LIVESTOCK MARKETING AND FRESH MEATS VOLUME VI PART |—LIVESTOCK MARKETING PART l1—FRESH MEATS QUARTERMASTER FOOD AND CONTAINER INSTITUTE FOR THE ARMED FORCES MILITARY PLANNING DIVISION OFFICE OF THE QUARTERMASTER GENERAL VOLUMES IN THIS SERIES Volume I Fruits and Vegetables Volume II Food Preparation Volume III Safekeeping of Subsistence Volume IV Processed Foods volun V Dairy Products Volume VI Livestock Marketing and Fresh Meats Volume VII Processed Meats - Volume VIII Cereal Products cata IX Flavors, Beverages, and Condiments oe Volume X Fats and Oils VOLUME VI : : LIV ESTOCK MARKETING AND ] FRESH MEATS ] | } fas, PART I—LIVESTOCK MARKETING PART II—FRESH MEATS i First Edition : 1 May 1946 Subsequent to submission of the text material for publication the QMC Subsistence Re- search and Development Laboratory was redesignated the Quartermaster Food and Container Institute for the Armed Forces. CHARLES S. LAWRENCE Col., Q.M.C. Commanding | Quartermaster Food and Container Institute for the Armed Forces. ee ee * we 3 & — peREWORD ; A comprehensive knowledge of meat is necessary for its intelligent procurement and use for military subsistence. Meat supplies all of the important amino acids necessary for proper nutrition; moreover, since meat is the most favored item in the soldiers diet, meat must serve as the foundation upon which his principal meals are built. Without meat the soldier will find his meal dull, his palate unsatisfied. The serving of many such meatless meals will cause inevitably a lowering of the . soldier’s morale. In time of war meat always becomes one of the food items in short supply. Producing, feeding, and marketing facilities are then limited, thus requiring the need for unusually efficient procurement and mess utilization. In time of peace, when cost of feeding the soldier becomes of more immediate concern, intelligent procurement and handling of meat, the most expensive item in the soldier’s meal, is necessary to keep within the available allotments for subsistence without sacrificing proper nutrition. Meat for the table is derived from individual animals, each of which is subject to different hereditary, feeding, marketing, and other highly variable factors. Like most other food products meat is procured accord- ing to certain contract specifications. However, a purely mechanical terminology cannot be used in these specifications. For intelligent pro- curement a comprehensive knowledge of meat is necessary. This knowl- edge must embrace meat on the hoof as well as in the butchered form in which it is procured and prepared for consumption. This manual has been prepared to supply the general knowledge neces- sary for efficient procurement and use of fresh meats in the light of changing conditions. Part I of the manual discusses mainly procurement factors from the viewpoints of breeding, feeding, and marketing. Part II covers fresh meats as carcass, wholesale, and retail cuts, the meat with which Army personnel are concerned. 1 February 1946 ROHLAND A. ISKER Colonel, O.M.C. Commanding Officer Subsistence Research and Development Laboratory ai PART | LIVESTOCK MARKETING JOHN C. PIERCE, JR., Ist Lt., 9.M.C. Meat Products Branch, QM Food and Container Institute for the Armed Forces ACKNOWLEDGMENT | The Quartermaster Corps wishes to acknowledge the assistance given by Dr. Jesse H. White in the preparation of this publication. vi I INTRODUCTION CONTENTS III SWINE Pe SHEEP heabivestock [Industry letereeticenccces a: 1 ast Hi WET ate diene Abel ae enc neRn dilate SNR! 2 sewaj hey ke) pe Ss eA ne ee 3 MSV? SOs ck ee 4 BEE DERECN ULSRECUIS es ke ee. sdesdacéandecsacns 5 TBS IBN id ehge's te VL Pe Ge al ae en rrr 6 PEnesDta OE ULpOse: BIGCdS. oo. 8 3 tiles cen 7 SLD ud Sh eet 8 Leas USN ar AC Coe 8 OS lan eek Pen ee 9 TBS iy OTS gag oe ee 10 TEST Sa qty, SRE ee a 11 ep LUT ROT Uist eee tema nah Foch ca fess 12 LEDS OL VGH re ua ie Og ccc. x: 13 Vee Ro LOR TALION Methods of Transportation........0..0.0000c0000 14 Merres(ociee me Ip OSSES nie Udo tree ive 15 The Twenty-Eight Hour Law....................... 16 re net ea Wain ea A 17 vii Paragraph Page 1 2 3 CONTENTS (Continued) VI MARKETING Paragraph Page General ......400.50 404.05. 4h 18 43 Local Cooperative Shipping Associations...... 19 43 Livestock Auctions ...................2 20 44 Country Dealers. ............:/..0......0 ee fas 44 Concentration Yards ................. ZZ 44 Direct Marketing ...................3). nn 23 44 Terminal Public Livestock Markets.............. 24 45 Marketing Proceduré .......0...... eee 25 48 - VII CLASSES AND GRADES Generali aes pete et 4. ee 26 55 Cattle .c.coigann bee eo al 55 SWIM occ seceseses nd ueviseev le oe e 28 59 Sheep c..cts cc aL ee 29 63 VIII GOVERNMENT SUPERVISION OF THE LIVESTOCK IN DES TR General oocccccscccecsccschcvasstusyus tect suc aa 30 69 Texas Fever o.csciiw mentee ee 31 70 Sheep Scab and Cattle Mange ee 32 71 Other Animal Parasites........... 7. 30 fal Tubé@reulosis. ..c.cecseccsescc0e---0res and has an abundant blood supply. The conformation of the dairy cow is that of a triple triangle. One triangle may be seen from a front view, being formed by very sharp withers and thickening and widening out through the shoulders and brisket. The second triangle may be discerned from the side, having its apex at the head and gradually widening out toward the hindquarter. The third triangle may be observed from the top, the apex being at the withers and the base being at the hips which are set wide apart. (2) Dairy farmers have found membership in certain organizations of invaluable assistance in their operations. Among the outstanding of these are the cow-testing associations organized by the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture in cooperation with the agricultural colleges. Their purpose is to increase production in herds by the elimination of unprofitable, or so-called “boarder” cows. A tester is hired by the association to visit each member one time a month. The night and morning milk of each cow is then weighed and sampled, and a butterfat test is made of the composite sample of milk from each cow in the herd. Every month the tester deter- mines the feed cost and the milk production. Unprofitable cows are elim- inated, and, in this way, the productiveness of the herd is increased. Dairy farmers have likewise benefitted by the establishment of various herd improvement associations. At the request of a farmer or breeder, and with the payment of a fee, these groups send a tester to the farm monthly or bimonthly to weigh and test the milk of each cow. In this way a careful check can be made on any cow in the herd. (3) Dairy cattle do not constitute an important factor in beef production except as veal, and as canners and cutters, which are low grades of meat animals. Having been bred only for the production of milk, none of the dairy breeds produce a percentage of flesh or quality of meat that make them desirable for the block. The excess of male animals of the dairy breeds are marketed as calves and constitute the great bulk of the veal on our markets. When the days of the dairy cow’s usefulness as a milk producer have passed, she still can provide meat for sausage manufacture, canning, etc. (4) Four of the dairy breeds are particularly important in this country. They are the Holstein-Friesian, the Jersey, the Guernsey, and the Ayr- shire. In addition, two other breeds, the Dutch Belted and the Brown Swiss, are found in limited numbers. . b. The Holstein-Friesian—tThis breed originated in Holland several centuries ago. In America it goes by the name of Holstein alone. It is the largest of the dairy breeds, the cows weighing from 1400 to 1700 pounds when mature. In color they are white and black. Either color may predominate, but the colors must be solid and not blended. The Holstein 11 COURTESY HOLSTEIN-FRIESIAN ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA Figure 7.—An excellent type of Holstein cow. is first among all milk producers, its average output being close to 10,000 pounds per year. The butterfat content of Holstein milk, however, is the lowest of the breeds, averaging only 3.45 percent. The Holstein out- numbers any other dairy breed. Because of its large production of milk it is particularly popular in dairy districts which supply milk to condensaries and cheese factories, and which market fluid milk to cities. c. The Jersey—rThe Jersey breed originated on the Island of Jersey, located in the English Channel. It is the smallest of the dairy breeds. The ‘Island type of cow weighs from 600 to 900 pounds, although the American type 1s somewhat heavier, ranging from 900 to 1100 pounds. The yield of milk is approximately 6000 pounds annually, with an average butterfat content of over 5 percent. Because of the high percentage of butterfat, the Jersey is very popular as a family cow for the small farmer. Jerseys are most numerous in the South, but are well adapted to other climatic conditions when properly housed, fed, and managed. d. The Guernsey.—The Guernsey is a native of the Island of Guernsey, another of the islands in the English Channel. Guernsey cows weigh from 1000 to 1200 pounds. Their color is fawn with white markings. The Guernsey yields somewhat larger quantities of milk than the Jersey, but the milk is not quite so rich in butterfat, the average being from 4.5 to 5 percent. The Guernsey is popular as a family cow, and also for the production of certified and other high-grade milk for market purposes. In color, Guernsey milk has a characteristic golden hue. 12 a ae COURTESY AMERICAN JERSEY CATTLE CLUB ‘ Figure 8.—Design’s Martina. Grand Champion Jersey of the National Dairy Show Ff at seven years of age. SR OAR COURTESY HILL GIRT FARM, CHADDS FORD, PA. Figure 9.—Nora Belle of Hill Girk. At eleven years of age, this registered Guernsey = cow produced 1012.2 pounds of butterfat and 16,426 pounds of milk. This is equal to about 1250 pounds of butter and 8000 quarts of rich milk. 13 ; COURTESY AYRSHIRE BREEDERS’ ASSOCIATION Figure 10.—Alfalfa Farm Ann 2nd. Generally regarded as one of the greatest Ayrshire cows that ever lived, she was four times Grand Champion of the National Dairy Show and the Eastern States Exposition. On a two-times-daily milking schedule, she has consistently averaged well over 400 pounds of butterfat per year. e. The Ayrshire—The Ayrshire is a product of Scotland. Cows of this breed weigh from 1000 to 1400 pounds. They are white and red, the colors being solid with no mixture. Their average yield of milk is about 8000 pounds per year; the butterfat content about 4 percent. The Ayrshire breed is much less numerous in this country than the Guernsey, the Jersey, or the Holstein. It is found almost exclusively in dairy districts, where it is used largely for the production of fluid market milk and milk for con- densaries and cheese factories. f. The Dutch Belted—The Dutch Belted breed, which originated in Holland, has been introduced into this country only in very small numbers. Well-developed, mature cows weigh from 1000 to 1400 pounds. Their color is distinctive, being solid black with a broad white band circling the body .between the hind and fore legs. Dutch Belted cows produce milk which ranges from 3.5 to 4 percent in butterfat content. g. The Brown Swiss—The Brown Swiss originated in Switzerland. This breed shows fewer dairy characteristics than the other dairy breeds. Sometimes the Brown Swiss is classified as a dual-purpose breed because of its stocky build and fleshy body. In form it is very compact and low-set. The cows weigh from 1100 to 1400 pounds. The color is brown, with buff around the muzzle, down the back, and under the belly. Like the Ayrshire, the Brown Swiss produces, on the average, about 8000 pounds 14 J of milk per year. The average butterfat content is 3.5 to 4 percent. Com- pared with the major breeds, there are relatively few Brown Swiss in the United States. COURTESY MILKING SHORTHORN ASSOCIATION Figure 11.—T his milking Shorthorn represents an ideal type for a dual-purpose cow. 7. THE DUAL-PURPOSE BREEDS.—a. General.—Theoretically, dual-purpose cattle are selected equally for their beef producing and their milking qualities. In actual practice, however, it is almost impossible to avoid giving more attention to either one factor or the other in the selection of breeding animals. The dual-purpose breeds are utilized most extensively in sections devoted to general farming. Farmers in such areas are primarily interested in a cow which will produce a calf of acceptable beef conforma- tion, and at the same time will maintain a satisfactory flow of milk for a major portion of the year. Dual-purpose cattle are therefore most popular on the intensive farms of the Corn Belt, where they constitute a side line to grain farming. There are three recognized dual-purpose breeds in this country : Red Polled, Devon, and Milking Shorthorn. b. The Red Polled—Red Polled cattle are of English origin, and are found at present chiefly in eastern England and the central United States. As indicated by the name, they are hornless, red cattle. Mature bulls weigh around 2000 pounds, while cows weigh about 1300 pounds. A milk record of 6000 pounds is common, and the butterfat content is approximately 3.75 percent. Red Polled cattle tend to be somewhat nervous in temperament. c. The Devon.—Devon cattle are an ancient breed that is native to 15 Devonshire, England. They are red in color, and horned. The better cows produce a fair yield of excellent milk. At one time the Devon was a very popular breed in American, but is now seldom seen. d. The Milking Shorthorn.—The Milking Shorthorn is the most popular of the dual-purpose breeds in this country. In general conformation it is similar to the Shorthorn, without the same shortness of leg and compact- ness. The Milking Shorthorn is red, white, or roan in color. The cows give a generous flow of milk, with a butterfat content of about 3.6 percent. 16 SECTION III SWINE | 8. GENERAL.—a. For a given quantity of nutrients consumed by hogs there is produced a greater amount of food solids in the form of pork than is produced in the form of meat by any other type of livestock. The hog, too, being an omnivorous eater, frequently fattens on feed that other farm animals will not eat and under housing conditions that are not always the best. This ability to convert a wide variety of feeding stuffs into human food makes the hog one of the most valuable of food animals. COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 12.—Hogs “harvest” corn on an Illinois farm and convert it into pork. b. The hog is the most prolific of all farm animals ; a good sow produces from six to ten offspring twice a year, while other farm animals usually produce one or two offspring a year. c. Pork is the ideal meat for curing purposes. Until the development of artificial refrigeration, pork constituted practically the whole of the meat products that were preserved by curing. Its desirability for curing is not confined to large packing centers; pork is also cured and preserved on the farm for summer meat supplies. No other meat equals it for this purpose. d. All of these factors have combined to establish and maintain the popularity of the hog as a meat food animal. It is essentially a farm animal best adapted to comparatively small herds, although also found in fairly large numbers on farms in the Corn Belt. 17 e. There are two general types of hogs, namely lard and bacon types. The lard type has a larger percentage of fat and a smaller percentage of lean than does the bacon type. Because of their high percentage of fat, lard-type hogs do not find a ready market in foreign countries. The con- sumer of pork products by his preference in the retail markets has a very definite influence on type in the market hog. The rather uniform demand of the pork trade has been, no doubt, a very important factor in fixing the most desirable type of hog for market purposes. This desirable market type is the goal of all breed associations. OB SAI PO Ee ‘counraet HOON cok Figure 13.—A well-balanced Barrow representing the intermediate lard-type hog. 9. THE LARD TYPE.—a. General_—tThe so-called lard type of hog has changed greatly in type over the period of two decades. From the original compact, wide, thick, short-legged type, there was a swing in the opposite direction by many breeders, and a rather long legged, narrow, shallow-ham type resulted. Most breeders of the modern lard-type breeds, however, have adopted a more or less intermediate type between the two extremes mentioned above. The typical lard-type individuals show a well- balanced development of all parts. There is less variation in the value of different parts of the hog carcass than is found in the carcasses of the fat steer or lamb. The ideal type is an individual with plenty of stretch and depth to the sides, neatly laid in shoulders and uniformly wide over the back and loin, with a strong smoothly arched back and a deep, thick, meaty ham. Smoothness of sides and trimness of underline are also factors of prime importance. In breeding animals, good feet and strong pasterns are essential. The ideal type animal shows a neat, clean-cut head and quality throughout as evidenced by refinement and smoothness of hair and bone. b. Breeds.—The breeds of the lard type found in this country are the Berkshire, Poland-China, Spotted Poland-China, Chester White, Hamp- shire, and Duroc. COURTESY BERKSHIRE BREEDERS’ ASSOCIATION Figure 14.—Grand Champion Berkshire sow at Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska State Fairs in 1941. (1) The Berkshire This breed originated in the counties of Berkshire and Wilts in the south central part of England. The characteristics of the Berkshire are a dished face, erect ears, black color with six white points (face, tail and four feet), moderate breadth of back, and considerable length of side. It has medium length of leg and a particularly deep and thick ham. (2) The Poland-China,—This breed is of American origin, having been developed in Butler and Warren Counties in southwestern Ohio. The original stock from which the breed was developed included the Warren County Pig, the Russian, Byfield, Big China, Irish Grazier, and Berkshire. Each of these and perhaps others assisted in forming the Poland-China breed. There is no evidence that any hogs of Polish origin were included in its ancestry and the origin of its name is uncertain. All of the breeds mentioned above, with the exception of the Berkshire, were white in color. It is to Berkshire blood that the Poland-China owes its black color. The Poland-China is black with white in the forehead, on the feet and tip of the tail. This breed is generally conceded to be the largest breed of hogs. 19 Fe SDS Soot By San ar ee COURTESY HOG BREEDER Figure 15. an ae Princess. A champion Poland-China sow owned by Arnold and Harry Moore of Barrington, Illinois. Mature boars in good flesh average around 950 pounds and mature sows around 750 pounds. They are usually of good depth and width, but may have short sides. The Poland-China has drooped ears and a strongly arched back ;. most individuals stand on ample high quality bone. They are early maturing and fatten readily, and are ideal for the Corn Belt states. On the Chicago hog market, Poland-China blood is a prominent and leading feature, largely because of the ability of feeders to mature this breed early. The breed carries too large a percentage of fat to be desirable for the export meat trade, which requires leaner bacon. This breed has been criticized because it is less prolific than other breeds. (3). The Spotted Poland-China.—Spotted Poland-Chinas have largely the characteristics of the Poland-China breed, with the exception of color. The ideal Spotted Poland-China color is 50 percent black and 50 percent white, well distributed in spots over the body. More than 80 percent or less than 20 percent white on the body makes the animal ineligible for registration. The breed is one of the most recently developed breeds of swine of the lard type and has become rather popular in recent years. (4). The Chester White—This breed is of American origin, having been developed in southeastern Pennsylvania by selective breeding of white’ individuals of various ancestry. As the name implies, it is white in color of hair and skin, and black hair is considered as a disqualification in the show ring. This breed has excellent length of side, moderate width and 20 > COURTESY J.C. ALLEN & SON, W. LAFAYETTE, IND. Figure 16.—An excellent type of Chester White sow. good depth, fairly deep thick hams, and is very smooth and trim throughout. The face is straight and the ears are drooped. The Chester White is inter- mediate in size, compared to other breeds of the lard type, and produces an excellent carcass. However, when exposed to the rays of the sun, the white breeds have a tendency to develop sunburn and scurf. (5). The Duroc.—This breed originated in America and was developed from a number of strains of red hogs imported into this country from vari- ous parts of Europe. The Duroc is red in color and has drooping ears. White spots disqualify him from registry and black spots are very objec- tionable. This is a rather large breed and is characterized by a slightly dished face, a pronounced and well arched back, rather deep, long sides,.and fairly good hams. The quality of flesh is good, usually carrying a little less fat than some of the other lard type breeds. In size, the Duroc ranks next to the Poland-China. Mature boars in good flesh average around 900 pounds and mature sows average 725 pounds. This breed has become very popular in this country and supporters claim it to be the most prolific of the lard types of swine. The size of the litters average around nine pigs while litters from 14 to 18 pigs are not uncommon. (6) The Hampshire—The Hampshire has in recent years become quite popular in this country. The typical individual is black with a white belt around the body at the shoulders. The width of the white belt varies but it is preferred that it be confined to the width of the shoulder. A solid black e 21 individual, an incomplete belt, more than 2/3 white, the presence of white on the head, one or both front legs entirely black, and white extending upon the hind legs to the ham disqualify an individual from registration. In size, the breed is intermediate and produces a rather lean carcass, with a mini- COURTESY DUROC RECORD ASSOCIATION Figure 17.—Selected champion senior yearling Duroc boar in the 1943 All-American Herd Contest sponsored by the United Duroc Record Association. COURTESY HOG BREEDER Figure 18.—A well-balanced Hampshire gilt. 22 ee & La mum of excess fat. The typical individual is of very high quality, shows a very trim underline and neat jowl, and great smoothness of body. The Hampshire is characterized by a straight face and very erect ears. The breed has rather small high quality bone and coarseness in any part is severely criticized. 10. THE BACON TYPE.—a. General_—The bacon type of hog in the United States has been developed largely to meet the requirements of the export trade which demands bacon with a liberal admixture of lean and fat. As compared with the lard type, the bacon-type hog has a narrower back, a longer head, longer sides, smoother shoulders, lighter hams, and somewhat longer legs. The general covering of flesh and fat is much less than that of the lard type. Hogs of this type are usually active and show lively temperament. These hogs have never become so popular with farmers of this country as those of the lard type since they do not develop so rapidly, nor mature as early, nor make the gains from a given amount of feed as do the lard-type hogs. However, there is at present a rather insistent demand for leaner cuts of pork by the discriminating buyers in this country. There- fore, if and when breeds of the bacon type are developed which compare favorably in economy and rapidity of gains with lard-type hogs, they will no doubt receive the enthusiastic support of the hog producers. The breeds of bacon-type hogs found in this country are the Yorkshire and the Tam- worth. CCURTESY HOG BREEDER Figure 19.—A Champion Yorkshire sow and National Swine Show winner. Owned by Frank G. Hull, New Sharon, Iowa. 23 b. The Yorkshire -—The Yorkshire is one of the oldest known breeds of hogs, having been bred for almost two centuries in parts of England. The Yorkshire is white in color. Black hair in the coat is very undesirable. They are slightly smaller than the lard-type-hogs. The mature boars average around 650 pounds and the mature sows around 575 pounds. This breed has erect ears and a pronounced dish to the face. The ideal type individual of the breed is long and deep of side with adequate width, smoothly laid shoulders and rather shapely hams. They are usually somewhat long of leg. While it is a superior bacon producer and raises large litters of pigs, slow fattening and unusually lean and rather leggy type are some of the objec- tions raised against it by the commercial pork producers in this country. COURTESY HOG BREEDER Figue 20.—A Champion Tamworth sow. c. The Tamworth—The Tamworth is of English origin. The color varies from light to dark red. In conformation and size, it conforms closely with the Yorkshire. The breed is characterized by a very long, straight snout and large, erect ears. The breed is rather long of leg and any tendency toward shortness of body, compactness, or thickness is severely criticized. This breed is very prolific; the sows are good mothers and give an abun- dance of milk. They have not become popular as a breed in this country because they are rather slow maturing and of a more rangy, leggy type than that to which the commercial pork producer is accustomed. However, good specimens of this breed serve in a very excellent manner the purpose for which they were developed. 24 bd bd bd ee ee oe ee ee: Lab = Lea) SECTION IV SHEEP 11. GENERAL.—a. Mutton and lamb are essentially fresh meat prod- ucts. They do not lend themselves readily to curing as do pork and beef. As an addition to our meat diet they did not come into general use until after the advent of the refrigerator car about 1880. Prior to that time, 80 percent of the sheep of this country were of the wool breeds of the Merino type and were raised exclusively for wool production. With the growth of facilities for the care and transportation of fresh meats, however, sires of the mutton breeds were imported from the sheep raising countries of Europe to cross with our wool breeds. The steady growth of the demand for lamb in our markets has carried this movement progressively forward until at the present time the greater number of the sheep of this country are of the mutton type, though many of the flocks of the range country still carry blood of the wool breeds. _ COURTESY SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE SE Figure 21.—Western sheep on their way to the mountain ranges. Rr ere SY b. The American taste for mutton might be termed an acquired one, for prior to 1880 the slaughter of sheep for food was for home consumption only and practically none found its way to the butcher’s block. The taste for mutton has not been cultivated in America to the extent that it has in European countries. The demand for lamb, however, especially in cities, has grown by leaps and bounds. This has resulted in the great bulk of our 25 sheep being marketed as lambs or yearlings, before they acquire the dis- tinctive mutton flavor which does not appeal to most Americans. As a result, practically no mature wethers are found in our markets, and the “aged stock” to be found is almost entirely ewes that have fulfilled their usefulness for breeding purposes. c. Formerly the bulk of our sheep were bred and finished on the free ranges of the West. These ranges were gradually narrowed owing to the increase in our population and the settling of the range country. This brought about a decrease in the number of sheep on the free grazing lands and the gradual increase in the use of concentrates for finishing sheep. d. Because of these conditions and a plentiful supply of concentrates in the Corn Belt area, there was a general introduction of flocks of sheep on farms where their production 1s nearly as economical as upon the range. The general farmer usually has a diversity of interests and sheep raising is a very profitable sideline. Though sheep in farm flocks show good quality, they are limited in numbers, and lambs from farming sections usually do not possess the uniformity of breeding and finish as those from the range. Dogs constitute the greatest menace to the sheep industry, especially in farming districts where the country is more or less densely populated. There is approximately one dog for every two sheep in the United States, and although all dogs are not necessarily sheep killers, the damage that can be done in a flock of sheep by one killer dog is astonishing. Many former sheep breeders have discontinued raising sheep rather than try to cope with the menace. . e. Sheep produce two salable products, namely, meat and wool. There has evolved two general types based upon the use for which the particular breed has been selected, bred, and developed. These are the mutton and the wool type. The breeders of mutton-type breeds have stressed the de- velopment of those parts of the body that would contribute most to the production of meat. It is difficult and practically impossible to give equal attention to each type in the selection of sheep without losing some of the desirable qualities of one or the other. Therefore, breeders of the so-called mutton-type breeds have given primary consideration to body type with the production of wool being secondary. On the other hand, breeders of the wool-type breeds have attempted to place equal emphasis on body type and wool production. However, one seldom finds in the wool breeds the blocky, compact body type that is found in the mutton-type breeds. They do excel the mutton breeds in the production of wool. The leading breeds which are found in the United States and the normal classification is given in the following table: 26 i i i ri i nM TABLE | CLASSIFICATION OF LEADING SHEEP BREEDS Type Subtype Breed . Southdown Shropshire Dorset Horn Hampshire Suffolk Oxford Down Corriedale Cheviot Columbia Panama Tunis A. Medium wool I. Mutton type an eee ep adhe et Moet ag . Lincoln . Cotswold . Leicester . Romney Marsh B. Long wool . Rambouillet . American Merino . American Delaine . Karakul A. Fine wool II. Wool type ss: COO —= WH HPWH B. Fur-bearing 12. THE MUTTON TYPE.