and 
quality in best cow beef and in the second grade of steer and heifer 
beef are more nearly equal than is true of best cow beef and No. A 1 
or Prime steer or heifer beef. In the same manner the best bull beef 
and the best stag beef produced are called No. 1 or Choice, because 
the variations in degree of conformation, finish, and quality between 
such beef and No. 1 or Choice steer and heifer beef are less than be- 
tween such bull and stag beef and the best beef in the other classes. 
It is apparent that beef grading probably will never be reduced 
to the stage of exactness of application that has been reached in the 
grading of apples, oranges, potatoes, cotton, or grain. Some allow- 
ance must always be made for the personal equation of the commercial 
grader, who is forced to form his judgments at sight. However, 
there can be much greater exactness and much more uniformity in 
the determination of grades than has been in evidence in the trade 
heretofore. 
Despite the fact that each class of beef has been subdivided into 
six or seven grades, each grade still represents such a wide range of 
variation in the fundamental characteristics that intermediate or 
subgrades are often resorted to by the trade. Generally these sub- 
grades are indicated by the prefixes Top, Medium, and Low, the 
usual form of expression being Top Good, Medium Good, or Low 
Good, and the same with most of the other grades. 
This " width " of the grades is generally reflected in a rather wide 
range of market quotations on the various grades. The trade al- 
most never quotes a flat price on any given grade, the market value 
of beef belonging to a given grade usually being expressed in the 
form of a price range, such as " good steer beef, $15 to $18 per 100 
pounds." It is impracticable, however, to describe these subgrades 
in a work of this sort. Detailed descriptions, therefore, of only the 
