The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1920-02-19

prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
A real need in agricultural regions
today is more widespread knowledge
Of how to judge live stock properly.
While the Judging of the finest animals
is likely tn remain an art III which
relatively few persons can attain the
highest standing. nevertheless farmers
us Il whole should be thoroughly famil-
lar with the general principles of iudg-
ing stock. knowledge of this sort Is
a real asset.
The art of Judging beef cattle is the
foundation Of all %heef-cattle shows.
and also is largely the means of de-
termining the value of cattle offered
In public sales. 1t serves as a basis
for every man who buys and raises
cattle to seek Improvement along we'll
recognized forms.
II Il breeder is not n good judge he
cannot mate individuals so as to get
the best possible offspring. Knowl-
edge may be obtained through long cX-
p"rience, hut Il systematic course in
Judging may accomplish the same end
at a cost Of fewer mistakes and a
much shorter time. If a farmer is a
competent judge of feeders. for e
ample. he can 20 to the market and
save the buying charges or commits
sion> on Il deal which otherwise would
have t" be handled through commits
sion men.
For the man who feeds cattle for
commercial purposes. it is more impor
tant TO study how to judge feeders
than fat cattle. Judging the fOrme,
requires more skill than judging Tho
latter.
Without standards. stock Judging
c:,nIlot b" made II success. The small
est. cattle owner as we'll as the man
who owns Il large herd needs to he
familiar will, the ideal beef type. This
animal. when fat. must have Il low
set body which is broad, deep and
smooth. with level lines. having q
thick. even covering Of firm flesh
Hair. hid" and bone Of good quality
together with general character und
style. also serve as an indication 0i
In learning to Judge beef cattle II
Is necessary to hecOlnc familiar Will
the location and anne of the different
parts of the animal. The names are
similar in all classes of live stock, anC
cam b" learned easily by referring I,
op,t,tI.l iIl,,.t ,,fin,r. M. ti.,r,.,y M
The names of wholesale cuts of the
beef carcass correspond quite clOSel!
to those of the live animal. the only
difference being that the wholesale car
cass contains fewer parts.
Three Glasses of Cattle.
From the butchers standpoint. cat,
tie may he divided into three classes
fat cattle. feeders and breeding cat
tie. The first comprises animals read!
for the butchers block: the second Is
the unfinished product, land the third
constitutes the class from which the
others are produced. In fat cattle
one must Judge according to what the
cattle are at the time. In feeders, thu
animals which give promise Of put
ting on the biggest and cheapest gains
and developing into the best beef form
when fattened. are the ones desired. II
breeding cattle. the true beef form is
Of prime Importance, but there must
also he assurance that the beef char
acteristics will be transmitted to the
offspring.
Judging Fat Cattle and Feeders.
Fat cattle, So-cnlled, include steers
heifers. calves, lows, and bulls. Fa1
steers and .heifers constitute by fal
the largest percentage. Each must
he considered from the butchers
standpoint, the finish and quality Of
flesh being of prime Importance. Cat
tie bred especially for beef purposes
have a tendency to produce marble(
meat or to deposit layers Of far
throughout the lean meat, while IL
cattle bred exclusively for dairy pur
poses, the tendency is to deposit
surplus fat. principally around the ] n
ternal organs, where 1t becomes a rel
atively cheap suet and does not tent
20 improve the quality of the lear
neat. In Judging feeders, it must b'
orne in mind that they are ''unfn
shed" cattle, and therefore do no
ave the width and flesh covering O
at cattle. In general, the same quail
ications apply to feeders as to ia
cattle, except that certain points o
the score card must be emphasized
and others minimized. The desirable
feeder is the n that will dress out
high percentage Of high-priced meat
when finished and slaughtered.
Breeding cattle. drst Of al, mus