—a. General—(1) Nearly all the mut- ton breeds found in the United States at the present time were developed in Great Britain. The representative mutton-type individual is low-set, short, deep-bodied, wide, and square-docked, with a short neck and a well-balanced head. Its general form suggests thickness of fleshing, with a strong consti- tution, and quality throughout. The top and underline are straight and parallel. The individual displays breed character and symmetry throughout. The legs are short and straight, and are set well apart. The fleece is long and dense, with a fine, distinct crimp, with a medium amount of yolk, and should be bright and clean. The skin should be pink. (2) All breeders are striving to attain the same ideal mutton type, differ- ing only in certain minor characteristics, which serve to distinguish one breed from another. The chief differences are found in size of body, size and shape of head, color of hair, and type and distribution of wool. (3) The mutton breeds fall into two general subtypes, namely, the medium wool and the long wool. 27 COURTESY AMERICAN SHROPSHIRE BREEHEAE Ean Figure 22.—An excellent type of market wether. b. The medium-wool breeds.—These breeds are smaller and more com- pact than the long-wool breeds. In addition, they mature earlier. The medium-wool breeds have become very popular for go flock production in this country. (1) The Southdown.—The Southdown is the smallest breed of sheep. Individuals of this breed are very low-set, blocky, extremely compact, and thickly fleshed. In these respects they are generally conceded to have no superiors. The Southdown produces a very thick leg, is particularly smooth, of high quality, and produces an excellent carcass. The covering of hair on the face and legs ranges from steel-gray to mouse-brown. Wool extends to the knees on the forelegs, to the pasterns on the hind legs, and below the eyes on the face. The ewes have a slightly dished, short, wide face, while the profile of the ram is straight. Mature rams weigh from 160 to 220. pounds, and ewes from 130 to 160 pounds. Southdowns shear from 5 to 8 pounds of wool a year. Individuals are disqualified from registration if they have horns, or evidence of horns; speckled markings on the face, ears, or legs; dark-colored skin ; black or brown fleece ; and open or coarse wool. 28 Figure 23.—A typical Southdown ram. COURTESY SHEEP BREEDER Figure 24.—An excellent type of Hampshire ram. (2) The Hampshire—The Hampshire is one of the larger breeds of sheep. It has gained considerable popularity because of its hardiness and 29 its ability to make rapid gains. Hampshires have large bones, strong pasterns, deep bodies, strong tops, and thick, deep legs. They are character- ized by a large Roman nose, ears of medium length, and a dark-brown covering of hair on the face, ears, and legs. Open-faced Hampshires are sometimes preferred by range sheep producers. Hampshires shear from 7 to 9 pounds of wool annually. Mature rams weigh between 210 and 275 pounds, while ewes weigh between 170 and 210 pounds. The Hampshire has been used extensively in making top crosses on fine-wool breeds for the purpose of producing market lambs on the range. COURTESY SHEEP BREEDER Figure 25.—A well-balanced Shropshire ram. (3) The Shropshire-——tThe Shropshire is a medium-sized breed, which possesses an excellent combination of meat and wool qualities. Repre- sentative individuals are very low-set, compact, square-docked sheep, with good balance and style. They have a complete covering of wool from the tip of the nose to the feet. The ears are quite short and partly covered with wool. The hair on the nose and legs is brown. Shropshires have so much wool on the face that their vision is often obstructed and it becomes neces- sary to trim it. They shear between 8 and 10 pounds of wool per year. Mature rams weigh from 175 to 250 pounds, while ewes weigh from 140 to 180 pounds. The Shropshire is very prolific and is one of the more popular breeds. bd bg > dl = t i z ’ : J a q 4 COURTESY CONTINENTAL DORSET CLUB Figure 26.—An outstanding Dorset ram. (4) The Dorset Horn—tThe Dorset Horn is the only horned mutton breed found in the United States. It is an extremely rugged breed. Indi- viduals are rather large of bone, fairly compact, and thickly fleshed. The horns spiral close to the face; on the ram they are massive; on the ewe, more refined. White hair covers the face, ears, and legs, below the knees and hocks. A small covering of wool is found on the forehead and cheeks. Mature rams weigh from 200 to 250 pounds, and ewes weigh from 160 to 190 pounds. They shear from 6 to 8 pounds of wool per year. Dorsets are regarded with disfavor by judges when they have spots on the skin, open shoulders, or an open or coarse fleece. (5) The Corriedale—The Corriedale breed was developed in New Zealand to meet the export demand for frozen mutton carcasses. It is the result of crossing long-wool rams of various English breeds with the Merino ewes of the New Zealand flocks. According to the American Corriedale Association, Corriedales are dual-purpose sheep and, in selecting them, equal regard must be given to body conformation and to fleece. Wool covers the forehead and extends down to the knees and hocks. The hair on the face, ears, and legs is white. Dark-colored feet and dark nostrils are characteristic of the breed. The Corriedale is smoothly fleshed, is of 31 COURTESY SHEEP BREEDER Figure 27.—A champion Corriedale at the 1935 Pacific International and at the National Western Stock Show, Denver, Colorado, 1936. Owned by the King Brothers, Laramie, Wyoming. good quality, and has a good constitution. The breed is rather large and carries a dense fleece, averaging about 5 inches in length. - Mature rams weigh between 185 and 250 pounds and yields some 15 to 25 pounds of wool each year. Ewes weigh between 140 and 185 pounds and produce from 12 to 20 pounds of wool annually. c. The long-wool breeds——Thé long-wool breeds of mutton-type sheep are not found in large numbers in this country. The principal representa- tives are the Lincoln, the Cotswold, the Leicester, and the Romney Marsh, all of which strongly resemble each other. Some of these breeds are raised fairly extensively in limited areas of the range country. In general, they are rather large, rugged sheep which produce a heavy fleece of coarse wool. The Lincoln is the largest of these, with mature rams weighing more than 300 pounds, while ewes range from 250 to 270 pounds. The average wool growth of the Lincoln is about 12 inches in length and the fleece weighs from 12 to 20 pounds. An effort to produce a more satisfactory long-wool range sheep resulted in the development of the Columbia breed, which is: a crossing of Lincoln rams on Rambouillet ewes. 13. THE WOOL TYPE.—a. General.—The wool-type breeds of sheep 32 were developed with primary emphasis on the fleece. They may be separ- ated, for convenience of differentiation, into two subtypes, namely, the fine-wool and the fur-bearing breeds. b. The fine-wool breeds.—(1) All the present existing fine-wool breeds have descended from the Merinos of Spain. Different types have been developed in North America, Germany, Australia, and France. The Saxony Merino, which is noted for its fineness of fleece, was developed in Germany. In France more attention was given to meat qualities, which resulted in the development of the Rambouillet. Three types of Merinos were de- veloped in Australia. The American Merino was developed in North America where emphasis was placed upon weight, length, and fineness of fleece. The American Delaine is another Merino developed in North America. Of the three breeds the Rambouillet is the most prevalent breed of the American breeds in this country, While these breeds differ with respect to size, type of fleece, and number of skin folds, all the breeders of fine wool are striving to meet the standard of mutton type without losing the fine wool characteristics. The ewes of the fine wool breeds make excellent mothers and for this reason, coupled with their natural gregarious instinct as well as their high quality fleece, have been used a great deal for producing cross-bred feeder lambs. In fact, the majority of the feeder and fat lambs produced on the range in this country carries some fine wool blood. In conformation, all the fine-wool breeds lack somewhat the com- pactness, thickness of body, and shortness of leg of the mutton breeds. (2) The Rambouillet—The Ramouillet breed is widely distributed throughout the United States and thrives under most farm and range con- ditions. —The American Rambouillet Sheep Breeders Association recog- nizes no universal standard for this breed due to the variations in feed and climatic conditions under which the breed is produced. In the northwest part of the United States the typical Rambouillet is a rather large, rugged, thickly-fleshed individual with plenty of bone and few skin folds. In other sections of the United States quality of wool is still a prime factor in select- ing breeding stock, and individuals with folds and wrinkles are preferred. As a result of the two comparatively different types of Rambouillets at most of the large shows in recent years, the Rambouillets have been separated into two classes, known as B and C. Class B permits folds or wrinkles on the neck, tail, and flank ; Class C permits folds on the neck only. Both types are fairly large, low-set, and compact with ample thickness of flesh to make acceptable mutton. Wool covers the entire body except for an opening around the eyes and nose. Open-faced types are preferred on the Western range. The rams have horns and the ewes are hornless. The wool growth of a Rambouillet is about 214 to 3 inches annually. Ewes shear 10 to 18 33 COURTESY SHEEP BREEDER Figure 28.—A champion Rambouillet ram owned by John S. Williams. This ram was later sold for $1,125. pounds, and rams 15 to 25 pounds, per year. Mature rams weigh 220 pounds or over and ewes 155 pounds or over. c. The fur-bearing breed—The Karakul breed of sheep represents a lone breed of sheep which is of value for wool of fur quality. The breed is indigenous to the Russian province of Bokhara. In conformation, they are very narrow and shallow bodied and lacking decidedly in thickness and covering. They have a characteristic development of fat in the upper part of the tail and are sometimes called the broad-tail breed. This breed has achieved very little economic importance in the United States. The lambs have a tightly curled, glossy, black coat which makes a very acceptable grade of fur, provided they are slaughtered before they are five days old. After this age, the coat deteriorates very rapidly and the wool of the mature sheep is very coarse and wiry. 34 SECTION V TRANSPORTATION 14. METHODS OF TRANSPORTATION.—a. General.—tTrans- poration of livestock is ordinarily by automotive trucks, wagons, boats, ferries, and rail, and by driving animals under their own power. All move- ments of livestock are subject to the supervision of federal and state authori- ties and must conform to the quarantine rules and regulations promulgated by those authorities. b. Driving overland.—In the early days of the livestock industry, over- land driving of cattle and sheep to market was the only method of trans- portation. In early days hogs were driven to market. In the West and Southwest great herd trails were made to markets and to railroads. In the open range country of the West, cattle and sheep are frequently driven great distances to reach adequate pasturage. Overland driving is sometimes necessary in the range country to reach railroad lines. However, in recent years truck transportation to shipping points has nearly replaced this method of cattle transportation. In,the days before adequate quarantine laws were passed, communicable parasitic diseases, such as Texas fever, cattle mange, and sheep scab, were widely disseminated by this form of livestock movement. Under the rigid rules now governing the movement of livestock, especially from within quarantined areas, these dangers have been greatly reduced if not entirely eliminated. The development of the great highway system in the United States and the improvements of the automobile truck has nearly stopped overland driving. Also, the type of livestock that has been developed in the last two decades is not adapted to overland driving. | c. Water transportation—In the early days of the packing industry many establishments were built along navigable waters in order to take advantage of cheap water transportation to and from the plants. With im- proved facilities for overland travel, however, water transportation of live animals has been practically abandoned. d. Wagon transportatiou.—Wagon transportation is confined largely to local transportation of food animals from the farm to main transportation lines or to local packing establishments, or of breeding animals for short distances. e. Rail transportation—(1) Animals are shipped by rail in stockcars which are approximately 10 feet wide and which vary in length from 34 to 40 feet. They are constructed to afford maximum ventilation and pro- tection. Cars which are used for the transportation of small stock, such as sheep and swine, are frequently double-decked. The capacity of a car 35 COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 29.—Sheep fattened in pens on the Edward Crawford ranch near Craig, Colorado, ready to be loaded onto freight cars for shipment to the market. depends upon its length, and upon the size, age, and weight of the animals. Table II indicates the number of cattle, sheep, and hogs of various weights that can be safely transported in 36- and 40-foot single-deck stockcars. If double-deck cars are used for sheep or hogs, the number in the upper deck should be 10 to 12 less than in the lower lock, or in single-deck cars. (2) To insure efficient use of stockcars, the railroads have established minimum weights for carlots. In most sections they are as follows : Cattle— 22,000 pounds ; Hogs in single-deck cars—16,500 pounds ; Hogs in double- deck cars—23,000 pounds; Sheep in single-deck cars—12,000 pounds; Sheep in double-deck cars—22,000 pounds. In order to compete with truck transportation, these minimum weight requirements have been waived in some parts of the Corn Belt to permit the introduction of a pick-up service. The railroad company routes cars through a number of small towns to the central market. At each stop a few head of livestock are picked up, until at the end of the route every car is filled to capacity. Such pickups are usually made twice a week, on Sundays and Wednesdays. (3) Some specially constructed cars are provided with equipment for feeding and watering the animals en route, without unloading them. These are known as “palace stockcars”, and are used largely for transporting show stock. Since the ordinary stockcars do not contain such equipment, they must be unloaded when it is necessary to water and feed the animals en route. 36 TABLE Il SAFE-LOADING CAPACITY FOR 36 AND 40-FOOT STOCKCARS CATTLE Average weight (pounds) .300 400 500 600 700 890 900 1,000 1,100 1,200 1,300 1,400 Number in 36-foot car........ ie) Sipe, BRS S PARI & lane Wis Ty lier 4 25 23 2a: ewe 19 Number in 40-foot car........ nt 46. 440.0. 37° 33) 30 ~ 27 25 23 aie 21 HOGS Average weight (pounds)..100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 300 325 350 400 Number in 36-foot car........ Ogle sede fa) OS 62° 59 ~*56 53. “47 Number in 40-foot car........ E4s3i277 110598 85° 82 76 69° “65 62 ~50°° 52 SHEEP Average weight (pounds).. 50 75 100 125 150 180 Number in 36-foot car........ P5o0125et0596" 85575 Number in 40-foot car........ 170 138 116 104 94 83 f. Truck transportation—The development of the automobile truck in recent years has brought about great changes in livestock transportation. Shippers have found this modern method of transportation more flexible and more convenient than rail transportation. Livestock shipped by truck suffers less from shrinkage. Furthermore, the cost of short hauls is con- siderably less, especially in the case of the small producer, who usually ships less than a carload lot at one time. On the other hand, long hauls cost more by truck than by rail. For this reason the greatest gains made by truck transportation have been in hauls to small packing centers, which receive most of their livestock from a comparatively small area. However, drive-in receipts at the larger markets have likewise increased. Table III shows the proportion of drive-in receipts to the total livestock receipts at Chicago and Kansas City, since the year 1920. Comparable statistics for smaller markets in typical livestock feeding areas, such as Indianapolis and Waterloo, show the percentages of trucked-in stock to be substantially higher. For example, consolidated reports from 68 markets for the year 1941, reveal that 68.9 percent of all cattle, and 70.5 percent of all hogs, were delivered by truck. The rapid éxpansion of truck transportation has been attended by various problems. Meat losses have increased because poor equipment and in- experienced or inefficient truck drivers have been employed. Because stockyards were lacking in facilities to handle large receipts by truck, numer- 37 ous alterations were required. At present, however, most stockyards are equipped to handle nearly as much livestock shipped by truck as by rail. TABLE III PERCENTAGE OF DRIVE-IN RECEIPTS CHICAGO Cattle Calves Hogs Sheep Period (percent) (percent) (percent) (percent) 10-year average (1920-29)......... 1.28 Lo 1.48 63 10-year average (1930-39)......... 26.33 27.45 25.17 9.71 Calendar7year 19422700... 56.57 57.28 49.24 13.36 KANSAS CITY Period Cattle Calves Hogs Sheep (percent) (percent) (percent) (percent) 10-year average (1920-29)......... 1.78 10.16 10.93 6.32 10-year average (1930-39)......... 24.73 40.42 60.72 18.71 Calendar years 1942.70.07 36.32 43.80 91.08 24.26 15. LIVESTOCK SHIPPING LOSSES.—a. Causes of losses.— Every shipper of livestock naturally wants his animals to arrive at their destination in the same condition as when they left the farm. Fulfillment of this wish depends upon a number of factors. (1) Condition.—The condition of the animals at the time of loading is important. Strong, healthy, well-nourished stock usually ride well. Under- fed, weak, or diseased animals frequently die en route. Even under the most favorable traveling conditions, the hauling of weak stock over long distances is not safe. They may be thrown down by the movement of the carrier and become bruised and possibly smothered. Animals may arrive in bad condition if they were thirsty, hungry, tired, or overfull of water and feed, when they were loaded. (2) Temperament.—Docility of temperament is an animal’s best pro- tection in transit. Tractable stock usually reaches its destination with less injury than stock which is difficult to control. Excited animals often suffer ‘bad bruises in consequence of jostling and bumping into posts and doorways when being loaded, or because of uneasy movements in the car while en route. Polled or dehorned cattle ship better than horned cattle. (3) Equipment.—The equipment and methods used in loading and un- loading may offer insufficient protection against injury. (a) Steep or slippery chutes are frequent causes of injury. 38 (b) Projecting posts and doors are responsible for many hip bruises. (c) Improper or insufficient bedding makes footing insecure and may result in shifting, bruising, and piling up. (d) The use of a prod pole to induce the movement of stubborn or frightened animals often produces injury. (e) Jerking motions of the carrier may cause piling up, bruising, or smothering. (f) Holes in floors, or a space between the floor and the chute, may re- sult in broken legs. (4) Climate.—Climatic conditions en route must be considered. Ex- posure to excessive heat or cold usually has ill effects. (5) Distribution—Improper distribution and overcrowding, particu- larly in the transportation of sheep, are often responsible for losses. Mini- mum freight rates may be based on a heavier load than a car can safely carry, so that shippers, for the sake of economy, will crowd cars to the utmost capacity. (6) Time.—tThe time in transit also affects the condition of the animals. Long journeys, of course, are materially harder on stock than shorter ones. Cattle are subject to a peculiar nervous disorder called railroad sickness. b. Classification of losses.——Livestock shipping losses are divided into two groups: (1) Visible losses.—Visible losses include animals which are crippled or die in transit. In the report of the National Livestock Loss Prevention Board for 1942, there appeared a compilation of records from 25 important markets throughout the United States for that year. This compilation dis- closed that .02 percent of all cattle, .10 percent of all veal calves, .09 percent of all hogs, and .14 percent of all sheep received at these markets both by rail and by truck were dead upon arrival. Applying these percentages to the total number of animals slaughtered, the report estimates that visible losses from dead animals amounted to some 20 million pounds of meat in 1942. It further estimates than an additional 5 million pounds of meat were lost from crippled cattle because either the entire carcass or parts of it were condemned. Evidently, total visible livestock loss for 1942 was about 25 million pounds of meat. (2) Invisible losses —Invisible losses are those which result from bruis- ing en route. When animals are badly bruised, it is necessary to trim away great areas of bruised flesh from the dressed carcass. While it is impossible to give exact statistics on how much meat is wasted because of bruising, the report already mentioned estimates the loss in 1942 at another 25 million pounds. Monetary loss on bruised meat is much higher than the value of 39 the trimmed-out portions alone, because the salvaged remainder of the carcass is degraded and sells for a lower price. c. Reduction of losses—Meat packers have always felt considerable concern about livestock shipping losses. For many years, however, the situation was accepted as more or less inevitable. During the first World War, when rising meat prices rendered these losses more and more costly, serious inquiries into their causes were finally undertaken. When it be- came apparent that much of the loss was caused by careless methods of handling, and by the use of improper equipment, the entire livestock in- dustry agitated for improvement. Livestock exchanges, Federal and State authorities, livestock organizations, and the meat packers all joined hands in a concerted effort to reduce the shipping losses. Investigations were made, causes were determined, and feasible preventive measures were brought forward. Public sentiment was roused against cruelty to animals. An active educational campaign offered specific suggestions to reduce losses: improved methods of bedding cars; better techniques of loading and unloading; removal of all projecting nails; the rounding of sharp corners in runways, pens, and chutes; proper feeding prior to loading ; and other similar details. The program achieved its purpose by forcing the adoption of improved methods of livestock handling. The cooperation of the railroads was invited, and the combined efforts of all interested agencies made possible a considerable reduction of losses, both in the yards and in rail shipments. Total losses, however, were still great owing to the large increases in truck transportation. Many truck drivers lacked the experi- ence in handling livestock shipments possessed by railroad employees. Truck equipment was often in very poor condition, Because hauls were shorter, animals were often poorly loaded and improperly handled. In consequence, during the middle thirties, the livestock loss prevention pro- gram was extended to include truck transportation. The present war has again increased the demand for meat and created a scarcity which has en- hanced its value. Therefore, the program has been intensified and losses have been greatly reduced. A further curtailment may be envisaged in the future, because livestock shipping losses are still large. 16. THE TWENTY-EIGHT-HOUR LAW.—a. The Twenty-Eight- Hour law is an act of Congress, originally approved 3 March 1873, which entrusted supervision of all interstate movements of livestock to the De- partment of Agriculture. Its primary purpose was to prevent cruelty to animals in transit, but in the process of achieving that end it has also decreased livestock shipping losses. The law required common carriers to provide facilities for the unloading, watering, feeding, and resting of all animals that had been in transit for 28 consecutive hours. Because the 40 wording of the act was somewhat obscure, a controversy arose between stockmen and carriers concerning the responsibility for carrying out its provisions. The common carriers avoided compliance with the spirit of the act, or at least failed to supply facilities for carrying out its provisions. This led to a revision of the law by Congress in 1906. b. The revised law clearly defined the obligations of the common carrier and corrected many of the abuses found under the old act. Although the new law was enacted principally for humane reasons, it has at the same time protected the interests of the shipper and of the public, by making it possible to market food animals without depreciation in food value oc- casioned by cruelty and abuse. In spirit the revised law is similar to the original, providing that stock must be unloaded for water, feed, and rest at the end of each 28 consecutive hours of travel. An exception may be made when a signed release is delivered by the shipper, in which case livestock may be continued in transit for 36 hours. Another exception is made when animals are shipped in palace stockcars, or under other conditions per- mitting each animal to be watered and fed and to lie down for rest while en route. c. Specifically, the act requires the common carrier to supply the equip- ment and necessary attendants for the safe and humane unloading and re- loading of the livestock; and also to furnish suitable enclosures with adequate protection from inclement weather, as well as proper troughs and feed racks, and floor conditions satisfactory for rest. Livestock must be rested at least 5 hours. Drinkable water must be provided in sufficient quantity to relieve thirst. Feed of good quality must be supplied in definite amounts, which vary with the type of animal concerned: for horses and cattle, not less than 1% pounds of hay to each hundredweight of animal ; for sheep, 1% pounds to each hundredweight of animal; for hogs, not less than 1 pound of shelled corn (or its equivalent in ear corn or other grain) to each hundredweight of animal. If unloading is done at night, suitable lighting facilities must be provided to permit the animals to be handled with safety, and to enable them to find feed and water. d. Rigid enforcement by the Department of Agriculture of the terms of the Twenty-Eight Hour law, and prosecution for all known violations, have achieved a general improvement in shipping conditions. As a result, live- stock now reaches the market in much better condition than formerly. During the first 11 years of the life of the law, 8948 violations were reported, a fewer than 1000 per year. Considering the vast number of shipments, the proportion of violations is very small, and it is still decreasing. 17. QUARANTINE LAWS.—AIl movements of livestock are subject to the regulations promulgated by the Department of Agriculture as well 41 as those of several states for the control of infectious diseases. State re- quirements are for the most part based upon Federal quarantine laws, amplified to fit local conditions and adapted to movements of livestock within the limits of the state. Federal quarantine regulations set forth the conditions under which livestock may be moved when afflicted with tubercu- losis, hog cholera, foot-and-mouth disease, anthrax, glanders, or other in- fectious disease; and when infested with the Texas fever tick, the scab mite, or similar parasites. They provide for the cleaning and disinfection of cars, pens, chutes, and premises in which animals infected with, or ex- posed to communicable diseases have been shipped or held. In addition, they stipulate the conditions under which livestock may be imported from other countries, either for slaughter, for breeding, or for show purposes. 42 SECTION VI MARKETING 18. GENERAL.—a. The methods of marketing livestock have changed greatly in the past three-quarters of a century. Responsible for the change are such factors as the shift in areas of production, the population growth, the concentration of population in deficit supply areas, and improvements in methods of transportation, refrigeration, and storage. b. At present, farmers market their livestock in various ways, depending upon their location, proximity to packing centers, scope of operation, and the like. Almost invariably, however, producers market their livestock through one of the following channels: (1) Local cooperative shipping associations. (2) Livestock auctions. (3) Country dealers. (4) Concentration yards. (5) Direct marketing. (6) Terminal public livestock markets. 19. LOCAL COOPERATIVE SHIPPING ASSOCIATIONS.— a. On the farms of the East and Midwest where cattle, hogs, and sheep are ordinarily produced in less than carload lots, livestock was formerly sold to local shippers who forwarded their shipments to terminal markets when a carload lot had been accumulated. About 1912, the first livestock shipping associations were organized, to provide a better system of marketing for producers of small lots of animals. Each association usually has a paid resident manager, who keeps in close touch with market conditions, ascer- tains the number and class of animals owned by association members that are ready for market, and attends to all the details of initiating the ship- ment. This system has resulted in greatly increased shipments of mixed lots of animals. For example, cattle, hogs, and sheep may all be shipped in the same car. The animals belonging to an individual owner are given . some distinctive mark, and a letter describing the individual markings is forwarded to the commission firm to which the shipment is consigned. The proceeds of the sale are returned to each owner after expenses of trans- portation and marketing have been deducted. b. The cooperative shipping associations reached their peak in the United States about 1924. Since then, they have steadily declined in number and in volume of business, primarily because of widespread dissemination of market news by radio. Other factors which have played a part in their decline included the extension of hard-surfaced roads, improvements in the 43 efficiency of motor trucks, improved grade standards for livestock, and the growth of interior or off-market packers. 20. LIVESTOCK AUCTIONS.