The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1922-11-17
rRIpAY, MQvEM1ER II. 1es1.

weight Of the carcass but they con-
tain. at these prices, 81 per cent Of its
value.
Records from the slaughter of large
numbers Of animals snow that in some
cases the l0in makes up Is per cent
Of the weight of the carcass; in others.
10 per cent. The rib varses from to
IL per cent, or the rib and loin COM
bined may vary from az low as % per
cent up to 80 per cent.
| After all IL said. however. this Sec
ond requirement made by the steer
buyer, that AZ much weight as possi-
BILE be in the high priced cuts is the
least important OF the three. varia.
lions in it are less pronounced and
more difficult to perceive.
The preceding table likewise makes
clear the third Of the primary require
ments of the steer buyer, namely. that
the meat must please the consumer
Prime native steer carcasses are worth
Is cents a pound. while plain cows
bring only cents a pound. Even this
price range does not tell the whole
story for the carcasses of Gamers are
unsuitable for selling over the butch
er's block but are worked into other
forms. such as canned beef The re-
taller will pay 80 cents for loins from
the best steers but he can only paV Is
cents for others and hope to sell them
at profit The better grades of beef
lare more tender. paiatable. juicy,
nicely Favored, more nutritious. as
well as more attractive in appearance
than the low grades.
Besides having a dressing percentage
1 nf he or ha
present market would produce beef
worth about Is cents a pound. They
probably would have little more Of
their carcass weigh in the val Ia Bile
cuts. The $3.50 steers would be low
dressers and their carcasses worth only
about 10 cents pound. Gamer steers
selling at $3.50 would dress out still
more poorly and produce beef worth
only to cents a pound.
Whether a steer will have a high
dressing percentage or not depends on
how fat he is. on the degree of paun-
chiness he shows. and the amount of
. weight in his hide. head and legs.
When steer is fattened, the weight
put on is added mostly to the carcass
while the parts going into the offa! are
, changed but little. A 1000 pound feed
er steer gaining 400 pounds in a five
months feeding pericn would increase
his dressing percentage perhaps 10 to
? r. per cent. A broad body. full and
plump in every part. deeply covered
with mellow flesh. Indicating a thicl,
carcass and high finish. goes with a
, high dressing per cent for the same
reason. The cattle buyer. usually
mounted in the larger Yards will
, handle the animal, pressing along the
! spine over the loin and along the ribs
to see how deeply they are covered.
Other signs that the animal is highly
. fattened and therefore will be high
, dresser are found in the sic of the
, tongue fat. or waffle" between the
lower jaws. the "roll' with the fat
, steer pushes up at his hind flank w., -
: he walks and the fat on the ends of
the pin bones.
Paunchiness is due to an excessive
quantity of feed and water in the d.
gestive tract. 1t is the custom to "flr"
cattle with hay and water when they
reach market. If the cattle ELL" ex-
cessiNely because of hot weather or
/ some other cause, SO that their siats
/ project decidedly beyond straight lines
from the shoulder to the hip the buy
= ers Will expect them 20 be low dressers
and will make low bids or will delay
making any bid at all until 'he cattn
, have lost some of the fill. 1t can De
!. shown that each 10 POUNDS Of fill which
, l,O00-pound steer takes reduces it's
. values per hundrer weight about pcr
I cent but since cattle are always as
. sumed to be filled wpen they are Of
, fered for sale, the seller is the loser
if they have not had the customary
feed and water.
i Although a heavy hide lowers the
" '->inC '.ercenta~, 3 n. ,iscr,r
mated against on that account unless
: excessively dirty. because as a rule are
worth more than the average value Of
the carcass, There is no similar COM
pensation when the dressing percent
age is lowered hy big. coarse head
or coarse legs ard iaiTs
From what was said onfore with ref.
erence to the l,>a;ioa # the high and
low priced cuts it follows that animals
which have short legs. short necks, are
broad over the crops and along the
back. loin and rump. thick and bulg-
ing in the thighs and are full and low
in the twist and which lack promi-
nence at the shoulders hips and tall
mead would have high percentage of
weight in the high priced parts,
| The consumer wants meat tina. is
tender, palatable. attractive in appear
ance. juicy and nutritious The car.
cass of the animal that is fat, thick
muscled and not coarse IN bones or
| muscle fiber will produce meat Of This
| sort.
The most important factor in MIX
! ing the carcass satisfactory to the con-
sumer.i is the finish or degree Of fat.
ness, the signs OF which nave alre ,ay
been described. The stree should not
be so fat that 1t is "gobby" and IN.
even but smoothly f!e.ned, otherwise
the carcass is unattractive and the cuts
! are wasteful. With a proper finish
| there is smooth layer Of outside fat
| over the carcass which preserves it in
| the process Of ripenias and improves
Its appearance. Also there is sufff.
Client fat deposited between the muscle
| ibers 10 give the meat "marbled''
appearance when 1t ia cut across the
grain.
steers possessing general oual;tv In