The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1899-07-28
sheep aeea ana NJ.

Sheep Good aud BsA.
In an address q the Iowa Agricul.
tural College. Frof. Craig Of that COL
lege. said: It is a safe proposition to
accept that every sheep has fault and
1t is equally true that there are none
80 bad but that they have their good
qualities. In estimating the good and
bad qualities Of sheep it is then only
q question Of being able to see things
as they really exist. It is particularly
hard to do this in the case of sheep.
because they can be trimmed and
dressed with great success in hiding
their defects. Owing to this deception
1t Is practically impossible to form an
opinion from what one sees. It is
necessary to handle the sheep thor
oushly. or, in other words, to see with
the fingers.
In handling the form Of a sheep it is
best to keep the hand completely open,
as IN this way the straightness of the
lines can be best determined, and the
wool will be the least disturbed, To
be thorough in examination this sys-
TEN should be followed: BEGINNING
with the head, with the finger drop
the lower lip of the sheep and notice
the condition of the teeth; notice the
covering of the head, the eyes and
ears; see that there is no appearance
OF horns In those that should be horn
less; then pass to the neck, feeling
WIN the hands the course of the neck,
and in that way determine the length
OF IT, the thickness Of it, and the way
1t swehs to meet the shoulder at the
shoulder vein. Then pass down to the
brlsket, putting one hand on the floor
OF the chest and the other at the top
OF tne shoulder and in this way form
an idea as to the depth of the sheep
through these parts. Then pass to the
shoulder, observe how it is covered
with flesh and the evenness on top,
also taking the girth or the spring OF
the ribs of the sheep. From the top
OF the shoulder, using one hand, fol-
low the line of the back to the end OF
the body. BY carefully handling these
parts, the freshness of the sheep, or
the way the ribs are covered, and the
stralghtness of the back, are deter
mined, and at the same time the
spring Of the ribs is made apparent
The width of the loin should then be
taken, and the covering and the thick
ness of it should be noticed. The
width at the hips should then be OBJ
served, and turning to one side anf
using the two hands, the length fron
the hip to the hindquarter should be
made apparent between the two hands
A1terward notice the way the hind
quarter is carried back, and the full.
ness OF those parts should also be ex.
amined. Following down toward the
leg, the developm TT of the thigh or
the outside requires examination, and
then, with the hand, the quarters OF
the twist between the legs should be
firmly felt.
The different parts of the lamb, from
the butchers standpoint, show, wide
variation. The neck has the value Of
only one cent per pound, the shoulder
two cents and the shank the same
The rib, running from the point of the
shoulder to the loin, has value OF
nine cents per pound, and the same is
true of the loin, while the leg of NUT
ton has the highest value per pound
of any part, and is quoted at ten cent:
per pound. The breast has the low
value of tMu cents per pound in the
Chicago markets. From these facts i
will be seen that the development O
the back and of the leg are the mos
important points.