—Increasing numbers of livestock have been sold through livestock auctions in recent years. Sales are on an auction basis with bidding and selling public. Auctions are held in widely scattered locations and serve primarily as clearinghouses for locally pro- duced stockers and feeders and breeding animals. Some of the larger auctions are important markets for slaughter lambs, hogs, and veal calves, but they sell only small numbers of slaughter cattle. Much of the slaughter livestock sold at the smaller auctions is bought by dealers. However, pack- ers have buyers at most of the larger slaughter livestock auctions. 21. COUNTRY DEALERS.—Country dealers are independent oper- ators who buy and sell livestock for profit. Their main contribution to the marketing system is the assembling of animals into lots large enough for efficient marketing. By assembling livestock in truckloads or carloads, these dealer's are able to effect an economy in transportation as well as to satisfy the requirements of the ultimate buyer. Country dealers usually buy direct from farmers and feeders and sell at terminal public markets, at concentra- tion or local markets, at auctions, or direct to packers. 22. CONCENTRATION YARDS.—Concentration yards are often called local markets, assembly points, or reload stations. They were origi- nally established for the purpose of assembling hogs for shipment to packers. The hogs are delivered to the yards by rail from other points along the railroad, and are assembled, sorted, and weighed before being forwarded to their final destination. The through freight rate is maintained between points of origin and ultimate destination. Other privileges include double- decking, mixing, and change of ownership. Concentration yards may be privately or cooperatively owned, but most of them are owned by, or affiliated with packing houses. 23. DIRECT MARKETING.—a. The direct movement of livestock from producers, country dealers, concentration points, and cooperative shipping associations to the packing plant has undergone a rapid expansion in the past two decades. This expansion has been more rapid for some types of livestock than for others. Proportionately, far more hogs are marketed direct than any other type of livestock. The number of hogs marketed direct has almost doubled during the past 20 years until at the present time over 50 percent are marketed direct. While cattle have shown almost as large an increase in numbers marketed direct during this period, only around 25 percent of the slaughter cattle are marketed by this method. 44 | The number of sheep and lambs marketed direct has more than doubled in the past 20 years, reaching approximately 25 percent at the present time. The direct buying of stocker and feeder cattle and feeder lambs has increased even more proportionately than slaughter cattle and sheep. b. There are several factors responsible for the increase in direct market- ing. One of the most important reasons for the great increase in direct marketing can be attributed to the gradual decentralization of the packing industry. This has been brought about by the expansion of plants at interior points located near the source of supply of livestock. These interior plants always have bought most of their livestock direct. As the number of interior plants increased, and encroached upon the proportion of livestock reaching the public markets, many of the large packers turned more and more to direct purchasing. The seller often prefers direct marketing because of the savings in shipping costs, feed, shrinkage, losses through accidents, etc. Also many producers prefer to sell direct as they can ascertain the selling price before the livestock leaves the farm. The improvement in dissemina- tion of market prices and news has likewise played an important part in increasing direct marketing. In the future, direct marketing can be ex- pected to offer serious competition to the public markets, particularly in thickly livestock populated regions. 24. TERMINAL PUBLIC LIVESTOCK MARKETS.—a. General. —(1) There are 68 public livestock markets that are “posted” or registered with the United States Department of Agriculture as coming under the jurisdiction of the Packers and Stockyards Act. Many of these markets are relatively small, the 20 largest handling the greatest part of the live- stock consigned to such markets. (2) Terminal markets play the dominant role in the marketing of live- stock. While the percentage of the total livestock marketed through the terminal markets is smaller now than during the early part of the twentieth century, they continue to handle more livestock than all the other methods of marketing combined. | (3) The efficient operation of a large public market requires the use and cooperation of many facilities and agencies. These necessarily include trans- portation facilities, physical equipment of the stockyards, a stockyard com- pany, commission companies, packing houses, livestock buyers, banking facilities, and facilities for disseminating market news. b. The stockyards company—(1) The stockyards company renders services which are essential to the efficient operation of a public livestock market. The physical equipment includes chutes, pens, scales, sheds, water, and an office building to house clerical forces. The yards are available to 45 any and all people who wish to consign livestock or to buy livestock at the market. A yardage fee which is approved by the United States Department of Agriculture is charged for the use of the yards against all livestock sold at the market. The stockyards company reserves the right to supply all grain, hay and bedding required. They keep an accurate record of all receipts and shipments, the car number, hour of arrival, name of shipper and name of commission firm to which it is consigned, number of head, number of crippled, dead or injured animals on arrival, and pens used in the yards. * (2) The stockyards company does not buy or sell livestock. It furnishes facilities to shippers, buyers and various market agencies and receives the larger part of its income from yardage fees, the sale of feed and bedding, and the rental of office space. , COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 30.—Beef cattle being sorted preparatory to selling. c. Livestock commission companies——(1) A livestock commission com- pany is a firm or agency. operating on a public market whose function it is to sell the livestock consigned to it by the shipper and to buy livestock on order at the request of other customers. The commission company is the sole representative of the owner on the market and acts as his selling agent, making a definite charge per head or per car handled. The commission company takes complete charge of the livestock from the time the consign- ment is placed in their hands by the stockyards company until it is weighed to the account of the buyer. The commission company has the livestock fed 46 J and watered for the purpose of restoring weight-shrinkage occasioned while en route to market. In the case of mixed shipments or if the com- mission company feels the stock would bring a better price, the animals are sorted as to species, weights, classes, and grades. The stock is then ready for buyer inspection and for sale. Figure 31.—Hogs are transferred from the yards to the packing plant for slaughter. (2) The selling price is governed by the care, quality, and condition of the animals, the supply of animals of that class and grade on the market, and the market demand for such classes or grades. After being sold, the animals are driven to the scales; and after being weighed are turned over to the buyer or placed in custody of the stockyards company until called for by the buyer. The commission company then gets the official sales ticket from the weighmaster which gives the number of head weighed, name of owner, name of commission firm, and name of buyer. The sales ticket is then taken to the commission company’s office where the total amount of the sale is prepared which gives complete information of the entire trans- action, including name of the buyer, number of head, weight, price, gross returns, and all charges, such as transportation, commission fees, feed, yardage, and insurance. The transaction is completed with the forwarding to the shipper of a copy of the bill of sale and a check covering the net proceeds by the commission firm. d. Co-operative commission agencies.—Co-operative commission agen- cies Came into being on a comparable scale some three or four years after the establishment of local co-operative shipping associations. The first co- operative livestock commission agency to be recognized and operated over a period of years was established in 1916. The chief objective in establishing 47 co-operative commission agencies at public markets was to obtain greater net returns by a reduction in marketing charges and more efficient selling. 25. MARKETING PROCEDURE. —a,. General.— The intricate handling of livestock during the marketing process varies greatly with the method of marketing involved. Obviously, direct marketing, marketing to country dealers, or at auctions greatly reduces the responsibility and interest of the producer in the handling of livestock on its way to the packing plant. Many of the subjects discussed in the following section apply to several types of markets while some of them apply more specifically to public markets. An intimate understanding and appreciation of some of the vari- ous processes which have such a direct bearing on the efficiency of the marketing operation is of prime importance. b. Preparation for shipment—When a producer 1s ready to make a ship- ment of livestock, he requests his local railroad agent to supply a stockcar at the desired hour. The shipper tries to have his animals in the local stock- yard an hour or two before loading to give them an opportunity to rest. He loads them only a short time before the train is scheduled to pull out. The railroad is required to deliver a car that is clean and sanitary. The shipper is required to furnish the bedding for the car. Straw, hay, manure, cinders, earth, ashes, slack coal, and sand are commonly used for bedding cars. Sand is favored in hot weather, while straw is more desirable for winter bedding. Sand provides a firm footing for the animals and when thorough- ly soaked with water also makes a cooling bed for hogs during hot weather. In the heat of summer, hogs are particularly subject to overexertion and heat exhaustion. The animals can be protected if they are showered and their bedding is saturated with cold water. Another method of controlling the heat is to suspend cakes of ice in burlap bags from the ceiling of the car. The precautions tend to modify the heat and enable the hogs to reach the market in much better condition. In times of severe cold or storm, pro- tection is sometimes afforded by lining the car on the storm side with building paper. Mixed lots of animals in one car should be separated by kind with the help of partitions. This prevents injury to the smaller species. c. Shipping—After the car has been loaded, the door is closed and sealed, and the load is ready to start on its journey. Before starting, the shipper should see that the stock is evenly distributed through the cars. He should be sure that none of the animals are down, and that they are not piling up on one another. This care is considered so important by the western railroads that they offer free transportation to and from the market center for a supervisory attendant. His duty is to observe the condition of the animals at.each stopping point and to see that they are properly dis- tributed and otherwise riding well. 48 J d. Waybills.—Livestock shipments are usually consigned to commission firms, but sometimes to other firms or individuals. The conductor of the train turns over the waybill covering the shipment to a representative of the stockyards company. The waybill indicates the names of the consignor and consignee, the number and kind of animals in the car, and the car number. A centrally located building close to the unloading docks is pro- vided for the convenience of shippers, stockyards employees, and commis- sion men. Here the information contained in the waybill is transmitted by the stockyards company employee to the appropriate livestock commission firm. The latter immediately arranges to have a representative on hand at the unloading of the car. COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 32.—Animals which because of signs of disease or other abnormal condition fail to pass the Ante-mortem inspection are taken to the pens, tagged and segregated for separate slaughter. Here a federal meat inspector fastens to a suspect's ear a metal tag bearing a serial number and the words, “U.S. Suspect.” e. Inspection.—A representative of the Meat Inspection Division of the Department of Agriculture is present at the unloading of the stock. He makes an ante-mortem inspection of the animals as they come from the car. Shipments arriving during the night are unloaded by crews of stockyards employees and placed in pens just off the unloading docks. The gates of these pens are locked, and the key remains in the possession of a stockyards 49 employee known as a “key man.” The stock is released when claimed by the commission firm to which consigned, but only after examination by the Federal inspector. f. Unloading and yarding.—Stockyards employees break the seals of the car and have full charge of the unloading. As the animals come from the car, a record is kept of their number and kind. If a representative of the commission firm is present, the stock is driven directly to the pens set aside for the use of that firm. Here their number is again placed on record. All commission firms transacting business in a public stockyard are assigned specific pens in the sections reserved for each class of livestock. The com- mission firms do not pay for these pens, but the space assigned to each depends upon the volume of business done by the firm. The stockyards company is reimbursed for the use of the pens by the yardage fee charged for each animal. g. Fuill—After unloading, and prior to sale, all shipments of livestock are entitled to a “fill”. In other words, they are allowed to eat and drink until satisfied. All pens are equipped with permanent watering troughs and feeding racks suited to the class of animals yarded therein. When animals are placed in these pens, they are permitted to drink all the water they desire. Hay for cattle and sheep and corn for hogs are provided by the stockyards company at a fixed charge per hundredweight of hay and per bushel of corn. The shipper usually informs the commission firm of the amount of feed he desires to have supplied. This amount is placed in the pen and the account of the shipper is charged accordingly. Some un- scrupulous shippers, desiring to obtain a large fill, may feed salt to their animals just before shipment, to stimulate their thirst. This malpractice not only causes suffering to the animals, but frequently defeats its purpose by producing a greater shrinkage while en route, owing to the laxative effect of the salt. All shippers try to have their stock reach the market in time to secure a proper fill before the market opens. h. Shrinkage —(1) Animals in transit are always subject to some shrinkage in weight. The amount of shrinkage depends upon such factors as temperature and climatic conditions, the docility of the livestock, its degree of fatness, the nature and amount of feed and water given the animals before loading and while en route, and the time in transit. Any factor that makes the animals physically uncomfortable and irritable will increase shrinkage. In order to minimize shrinkage, it is necessary to prevent over- exertion or excitement, to avoid exposure to extremes of temperatures or storm, and to simulate as closely as possible conditions with which the animals are familiar. Animals shipped under such conditions, when given proper feed and water at their destination, will take a fill that closely ap- proximates the loss in transit. If animals are tired and cold when they are unloaded, however, and are presented with very cold water and feed, they frequently will drink and eat so little that their fill is very slight. In such cases, the total final shrink will be correspondingly high. J (2) Calculations involving the weight of the livestock, including the determination of freight charges, are usually based upon the weight of the animals after they are sold and subsequent to their fill. To provide a work- ing basis, a carload of cattle is considered to take on an average of 800 pounds of fill; a carload of hogs, 300 pounds. The appropriate amount is deducted from the scale weight of a carload of livestock in order to establish the weight upon which to base freight charges. Sheep do not make a gain immediately after unloading. After several days in transit from the range ] country, the shrinkage is so great that most shippers unload their consign- ment of sheep at feeding yards just outside the market centers. Here they rest and feed until they are restored to normal weight and condition. All of the railroads running into Chicago from the range country have estab- lished such feeding stations in the outskirts of the city. Sheep are usually held in these feeding yards for several days, but sometimes must be held for weeks until a favorable opportunity arises to market them. COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 33.—Baby beeves from the West wait to be looked over by buyers in the Kansas City, Mo., stock yards. 51 ear: ciTY OF 4. Selling—Ordinarily, a shipper does not sell his own stock. Since he is not acquainted with the buyers on the market, he does not know from whom to solicit bids. Furthermore, buyers are not inclined to make pur- chases from strangers. In practically all cases, the shipper will net a higher return by selling his stock through a recognized commission house. Sales- men of the commission firms must be members of the livestock exchange. They are on hand when the market opens to sell the stock at the best price obtainable. j. Buyers——There are three classes of buyers at large markets: packer buyers, order buyers, and speculator buyers. As a rule, the most important buyers at public markets are the packer buyers. (1) Packer buwyers——Packer buyers make their purchases in accordance with instructions received each morning from their respective firms. Such instructions are based upon the visible or potential demand of the trade. For example, a packer may have received an export order for a large amount of English bacon cuts. The packer instructs his hog buyer to purchase light hogs suitable for the production of these cuts. Another packer may have a call for heavy pork cuts and instructs his buyer accordingly. In addition, there is a fairly uniform and steady demand for certain classes and grades of meat. It is this demand, coupled with the visible supply, that makes the market price. (2) Order buyers——Order buyers are usually individuals or partners who buy on order for distant packers or other patrons and charge a com- mission for their services. In order to meet the requirements of their | clients, they must obtain animals of specific grades and weights. Hence they are usually prepared to buy at a slight premium over the regular market price. Since they pay for purchases on the day of purchase, they must establish credit to protect the commission firms from whom they buy and the purchaser for whom they buy. As in the case of local packer buyers, they keep in close contact with their patrons and purchases are made in conformity with instructions. (3) Speculator buyers——Speculator buyers, also known as yard traders or dealers, constitute the third type of buyer. They purchase livestock from commission companies entirely on their own responsibility, with the sole object of realizing a profit from the subsequent sale. Their activities are largely confined to the purchase of mixed lots of animals, and of those which arrived too tired to take a proper fill. By regrading uneven loads, the yard dealer is able to present them to packer buyers in a more uniform group and to sell them at a profit. By giving the tired animals some rest and an adequate fill, the dealer is often able to dispose of them at a higher price than would otherwise be possible. The complaint is sometimes heard that the speculator buyer is a middleman who contributes no direct benefit to 52 the livestock industry. The fact remains, however, that he promptly clears the yards of animals which might otherwise be sacrificed or linger unsold, and thereby exerts a stabilizing effect on the market. k. Buying efficiency.—The efficiency of a buyer depends upon his ability to evaluate accurately two vital factors. The first is the probable percentage of dressed weight to live weight, and the second is the development of the most valuable cuts of the carcass. A buyer who overestimated the dressing possibilities of a load of steers by 3 percent, for example, or who over- estimated the quality of the cuts that the carcasses could produce, would be responsible for a costly error. Each packer buyer is daily furnished with a statement of the cost of the beef, pork, and mutton from the animals he pur- chased the day before, as well as the actual dressing percentages. Experi- enced buyers become unbelievably accurate in estimating the dressing possibilities of an animal, as well as the value of the carcass. This ability is acquired only by long experience. They must be able to size up an animal under all conditions, to judge the method of feeding from the appearance of the animal, to estimate the amount of fill at the time of purchase, and the amount and quality of finish. All of these factors have a direct bearing upon the dressing percentage and the value of the dressed carcass. 1. Trading.—A successful commission salesman or livestock buyer must have a thorough knowledge of human nature, in addition to familiarity with the qualities of the livestock which he is handling. The commission sales- man is duty bound to obtain as high a sales price as possible for his patron. The buyer, on the other hand, is equally bound to make his purchases to the advantage of his employer. Thus the commission man may offer a lot of stock at 50c a hundred higher than he is willing to take, while the buyer may offer a price 50c a hundred lower than he is willing to give. In the bargaining that follows, they may finally arrive at a price that is satis- factory to both, and the sale is made. The rapidity with which sales are transacted depends largely upon supply and demand. If the market is active, sales are made rapidly ; if the market drags, trading may be a drawn- out, haggling process. m. Weighing.—When the sale has been made, the animals are at once driven to the scales and weighed. The stockyards company provides, main- tains, and operates a sufficient number of scales to weigh all animals moved through the yards. These scales are operated by stockyards employees, who are in no way interested in the animals being weighed. The scale beam is placed in a prominent position, enabling all interested parties to see that the scale is balanced before the animals are driven upon the scale and as the load is weighed. Great care is taken to avoid mistakes during the weighing process. A stockyards employee counts the animals entering the scale and reports the number to the weighmaster. When the weight has been deter- 53 mined, the weighmaster rings a bell. The animals are driven off at the opposite end of the scale, where they are again counted by another stock- yard’s employee. He also reports the number to the weighmaster. If the two counts do not agree, a recheck is made immediately. n. Scale tickets—The scale used to weigh livestock has a beam which is fitted with an automatic weight-registering device. This device prints four copies of a scale ticket as a record of the weight indicated on the beam. One copy of the scale ticket goes to the purchaser, the second goes to the stock- yards company, and the remaining two copies are used by the commission firm making the sale. One of the latter copies is attached to the bill of sale and is presented to the firm making the purchase. The purchaser may draw a check payable to the commission firm and send it to the payee with the scale ticket; or he may endorse the scale ticket, which then becomes negotiable, and may be cashed at the bank designated by the purchaser. Thus the sale of livestock is a cash transaction. All purchases made by packers during an ordinary market day are paid for prior to the close of business on the same day. 0. Marketing charges—The commission firm now deducts from the gross amount of the sale the charges attendant upon marketing the stock. The freight bill is verified and sent to the freight office of the stockyards company to be charged to the commission firm, which in turn charges it to the shipper’s account. Other deductions follow : the terminal charge, yard- age fee, insurance costs, yard-inspection fee on hogs, feed charge, and com- mission charges. All of these various charges are deducted from the gross sales price of the stock. The balance is then sent to the bank with which the shipper does business, or it may be sent to the shipper direct if he is known to the commission firm. p. Storage pens.—Once the animals leave the scale and their number is reported correct, responsibility for them passes from the commission firm to the purchaser. Each of the local packers is assigned certain storage pens, which he uses for the purpose of holding his purchases until it is convenient to transfer them to the slaughter floors. If a representative of the purchaser is not present at the time of weighing, the animals are run into pens and locked in by employees of the stockyards company. A card which indicates the number and class of animals and the location of the pen is placed in a box assigned to the packer. His representative, in due course, secures the release of the animals and transfers them to the packer’s own holding pens or to the packing house. In the case of an order buyer, the animals are loaded for shipment to the destination designated by the buyer. The specu- lative buyer has his purchases transferred to his own holding pens to be regraded or held for a higher market. 54 SECTION VII CLASSES AND GRADES 26. GENERAL.—a. A discussion of livestock classification and mar- kets necessarily employs some technical terms commonly used by livestock producers but which may not be familiar to others. Such terms are listed and defined in appendices I and II. b. Various methods have been proposed for classifying and describing livestock in our markets. However, there has been a tendency for each market to develop terms peculiar to its own local situation. In the last 20 years, the Department of Agriculture has done a great deal toward estab- lishing class and grade standards for livestock and meats. Nevertheless, insofar as the livestock and wholesale meat markets are concerned, the adoption of these standards is optional rather than compulsory. The classi- fication adopted for livestock by most livestock markets is based upon the use to which the animals are put. 27. CATTLE.—a. Classes.—The three major classes of cattle as classi- fied on most markets are beef cattle, butcher stock, and feeders and stockers. Beef cattle produce carcasses of the better grades; butcher stock produces either a lower grade of carcass or carcasses of which only certain portions can produce marketable cuts; feeders and stockers are animals that must be developed further before being slaughtered. Table IV compares the classes and subclasses used by large terminal markets with those by the United States Department of Agriculture; class differentiation is based primarily on sex. b. Market Grades.—General.—The grading of cattle, within classes, depends upon the extent to which they meet the requirements of the class. Factors determining grade are conformation, quality, and finish. The market grades promulgated by the Department of Agriculture are con- densed in Table V. (1) Conformation.—Breeding has a decided influence upon the confor- mation of an animal and consequently upon its grade. Prime, Choice and, toa lesser extent, Good cattle must be low-set, thick, compact individuals of approved beef type. Cattle of the lower grades usually do not possess notable beef-type conformation. (2) Quality—Quality is almost inseparably linked with conformation and finish. However, it is more specially indicated by the mellowness of the hide, condition of the hair, and size of the bone, in addition to the general refinement and trimness of the animal. Prime Choice Medinm Common Cutter Canner COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 34.—Representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture grades of slaughter steers. 56 J TABLE IV CLASSES AND SUBCLASSES OF CATTLE Terminal . Department of Markets Agriculture Class Subclass Class Subclass Beef steers Slaughter : Steers Steers...... Feeder 3 eaten BeAPIINS Sica .<.<: ree] eo Heavy heifers Heifers enies Heifers....2 Feeder Stags Stocker | Kosher Slaughter Cows eT Cones stiinls.s ohiees Butcher Feeder COWS. ae Stocker Cutter lanes Milkers Butcher Springers SO ee } Slaughter Eo a en Butcher alone epee: Baloeta Stocker Selected payee Slaughter } : CEOS ae 2 eter ee {dian S laughter Heavy Calves...... Feeder Feeder steers Stocker Yearling steers ; Yearling heifers Feeders and Feeder cows Stockers....... Feeder bulls Springer cows Springer heifers Stocker steers Stocker heifers (3) Finish—Finish refers to the degree of fatness of an animal. The degree of finish is determined by the inherent ability to lay on fat, and by ] the quantity and kind of feed. The best finish is produced by grain feeding, particularly corn, wheat, and barley. Prime beef must represent perfection in finish. About the only prime cattle found in the markets are those fitted for show purposes. Choice cattle are the highest grade usually found. Good ] cattle are slightly poorer in finish than Choice, while Medium, Common, and Cutter grades are progressively more deficient. The Canner grade is practically devoid of finish. Both quality and quantity of finish are important. 7] 57 TABLE V MARKET GRADES OF CATTLE Prime Steers, heifers, and Fancy Steers and Choice calves (stockers Choice heifers Good and feeders). aeeeee Good Cslavonter jean. Medium Medium Common Common Cutter Inferior Canner Prime Choice Calves Choice Cows Good (slaughter) See Good (slaughter jx... Medium Medium Common Common Cutter Cull SR Choice Choice Stags Good Bulls Good (slaughter)... eee Medium (slaughter)........ Medium Common Common Cutter Canner Canner A well-finished animal has a deep covering of natural fleshing, intermingled and covered with a layer of firm fat. The individual that distributes fat evenly and thickly over the entire body develops into an exceptionally well-- covered animal. Patches of fat, bare spots, and ties in the back are faults that detract from the quality of the finish. c. Market value of cattle—(1) The value of cattle for beef purposes depends largely upon two factors—breeding and feeding. Of the cattle coming to market, steers and heifers are generally of the beef breeds, while most cows show a large preponderance of dairy blood. (2) In the earlier days of the packing industry in this country, most of the cattle marketed were grass-fed. Ordinarily, grass alone does not pro- duce beef of high quality. Only a few sections of the United States have grass of sufficient succulence and nourishment to produce top quality beef. Grass-fed cattle, especially from the range sections, produce beef that is inclined to be tough, and is deficient in marbling and fat covering. Grass produces a yellow-colored fat which was formerly deemed very objection- able, but carcasses showing this type of fat are now viewed with less dis- favor. 3 (3) Three factors have led to the feeding of grain to beef cattle: first, the growing demand for beef of better quality and flavor ; second, the higher prices obtained for grain-fed stock ; and third, the increased production of grain in this country. Most grass-fed cattle are marketed in late summer and fall, while corn-fed cattle predominate during the winter and spring months. The extent to which cattle are fattened on grain varies greatly, and these varying degrees of fattening are indicated on the market as follows: (a) Corn-fed cattle are those that have been on a ration, the principal base of which is corn. (b) Warmed-up cattle are animals, ordinarily of range breeding, which are shipped to the Corn Belt. Here they are fed for a brief period, usually for 30 to 60 days, and then marketed before severe weather sets in. They usually grade a little better than grass-fed cattle, ranging from Common to Medium. (c) Short-fed cattle are cattle that have been corn-fed from 2 to 4 months, but not long enough to produce a Choice finish. (d) Full-fed cattle are those that have been on full grain feed for at least 4 months and in many cases more than 6 months. From these come the carcasses grading Good, Choice, and Prime. (4) While there is a constant and fairly uniform demand for heavy beef of Prime and Choice grades, the greatest retail demand is for small steaks and light roasts which necessitates the slaughtering of cattle of light weight and medium quality. As the size of the American family has grown pro- gressively smaller, the trend has been for lighter cuts of meat. The aver- age housewife buying for a small family cannot use large steaks and roasts. In addition, the excess fat on large cuts of meat makes them extremely wasteful for family use. This trend for lighter cuts of meat has brought a very definite change in the grade of beef and weight of cattle sought for at the markets. The demand for lighter weight cattle of moderate finish for slaughter purposes has been greatly increased. Also, the finishing of younger cattle and of lighter weights has shown a marked increase and development in recent years. 28. SWINE.—a. General—(1) The quality of hogs found in the market varies to some extent with the season. The most desirable classes are found during the late fall or early winter, and again in late spring. During the first period, the pigs farrowed during the previous spring are finished and sent to market; during the second period, the fall-farrowed pigs are marketed. (2) Some “soft” hogs are found on the markets in certain sections of the country. A soft hog produces a carcass which will not harden at chill- room temperatures, cannot be cut up satisfactorily, and the fresh cuts of which are flabby and unattractive. These soft hogs are raised on oily feed- 59 stuffs, such as peanuts, soybeans, and garbage. The best pork from a market standpoint is produced on a fattening ration consisting of corn properly supplemented with minerals and protein feeds. (3) About 65 percent of all the swine produced in the United States is raised in the North Central States, from Ohio to Kansas inclusive. One of the principal reasons for this is that hogs consume much less roughage and far more grain proportionately, than any other class of farm animals. Beef and mutton can be produced from grass or similar forages, but economical pork production requires a large proportion of grain. While hogs can profitably utilize limited amounts of legume hay and pasture, the extent to which they can consume the coarse, more bulky fodders is definitely limited. In contrast to the four stomachs of cattle and sheep, the hog has but one stomach to utilize a proportionately smaller amount of bulk. The hog, there- fore, is ideally suited to the Corn Belt, where a plentiful supply of grain is produced. b. Market classes——General—(1) The market classes of swine are rather well defined, though varying somewhat at different markets and in different sections of the country. They are based upon the use to which the particular hogs are best suited. The factors determining classes in swine Choice (Fat type) Choice (Meat type) ‘Madinn Figure 35.—United States grades of slaughter barrows and gilts. 60 are weight, finish, quality, conformation, and sex. The weight limits of the various classes deviate sharply in different markets, according to the character of the demand, the abundance or scarcity of feed, and the season of the year. The heaviest hogs are usually found on markets located in the heart of the Corn Belt. The Department of Agriculture bases its classifi- cation of swine upon the factor of sex. The classes are: ; (a) Barrow. (b) Gilt. (c) Sow. (d) Stag. (e) Boar. (f) Pig. } The classifications used on most large markets are given in Table VI. TABLE VI MARKET CLASSES OF SWINE j | Weights Classes (pounds) Ns ol ccbog ar. veo punts von besanies cunensereaninteis 300 to 400 and up Butcher hogs: q ESS ae, (oe Le ne 250 to 300 ICE ce 220 to 250 NIE EES MNS bs. 54g. Gv 56a p idee sd de loose tenet 190 to 220 Packing hogs: | og ccc vag 2s seb t Ngan ss 300 to 500 and up } a ah pl Se a 250 to 300 A a a 190 to 250 stag at Ct of 300 up PEPIEEC DACKING oo... gee eee ete Secor 300 down Light hogs: j Re. 160 to 200 : aye JS allele ae er Re ee 130 to 150 gO OC ee ee 200 down NT er ee eee eee eee eee 50 to 130 Ns 8 Bk Hensvurseclearinieennd: pogene ss 50. to 150 | TE OAL Soy coca n we ev v oes venes cncenstenseesnees easter and stucklings pigs..............0:.-..0 este eee 15eto 430 (2) Prime heavy hogs ——Prime heavy hogs are well finished good quality q hogs (weight over 300 pounds), that dress from 74 to 76 percent Packers Style. Formerly this class of hogs commanded a premium because of the demand for their use in the manufacture of clear'and mess pork. How- 61 ever, with the present demand for lighter weight cuts, they have sold at a discount for many years, and consequently they constitute a very small portion of the receipt of most markets. They sell at about the same price as the best packing hogs of the same weight. (3) Butcher hogs—Butchers are the most popular priced hogs from the standpoint of both the consumer and producer of the fresh pork. They must grade good or better in quality and condition. They represent the best lard type hogs on the market weighing from 190 to 300 pounds. This class is composed principally of barrows, but good young clear sows are in- cluded. It is from this class that the best size and quality of fresh pork cuts, as well as smoked ham and bacon, are produced. Butcher hogs dress from 69 to 74 percent Packers Style, depending on conformation, condition, weight and finish. Heavy butcher hogs average about 3 percent higher dressing percentage than light weight butcher hogs. (4) Packing hogs.—Packing hogs include heavy hogs that are too de- ficient in quality to be included in the butcher class. The sows which have been used for breeding purposes, coarse unfinished barrows, and the best stags fall into this class. It does not, however, include very rough hogs, coarse stags and boars of these weights. Most packing hogs are used for mess pork, barreled pork and dry salt pork. This class dresses from 69 to 75 percent Packers Style. (5) Light hogs——Light hogs include all hogs weighing from 130 to 190 pounds except the rough stags and boars. It 1s from this class that the fancy breakfast bacon and English cuts are produced. This class shows very high quality but carries less finish than do butcher type hogs. While there are very few hogs of true bacon type arriving on the markets today, there has been an increasing number of lard-type hogs marketed at an early age and falling within these weight ranges. They usually dress from 68 to 70 percent packers style. (6) Market pigs—Market pigs weighing from 50 to 130 pounds are in limited demand at all times. All pigs within these weight ranges bought for slaughter fall within this class. They are used principally to supply the cheaper restaurant trade and are in greatest demand in winter. These pigs are not broken up into cuts but are shipped whole and dress 68 to 74 percent Shipper Style. (7) Feeder pigs—Feeder pigs weigh from 50 to 150 pounds and prefer- - ably from 90 to 120 pounds. They must be of good conformation and quality, thrifty and in good growing condition, but not fat. (8) Roughs—Roughs are deficient in quality and finish and are too coarse and rough to grade at all. They are sometimes called throwouts. The 62 meat from this class has a limited outlet for the cheaper class of trade and commands the lowest market price. (9) Stags.—Stags are male hogs that were castrated after being fairly well matured and show much of the masculine conformation of the boar. They are wasty in dressing, are discriminated against, and usually sold subject to a dockage of 70 pounds. Although more desirable than boars, their sale requires a special market. (10) Boars.—Boars are subject to discrimination at slaughter on ac- count of sexual odors. For this reason they have very little or no sale to inspected establishments. They sell without dockage but at a much lower price than stags. The pork is used to supply the cheaper class of trade and for making sausage. They usually are bought by establishments that have no inspection service or have municipally inspected plants. It is usually more profitable to castrate boars, feed them for awhile, then market them as stags. (11) Roasting and suckling pigs—Roasting and suckling pigs weigh from 15 to 30 pounds. They are dressed with head and feet on and are served like roasting chickens or turkeys. They are marketed in small numbers and practically entirely during the holiday seasons. c. Market grades.—Live hogs within a particular market class may be given a grade based upon their conformation, quality and finish. However, grades are not used nearly so extensively on hog markets as they are on sheep and cattle markets. There is very little price spread between different grades within the market class of hogs, and grades are of very little im- portance on the hog market. Live hogs, before marketing, are graded into Prime, Choice, Good, Medium, and Common, respectively. However, not all of these grades apply to all classes. Butcher hogs usually range from Prime to and including Good. Light hogs and pigs do not grade higher than Choice and packing hogs grade Good and below. 29. SHEEP.—a. General—(1) More than 60 percent of the sheep found in the United States are located in the 11 range states. Denver leads in total receipts of sheep and lambs, although a large proportion of these are merely unloaded for feeding and then reshipped. Chicago ranks first in the number of sheep and lambs slaughtered, and second among all the markets in total receipts. The classification of sheep is not well standard- ized, inasmuch as one system is recognized by the large livestock markets, while a slightly different system is used by the Department of Agriculture. b. Classifications—(1) The classes set up by the Department of Agri- culture are based upon the age and sex of the animal. Within these classes, subclasses are established according to the use to which the animal is put. This method of classification is presented in Table VII. 63 TABLE VII _ CLASSIFICATION OF SHEEP BY THE DEPARTMENT OF | AGRICULTURE Classes | Subclasses Grades Prime Choice Slaughter... ;..;.:.-.2: 20 Good Medium Common Cull Fancy Lambs........... “ea hes ee | ~ | Choice ans Feeder..:........0::.0 eee Good ; ; Ma. - ) Medium Common Inferior Choice Shearing s...:...1s snk. Good Medium | Prime Slaughter:..7...0..c.:.....n to Wetherso? irs yeh ee eee Cull Inferior 7 Choice RAS ec ee ee Slaughter........;....00 ae to ‘ { Choice Slaughter. :.:...1:.0000 to | Fancy Ewes Jats aa ah ae Feeder.) 205.424 ee to . a Inferior Common 64 (2) The three main classes of sheep which are recognized at the larger markets are based on the uses to which the sheep are put. Under this system, the subclasses are established according to the age and sex of the animal. The classification system used largely by the markets is shown in Table VIII. TABLE VIII CLASSIFICATION OF SHEEP BY LIVESTOCK MARKETS Lambs | Pee AIT ae clei Avcsns Mamaia cic. oae Prime to Wetl Cull ag SS i ae - Bieks 3.4): } ace Siete! AR te i i Choice to Stags Cull Fancy to ITS se a S; Ttkeie Yearli , Feeder Sheep... Jie ee Fancy to eee Inferior Breeding Sheep...........0.....0..05. Ewes......... } ee) ee hse, Fancy to Bucks Common Hothouse lambs | MRTECeHANEOUS.........,--..0--s-a0c008008- SLOMAN TUL Sierra + Cie et, en Prime to Canners J Common c. Mutton sheep—(1) Native and Western sheep——The mutton class includes all sheep and lambs which are sold for immediate slaughter, em- bracing both native and Western sheep. Native sheep are those produced from small farm flocks in the South, East, and Midwest. Western sheep are those produced on the open ranges of the West, usually in large flocks. Range or Western sheep are usually more uniform in appearance than natives, because they have been produced under more uniform conditions. Practically all range sheep are docked and castrated, while many natives go to market undocked and uncastrated. | (2) Lambs.—Lambs are the most important subclass of mutton sheep. They constitute over 90 percent of all receipts in our markets today. The average American shows a decided preference for lamb, never having acquired a taste for mature mutton. Lambs are also more profitable, because they cost less to.produce. They are marketed at an earlier age, 65 a Medium ; Common Cull Figure 36.—United States grades of slaughter lambs. and their market price per pound is higher than that of any other mutton subclass. (3) Yearlings—Yearlings are used as a substitute for lamb in the meat trade. Only yearling wethers are included in this subclass. They constitute a fairly important factor during certain seasons. The more nearly the yearling wether conforms to the requirements of prime lamb, the more acceptable it is to the customer trade. Therefore weight and finish are important considerations. Light weights ranging from 80 to 90 pounds are preferred. | (4) Wethers—Mature wethers are found on the market in very small numbers, practically all wethers being marketed as lambs or yearlings. Most mature wethers are Westerns, and their carcasses and cuts are used principally in the hotel restaurant trade, where the heavier cuts can be used to advantage. (5) Ewes—tThe bulk of mature ane marketed are discharged old ewes and, to a smaller extent, surplus breeding ewes. As the supply of ewes is much larger than that of mature wethers, most mutton carcasses are from ewes. Ewes are seldom of high quality, the better grades being rela- tively scarce. (6) Bucks and stags—Bucks and stags frequently shire good quality, but the supply is limited and they sell at a discount from wether prices. d. Feeder sheep—(1) Feeder sheep are almost exclusively Westerns. Native sheep generally carry slightly more finish than Westerns, and are usually marketed for slaughter purposes only. In addition, they lack the uniformity found in Westerns, and many of the native lambs in feeder condition are undesirable because they are undocked and uncastrated. The chief ‘difference between mutton sheep and feeder sheep is the difference in finish. In fact, packer and feeder buyers often compete for the same 66 bees lot of lambs, particularly for those lambs only slightly lacking in finish. The supply and types of lambs on the market determine whether border- line lambs will go to the packer or feeder buyer. ? (2) The subclasses of feeder sheep are lambs, yearlings, wethers, and ewes. Among these, the most important, and by far the most abundant, are lambs. More consideration is given to conformation in selecting feeder lambs than slaughter lambs. In the case of feeder lambs, a great deal of attention is given to conformation, breeding, quality, constitution, fleece, condition, and weight. Feeder lambs weighing from 55 to 65 pounds are preferred. These weights will produce finished lambs weighing from 80 to 85 pounds, in a feeding period of 3 to 4 months. In all feeder subclasses, the most desirable animals are those which closely approach the ideal mutton con- formation. Yearling feeders are composed exclusively of yearling wethers ; since they are used as substitutes for fat lambs when properly finished out, quality and weight are prime considerations. Mature feeder wethers are prime considerations, Mature feeder wethers, which appear on the market in very small numbers, are practically all Western sheep. Feeder ewes constitute another very small portion of the feeder trade, because ewes which are suitable for feeding will usually bring higher prices when sold for breeding purposes. e. Breeding sheep—(1) The subclasses of breeding sheep are ewes and bucks, the latter being of only minor importance. Ewes from 2 to 4 years old are most in demand, although all ages sell for breeding purposes. Two divisions are made in breeding ewes, principally for convenience in quoting prices. One includes yearlings and 2-year-olds, and the other embraces all older ewes. Yearlings and 2-year-old ewes bring the highest price on the market, principally owing to the influence of the packer buyer. Packer buyers bid on all ewes, but they will pay higher prices for young ewes, particularly for yearlings. These animals usually carry more condition, and some of them still show the break joint and can be sold as lamb carcasses. The selection of breeding ewes of all ages is based on conforma- tion, fleece, quality, constitution, breeding, and soundness of teeth and udder. (2) Rams are sometimes purchased in the open market for breeding purposes. Because these rams are usually of very poor type and breeding, such purchases have been nearly discontinued. Since the ram must be considered the most important individual in the flock, this practice is un- sound and without justification. f. Miscellaneous (1) Hothouse lambs.— Hothouse lambs are pro- duced out of the regular season, and are marketed during the winter and spring months. They are a very fancy product, going principally to the 67 highclass hotel trade. They must be strictly fat, and usually weigh between 25 and 55 pounds. While they may be marketed anytime from October to June, the greatest demand is during the winter months. (2) Throwouts.—Throwouts are sheep not equal in quality or condition to the general run of sheep in the flock. Most lots of sheep are purchased subject to the removal of such throwouts. Throwouts are then regraded and sold in separate lots. (3) Canners—Canners constitute another subclass under the miscel- laneous classification. They include all sheep and lambs sold for slaughter which are too deficient in finish and natural fleshing to be sold for block use. This class is made up largely of old, thin ewes which cannot be sold for feeding or breeding purposes. g. Grading.—(1) The grading of sheep is more arbitrary than the divi- sion into classes. The grades of mutton sheep are based upon conforma- tion, quality, and finish; of feeder sheep—upon conformation, quality, breeding, fleece, constitution, condition, and weight; of breeding sheep— upon age, conformation, quality, condition, breeding, constitution, and fleece. _ (2) Because of the fleece, it is necessary to handle sheep, in order to determine the actual thickness of the animal as well as its degree of finish. This finish can best be determined by applying the hand over the back loin, shoulders, and ribs. In addition, the tail, purse (cod fat), and breast are points that indicate the degree of finish. Some sheep fatten unevenly and become patchy ; they may be well-finished at some points, yet entirely lack- ing in covering at others. Lambs which are sold by grade are handled individually and the throwouts separated. Needless to say, the grader does not necessarily handle each lamb at all of the points mentioned above. Usually he becomes so proficient at his job he can determine the grade very quickly by placing his hand over the back, loin, and ribs. (3) In purchasing sheep for slaughter, the buyer takes into consideration not only the quality and condition of the flesh, but the quality of the fleece as well. He must be a good judge of wool as well as of mutton. Of all the meat animals, sheep yield the lowest percentage of live weight. They vary from 35 percent for poor ewes to as high as 60 percent for Prime lambs; the average is about 48 percent for all classes. 68 J J ] SECTION Vill GOVERNMENT SUPERVISION OF THE LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY 30. GENERAL.—a. The importance and magnitude of the livestock industry has been shown in preceding sections. In addition to this, the great diversity of interest in the industry due to geographical and climatic variations and the relationship of animal diseases to human diseases, render supervision by an unprejudiced central authority imperative. The United States Department of Agriculture exercises this supervision over the live- stock interests of the nation. This department was first organized under a commissioner of agriculture. Later, in 1889, he was given a seat in the President’s cabinet as Secretary of Agriculture. The Department of Agri- culture was called into being to assist the rapidly growing agricultural interests of the country, particularly in combatting animal and plant dis- eases. The department soon became a tremendous factor in promoting and developing the many phases of agricultural activities incident to a country of such vast area and of such difference of latitude and altitude, with its long coast line, its inland streams, its mountains, it plains and valleys. b. These many activities led to the development within the department of a number of bureaus, each designed to look after the interests of the various phases of agricultural activities. One of these bureaus is the Bureau of Animal Industry, which was established in 1884, largely for the purpose of cooperating with state and territorial officials in the supression of con- tagious diseases of livestock. From this small beginning, its scope of action was increased until it embraced not only those activities for which is was originally organized, but also controlled all interstate shipments and im- portations of livestock, birds, game, dressed and prepared meats, hides, and other meat products ; the enforcement of the Meat Inspection Act ; the improvement of breeds of livestock; and the development of vaccines for the control of infectious diseases. The reorganization of the United States Department of Agriculture in 1942 changed the responsibility for the enforcement of the Meat Inspection Act from the Bureau of Animal Indus- try to the Meat Inspection Division. However, the Bureau still continues with most of its other activities. -c. Throughout the history of the livestock industry in the United States many serious problems have threatened its welfare. An outline of some of these problems will further accentuate the fact that supervision by a cen- tral authority is necessary. The Bureau of Animal Industry of the United States Department of Agriculture and various cooperating agencies have found satisfactory solutions to most of these problems. The following is a 69 brief description of some of the major diseases that have offered serious problems to the industry. 31. TEXAS FEVER.—a. In the pioneer days of the Southwest Ter- ritory, when railroads were few and far apart, it was customary for cattle owners of that region to drive their cattle overland to market to the pack- ing centers of Kansas City, Omaha, and East St. Louis, or to reach the few railroads traversing the West. After each such period of transfer of cattle from the South it was observed that the native cattle along the line of transportation became afflicted with a malady that came to be called Texas Fever, as the infection was supposed to be spread by Texas cattle. This led to investigation by the Department of Agriculture and the estab- lishment, in 1885, of a more or less definite line across the country, approxi- mating somewhat closely an extension westward of the Mason-Dixon Line, and the quarantining of all territory south of that line. Cattle from this quarantined area could be moved north of the line for slaughter only, and under restrictions that precluded the possibility of the spread of the disease. b. In 1890, scientists of the Bureau discovered that a certain cattle tick, known as the Margaropus Annulatus, was the carrier and disseminator of the disease, the pathogenic organism being introduced into the body through the bite of the tick. In 1906, Congress made an appropriation for the eradication of the tick, and work was begun in that year. When the work was begun in 1906, 985 counties in 15 Southern and Southwestern States were under federal quarantine because of tick infestation. This work has been carried on so effectively during the following years that by December 1940, the tick infested area had been reduced to two quarantined counties in Florida and to parts of eight counties adjacent to the Rio Grande in Texas. c. The objects of eradicating the ticks and thereby stamping out Texas fever are to give the cattle owners of the originally quarantined areas an unrestricted market for their cattle, thus enabling them to obtain better prices; to prevent the losses due to the tick as a transmitter of disease and as a parasite; to increase the number and improve the quality of the cattle in the South; to increase the fertility of the soil; and to improve agricul- tural conditions generally. The losses due to the tick were conservatively estimated at from $60,000,000 to $100,000,000 yearly. Eradication of the tick is carried out by dipping all livestock in an anti-parasitic solution at regular intervals until all ticks have been destroyed. It is carried out by the Bureau of Animal Industry working jointly with state authorities or with the counties within the states. d. The eradication of the cattle tick is an important step in the develop- ment of the livestock industry in the South. The presence of this parasite 70 has been a handicap to cattle raising there, but with the tick out of the way, the fine natural advantages of that section for cattle raising are enabling Southern farmers to build up a profitable industry and add greatly to the supply of the country’s beef and dairy products. 32. SHEEP SCAB AND CATTLE MANGE:—When the Bureau of Animal Industry was first organized, the sheep and cattle of the West- ern range country were badly infested with the mites that produce scab and mange in those animals. The losses due to these parasites are enormous. By rigid quarantine and dipping of animals in the infested territory, losses from these diseases have been greatly reduced. 33. OTHER ANIMAL PARASITES.—The Zoological Division of the Meat Inspection Divison has carried on extensive experiments with parasites which infest food animals, such as round worms, whip worms tape worms, kidney worms, and liver flukes, and has brought to light much interesting information concerning the life cycle of many of these parasites and their effect upon the host. These experiments have resulted in methods of control. 34. TUBERCULOSIS.—a. During the early part of the present cen- tury, tuberculosis became one of the greatest menaces to the livestock industry. Horses, sheep, and goats, are practically immune to the disease, but cattle, swine, and poultry are highly susceptible. In addition, animal tuberculosis is transmittable to man, and from one species of susceptible animals to another. Much human and swine tuberculosis could be directly attributed to the ingestion of raw milk from infected dairy herds. In 1918, the Bureau of Animal Industry began a program looking to the eradication of tuberculosis in cattle. This work has received the enthusiastic support of state and municipal boards of health, the packing industry and, except for brief opposition on the part of small groups of cattle raisers and dairy men, the support of the whole livestock industry. Counties were used as unit areas. All bovine animals, regardless of age or sex, were tuberculin tested. All reacting animals were branded with the letter T, removed from the herd, and usually sent to slaughter. Any reacting animal retained on the farm was isolated and the entire herd kept under quarantine so long as such reacting animals were retained. Subseqent tests were made on the non-reacting animals at intervals of six months or one year. b. So well has this work progressed that every county in the United States has been proclaimed a modified accredited county, which means that tuberculosis does not exist in those counties among more than 0.5 percent 71 of the cattle as determined by official testing, and that all reactors to the test have been removed. With the virtual eradication of bovine tuberculosis, the incidence of the disease in hogs has greatly decreased. Much of the tuberculosis now found in hogs is attributed to avian sources. While keeping firm control of the gains made in bovine tuberculosis eradication, the Bureau of Animal Industry is actively engaged in eradicating the disease in poultry. In 1917, 2.1 percent of all cattle and 9.89 percent of all hogs slaughtered in official establishments showed lesions of tuberculosis, but in 1943, this incidence in cattle was reduced to 0.048 percent in cattle and 7.08 percent in hogs. Condemnations of cattle for tuberculosis in 1942. were reduced to 0.55 percent and of hogs to 0.25 percent. The cost of tuberculosis eradication has been borne by the federal and state govern- ments. Farmers and dairymen are reimbursed for losses of reactors at established rates. 35. FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE.—In addition to the task of suppressing the animal diseases generally found in this country, the Bu- reau of Animal Industry is responsible for the protection of the livestock industry against the introduction of several serious foreign livestock dis- eases. One of the most dangerous and infectious of these is foot-and-mouth disease which is a constant menace because of the ease with which it may be carried by animals, hides, and various livestock products. Six out- breaks of this disease have occurred in the United States. The govern- mental policy of controlling this disease by extermination and destruction of all affected and exposed herds has resulted in saving our livestock industry from the great losses that would follow the permanent establish- ment of that disease in the United States as it is now established in conti- nental Europe. 36. HOG CHOLERA.—This disease was formerly the bane of the hog raiser as its yearly toll among the hog herds of the country ran into millions of dollars. However, by years of patient work, a serum has been developed which, when injected into healthy but susceptible hogs, pro- duces a high degree of immunity. It does not cure the disease once developed, but its consistent early use in hog herds decreases losses from this disease materially. The serum is obtained from the blood of hogs artificially immunized to the disease. 37> BRU GELLOSIST( BANG os Dip EAS —This disease, com- monly called Contagious Abortion, is at present the most serious scourge of the cattle industry, and, to a lesser extent, to the breeder of hogs, sheep and horses as well. It is particularly dreaded in dairy herds. It does not 72 result in the destruction of the animals affected, but its importance lies in the destruction of the unborn young, and in dairy herds in the decreased production of milk by the cow after abortion. Interest in this disease has been greatly stimulated by the discovery that the micro-organisms that produce brucellosis in domestic animals, malta fever in goats, and undu- lant fever in man are identical. Calfhood vaccination is one of the recent developments being used by the Bureau of Animal Industry in an effort to eliminate this disease. 38. LIVESTOCK IMPROVEMENT .—The foregoing represent the principal diseases which, in a great measure, affect livestock development in this country. The Bureau of Animal Industry has a force of trained men at all times constantly striving to keep within control these diseases which are so destructive to our herds and flocks. While engaged in the control of diseases which are a menace to our livestock industry, the Bureau of Animal Industry, cooperating with state agricultural colleges and other agricultural agencies, is also engaged in a campaign for livestock improve- ment which is producing excellent results. Its purpose is to bring about the elimination of scrub stock from our herds, thus increasing their pro- ductivity, whether that production is one of meat, eggs, milk, wool, draft power, etc. It costs as much to raise a poor animal as it does a good one, and relatively more to keep it, so that better livestock makes for increased production and greater profits. Greater strides have been made in livestock improvement during the last 30 years than were made in the preceding century. | 73 APPENDIX | MARKET TERMS | 1. MARKET TERMS.—a. Technical terms commonly used in live-. stock markets include the following : (1) Terms employed to express a downward trend in prices: (a) Weak. (b) Lower. (c) Easy. (d) Easing off. (e) Slipping. (f) Declining. (g) Buyer’s market. (2) Terms employed to express a violent break in prices: (a) Collapse. (b) Slump. (c) Demoralized. (3) Terms applied to prices which have held their own with those of the preceding day, or with those of some other particular period under comparison : . (a) Steady. (b) Unchanged. (c) Stationary. (d) Level. (e) Par with. (4) Terms indicating lack of action, generally with a weaker price trend: (a) Sluggish. (b) Draggy. (c) Inactive. (d) Slow. (5) Terms which reflect an upward trend of prices: (a) Higher. (b) Advance. (c) Strong. (d) Buoyant. (e) Bullish. (f) Seller’s market. 74 (6) Terms indicating rapid movement of prices with probability of strength: (a) Lively. (b) Active. (c) Brisk. (d) Snappy. (e) Fast. (7) Nominal Market.—Indicates no quotable change, usually because supplies are insufficient to interest buyers. (8) Uneven or Irregular Market—Day on which some price changes may be up while others are down, so that there is no clear indication that prices as a whole are higher or lower. (9) Top—tThe highest price of the market. (10) Practical Top.—The next highest price, where the actual top is out of line with the day’s general market. (11) Bulk.—The majority of the sales or offerings. (12) Native—Livestock of local or Corn Belt origin as contrasted with range or long-distance shipments. (13) Two-Way Market—Market where prices are not the same on an identical offering to different classes of buyers; or where prices advance on one class or grade of stock, while they decline on another. (14) Two-Way Stock—Stock for which both slaughtering interests and feeder buyers compete. (15) Sold Straight—Where a consignment is sold im toto and no ani- mals are thrown out at a lower price than the main drove. (16) Directs—Stock arriving at the market but not offered for sale. Directs are usually purchased elsewhere but are brought in for slaughter or other purposes. (17) Through Stock.—Livestock received at the market for feed, rest, and reshipment, but not sold at that market. (18) Dowmners—Animals which, because of injury or exhaustion, are unable to rise and walk. They are usually transported to packing estab- lishments in “downer carts.” 75 APPENDIX Il LIVESTOCK TERMS | 1. CATTLE.—a. The following terms are used with reference to cattle. | (1) Sull—An uncastrated male of the bovine species. (2) Steer—A male of the bovine species that was castrated when young. (3) Stag—A male of the bovine species that was castrated after reach- ing maturity. (4) Cow.—A female of the bovine species; mature and usually has borne young. (5). Hetfer—A young female of the bovine species; not fully matured, and has never borne young. : (6) Spayed Heifer—A heifer whose ovaries have been removed. (7) Yearling.—A steer or heifer 1 year of age. (8) Springer.—A bred cow or heifer approaching parturition. (9) Distillers —Cattle fattened on distillery refuse. (10) Calves.—At most markets, bovines under 400 pounds in weight are classed as calves; over 400 pounds in weight they are designated as cattle, into whatever class they may fall. (11) Rannies.—Calves lacking both quality and flesh. At some markets they are “‘bow-wows,” and at others “hops.” (12) Vealers—Calf under 3 months of age that has not been fed solid food. . , CLaI Rs, kimmer.—A large, thin, undernourished calf; one that has been fed on skim milk. (14) Grassers—Cattle fitted for market on the range or pasture alone. (15) Muley—Cattle without horns. (16) Yellow Hammers.—Cattle of small size and common breeding ; sometimes referred to as “‘dogites.”’ (17) Sausage or Bologna Bull.—A bull not carrying enough flesh for beef but ideally adapted for use in sausage manufacture, (18) Stocker Cattle-—Cattle that must go back to the country for fur- ther growth, either on grass or roughage, before being ready for full feeding. Weights vary, ranging from calves upwards to some 800 pounds. (19) Feeder Cattle ——Cattle of sufficient growth or flesh to be suitable for placing immediately on feed; usually 800 pounds and upward. (20) Replacement Cattle —Either stockers or feeders going back to the country. | 76 2. SWINE.—a. The following terms are used with reference to swine: (1) Boar—An uncastrated nels hog ; usually applied to the mature male hog. (2) Barrow.—A male hog that was Deel when young. - (3) Stag—A male hog that was castrated after reaching maturity. (4) Sow.—A female hog ; usually applied to the mature female hog. (5) Gilt—A young, immature female hog which has not borne young. (6) Skip—A mature hog weighing less than 100 pounds. (7) Bust—A hog with a rupture. _ (8). Pig—An immature hog. (9) Piggy Sows.—Sows showing evidence of pregnancy. a SHEEP —a. The following terms are used with reference to sheep. (1) Ram or Buck.—An uncastrated male sheep. (2) Wether—A male sheep castrated when young. (3) Stag.—A male sheep castrated after reaching maturity. (4) Ewe—aA female sheep. (5) Yearling—A sheep one year of age. (6) Lamb.—A sheep under one year of age. (7) Westerns—Sheep produced in the range country. (8) Natives—Sheep produced.on farms east of the range country. (9) Spring Lambs.—New-crop offerings, usually marketed from May to late autumn, after which they are known as lambs. (10) Hothouse Lambs.—Young lambs weighing from 25 to 55 pounds, produced out of the usual season and usually marketed during the winter months. (11) Culls or Throwouts. Briere lambs or sheep taken out of con- signment by agreement and sold at a lower price than the rest of the lot. (12) Skip—aA light, trashy, common lamb. The plainest grade of cull lamb. (13) Mutton Sheep—Fat ewes, or ewes and wethers mixed, used for slaughter. (14) Choppers—Aged ewes in medium flesh, not good enough to grade as fat. (15) Canners—vVery thin sheep, used as the name implies. (16) Trimmed Lamb.—A lamb that has been castrated. (17) Docked Lamb.—A lamb that has had its tail cut short when young. 77 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Burk, Gibbons, and Foster. ‘Market laeaes and Grades of Lambs and Sheep.” U.S.D.A. Circular No. 383, Rev. 1940. 2. Coffey, W. C. “Productive Sheep Husbandry.” J. B. Lippincott Company. Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York. Third Edition. © 3. Corn Belt Livestock Marketing Research Committee. “Marketing Livestock in the Corn Belt Region.” South Dakota Agricultural Experi- — ment Station, Circular No. 365, November 1942. 4. Dowell, A. A. and Bjorka, Knute. “Livestock Marketing.” McGraw- Hill Book Company. New York. 1941. 5. National Livestock Loss Prevention Board. ‘Activities to Reduce Waste of Meat in Marketing Livestock.” 1943 Report. 6. Nordby-Beeson. ‘Livestock Judging Handbook.” The Interstate, Danville, Illinois, 1939. 7. Powell, H. A. “Questions and Answers Concerning Livestock Marketing.” 1944. 8. Slater, Don J. “Market Classes and Grades of Cattle.” U.S.D.A. Bulletin No. 1464. Revised 1940. 9. United States Department of Agriculture. “Livestock, Meats, and Wool Market Statistics and Related Data.” 1944. 10. Vaughn, H. W. “Breeds of Livestock in America.” College Book Company. Columbus, Ohio. 1941. 11. Vaughn, H. W. “Types and Market Classes of Livestock.” Col- lege Book Company. Columbus, Ohio. 1942. 78 ParRT II FRESH MEATS JESSE H. WHITE, M.D.C. Executive Assistant to the Commanding Officer QM Food and Container Institute for the Armed Forces AND BAILEY PATRICK, Ist Lt., 9.M.C. Instructor, Quartermaster Subsistence School QM Food and Container Institute For the Armed Forces ceil CONTENTS Section ~I INTRODUCTION Paragraph Page PUTO A Nee eee tee OE inches sss deat the vsb sede 1 1 MVE OR cece caer Sec io cy npn cok vtes sewn rain 2 1 PEL MISEL OL LIISPCCUl ON gin coo esl yeh eas vscsehsisevos ade 3 2 II INSPECTION CUES TESNG «20 ean ya a Rte et a eee A “ PRU TImETISDECTION eee cnee, ils wage ecciv acl 5 Reem IS POCO ON ra tel att ci ne 6 13 AVTTDATSTE UB nya ee oa 7 14 III SLAUGHTER Ur? UST Sg Oh cade ie ene ie ae oa 9 15 (CSN, GUTS 9 TE A eae a 10 20 COL TSUN Tey. 208. tele patel oat ee 11 25 NTS ASST LE eS i ese IZ 26 The Handling of Killing Floor Offal.............. 13 28 IV CARCASS BEEF TSE 8 eg, ene ee 14 36 CUPP We Tn ih OS dn ee i 36 Siatesese Ole ATCase (DCCL. c,ccchcevusesecissc eau. 16 37 Serpe ACIS Steet vt Goh cnecan raat, crt evel son): 17 41 erates moa Cass Clie cate Ne dics acies 18 43 Pea ba OCCU Lite Wn tet can Sac kcal. bos hates 19 45 Percentages of Grades Slaughtered................ 20 46 berionaie peel er rererences.., 0.07. ceens-2-:-- 21 46 | V WHOLESALE AND RETAIL BEEF CUTS SANG Ta YT ESEE TEI rc are Oct th a gl ROO See 22 47 CELA E COTS ns ei dee ne aed loosens 23 50 >) aoe ear ee tite |S ae » ~ ; . ~ ; - ie A ’ = © td = \, at a Pa ’ ‘ ’ ; ' © = : : : Tat oa ' < Ea ~ d . ‘ \ ’ a PA ee a ig r 7 Ce . } zsh ty 4 ; ° . H ' ; Z a ! % ¥ : : PS 8 . | = - . y 7 a : 7 ; ’ 1 a f s ties | oo ee - = a "4 af ; ‘ 4 _ : ; } | | _ SECTION I INTRODUCTION 1. GENERAL.—Definitions—The Food and Drug Administration of the U. S. Department of Agriculture has promulgated the following defini- tions and standards for meat and meat products. a. Flesh—Any edible part of the striated muscle of an animal. The term “animal,” is herein used, indicates a mammal, a fowl, a fish, a crustacean, a mollusk, or any other animal used as a source of food. b. Meat.—The properly dressed flesh derived from cattle, swine, or sheep sufficiently mature and in good health at the time of slaughter, but is restricted to that part of the striated muscle which is skeletal or that which is found in the tongue, in the diaphragm, in the heart, or in the oesophagus, and does not include that found in the lips, in the snout, or in the ears, with or without the accompanying and overlying fat, and the portions of bone, skin, sinew, nerve, and blood vessels which normally accompany the flesh and which may not have been separated from it in the process of dressing it for sale. c. Meat by-products—Any properly dressed edible parts, other than meat, which have been derived from one or more carcasses of cattle, of swine, or of sheep sufficiently mature and in good health at the time of slaughter. d. Prepared meat—The product obtained by subjecting meat to a process of comminuting, of drying, of curing, of smoking, of cooking, of seasoning, or of flavoring, or of any combination of such processes. e. Fresh meat—Meat which has undergone no substantial change in character since the time of slaughter. f. Beef—Meat derived from cattle nearly one year of age or older. g. Veal.—Meat derived from young cattle one year or less of age. h. Lamb.—Meat derived from young sheep one year or less of age. t. Pork.—Meat derived from swine. 2. VALUE OF MEAT.—Meat has been through all ages one of the principal foods of man. Meat is more nearly a universal article of diet than any other one food commodity with the exception of milk, and its use, undoubtedly, will continue as long as its price remains within man’s eco- nomic reach. As an article of diet meat does not depend wholly upon its nutritional value. Many articles of food in common use have higher calor- ific value than meat, but few items of food so stimulate the appetite and impart flavor to the diet, as well as contribute a high degree of nourish- ment, as does meat. Meat is a complete protein food. 3. PURPOSE OF INSPECTION.—AII animal life is subject to disease, the seriousness of which varies with the class of animals, their natural or acquired resistance or immunity, the virulence of the organism producing the disease, etc. Many animal maladies are communicable to man. Thus, from the indiscriminate consumption of diseased meat, man may acquire tuberculosis, foot-and-mouth disease, glanders, rabies, anthrax, tricinosis, tape worms, and other kindred diseases and parasitic infestations. In addition, there are animal diseases, such as cancer, tetanus, etc., which, while not being directly communicable to man through the ingestion of meat, produce in the animal so affected a condition of malnutrition that renders its flesh unwholesome and unfit for human food. To insure that meats are sound, wholesome, and fit for human food, they must receive adequate sanitary inspection. : SECTION II INSPECTION 4. ORIGIN.—a. The United States Department of Agriculture ex- ercises general supervision over the livestock interests of the nation. This de- partment was first organized under a Commissioner of Agriculture. Later, in 1889, he was given a seat in the President’s cabinet as Secretary of Agri- culture. The Department of Agriculture was called into being to assist the rapidly growing agricultural interests of the country, particularly in combating animal and plant diseases. The Department soon became a tremendous factor in promoting and developing the many phases of agri- cultural activities incident to a country of such vast area and of such differ- ences of latitude and altitude, with its long coast line, its inland streams, its mountains, its plains and valleys. These many activities led to the development within the Department of a number of bureaus, each designed to look after the interests of a particular activity. For many years Federal meat inspection was in the hands of the Bureau of Animal Industry. This bureau was established in 1884 largely for the purpose of advising with state and territorial officials with regard to the suppression of contagious diseases of livestock. From this small beginning its scope of action ex- panded to include the control of all interstate shipments and importations of livestock, birds, game, dressed and prepared meats, hides, etc.; the enforcement of the Meat Inspection Act; the planning and carry- ing out of extensive experiments in improvement of breeds of livestock ; the production of vaccines for the control of infectious diseases ; and numer- ous other duties connected with the breeding, feeding, and marketing of livestock. Due to the exigencies of war, in 1942 the function of meat inspec- tion was placed in the newly-created Meat Inspection Division, Livestock and Meat Branch, Office of Distribution, War Food Administration. b. In the United States there are three general systems of meat inspec- tion which constitute the general governmental Sos Oo of meat before it reaches the consumer. (1) Federal inspection—Conducted by the Bureau of Animal Industry (known now as the Meat Inspection Division) under the Meat Inspection Act and the Food and Drugs Act of 1906. (2) State inspection—Conducted within the individual state by the Pure Food officials or by the inspectors of State Livestock Sanitary Boards. (3) Municipal inspection—Inspections under Municipal Ordinances. 5. FEDERAL INSPECTION.—Inspection of meat food animals was inaugurated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under the supervision of the Bureau of Animal Industry, in the year 1891. The early meat in- 3 spection law contemplated the elimination of diseases and otherwise un- wholesome animals and was applied only to ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection of meat food animals. This law, while eliminating from the channels of interstate trade all meats from diseased animals, was wholly inadequate in that it did not provide for the supervision of the various processes to which meat was subjected subsequent to the time of slaughter and before it reached the consumer. The meat inspection law of June 30, 1906 was designed to correct the defects of the preceding law. It greatly enlarged the powers of the Bureau of Animal Industry. It provided not only for ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection of meat food animals— cattle, calves, swine, and sheep—but also provided for the supervision of all processes to which meats are subjected prior to shipment. Amendments to this law now provide for the inspection of horse meat in addition to that of the food animals mentioned above. The law is designed to protect the meat-eating public from the perils of consuming diseased or otherwise un- sound, unhealthful, or unwholesome meats; to prevent the use of harmful dyes, preservatives, chemicals, or other deleterious ingredients ; to prevent the use of misleading names or statements on labels, etc., and to insure that meats are handled and prepared under sanitary conditions and in a sanitary manner. a. Jurisdiction—The Federal law applies only to those establishments whose products, either wholly or in part, enter interstate or foreign trade. It does not have jurisdiction over establishments doing only a local busi- ness. However, all meats entering or prepared in an official establishment are subjected to the same inspection whether consumed locally or entering interstate or foreign trade. About 35 percent of the meat consumed in the United States does not receive Federal inspection. A small percentage of such meats, however, receives inspection at the hands of local state or municipal inspectors. The law provides for granting exemption from in- spection to small dealers supplying customers in other states whose volume of business would not warrant the maintenance of an inspection force. It provides also for the shipment without inspection of farm-slaughtered animals provided the pluck remains intact and attached to the carcass. b. Imported meats.—The Tariff Act of October 3, 1913 provides for the importation into this country of meats prepared in foreign countries. Each consignment of such meats must be accompanied by a certificate from an official of the government of the country of origin stating that the meats have been inspected by properly accredited governmental authorities of that country, and are sound, wholesome, and fit for human food, and that they conform to the requirements of the meat inspection law of this country. Such meats are re-inspected by representatives of the Bureau of Animal 4 Ingustry at the port of entry, being given a careful physical examination. In most cases, samples are sent to the government laboratories for exami- nation for deleterious substances. All meats that originate in countries that do not maintain an adequate inspection, or that are not accompanied by certificates of inspection, are refused entry. Meats that are accepted for entry and marked “U. S. Inspected and Passed,” or an abbreviation thereof, and thenceforth such meats are treated in the same manner as domestic meats. c. Horse meat—While horse flesh has been consumed in large quantities in some European countries, it has not become an article of diet in America. Except for the wild horses on the open range of the West, the production of horses here has been for draft and pleasure purposes only. Horses have never become cheap enough here as compared with cattle, hogs, and sheep to warrant their use for food purposes, even though a taste for horse flesh had been cultivated. War, and its attendant demands upon our meat re- sources, brought about an agitation for the utilization of horse-flesh to supplement our meat supplies. It was this movement that brought about the amendment (No. 9) to B.A.I. Order 211, permitting the use of horse flesh for food. However, the American public has not accepted horse meat as an article of diet, and none is eaten in this country. d. Official establishments—Any slaughtering, meat canning, curing, smoking, salting, packing, rendering, or other similar establishment at which inspection is maintained under the Federal regulations, is called an official establishment. All official establishments must conform to the requirements of the Meat Inspection Act with reference to construction, equipment, pure water supply, drainage, light, ventilation, sanitation, facilities for inspection, etc. Each establishment is designated by a number. The establishment number identifies the plant, and in all cases must appear as a part of the inspection mark on each primal part of carcasses and on all meat containers shipped from the establishment. Thus, the meat from such an establishment can be identified wherever found so long as the inspection mark remains legible. A city or town having one or more official establishments is known as a “station,” or “substation,” and all activities of the Meat Inspection Division there are conducted under the direction of an inspector-in-charge. e. Ante-mortem inspection.—All ante-mortem and post-mortem inspec- tions are supervised by veterinarians. Ante-mortem inspection is conducted in the public stockyards adjacent to packing centers, or in the pens of the packing plants where the animals are held for a time just prior to slaughter. Ante-mortem inspection is conducted for the purpose of insuring to the meat-eating public that animals intended for slaughter for food purposes are not immature or emaciated and are free from disease or other abnormal condition that would render the flesh unfit for food; to prevent the spread of diseases communicable to man or to other animals by the strict isolation of animals suffering from those diseases; to reduce the spread of animal diseases by tracing the source of diseased animals and working in con- junction with other federal, state or county agencies in eradicating the disease; and to conserve meats by restricting the slaughter of immature animals or of females in advanced stages of pregnancy or that had recently given birth to young until the condition shall have been relieved. Some diseases, such as tetanus, rabies, meningitis, etc., do not present any altered appearance of the flesh upon post-mortem inspection, but may be detected upon ante-mortem inspection. (1) Sanitation.—lIn connection with the ante-mortem inspection of live- stock, there is conducted a sanitary supervision of all cars, pens, chutes, runways, and yards. Cars in which tuberculin reacting cattle, scabby sheep, or animals with any communicable disease have been transported must be cleaned and disinfected before they are again used for transporting live- stock. Animals from areas quarantined for Texas fever must be dipped and be free from ticks before they are allowed to leave a quarantined area. All sheep removed from the yards for feeding or breeding purposes must be dipped before being removed. Dipping consists of driving the animals through a long vat filled with an arsenical, coal tar derivative, or other anti- parasitic substance held in suspension or dissolved in water. The vat is deep enough so that the animal becomes completely submerged in the dip and all parts of the animal’s body and head come in contact with the anti- parasitic agent. This treatment kills all external parasites. Cattle may be removed from the yards for feeding or breeding purposes without dipping, if they show no symptoms of disease or of parasitic infestation, or have not originated within quarantined areas. Canadian steers accompanied by a bill of health may be removed for feeding purposes, but all other imported cattle may be removed for immediate slaughter only. Before hogs may be removed for feeding or breeding purposes, they must be immunized against cholera and must be sprayed with an anti-parasitic solution. (2) Immature animals.—Calves constitute practically the whole of the immature animals coming to our stockyards; no very young lambs or pigs are found except those born in the yards. The meat inspection regulations formerly forbade the use of ‘“‘bob” calves (calves under 10 days of age) for food, but that age limit has now been removed and the carcass is judged according to post-mortem conditions regardless of age. Females in ad- vanced stages of pregnancy or that have recently given birth to young are not allowed to be slaughtered for food, but are held for a period of 10 days following parturition, which allows the body functions to become normal 6 once more. If such animals are slaughtered before the expiration of 10 days, the carcasses are condemned. (3) Abnormal animals—An animal showing evidence of an abnormal condition, the nature and extent of which could be more easily determined upon post-mortem examination, is tagged with a “U.S. Suspect” tag. This is a serially numbered metal tag bearing the words “U.S. Suspect,” which is affixed to the ear of the animal. The inspector also renders a report which describes the ante-mortem condition found. The suspect tag and the report draw the attention of the post-mortem inspector to the ante-mortem con- dition, and the animal is subjected to a rigid post-mortem inspection. Suspects are not killed in the regular run, but usually at the end of a regular kill. (4) Condemned animals —Any animal found in the cars, yards, or pens -dead or in a dying condition, or to be affected with rabies, tetanus, milk ‘fever, railroad sickness, etc., and hogs that are visibly sick of cholera, are condemned outright. To the ear of each such animal is affixed a condemned tag, serially numbered and bearing the words “U.S. Condemned.” Such animals are removed to specially designated rendering plants where the bodies are rendered and the resulting oils and greases are denatured. All animals affected with a highly infectious disease, such as foot-and-mouth disease, are killed without being removed, and their bodies destroyed by burning or by being buried with quicklime, and all pens and premises that such animals came in contact with are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. f. Post-mortem inspection.—(1) General_—Post-mortem inspection of meat food animals is conducted by veterinarians and lay inspectors who have had special training in that work. It is made at the time of slaughtering and dressing the animals on the killing floors of the packing establishments. Inspection is made at three points: the heading rail, the eviscerating table, and at the rail after eviscerating is completed. Its purpose is to eliminate ‘meats that are diseased, unhealthful, unsound, or otherwise unfit for human food. Since visible evidence of disease is discernible only in the viscera and other parts cut from the carcass in the process of dressing, it is essential that the post-mortem examination be made while these parts are intact and can be identified with the carcass. It is usually difficult or impossible to detect or prove the presence of disease in animals from the meat alone after the viscera has been removed. Until such time as the animal is shown to be free from disease, all viscera and parts are handled in such a way that any set of viscera or the head or other part can be immediately identified with the carcass. (2) Principal diseases or abnormal conditions——(a) The principal disease or abnormal conditions for which meat food animals are condemned in whole or in part are tuberculosis, pyemia, foot-and-mouth disease, acti- nomycosis, pneumonia, inflammatory conditions of the serous membranes, advanced pregnancy, recent parturition, metritis, pyometra, emaciation, abscesses, scabies, and other parasitic infestations, icterus, and melanosis. In addition to these general conditions which affect all animals, hogs may be retained and condemned for hog cholera, scalding alive, urticaria, cysti- cerus cellulose (pork measles), necrotic stomatitis, arthritis, and sexual odors. Cattle may be retained and condemned for cysticerus bovis (beef measles), Texas fever, blackleg. Sheep may be retained and condemned for lip-and-leg ulceration, caseous lymphadenitis, and cysticercus ovis. (b) More hog and cattle carcasses are retained for tuberculosis than for all other diseases combined. In more than 95 percent of the cases of tubercu- losis in hogs, there is found infection of the lymph glands of the throat and jaw. This is true to a less degree in cattle. Tuberculosis is seldom found in range cattle, being more common among cattle; such as dairy herds, that have been confined or closely housed in barns. (3) Inspection marks.—The inspector affixes a serially numbered tag in duplicate, bearing the words “U.S. Retained” to each carcass showing lesions of disease. The duplicate of this tag is torn off and accompanies the viscera when it is removed from the body. Whenever the lesions of disease or the abnormal condition is slight, or is confined to a limited area, and shows no evidence of systemic infection, the disposition of the carcass is determined at once and the carcass is not removed from the run. But, if the lesions are extensive, involving several organs or tissues, or there is evi- dence of systemic infection, the carcass is removed from the regular run and given a more rigid post-mortem examination by veterinarians long trained in post-mortem work. All body glands are incised and closely examined, and all possible steps taken to determine the nature and extent of the diseased condition. Upon the result of this examination rests the dis- position of the carcass. All carcasses and parts presenting conditions rendering the flesh thereof unfit or unsafe for human food are condemned outright. In cases where the lesions are confined to a localized area with every evidence that the remainder of the carcass has not been affected by the abnormal condition, the carcass may be passed for food after the affected area has been cut away and condemned. Retained carcasses that have been passed for food are returned to the moving chain system and disposed of in the regular kill. Animals showing lesions of such character or extent that the meat thereof might be unsafe for human food if consumed in an un- cooked state, but not progressed to such an extent that deterioration has taken place in the tissues, may be “Passed for Cooking” i.e., the meat may be allowed to be used for human food provided it is rendered inert so far as , | ond ‘ = — COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 1.—Further inspection after the carcass has been found to be abnormal on routine inspection. the transmission of disease is concerned. This is done by sterilizing the meat by the application of heat. All carcasses and parts “Passed for Cook- ing”’ are so branded, are handled in separate containers, and are sterilized and otherwise prepared in rooms separated from those containing other edible products. All carcasses and parts condemned for any cause are branded with a large ink brand, “U.S. Condemned,’ and are handled in trucks or other containers provided for that purpose. Each such truck or container is painted a distinctive color and is marked with large lettering, “U.S. Condemned.” No edible meats are allowed to be placed in these trucks or containers at anytime. All condemned carcasses and parts are taken to closed tanks in which they are destroyed by the action of heat (a temperature of 290° for a period of about 8 hours), the resulting product being denatured to prevent its use as a food product. Before the condemned meats are placed in the tank, the lower opening of the tank is sealed by a M.I.D. representative. The condemned meats are under the constant super- vision of an inspector from the time they are condemned until they are placed in the tank. The inspector supervises the addition of the denaturing agent, seals the upper opening of the tank, and sees that sufficient live steam is turned into the tank to destroy the contents. After cooking is completed, the seals on the tank openings are broken by a M.I.D. employee, 9 COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 2.—Stamping "U.S. Inspected and Condemned” on carcass found to be unfit for human consumption. who determines that the contents of the tank have been rendered inedible. Denaturing materials used consist of power distillate, crude oils, carbolic acid, etc. Each carcass passed for food purposes is branded with an ink brand on each wholesale market cut with the words “U.S. Inspected and Passed,” or an abbreviation thereof. These brands are placed on the different classes of carcasses as follows: | Beef Hogs | ‘Sheep Foreshank Foreshank Legs Brisket — Plate Loin Short plate Jowl Hotel rack Chuck Fatback Breast Rib Belly Chuck Kidney knob Spare rib Cod fat Loin'= Flank Ham Short loin Sirloin Rump Round | Hindshank COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 3.—Carcasses being stamped “U.S. Inspected and Passed” after they have been found to be free from disease. COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 4.—Carcasses being held in refrigerated room prior to shipment. W All brands are made of metal and are furnished by the M.I.D. and remain under its supervision. The ink used is prepared under M.I.D. supervision according to a M.I.D. formula and contains no poisonous ingredient. Cured, smoked, and dried meats are sometimes marked with a burning brand. (4) Sanitation —At all points where the knives, cleavers, or other tools of the workmen or inspectors may come in contact with the lesions of disease or become contaminated with fecal matter, etc., facilities are provided for cleansing and sterilizing such instruments to prevent contamination of the carcass following. This is accomplished by dipping the instruments into hot water containing some cleansing agent, such as antiseptic soap. Evis- cerating benches are provided with sprays of water to wash away any fecal matter that may accidentally escape from the intestinal tract. Final inspec- tion of the viscera of retained animals is made on a table with a movable top. After each set of viscera is examined, the table top is revolved, and in so doing it passes through a disinfecting and cleansing solution, so that at all times the visceral organs and parts come in contact with only clean and sterile surfaces. (5) Records.——The inspector making final inspection is provided with a form card upon which he enters the serial number of the retained tag, the number of the suspect tag, if any, the nature and extent of the lesions found, and the disposition made of the carcass. From this record he later makes a report of the number of animals retained, the number passed for food or for sterilization, and the number of carcasses and parts condemned. (6) Disposition of abnormal parts—When condemned carcasses or parts cannot be tanked on the day of slaughter, or if for any purpose it is desired to hold them for a time (for example, to determine sexual odors in stags and old boars, or to confirm icterus [jaundice] after chilling), they are placed in a retain room. The retain room is usually a section of a chill room, or cooler, set aside for that purpose and is entirely closed off from other parts of the room. This room is under the supervision of the inspector and is kept locked except for the purpose of putting in or removing retained meats. Only retained meats are allowed to enter this room. : g. Products inspection—tTo prevent the sale and consumption of meat that has become unwholesome or unfit for human food during any of the processes to which meat products are subject subsequent to slaughter, to prevent the use of wrong or misleading statements of labels, etc., and to insure meats being handled at all times in a sanitary manner, inspection of meat products is continued from the killing floors through all the processes of curing, smoking, canning, packing, rendering, labeling, or otherwise preparing the products for the consumer. Re-inspection of the meat and meat products is made as often as is deemed advisable to insure that the 12 ala ded hl products have not become unwholesome at any stage of their preparation. Samples are submitted from time to time to the Government laboratories to determine the presence of harmful ingredients in manufactured products. If any product is found upon re-inspection to have become unwholesome, the original inspection mark is removed or defaced, and the product con- demned. Any product that has become unfit for human food is destroyed in the same manner as condemned carcasses or parts from the killing floors. (1) Marking on containers—Each meat container must bear the in- spection legend, “U.S. Inspected and Passed by Department of Agricul- ture,”’ or some modification or abbreviation thereof. All trade names and all wording used on labels, etc., and all stencils used for marking meat contain- ers must be approved by the M.I.D. This is done to prevent the use of deceptive or misleading statements. Thus, the inspection legend on a meat container assures the purchaser that the meat or meat product contained therein was, at the time the mark was affixed to the container, sound, whole- some, and fit for human food, and the packed article was correctly labeled. (2) The use of artificial coloring—Approved dyes may be used to color prepared fats. All such articles must be plainly marked “Artificially Colored.” An amendment to the oleomargarine law, recently adopted, re- quires the payment of a tax of 10 cents per pound for all artificially colored shortening. When sausage casings are artificially colored, the coloring matter must not penetrate the meat contained therein. Should this occur, the sausage is condemned. (3) Flavoring and preserving agents.—The following approved articles may be used in the preparation of meat products: common salt, sugar, wood smoke, cider vinegar, wine vinegar, malt vinegar, sugar vinegar, glucose vinegar, spirit vinegar, pure spice, saltpeter and nitrite and nitrate of soda. Benzoate of soda may be added to meat products up to .1 of one percent, but such products must be labeled to show the presence and per- centage amount of such benzoate of soda. Bicarbonate of soda and fuller’s earth may be used in the preparation of fats, and sal soda and lime may be used in cleaning tripe provided they do not injure the meat and are elimi- nated during further process of manufacture. 6. STATE INSPECTION.—State supervision of meat food products does not concern itself to any great extent with the post-mortem inspection of food animals, except those which have reacted to the tuberculin test or are otherwise known to be diseased. The livestock sanitary boards, or similar organizations, of the several states maintain a sanitary police force which operates largely for the suppression or control of infectious or con- tagious diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease, anthrax, blackleg, hog cholera, etc., and the eradication of bovine tuberculosis, and Texas fever 13 tick, etc. In all of these activities, as well as in the work of improving livestock breeds and the betterment of sanitary conditions, the state or- ganizations have co-operated closely with the United States Department of Agriculture. 7. MUNICIPAL INSPECTION.—a. General—Little more than 65 percent of the meat supply of this country is prepared in establishments supervised by the M.I.D., since that agency is limited in its inspections to those establishments whose products enter interstate or foreign trade. Almost 35 percent of the meat consumed in the United States is from animals slaughtered by farmers or local butchers, and sold to the public without any inspection. The percentage of food animals that are found upon post-mortem inspection to be affected with disease in some form is considerable. Many of the lesions are slight, it is true, but, nevertheless, a large percentage of the lesions found is of such extent and nature as to warrant condemnation of the carcasses. b. Inspections—Information such as the above has induced many municipalities to pass ordinances establishing local inspection of meat and to institute measures for the sanitary control of local slaughtering estab- lishments as well as the sanitary control of the products until they reach the consumer. At the present time practically all large cities and many small cities and villages maintain municipal slaughter houses where all locally slaughtered and processed meats and meat products that are to be offered for human consumption locally receive inspection before and after slaughter. In most instances, inspection is extended to wholesale and retail — markets. Since the evidence of many serious infectious diseases may be confined to organs and tissues that are removed on the killing floor and that do not accompany the dressed carcass to the block, inspection at the time of slaughter is imperative. Inspection of the dressed carcass and cuts found in retail markets cannot afford protection against the consumption of diseased meat. 8. SPECIAL INSPECTIONS.—tThe inspection of meat as carried out by Federal, state, and municipal authorities is conducted for the purpose of determining its wholesomeness and fitness for human food. In addition to this supervision, many institutions and organizations conduct special in- spections of the meats intended for their use. Thus, the War Department, the Navy Department, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, etc., purchase meat supplies in accordance with specifications which provide definite require- ments as to quality, weight, condition, etc. To insure compliance with these requirements, each of these institutions maintains a force of trained in- spectors whose duty it is to supervise the preparation of the product or to examine the finished article to determine its conformity with special re- quirements. 14 SECTION III SLAUGHTER 9, HOG KILLING.—a. Handling the live hogs—In handling hogs prior to slaughter, great care is exercised to prevent overheating the animals. The heat-eliminating functions of a hog are very limited, and a very fat animal may soon succumb to over-exertion, especially in hot weather. Theoretically, overheated hogs do not bleed as well as cool hogs, and there is believed to be a tendency for meat from hogs with high temperatures at the time of slaughter to become sour. To prevent overheating in warm weather, the floors of pens are kept wet and the hogs are frequently showered with water. After reaching the packinghouse, the hogs are allowed to rest for some hours, usually in pens on the same level with the killing floor. b. Shackling.—To secure the hogs for slaughter, they are driven into shackling pens, where they are crowded together to prevent free movement, thus facilitating the work of the shackler. In these pens the hogs are shackled and hoisted on a revolving wheel or on an endless chain hoist to an inclined rail. While this method of hoisting hogs results in occasional injury to the leg and ham of the hog, the percentage of injuries is not large. This has been found to be the most economical and expeditious way of securing hogs for the sticker, as the ease and speed of execution and the bleeding advantages more than offset any damage to the animal from the shackle. c. Sticking—As soon as the hog becomes suspended from the rail, which is inclined downward and is well greased, the shackle slides along. the rail until the hog comes to the “‘sticker.’’ He is a man who, with a sharp- pointed, two-edged knife, by a quick thrust severs the large blood vessels of the throat. Because of the struggles of the animal while hanging on the rail, great care must be exercised by the sticker to preyent injury to himself or to the flesh of the animal. “Shoulder stuck” hogs result from the sticking knife being deflected from the throat into the shoulder of the hog; this allows infiltrations of blood into the part injured, with consequent loss of meat. To prevent having the sticking knife struck from the hand of the sticker, these knives are sometimes equipped with a guard ring attached to the side of the handle into which a finger is inserted. The hog, after sticking, remains suspended, head downward, and is quickly drained of blood. The blood amounts to about 3 percent of the animal weight. d. Scalding—When bleeding is completed, the leg is released from the shackle and the hog carcass plunged into the scalding vat, the shackle being retained mechanically and returned to the shackling pen. The scalding vat is a long tank filled with water to which has been added soft soap or sal soda. The amount of soap and sal soda used varies with the season of the year, 15 the thickness of the hair, etc. Soap or sal soda are used for the purpose of loosening the hair and scurf from the body of the hog. The temperature of the water in the vat is maintained at about 145° F. by means of steam coils - in the vat. Practically all hogs will float to the surface of the scalding water, but an occasional one will sink to the bottom, where, if it remains for a considerable length of time, it will become cooked. The scalders, therefore, are constantly feeling in the water for submerged hogs, being provided with long iron-piked poles for that purpose. The hogs are dropped into the tank at one end, and are gradually pushed forward by men on either side of the tank, or by mechanical equipment. The hogs remain in the water about 3 minutes. When the opposite end of the tank is reached, scalding is usually completed. The looseness of the hair is tested by the scalder with his piked pole. When properly scalded, a hook is placed under the tendons of one of the hind legs of the hog and this is then attached to an endless chain which carries the hog out of the water and through the dehairing and polishing machine, or the hog is carried to the dehairer on a moving ramp and through the dehairer in a horizontal position. | e. Dehairing.—(1) The dehairing machine consists of a series of beaters or revolving scrapers. During the passage through the dehairer, all parts of the hog are subjected to this dehairing and polishing action, and the hogs come from the machine practically free of hair. The weight of the hair re- moved varies with the season of the year, breed, etc., and averages a little more than 1 percent of the live weight of the hog. (2) Upon leaving the polisher a slit is cut in the other hind leg from the hock to the fetlock, and the gambrel inserted beneath the tendons of the hind feet. The gambrel, made of wood or iron, is about 22 inches in length, with notches to prevent the foot from slipping after the hog has been sus- pended. The gambrel is placed on a roller hook having a grooved wheel to hold it on the rail, and the hog thus hangs suspended from the overhead rail, f. Stngeing.—Some export trade requires that hogs be singed. A singe- ing machine consists of an upright cylinder heated to a high temperature by means of gas, oil, or other flame. The hog is carried into or through this cylinder by means of a hoist or an endless chain. The hog remains in the cylinder a very short time and leaves it with the skin singed to a beautiful brown. The singeing of hogs is carried on only in establishments which have a foreign demand for pork treated in that manner. Singeing is not done for the domestic trade. When singeing is done, the hog goes to the singer after leaving the polisher. g. Shaving.—The hog is next picked up by an endless chain which keeps the hog moving steadily forward from this point to the chillroom. The 16 J carcass first passes through a shower of hot water, is then shaved from heels to snout with sharp knives, then passes through a series of jets of flame from gas torches to remove any hair left on the carcass by the polish- ing machine and the shavers. Sometimes a steam jet is turned into the ears and other crevices to blow out any loose hair and scurf. The carcass then is again showered. h. Wax dipping.—tThe Meat Inspection Division objects to the presence of any hair on the surface of hogs and to too obvious hair roots. Shaving does not remove hair roots. Many modern plants finish their hogs by wax dipping—immersing the hogs in a vat of wax kept at a temperature that maintains the wax in a plastic state. After removal of the hog from the dipping vat, the wax quickly congeals and enmeshes all remaining hair and practically all hair roots. The wax is quickly and easily stripped from the hogs, leaving them remarkably clean. The wax is remelted, settled free of hair, and reused. i. Head inspection—tThe head next is almost severed from the body, but is left attached by a small portion of the skin at the throat. The first post-mortem inspection by the government takes place at this point, the M.I.D. representative making a careful examination of the lymph gland of the throat and an examination of the external surface of the animal for evidence of disease. The lymph glands are laid open with a sharp knife and COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 5.—Inspecting lymph glands of a hog carcass for evidence of disease. 17 COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 6 —Inspecting prey? glands of the heads of cattle for evidence of lumpy jaw, abscesses, and other abnormal conditions. all parts of the glands brought into view. Any focus of infection, however small, is thus easily discovered. 3 j. Eviscerating—(1) The hog is then opened from tail to throat, di- viding the under, or belly, side in the median (middle) line. The pelvis (aitchbone) is divided at the union of the two sides of the bone, and the sternum (breastbone) cut through the middle. In young hogs these bones - are éasily cut with a knife, but in older animals it is more difficult because of the complete ossification (turning to bone) of the cartilage in those parts. When the hog is thus opened, the pelvic, abdominal, and thoracic cavities are exposed, and the eviscerator given easy access to the viscera of each cavity. The pelvic cavity contains the urinary bladder, the seminal visicle of the male hog, the beginning of the urethra (pizzle), the vagina of the female, and the lower portion of the rectum (bung). The abdominal cavity contains the stomach, small and large intestines, and their suspending folds (mesentery or ruffle), the omentum (caul), the kidneys, spleen, pancreas, suprarenal glands, part of the rectum, the uterus (womb), fallopian tubes, and ovaries of the female, the liver, leaf fat, and the termi- nation of the oesophagus (gullet). The thoracic cavity contains the lower end of the trachea (windpipe), lungs (lights), heart, a portion of the oesophagus, and a portion of the thymus gland. The abdominal and thoracic cavities are separated by the diaphragm, but there is no membranous di- vision. between the abdominal and pelvic cavities. 4 18 (2) The bung is: loosened by cutting around the anal opening. The sexual and urinary organs are then removed, the whole of which are classed as inedible and accordingly tanked, with the exception of the ovaries, which are sometimes used for medicinal purposes, the urinary bladder, used for sausage casings, and the testicles of young males, which are classed as edible. The urethra of the male hog is removed by cutting around its belly attach- ment, then upward to its attachment to the bladder; in its course the urethra lies in or against the abdominal wall and is loosely attached to it. At the point where it passes around the back edge of the pelvic bones, there is a fibrous attachment, a remnant of which remains on the ham. Thus, a ham from a male hog can be differentiated from that of a female. k. Viscera inspection.—The hog is then entirely eviscerated ; the entire digestive organs (oesophagus, stomach, small and large intestines, bung, pancreas, liver), the entire respiratory tract (larynx, trachea, and lungs), and the heart and spleen being removed in one operation. All of these organs remain attached one to another. The viscera as a whole is called a “set ;” the trachea, lungs, heart, and liver together are called a “pluck.” The viscera is dropped onto a table where a veterinarian of the M.I.D. makes a careful inspection of each organ and the lymph glands attached thereto for lesions of disease. If no lesions are found, the set. gravitates to the offal floor where the various organs are separated and sent to their various destinations. 1. Pulling the leaf fat—After the carcass is eviscerated, one end af a short two-pointed hook is attached to the belly of the animal, the other end being secured to the belly of the carcass following. The carcass is thus held as wide open as possible, which greatly facilitates the pulling of the leaf fat. The leaf lies against the walls of the abdominal cavity on either side and is removed by hand. It is a flat layer of tissue, heavily deposited with fat of the very best quality. The lower edge of this layer of fat hangs free, and by grasping this free edge the whole of the layer can be removed by an upward pull. m. Splitting—The hog is then split through the center - the spinal column, leaving one-half of the spinal bones on either side. When the carcass is to be made into certain export cuts that require the removal of the backbone, the spine is usually removed at this time. A knife is run down each side of the spine of the backbone from behind, then the man with the cleaver cuts away the ribs and other attachments and the backbone is thus removed. By removing the spine at this time, or while the carcass is still warm, a. minimum amount of meat is cut away, and the cut surface presents a much smoother appearance. Such carcasses are called “marked” hogs. n. Ham facing —The hams are “faced” by cutting away a prism- -shaped 19 piece of fat and skin from the flank and cushion sides of the ham. This gives the ham a better contour and facilitates cooling. Ham facings, as well as the fat scraped from the inner surface of the carcass, are rendered for lard. 0. Rail inspection—(1) The carcass then passes through a final spray of water, and is ready to be sent to the cooler. A third government inspec- tion is made before the head is completely removed, the leaf fat pulled, or the kidneys removed from the carcass. (2) If the carcass has shown no lesions of disease up to the completion of the inspection on the rail, the head is then completely severed from the body and sent to the trimmers. Present methods of severing the head leave approximately all of the jowl on the carcass and none on the head. (3) A continuous line of troughs is placed beneath the rail along which the carcass travels, from the point where the head is first partially severed to the part where the carcass leaves the killing floor. This is for the double purpose of collecting and saving any fat or other edible parts, and to keep the floor free from blood and other contamination. p. Yteld—rThe heads and leaf fat are not removed from shipper pigs. The backbones of shipper pigs are not split but the carcasses are left as near intact as possible. Shipper pigs or hogs dressed in that style will dress out from 78 to 80 percent of the live weight, while in the packer style of dressed hogs, the dressed weight will run about 72 to 74 percent. Each hog carcass is weighed before it leaves the killing floor. The carcasses are run directly into the chillroom without preliminary cooling. By the time the carcasses reach the chillroom they have lost about 8° of temperature. 10. CATTLE KILLING.—a. Stunning.—tThe first essential in the production of dressed beef of good appearance and good keeping qualities is proper bleeding of the animal at the time of slaughter. To insure maximum results in this respect, the animal must be properly secured in order that the bleeding operation may be carried out in an unrestricted manner. All cattle, except those specially slaughtered for the Kosher trade, are stunned before bleeding. This is done in knocking pens large enough to hold from 2 to 4 animals, according to their size, and having movable floors and sides. The animals are crowded into these pens to prevent free movement, thus facilitating the knocking. The animals are stunned with a 4-pound hammer by a man who stands above and outside the pen. When all the animals in a pen have been knocked down, a lever is drawn, the side of the pen moves upward, and the floor, working on a central axis, tilts outward, spilling the cattle out upon the floor. A shackling chain is then passed around the two hind legs of the animal and it is hoisted to an overhead rail for bleeding. b. Bleeding—(1) General.—Bleeding is accomplished by cutting an ‘ 20 opening through the hide, about eight inches in length, down the middle line of the throat and just forward of the breastbone, then inserting the knife through the opening and backward to the great arteries and veins of the throat, which are severed by a slightly sidewise cut of the knife. In most cases stunning the animal has suspended the heart action, so that bleeding is largely a mechanical action, the blood draining downward from the sus- pended carcass to pass out of the severed vessels. Bleeding, therefore, should not be delayed after the animal has been stunned any longer than is absolutely necessary, as imperfect bleeding, with its undesirable attending features—gorged veins and stained meat—is very apt to result. (2) Koshering.—(a) Cattle killed for the orthodox Jewish trade are not stunned. “Kosher” cattle, as they are called, are killed by men specially ordained under the Mosaic law to perform those duties. The cattle are secured while in the knocking pen by shackling one hind leg. The shackle is attached to the hoist, the animal is then dumped out of the knocking pen and the hoist is raised, thus throwing the animal on one shoulder with its hind quarters raised off the floor. A large wood and leather muzzle is placed over the animal’s nose and the head drawn back and held tightly, exposing the throat to the “shohet” (Jewish slaughterer), who cuts the throat of the animal just back of the jawbone by rapid and continuous strokes with a long, heavy, exceedingly sharp knife. The animal is then hoisted to the rail. (b) It is claimed that koshered animals bleed much better than do those that have been stunned, as the heart action does not become impaired until after most of the blood has been pumped from the body. The blood seen coming from a stunned animal has a dark appearance (veinous blood), while that from a koshered animal is a bright red (arterial blood). How- ever, it is questionable whether in all cases a koshered animal will be better bled, as the arteries, when cut cleanly, as is the case in koshering cattle, will frequently contract at the cut end to such an extent as almost to occlude the passage of blood. When this occurs, and it frequently does happen, bleeding is retarded. c. Removing heads——When bleeding is completed, the head is skinned out and may be entirely removed or remain for a time attached to the carcass. Tags, in duplicate, bearing the number of the “run” and place in the “run,” are attached to the head and the carcass. These numbered tags serve to identify the head with the carcass should disease lesions be found in either. The heads are then conveyed to a section of the killing floor set aside for head inspection. Here an inspector makes a thorough examination for any abnormal condition that might exist. d. Dressing.—(1) General,—On all large killing floors each workman specializes in some particular work and does no other. He thus becomes very proficient at that particular task, and this skilled labor commands a considerably higher wage than does common labor. A beginner usually serves an apprenticeship at feet skinning before he may be advanced to the more exacting task of “siding” or “rumping.” When he becomes proficient at feet skinning, and can remove the hide without scoring it, he is advanced as vacancies occur in the skinning gang. (2) Pritching.—After the removal of the head, the carcass is lowered to the “bed.” The “‘bed”’ is that portion of the killing floor where the carcass is “dressed ;” i.e., where the hide is removed and, in many establishments, where the carcass is eviscerated. Here the carcass is “pritched” up on its back with feet extending upward. The “pritch” is a wooden or iron bar about .114 inches in diameter and 30 inches long. One end of the “pritch”’ is placed against the brisket of the animal, the other end contacting the floor, the pritch being set in a slanting position. This holds the carcass in a position best suited for the removal of the hide from the feet, belly, and sides. (3). Skinning.—Next in order is “siding,” which consists of dropping the hide from the sides. It requires considerable skill to remove the hide without scoring it or cutting the flesh, but so expert do these workmen become that rarely does this occur. After “siding’’ is completed, a gambrel is inserted in the hocks and the hindquarters raised from the floor for “rumping.” This consists of skinning the tail and dropping the hide from the hindquarters of the animal. The carcass is then hoisted and the gambrel is replaced by two roller hooks suspended from overhead rails. The removal of the hide is then completed; it is inspected for scores, grubs, cuts, etc., and, is dropped to the hide cellar. (4) Removing lower legs—After skinning, the feet and lower legs are removed by disconnecting them at the knee and hock, leaving all of the carpal (knee) and tarsal (hock) bones on the carcass. Owing to the un- clean condition of the legs of cattle, it is almost impossible to remove them so as to prevent contamination. In the general run of killing, no effort is made to save feet for edible purposes, but occasionally cattle feet are skinned out with special care and are passed for food purposes. This procedure is entirely confined to animals slaughtered for the kosher trade. (5) Opening carcass—tThe carcass is next opened down the median line of the escutcheon, belly, and brisket, joining with the incision made at-the time of bleeding. If the animal has been slaughtered for the kosher trade, and examination is conducted at this time by the “shohet” to determine whether the carcass conforms to kosher standards of condition. The exami- nation consists of inserting the arm into the thoracic cavity through an 22 opening in the abdominal wall and diaphragm, and exploring that cavity for pleural adhesions. The breastbone is next sawed through and the pelvic cavity opened by cutting or sawing through the aitchbone. Great care 1s exercised at all times to prevent any contamination of the meat of the carcass by fecal matter, etc. Ingested material frequently regurgitates through the oesophagus when the animal is suspended. To prevent this, the oesophagus is loosened from its attachments in the throat and thoracic cavity and securely tied. COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 7.—Viscera inspection. e. Evwiscerating.—tThe carcass is next placed in the moving chain system which carries it steadily forward to the eviscerator, inspectors, splitters, washers, etc., on its way to the chillroom. The bung and bladder are each tied off to prevent contamination of the carcass with fecal matter or urine. The bung is loosened by cutting around its anal attachment and dropped within the pelvic cavity. The viscera is dropped to a moving table which carries it to the inspectors who carefully examine each organ and group of glands for evidence of disease. f. Splitting—trThe carcass is next split in half by sawing through the sacral bones and by slitting with a cleaver through the center of the spinal column throughout its length. The care with which this splitting is done varies with the class and grade of the carcass. Extreme care is taken with 23 choice steer carcasses as a neat, tidy appearance of the side is essential for block purposes, while very little care is observed in splitting a canner cow that is not to be sold as carcass beef or used for block purposes. On the better grades the backbone is split so that one-half of the spine remains on either half of the carcass. g. Washing.—The carcass is then carried through a shower of hot water to remove any blood that may remain on the exterior of the sides, then past scrubbers armed with fountain scrub brushers, who thoroughly wash the inner surface of the thoracic and abdominal cavities to remove blood and other contamination. COURTESY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Figure 8.—Final beef carcass inspection on the killing floor. h. Final carcass inspection.—The carcass now passes a third inspection by an M.I.D. inspector; he carefully examines the pleura (lining of the thorax) and the peritoneum (lining of the abdominal cavity) for tubercles, abscesses, cysts, or other evidence of disease; he palpates the region of the precrural and the prescapular glands for enlargements, and views the ex- posed bones for evidence of tuberculosis or other disease. t. Trimming and scribing—(1) The thymus gland (sweetbread) is re- moved from all young cattle, but in older cattle it remains attached to the carcass. This gland becomes shrunken in size and tough and fibrous as the animal advances in age, and for this reason the sweetbreads from older 24 cattle do not find a ready sale and so are allowed to remain with the carcass. The tag ends of tissues along the throat and at other parts of the carcass are usually trimmed away to give a more presentable appearance to the carcass. The large open blood vessels of the throat and under the kidney are plugged with cloths to prevent purging of blood and soiling the carcass. These cloths are removed before the carcasses become throughly chilled. (2) To give the flesh of the rib, loin, and chuck a thicker appearance, the spines of the vertebrae are cut (scribed) with a scribe saw, by running the saw over the exposed surface of the bones about midway between the bodies of the vertebrae and the cartilages which tip the spines, and then bending over the partially severed ends by blows with a mallet or other tool. This gives the eye of the carcass a thicker appearance when the sides are ribbed. j. Shrouding.—In the large packing plants, the sides of beef are gener- ally shrouded ; that is, they are covered with muslin sheets, wrung out of hot water, and applied closely to the outer surface of the sides. The cloths are removed after the sides are chilled. They give the surface of the meat a much smoother appearance and also tend to bleach the fat. k. Weighing.—Lastly, the carcass is weighed before going to the cooler, and the weight marked on a tag attached to the carcass. I. Yield.—The percentage of the carcass weight to live weight varies markedly in the several classes and grades of cattle, the average being about 5314 percent. Poor canner cattle will frequently dress below 40 percent, while choice to prime steers frequently yield a dressed percentage of more than 60 percent. Individual dressing percentages of 63 to 68 are not un- usual in fat show stock. The world’s record is that of a spayed heifer killed at the Smithfield Fat Stock Show in London which dressed 76.75 _ percent. 11. CALF KILLING.—a. The slaughter of calves is usually conducted on the sheep killing floor and with the same equipment. Calves are stunned with a blow of a hammer and are bled in the same manner as cattle. They are dressed with the skin on and for that reason must be thoroughly washed before being opened for evisceration to remove any foreign matter on the skin that might contaminate the flesh. The skin is left on calf carcasses to prevent drying out and discoloration of the flesh. The flesh of a calf carcass, when skinned before chilling, will become very dry due to loss of surface moisture, and become so darkened in color as to be unattractive. However, if it is chilled before the skin is removed, the flesh presents a bright, moist, attractive appearance. The legs of calves are removed at the knee and hock joints. The aitchbone and the breastbone are cut through and the whole 25 of the viscera removed. To meet a limited local demand, the pluck is some- , times allowed to remain attached. b. Calves are subject to the usual post-mortem inspection on the killing floor. Inspection of the exterior of the carcass for bruises, of course, cannot be made until the carcass is skinned. As most veal carcasses are sold with the skin on, inspections for bruises are confined to those which extend through and are visible on the interior wall of the thoracic and abdominal cavities. c. The percentage of dressed weight to live weight of calves varies with the class and grade. A choice native veal calf will usually dress 68 percent of its live weight, while a thin skimmilk calf may dress only 58 percent. The above percentages are based on calves dressed skin on. 12. SHEEP KILLING.—a. Sheep are secured for slaughter in much the same manner as hogs. They are shackled by one hind leg and hoisted on a wheel to an overhead rail from which they hang suspended, head down- ward. They are killed by sticking through the throat just back of the jaw; this severs the large blood vessels leading to the head. When the animal is dead and bleeding completed, the lower legs are skinned and the feet re- moved, after which the animal is transferred to a moving chain system which carries it progressively forward to the chillroom. The pelt is opened down the middle line of the belly and removed partly by cutting with a knife and partly by “‘fisting’’ (pressing the closed fist between the pelt and the flesh). Care is at all times being taken to prevent injury to the ‘‘fell’”’ (the thin white membrane lying between the pelt and the flesh). Some- times the head is removed with the pelt, but usually the pelt is entirely re- moved, leaving the head attached to the carcass until inspections have been completed by the M.I.D. inspectors. “‘Hot-house” lambs are dressed “pelt on.” In this case, the pelt is thoroughly washed before the carcass is opened for evisceration to prevent contamination of the meat from dirty wool. In dressing the sheep, the shanks are allowed to remain on the carcass, the feet being removed at the fetlock joints instead of at the knee and hock, as in the case of cattle and calves. The forearms are bent back against the upper arms and held in place by skewering. The hindshanks are tied together with string inserted beneath the tendons of the lower legs and the carcass is hung by the hind legs. b. The front feet of lambs are removed at the “break joint,” instead of at the fetlock joint, as in the case of mature sheep. The break joint of lambs is a broad, moist, pink surface with 8 tooth-like projections. In the de- velopment of the long bones of a young animal, ossification begins at three principal points, one in the shaft of the bone and one at each extremity, the 26 | hardening extending in all directions from these centers. It is the point where these two hardening processes meet at the lower end of the bone that produces the ‘“‘break joint” of the lamb. The age at which bony union of the shaft and extremity of the bone takes place and the break joint thereby obliterated depends upon such factors as breed, feed, care, etc. Most year- lings show a more or less distinct break joint, but usually of a harder, whiter, rougher character than that of a lamb. In mature sheep, the eae joint is not present. Artificial means of imitating the break joint in an old sheep by pinching off the articular end of the bone results in a jagged, hard, dry, white surface that only slightly resembles the true break joint. c. Sheep carcasses are not opened through the pelvic cavity as are cattle, calves, and hogs, the aitchbone remaining intact. The sternum is usually split through its entire length. Sometimes on spring lambs it is not opened at all. The bung is loosened from the rear and dropped through the pelvic cavity and is removed with the abdominal viscera. Sometimes lambs, particularly “hot-house” lambs, are dressed with the pluck in, but this is seldom done with mature sheep. Not many years ago a large percentage of sheep, particularly lambs, was caul dressed. The back was broken, and the carcass spread by the use of back sticks, and the caul draped over the hind legs and the face of the lamb. This had a tendency to give the carcass the appearance of being fatter than it really was. Frequently heavy fat cauls from other sheep were used on light thin lambs to increase the fat effect. In this way a percentage of cheap fat was sold at carcass prices, and the back sticks also added to the weight which was charged in at carcass prices. After the enactment of the new weight and volume law, such practices were no longer permitted and practically all lamb and mutton now are round dressed. Sheep carcasses are run directly from the killing floor to the chill- room. Because of the comparative thinness of the flesh of sheep, the car- casses chill very rapidly. Chillroom temperatures are maintained at ap- proximately 38° F. To facilitate cooling, a spread stick is placed inside the thoracic cavity to hold the walls of the chest apart and allow a free circula- tion of air and thus aid chilling. d. Inspection of the sheep carcasses is first made before it is eviscerated, after the body has been opened, and consists of the palpation of the pre- crural and prescapular regions and of the thoracic viscera by inserting the hands into the thoracic cavity. Visceral inspection is made at the eviscer- ating table, and includes a close observation for parasitic infestation. Native sheep in particular are prone to be infested with internal parasites. A large percentage of sheep livers is condemned for parasitic infestation. The last inspection is on the rail. e. The percentage of dressed weight to live weight varies more in the 27 case of sheep than any other meat animals, due not only to the variations of condition, but to the greater variation in the weights of the pelt and fleece. Thin, unshorn ewes may dress as low as 35 percent of the live weight. Choice lambs frequently dress as high as 55 percent, but the average for all classes is less than 50 percent of the live weight. 13. THE HANDLING OF KILLING FLOOR OFFAL.—In no other branch of the packing industry have such improvements been made as in the handling of the offal from the killing floors. Before the days of artificial refrigeration, these products were largely wasted. Now they represent a source of food supply of considerable importance, as well as contributing to our stocks of medicines, and yielding fertilizer and stock feed of high value. Thus, offal may be classified as edible, inedible, and medicinal. The handling of killing offal from the various classes of animals differs in some respects and they will be taken up separately. a. Hog offal—(1) Because of the practical impossibility of collecting hog blood without contamination, the M.I.D. prohibits its use as an edible product unless secured by approved sanitary methods. Practically no effort is now made to collect hog blood. It runs into a drain in the floor and is gathered for the manufacture of fertilizer, blood meal, etc. (2) Hog hair is thoroughly washed, separated from the scurf, sterilized by boiling, and dried. The heavier bristles are separated for use in the manufacture of brushes, etc. The remainder of the hair is put through a curing process and then used in automobile seats, cushions, mattresses, etc. (3) Owing to the amount of tank water entering the lungs of hogs dur- ing the process of scalding, government regulations forbid the use of these organs for edible purposes. (4) The lean meat is trimmed from the larynx and the fat from the trachea, and the balance of the respiratory tract is rendered as inedible offal. The oesophagus is slit open lengthwise and thoroughly cleaned, later being used in the manufacture of sausage. It is usually cured before being so used. The meat of the oesophagus is known as weasand meat. The stomach is turned, thoroughly cleaned, cured, and used as a container for headcheese or used as hog tripe or as an ingredient in sausage or in potted meats. A portion of the mucous lining of the stomach of pigs is rich in pepsin, and large numbers of these are removed and used in the manufac- ture of that article. The small intestine, which is about 56 feet in length, is removed by pulling from the membrane (mesentery or ruffle) from which it hangs suspended, and is thoroughly cleaned, slimed, and cured to be used for sausage casings or for ligatures, etc. The mesentery is heavily deposited with fat, known as the ruffle fat because of the peculiar ruffled appearance of the outer border after the intestine has been removed. The 28 | ruffle and the caul (the thin, lace-like fat, fat-filled membrane attached to the stomach) are sent to tanks for rendering into lard. The large intestine, which is about 16 feet in length, is largely rendered into grease, though a few are cleaned, cooked, and sold under the name of chitterlings. This article is consumed almost entirely by Negroes. A small proportion of these intestines is used for casings for certain kinds of sausage (Thuringer, blood sausage, frizzes). The rectum, known as the “bung,” about three feet in length, is valued highly as a casing for summer sausage, liver sausage, etc. Great care is exercised in removing the bung from the carcass and in trimming it afterward. A cut or scored bung means a considerable loss. Many small bungs are split and two sewed together to make one large bung. (5) The spleen and pancreas are usually sent to the lard tank with the caul and ruffle fat, though the spleen is occasionally removed and used in sausage. The liver is almost entirely used in liver sausage, liver puddings, etc.; though a small number are chilled and sold fresh. The heart is either sold as fresh heart or used in sausage manufacture. Leaf fat is rendered without chilling or is thrown into a truck and taken to a chillroom, where each piece is hung separately over wooden rods, or on hooks, and left to chill, after which it is rendered into the higher grades of lard—neutral and open-kettle rendered. The kidneys are usually removed, chilled, and used in stews. Giblet meat (the pillars of the diaphragm, or what corre- sponds to the hanging tenderloin in cattle) sometimes is removed for sausage meat, but in present practice it is allowed to remain on the carcass to be sold as part of the loin. (6) In the offal room the external ear is cut from the head and finds its way to the sausage room, where it enters into the manufacture of head- cheese, souse, etc. Some ears are used in the manufacture of gelatine. The external ear canal is removed and used in inedible offal. The lower jaw is pulled away to facilitate handling the head. The snout is removed from the upper jaw by means of a power-driven snout stripper. The snout is used for the same purposes as are the ears. A small amount of muscular tissue in the snout (snout meat) is sometimes removed and used separately in the manufacture of sausage. The lower lip is also used in the manufac- ture of headcheese, souse, etc. The tongue is removed and sent to the pickle cellar for curing to be later put up as lunch tongue, either jellied or canned. The tonsils are removed and sent to the offal tank together with the ear canals, the ethmoid, and turbinated bones, etc. The muscular tissues of the head are cut away and receive the name of the part of the head from which they are removed, such as temple meat, cheek meet, etc. This is all used in sausage manufacture, being used either fresh or cured. The 29 warm meats are spread on trays and placed in chillrooms to be thoroughly chilled before being placed in cure or being sent to the sausage room. The fat of the head is sent to the rendering tanks to be rendered into lard. The skull is split by a power-driven knife which is so constructed that it splits the skull in such a manner that the brain can be removed whole. The.brain is chilled and disposed of fresh or is canned. The teeth and the ethmoid and turbinated bones are removed from the skull by means of machines designed for that purpose. The bones are then washed in a rotary washer and sent to lard tanks for rendering into lard. Whole hogs’ heads or “market heads,” are allowed to be sold without removal of the teeth or any of the bones; the outer surface of the head must be thoroughly clean and free from hair. The hoofs and dewclaws of hogs are removed on the killing floor and are tanked for fertilizer. Hog skins are seldom removed on the killing floor but remain as a part of wholesale cuts. (7) The urino-genital organs are largely of an inedible nature. Hog bladders are frequently utilized for containers for sausage, but owing to their high odor must receive special treatment before they so may be used. Ovaries and testicles are saved to a limited extent for manufacture of medicinal agents; but for the most part they are tanked with the uterus, pizzle, and other inedible offal. b. Beef offal—(1) The blood used in the manufacture of blood sausage is obtained from cattle. It is collected by attaching a bucket to the incision in the throat immediately after the animal is stuck, thus catching a portion of the blood as it pours from the severed veins. The blood from koshered animals cannot be so collected and escapes onto the floor. Blood that is to be used for edible purposes must be gathered as clean as possible, in clean containers, and held until the animal passes inspection to prevent the use of blood from diseased animals. Blood to be used in the manufacture of blood albumen is also collected in this manner. The blood, which escapes to the floor, drains into basins and is used in blood mea and fertilizer manufacture. : (2) Cattle hides receive a careful inspection to detannma their condi- tion as to scores, grubs, brands, etc., to establish their grade. They are then dropped direct to the hide cellars for curing. The dewclaws are cut off by the men who skin out the feet. All tail bones are also removed. A carefully removed hide has little or no flesh or fat ae to the fleshy side. (3) Cattle feet are removed at the knee and hock bis, ieee the hoofs attached to the lower legs. These are sent to the bone house for disposition in the manufacture of neatsfoot oil, glue, and bone products. (4) After inspection, the heads gravitate to the offal floor. Here the 30 horns are removed and sent to the bone house, where. they are dried, the piths being used in glue manufacture and the horn sold for the manufac- ture of fancy ornaments. The tongues are removed by chopping the hyoid bone at its base and then removing the tongue with a knife. Tongues are usually “long-cut” ; that is, the epiglottis and larynx remain attached, thus increasing the weight of the tongue by about one-third. Short-cut tongues do not have these organs attached. Tongues are given a careful inspection at this time. Frequently an enlarged follicle is found in the upper surface of the tongue, and this may be filled with ingested matter or may be in- flamed or even contain pus. The surrounding tissues are frequently found to be affected with actinomycosis. Such tongues are carefully trimmed, or if diseased, are condemned. Frequently, cattle tongues are variably pig- mented, some being entirely black. This is not an abnormal condition. Tongues are thoroughly washed, chilled, and sent to the curing cellars. Very few beef tongues are sold fresh. Cheek meat, temple meat, and other meat of the head are cut from the bones, spread upon trays and set in chillrooms to cool, after. which they are used fresh in sausage manufacture or cured for the same purpose. Some head meat and cheek meat are used in canned meats. The skull is cut with a power-driven knife in such man- ner as to allow the removal of the brain. The brains of cattle that have been stunned are clotted more or less with blood due to the fracturing of the skull with the hammer, and as a result must be handled carefully and chilled quickly to prevent deterioration. Brains from koshered cattle are particularly desirable as they do not present a bloody appearance. Brains are sold to some extent in a fresh chilled state for restaurant trade, but the bulk of cattle brains is either frozen or canned. At the base of the brain cavity in a small crypt in the skull lies the pituitary body, one of the duct- less glands. This is carefully removed to be used for medicinal purposes. Another ductless gland, the pineal, lies beneath and between the two hemis- pheres of the brain. This gland is sometimes removed for medicinal pur- poses, but usually remains intact with the brain. The bones of the head are sent to the bone house to be rendered for tallow, glue, and bone products. The hard palate is removed and chilled, to be used in sausage manufacture. | (5) The modern methods of removing the viscera prevent contamina- tion of those organs and the carcass with fecal matter. The oesophagus and the rectum are tied to prevent the escape of the contents of the digestive tract. The small intestine is tied before it is severed from the fourth stomach to prevent contamination with fecal matter. The neck of the blad- der is also tied. The digestive organs then gravitate to the offal room. The omentum, or caul, is stripped from its attachments to the stomachs 31 and placed in a truck to be sent as quickly as practicable to the oil houss for chilling and melting into oleo stock. The caul, together with the ruffle yields the highest grade of oleo oil. It is best in corn-fed beef animals The remaining fat from the stomach is carefully removed and also finds its way into oleo stock. The oesophagus is severed from the stomach anc sent to a special table for disposition. The fibrous membrance lining of the oesophagus is very dense. The muscular coat is stripped from the fibrous coat, the former being used in sausage manufacture as weasand meat while the latter is prepared for use as a sausage casing of high quality known as a weasand. The spleen, which is attached to the rumen, or firs! stomach, is detached and sent to the tank to be rendered for tallow o: is chilled to be used in sausage manufacture. The first and second stomach: —the rumen and the reticulum—are then cut open and their content: ejected, thoroughly washed and sent to the tripe department. The firs! stomach yields plain tripe and the second yields honeycomb tripe. The omasum, or third stomach, does not find any economic use but is tankec with other inedible offal. The abomasum or fourth stomach is cut open emptied, cleaned, and sent to the tallow tank. (6) The small intestines, which are suspended from the outer edge of the ruffle, or mesentery, are detached by means of a knife. The ruffle fat then accompanies the caul to the oleo department. The small intestine: are run through the fatting machine, which removes the fat from the outer surfaces; then are turned and run through the sliming machines, late: finding their way to the casing department to be cured for sausage casings under the name of beef rounds. They also find a limited use in the manu- facture of tennis racket strings, perfume, bottle caps, etc. The large intestines are held in a network of fatty tissues which are removed and sent to the oleo department. The caecum (blind gut or cap end) and the first two feet of the colon are known as the beef bung. They are carefully fatted, turned, cleaned, freed of nodules, and sent to the casing department to be cured for sausage casings. Beef middles come from the remaining portion of the large intestines, extending from the bung to the rectum. Middles are fatted, cleaned, and sent to the casing department to be cured for sausage casings. The rectum is not used as a container for edible products. It is closely fatted and then tanked. “Machine” fat, the fat resulting from running rounds through the fatting machines, and “chip” fat, the fat obtained from trimming the large intestines, are rendered for edible tallow. The pancreas, one of the organs of digestion attached to the intestines, is sometimes separated and chilled to be sold as “stomach sweetbreads,” but ordinarily they remain with the intestinal fat and are rendered into tallow or oleo stock. 32 (7) The liver receives a very careful inspection as it is very much subject to parasitic and bacterial invasion. The greater part of the blood circulation returning from the digestive tract passes through the liver which thus becomes the first stopping place of much infectious material absorbed by the veins of the intestines. Livers are, therefore, very prone to abscesses, tuberculosis, etc. Flukes and other parasites frequently make their way into the liver from the intestines through the bile duct. After passing inspection, the livers gravitate to the offal floor. Present methods of handling livers include washing with water. This removes any blood, bile, or other contamination. The gall bladder is carefully removed to prevent contaminating the liver with bile. The gall bladder is then punctured and the bile collected. Bile has a commercial value as a medicinal agent, being marketed as ox gall, and is also used by tanners and by soap manufacturers. Gall stones are occasionally found in the gall bladder. These find a steady market in the Orient. Beef livers are hung on racks in chill- rooms until thoroughly chilled. They are sold fresh for local consumption, but for export trade or long shipments they are frozen. (8) Tails are partially severed by the rumper, but remain attached to the carcasses until after final inspection has been made. They are then removed, spread on trays and placed in chillrooms. They are sold fresh or frozen. Many are used in canned oxtail soup. (9) The urino-genital organs of beef animals are disposed of in the same way as those from the hog. The urinary bladder is drained, washed, inflated, dried, and prepared for use as a container for certain kinds of sausage. The ovaries of cows are sometimes saved for use as medicinal agents, but the supply greatly exceeds the demand. The uterus and its appendages are tanked with other inedible offal. The male urethra (pizzle) is usually rendered into glue. The testicles of bulls are not used for food; some are used in the preparation of medicinal agents and the balance tanked as inedible offal. The prostate and Cowper’s glands of the bull are also sometimes used in the preparation of medicinal agents. The udders of cows are so frequently found to be diseased that the M.I.D. forbids their use for food except under special conditions. Some mammary gland tissue is used for medicinal purposes. (10) The thyroid is a ductless gland lying in the throat on either side of the trachea and just below the larynx. The action of this gland in life, as well as that of the other ductless glands, is not well understood. How- ever, it is known to have a direct action upon the blood circulation, and is largely used in the preparation of medicinal agents used for heart control. The suprarenal glands, or adrenal bodies, lie in contact with or in front of the kidneys. They produce a medicinal property used largely in surgery 33 for the control of hemorrhage. The thymus gland is commercially known as the sweetbread. It is sold only in a fresh condition, being frozen if it is to be shipped for some distance or to be held for some time. Sweet- breads are largest and tenderest in the calf, becoming smaller and tougher as the animal grows older. Those in old cattle have no commercial value and remain as part of the dressed carcass. The thymus gland lies just inside the thoracic cavity, extending back as far as the third rib and the heart, while the cervical portion extends forward in the throat along the trachea, sometimes as far as the thyroid gland. Sweetbreads are removed on the killing floor, trimmed and washed, and spread on trays to chill. (11) Beef hearts are cut open, exposing the cavities of the heart to inspection for beef measles. The hearts are washed, spread on trays in chillrooms to chill, and are sold fresh; they are frozen if intended for future use or shipment. Beef kidneys are practically never removed on the killing floor but remain attached to the dressed carcass. c. Calf offal—Offal from the calf killing floor does not differ to any great extent from that of beef. The blood is allowed to drain upon the floor and collected for fertilizer and blood meal manufacture. The head and feet are disposed of in the same manner as are those of cattle. The head and feet of calves are sometimes removed with the skin attached. These are then scalded in hot water and the hair removed. The head and feet are then sold to a special trade for making mock turtle soup and for other edible purposes. Calf liver and calf sweetbreads are two delicacies that are superior to similar products from any other class of animals. The © liver is commonly removed with the lungs and heart, and the whole “pluck” sold together. Calf liver commands a high price because of its tenderness. Veal liver must be light in color and weigh not more than 2%4 pounds. Dark colored livers cannot be sold as veal livers. In the calf, the sweetbread reaches its maximum development and is most tender. The fourth stom- ach of veal calves that have had only a milk diet is the source of commer- cial rennet. The handling of the balance of calf offal does not differ to any marked extent from that of beef. d. Sheep offal—(1) The most important of the by-products is, of course, the pelt, its value being dependent upon the market value of wool and skins, sometimes being worth as much as the dressed carcass. The pelts are sent directly to the woolhouse where they are put through a special process for the removal of the wool and curing of the skins. | (2) The blood of sheep goes entirely into inedible blood products. The small intestines of sheep make the highest grades of sausage casings, and all small intestines of sheep are saved for that purpose or for manufacture 34 into violin strings, surgical ligatures, etc. Surgical ligature is made almost exclusively from the small intestines of sheep. (3) The rumen and recticulum of sheep are occasionally prepared for tripe, but are ordinarily tanked with the large intestine and the third and fourth stomachs. The livers of sheep have a very low commercial value, a few being used in sausage manufacture or sold fresh, but the bulk of them is tanked. The caul, ruffle, and other killing fat produce oleo stock that is greatly inferior to that obtained from cattle. Some of the fat from the sheep killing floor is rendered for oleo stock, but the greatest part is tanked for mutton tallow. Sheep tongues are removed, washed, and chilled to be cured and packed as pickled or jellied lamb’s tongues. The testicles of young male sheep are commercially known as “lamb fries.” (4) Present methods of dressing sheep leave the spleen attached to the diaphragm (skirt) of the dressed carcass. Head meat and cheek meat are trimmed away from the bones of the head, spread on trays and chilled for use in sausage. The brain is removed to be chilled and sold fresh or used for canning. The bones of the head are rendered for tallow and bone products. The feet go to the glue house. Sheep hearts are washed, chilled and used in sausage. The kidneys are not removed on the killing floor but remain as part of the dressed carcass. The thymus gland is removed and sold as sheep sweetbreads. 35 SECTION IV CARCASS BEEF 14. GENERAL.—Fresh beef is marketed in three general divisions— carcass beef, standard wholesale cuts, and boneless beef. Fresh beef may be either chilled or frozen, but the term “fresh beef’ is used in the trade to apply more particularly to the chilled product, while beef which has been frozen is designated by the qualifying term frozen, 1. e., “frozen beef.” In time of peace about four-fifths of the carcasses of cattle slaughtered at large packing centers are marketed as carcasses or wholesale cuts. During war, the Armed Forces are supplied with boneless frozen beef. The lower grades of boneless beef are utilized in cured beef products, canned meats, sausage, etc. 15. QUARTERING.— a. Splitting.— Dressed carcasses of beef are split on the killing floor through the middle of the backbone into two halves of about equal weight. The left side is called the “open side,’ because the kidney on that side is very loosely attached to the carcass, leaving consid- erable space between the kidney knob and the flesh beneath. The kidney knob on the right side is closely attached to the flesh, giving rise to the term “closed side” for the right side . The kidney knob hangs a little lower on the right side than on the left. The hanging tenderloin is found attached to the left side. This is a rather large muscle, anatomically known as the “pillars of the diaphragm.” b. Ribbing.—Bovines have 13 pairs of ribs. Carcasses are “ribbed,” i. €., cut into quarters, by cutting between the 12th and 13th rib on each side. This is the usual method of ribbing used in this country (now com- pulsory under ruling of the Office of Price Administration). Prior to regulation by the OPA, “export” ribbing (leaving 3 ribs on the hind- quarter) had still obtained in some cities. In a few localities, also, sides were ribbed with all the ribs left on the forequarter. Ribbing divides the carcass into 4 quarters of almost equal weight, with the fores usually slightly heavier than the hinds. When all 4 quarters are sold or shipped together, they are known as “straight cattle.’”’ The hindquarters carry a preponder- ance of cuts suitable for steaks, while the forequarters are utilized to greater advantage as roasts, pot roasts, stews, etc. As the tendency, particularly in cities, is toward small cuts that can be prepared quickly, the demand for hindquarter meat is much keener than for forequarter meat. Hence, we find hindquarters selling for 25 to 40 percent higher than forequarters, the variation depending upon the season of the year, since there is greater demand for soup bones, roasts, and pot roasts of the forequarter in the 36 | cold months, and an increased demand for the steaks of the hindquarter during the summer. 16. CLASSES OF CARCASS BEEF.—The classes of carcass beef are ) based upon sex condition and, to a minor extent, age. The market classes of carcass beef are steers, heifers, cows, stags, and bulls. a. Steers.—Steer carcasses are distinguished by their smooth conforma- tion, full and rounded rounds and loins, short, full necks, heavy, short | shanks, the presence of cod fat, narrow and shallow pelvic cavity, curved aitchbone, small “pizzle eye,’ small pizzle eye cap, prominent cartilages, soft, red bones, only partial exposure of the lean above the aitchbone, and usually white or creamy-white fat. The cod fat is lobulated and pointed, | and varies with the finish; in fat steers it is abundant and prominent and is always present even in poor steer carcasses. In steers, the inguinal canal is closed and covered with cod fat. The “pizzle eye” is the button of ligament at the rear of the aitchbone at the attachment of the penis to the pelvic framework. The “pizzle eye cap” is the kidney-shaped, or crescent-shaped, area of lean meat at the rear of and above the “pizzle eye.” The pizzle eye and pizzle eye cap are found only on male carcasses. Steers are almost wholly from the beef breeds. b. Heifers—Heifer carcasses are largely from the beef breeds. There is great similarity in conformation of heifer carcasses and steer carcasses of the same breeding and finish. As compared to steer carcasses, heifer rounds are somewhat more slender and more inclined to be dished; loins are somewhat less full and rounded; and shanks are much smaller. On | the other hand, the size of the cartilages, redness and softness of bones, color of fat, curved aitchbone, and width and depth of the pelvic cavity are comparable to those of the steer. Heifer carcasses have no cod fat, but that area is occupied by a rudimentary udder covered with fat. The heifer udder is rounded and smooth and occupies a much more extensive area | than does the cod fat of the steer. In heifers that have never been bred, the udder is small and shows no evidence of lactating. Pregnant heifers may show udder development in ratio to the stage of pregnancy. Ad- vanced pregnancy is evidenced by the enlargement of the udder and the | development of the milk cisterns. The fat at the rear of the round folds in and contacts the tip of the aitchbone, entirely covering the area occu- pied by the pizzle eye and pizzle eye cap of the male animal. The lean meat above the aitchbone is denuded of fat throughout the length of the exposed bone. The ribs may be somewhat more flattened than those of the steer. c. Cows.—Cow carcasses show very distinctly the variations in confor- m7 mation due to calf bearing. The whole carcass is angular, rounds are long, slender, and dished in the thinner carcasses. Shanks are slender, necks long and thin, loins flat and wide, ribs distinctly flattened and widened, the pelvic cavity is wide and deep and practically free of fat, the aitchbone is straight, bones are white, hard, and flinty, and the fat has a distinctly yellow tinge. Lactating udders are removed on the killing floor so cow carcasses carry little or no udder tissue, but the fell is usually drawn over this area and skewered into place to present a smooth appearance. Cartilages tipping the spines of the vertebrae of cow carcasses appear as solid bone. Hip bones are very prominent and the posterior ribs are distinctly bowed. The fat of the round contacts the rear end of aitchbone and the area above the aitchbone is free of fat. Cow carcasses are from beef and dairy breeds alike. d. Bulls——Bull carcasses show distinct masculine characteristics. The muscles of the neck and round are massive and bulging, while the loin is thin. Shanks are heavy and coarse. Except in very fat bulls, the external covering of fat is thin or absent, and the flesh is very dark in color. Cod fat is scanty or absent. The inguinal canal (the opening through the abdom- inal wall through which the spermatic cord passes) is open and readily discernible. The pizzle eye and pizzle eye cap are large. The pelvic cavity is the same as that of the steer. The flesh when cut is dark in color, coarse in texture, and devoid of marbling. Carcasses may show any vari- ation from yearlings to advanced age. Bones and cartilages vary with the age of the animal. . e. Stags—(1) Stag carcasses show characteristics between those of . steers and bulls. The neck is more massive than that of the steer and not so massive as that of the bull, and the muscles of the round are not so promi- nent as those of the bull. The pizzle eye and pizzle eye cap are larger than those of the steer, but not so large as those of the bull. The cod fat is smaller than that of the steer, but more than that of the bull. The inguinal canal is usually not in evidence, but is usually closed by cod fat. Stag carcasses usually cut dark, but they are usually not so dark fleshed as those of bulls and may show some marbling. Stag carcasses usually show better finish than bulls, but not as much nor as uniform as steers. | | (2) Slaughter of the various classes in official establishments is about as follows: ; vase {Bers he. fei! 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Market butts are sold fresh. (e) Picnic butts—These are picnics with the shank cut off close to the breast, and with all of the skin and the surplus fat removed. (5) Plates—(a) Clear.—The fat portion of the shoulder butt remain- ing after the removal of the Boston butt is the clear plate. It is a continu- ation of the fat back. Light, thin clear plates are rendered for lard ; heavier ones are cured in dry salt or as barrelled pork. (b) Regular—Regular plates are that portion of shoulder butts remain- ing after the removal of the boneless butts. They are usually cured in dry salt or as barrelled pork. (6) Sides—(a) General—tThese include various styles of ‘‘ribs,” “clears,” and English bacon sides. The term clear as applied to pork sides means that the cut is free of bone. (b) Ribs—A rough short rib is the middle portion of the side, with shoulder and ham off, and with the tenderloin removed. Regular short ribs differ from rough short ribs in having the backbone removed and the breastbone sawed even with the side. Ribs are cut largely from heavy packing hogs, and are made in weights from 25 to 80 pounds. They are usually spoken of simply as “ribs.’’ They are not made as commonly as they were a few years ago. When made they are almost exclusively dry salt cured. Extra short ribs are middles with the loins. removed. They are handled in the same way as regular ribs. (c) Clears.——Short clears are made from rough ribs by removing the breastbone, backbone and ribs and squaring the ends. Extra short clears in addition have the loins removed. They are dry salt cured in weights from 30 to 70 pounds. (d) English bacon sides ——The English bacon cuts are so called because they are almost entirely cured and packed according to English trade _ requirements and exported to England. The principal English cuts made by American packers are Wiltshires, Cumberlands, Long Clears, and Dublins. “Wiltshires’ consist of the entire side, including the ham and shoulder butt with the blade bone taken out, legs cut off below the knee and hock joints, aitchbone removed, shoulder trimmed smooth and square, and belly trimmed smooth. They are made from young, lean bacon hogs, usually barrows, and weigh from 40 to 70 pounds. In former years all Wiltshires were singed. “Cumberlands” differ from “Wiltshires” in that the long hams, or short cut hams and ham butts, are removed and the flank end squared up, shoulder ribs, neck bones and backbones taken out, and breastbone sawed down smooth with the side. They are made from good and choice bacon hogs and average from 20 to 60 pounds. This is the most 81 popular of the “English” cuts. “Long Clears’ are the same as “Cumber- lands” except that the fore leg is cut close to the brisket and all bones are removed. “Extra Long Clears’ have the loin also removed. They are made from good bacon hogs and weigh from 18 to 40 pounds. “Dublins” are simi- lar to “Cumberlands” except that the leg is cut off close to the breast. They are made from light, common bacon hogs and pigs and weigh from 12 to 20 pounds. Since World War I, American production of English cuts has dwindled to a small fraction of its former volume. Canadian and Belgian pork is more favored by English trade because it is not so fat as the American product. For domestic trade pork middles are made into loins, bellies, fat backs, and spareribs. (7) Loins——Loins are the fleshy portion of the backs of hogs. They include the “slip bone” end of the pelvis and the end of the shoulder blade, the backbone and back ribs, and the tenderloin. The tenderloin lies under- neath the pelvic bones and the lumbar vertebrae, in the same relative posi- tion as the beef tenderloin. The loin is the leading fresh pork cut and is retailed entirely as chops and roasts. They are made principally from butcher, light packing and heavy bacon hogs, and must have good color and shape, firm, fine grained flesh and firm white fat.. It is almost entirely lean with a thin layer of fat on the external surface. Loins are sold in averages from 6 to 18 pounds, though there is but small demand for loins over 14 pounds, the most popular average being 8 to 10 pounds. Long loins are no longer used to any extent. They consist of regular loins and Boston butts in one. piece. (8) Fat backs——Fat backs are the fat portion of the backs, and corre- spond to the loin in length and width. Long fat backs include the clear plate also. Fat backs are made from butcher and packing hogs when cutting pork loins and are made in 4 to 20 pound averages. Export fat backs are very thick, heavy fat backs made from prime heavy loin hogs. Paprika fat backs are thin, light fat backs weighing from 4 to 8 pounds. Fat backs are cured in dry salt. Paprika fat backs, after being cured, are covered with paprika and dried, being used quite extensively in mining districts of the East and other foreign settlements. Thin fat backs are skinned, the fat being rendered for lard and the skins being cured and tanned for leather or used for gelatin. Short clear backs are the short loin and fat back taken together but with all bones and tenderloin removed. Rib backs are similar to clear backs, except that the ribs are not removed. These are used to some extent in export shipments, being cured in dry salt. Rough backs are used to some extent in making short cut, or family, mess pork. (9) Spareribs—These are the ane of the ribs cut from the rib belly. 82 —_ Full sheet spareribs include ribs from both belly and loin in one piece. Back ribs are those from the loin. Spareribs are essentially a fresh meat product, though at times some are cured either in pickle or dry salt, and small quantities are later smoked. (10) Bellies—a. General—Bellies are made in greater varieties and grades than any other pork cut. The belly is that portion of the side below the back. With the lower ribs attached it is known as a rib belly; with the ribs removed it is called a “clear” belly. Barrow bellies are much more desirable than sow bellies, as the latter are usually “seedy.” Seedy bellies are those in which the mammary gland tissue has developed and may or may not be pigmented. These glands extend the entire length of the belly of the sow, there being five or six on each side. In the gilt these glands remain undeveloped, and are usually white in color, although they may become pigmented. During pregnancy the mammary glands develop rapid- ly and any black pigment present rapidly disappears, the glands having a pale pink color which continues during the period of lactation. Glands that have lactated seldom return to their original size, but remain somewhat developed. If the sow is not again bred, black pigment may be deposited throughout the glandular tissues. The white mammary glands of the gilt are called white seeds; lactating glands are known as red seeds; while pig- mented glands are known as black seeds. Occasionally small pigmented areas are found in barrow bellies in rudimentary glandular tissue, but this is never extensive and is not seriously considered. Seedy sow bellies are of considerable importance, however, in the grading of bellies. Being glandular structures they differ in appearance markedly from that of the flesh or fat and are so unsightly and so detract from appearance that the sales value of the cut is decreased. Bellies are designated by the method by which they are to be cured or by the use to which they are to be put; as fancy breakfast bellies, dry salt bellies, sweet pickle bellies, and English bellies. : : (b) Dry salt clear bellies—These are, as the name implies, free of bone and cured in dry salt. They are made in averages from 10 to 25 pounds. While these bellies are not seedless, usually only small white seeds are admitted. Dry salt rib bellies are usually made in heavier weights of the same grade of bellies, the weight running as high as 45 pounds. The lower ribs, or spareribs, remain on these bellies. Many so-called dry salt clear bellies are not entirely clear of bone, the ribs being double scribed and approximately two inches of the ends of the ribs along their attach- ments to the costal cartilages (featherbones) remain on the belly. (c) Sweet pickle bellies —These are of lighter average weights than dry salt bellies, and are given a sweet pickle cure. Many light, seedy sow bellies 83 and thin barrow bellies are placed i in this grade. The usual averages are from 4 to 14 pounds, and may be either clear or with ribs on. (d) Fancy breakfast bacon bellies—These are the highest quality of light bellies, being cut from bacon and light butcher hogs. They must show a high degree of quality in every respect; soft, thin, smooth skin, without blotches or injury; firm, white fat; cherry colored flesh of fine grain ; a large percentage of lean to fat ; and must be seedless. They consist entirely of barrow and gilt bellies, Bit all bellies are cut back to the line of the teats to insure the exclusion of all seeds. They are trimmed more closely than dry salt or sweet pickle bellies, are square cut, have bones and featherbones removed, and are made in averages from 4 to 14 pounds. Fancy breakfast bacon bellies are given a “‘box” cure, and are made into the best brands of sugar cured bacon. | (e) English bellies —The demand for English bellies has declined greatly since World War I. They are high quality clear bellies of heavier averages than those required for fancy breakfast bacon, running from 10 to 20 pounds in weight. These bellies must be commercially seedless and con- sequently are made almost exclusively from barrows. They are square cut, closely trimmed, and are cured in dry salt. | (11) Miscellaneous—(a) General—While the cuts enumerated above constitute the great bulk of market cuts of pork, there are numerous smaller cuts which result from cutting up hog carcasses into small cuts. (b) Barrel pork.—rThe barrel pork trade uses a variety of cuts from bellies, backs and ribs. Mess Pork consists of rough ribs cut into strips from backbone to belly from 4 to 6 inches wide. Short cut mess, or family mess pork, is made from rib backs cut into pieces from 4 to 6 inches wide. Before the days of artificial refrigeration mess pork constituted more than half of the pork trade, but it has now been largely replaced by pickle and dry salt meats. Mess pork is marketed largely in lumber camps and in the Southern States. Belly pork is made from rib or clear bellies by cutting them into pieces from 4 to 6 inches wide. Fat back pork is made by cutting fat backs into pieces from 4 to 6 inches wide, light-weight fat backs being used for this purpose. Ham butt pork is made when Cumberlands and similar English cuts are made in squaring up the loin end of the Cumberland side after a short cut ham has been removed. The pieces average from 3 to 4 pounds. As the name implies, barreled pork is cured in barrels or tierces, the meat being packed tightly in the barrels, the barrels then headed up and filled with pickle through the bung. Barrel pork is marketed under a. variety of brands and the numerous cuts contain practically one portion of the hog carcass except the ham. (c) Squares——Squares or square cut jowl butts, are cut from the jowl. 84 qen) {> BF — 2 Formerly jowls were used for bean pork, for sausage, or were rendered into lard. Now many jowls are cut into squares averaging from 2 to.4 pounds, cured and smoked and marketed as bacon squares. (d) Tenderloins—Tenderloins are removed from regular ribs, English sides, and from loins boned for Canadian style bacon. They are marketed fresh. This is practically the only source of market tenderloins, as other- wise the tenderloin is sold with the loin. (e) Briskets—Briskets are cut from the shoulder end of clear bellies. They are from 2 to 4 inches wide and weigh from 2 to 4 pounds. They are cut to reduce the weight of bellies being trimmed for breakfast bacon. They are cured in barrels or boxes, and are usually marketed as smoked briskets. ({) Neck bones——These are the vertebrae of the neck and shoulder, to- gether with the shoulder ribs. They are marketed fresh and find the same use as spareribs. (g) Pig tails—These are usually marketed fresh, though some are cured in dry salt or in pickle. (h) Trimmings.—tIn cutting up a hog into the cuts enumerated above a varying amount of trimmings are made, depending in amount upon the style of cuts made. These trimmings are separated into fat and lean, the former being known as cutting fat and is rendered for lard, and the latter being called “trimmings” and is used for prepared meat products, such as sausage. There are two general market grades of trimmings known as “regular” trimmings and “special” trimmings. There is no definite standard with regard to the percentage of lean and fat in these two grades of trim- mings, “regulars” running from 40 to 60 percent lean and “specials” from 70 to 90 percent lean. These percentages vary with the market value of lard and trimmings: if the price of lard is high more fat will be trimmed away to be rendered into lard, the reverse being the case when the price of trimmings is high. Special or “Berliner” trimmings usually consist of large pieces obtained by boning injured hams, shoulders, etc., and are used to a large extent in making “Berliner” sausage and high grade summer sausage. Trimmings usually take their name from the part from which they are cut, e.g., neck bone trimmings, ham trimmings, belly trimmings, etc. Trimmings cut from bones. such as neck bone trimmings, are apt to have small particles of bone among the meat. Trimmings are frequently cured for use in sausage, the “dry cure” method being used almost exclusively. Belly trimmings frequently are “seedy”. Many trimmings are frozen during the season of heaviest production. For this purpose they are packed in boxes holding approximately 100 pounds. If promptly and properly handled throughout, such trimmings are little different from fresh trimmings. 85 51. MARKETING FRESH PORK.—Fresh pork must be handled as promptly as possible and under sanitary conditions to prevent spoilage. Pork deteriorates more rapidly under unfavorable conditions than does beef. Hog carcasses usually remain in the cooler until they are thoroughly chilled, which, in modern coolers, requires from 18 to 24 hours. At packing centers the cuts designed for curing purposes are transferred without delay from the cutting floor to the curing cellars and are placed in cure the same day. Pork for the fresh meat trade is handled just as expeditiously. Loins, butts and shoulders are usually wrapped individually in waxed paper, and packed in boxes or barrels. Spareribs are packed in barrels or boxes, and tenderloins are usually packed in tin pails holding 10 pounds net. Fresh pork is kept under refrigeration at all times when possible. Holding fresh pork, even at chill room temperatures, for a considerable time does not enhance its quality. If a market is not available for it, prompt freezing is essential. Loins, trimmings, or other fresh pork, when held for five or six days, loses its fresh color and presents a stale appearance. On account of its high fat content, pork does not freeze as readily as beef. Below zero temperatures are essential for the prompt freezing of pork products. The best method used for defrosting frozen pork is in a chill room at tem- peratures from 34 to 38° F. | 52. FRESH PORK FOR ARMY USE.—a. General requirements.— U.S. Army specification for pork provides for a variety of fresh pork cuts, either chilled or frozen, as required. The specification requires the cuts to be made from “carcasses of good quality, in good condition, sweet, sound and free from bruises and discolorations. Oily and soft cuts, those from stags and old sows, those with dark flesh, or those with thick rind and coarse muscle fiber will not be accepted.” These requirements, if complied with, will insure satisfactory fresh pork products for the Army mess. b. Cuts——The pork cuts prescribed are loins, hams, shoulders, and Boston style butts. These provide cuts suitable for roasts, steaks and chops. Fresh hams may be either regular hams or skinned hams. There is less waste in skinned hams, but they usually cost from 8 to 15 percent higher than regular hams. Boston style butts are cut from the top of the shoulder. They are continuations of the loins. They usually have a larger percentage of fat in the lean than do loins, and for that reason are not so desirable as chops, but they are excellent for roasts. They have only one bone (a section of the shoulder blade) which can be easily removed before roasting. From the standpoint of their edible portion, spareribs are expensive. However, they are palatable and well liked and offer an agreeable change from other pork cuts. 86 ?. ms...) —7 i -_ LAT ig, sep pp yk Po RE ee eS ae oe tee een squaseds Abe Bh da ncn va tteeh perp ta Deets wy even dee sqny woys ysisuq Hp’ SE eSB oo BORE) SeBr CNFTE FOCI PIRCe SOO apr ee an Qn UlO]1apus T, 12 oe Bsue vag Pale Pas aGron ab athe ot eel erenials Molamere Cieetie eins S1ea]) y0YS e1]XT WeAQ Rates scien G oraiole wa bir ainrcore avers vaio iee ew ber ee atkiaas oelna ho Sais haieais.t'a'le.s syoeg yey os eM chs ere g.acaielnrs salt ears etre aides oe aimata vise a : id NPRM dein ate oe sere eOes CaS sul|qnqd | LAS Sie Maree oases sa aia cineicts «ers Bae cinlgs wikinicgre wre’ Cale o Wis fe sitet Mislnwientels citer ao aguin gg ex ¥ sees) Ov FRE POS SoD AARS SRE: GEOR A SOR GRAD EEDA Orn RIOT EIS a spurpiaquiny Ap eb ee ein Fake g-cisiatstc was etMislora a croip ithe o's 03:9 die Cerain spi eh-s anes e/sie aie sng u0}sog AQT Tat fiaieeipta chelate rala cart sige ele ee syoegq Ieajy }104S ysl[suq : Soy dy} JO IYSI9M AT] 9Y} 0} s]Nd YAod snore ay} JO JYSIEM Jo asejUaoJod asevsIAe ay} UMOYS SI MOTI YV/T | cell “Ar/~AEe| 9/6 ¢/Y%2Z| S/p | OI/8 | 22/81 | OT/PT | OI/ZI | SE/97 | PI/ZT| LI/ST | 22/81 | b2/07 | SI/9T | 22/81 | S2Z/06T V%4| VIVAL] AE/UZ| S/b | C/A) b/E | 8/9 | SI/PL| PI/OL | CI/01 | 92/12 | 21/8 | ST/TL| 81/p1 | 02/91] OT/ET} ST/ST | O61/0ST %/%\ T/T 2/1 ¢/¢ | AWM | ¢/Z | 9/b | 11/6 | 6/Z | 8/S 102/21} 8/h | OI/9 | 21/8 | PI/OT| 21/6 | PI/OT| OFT /06 —— ee ee ee) ey a Need Ci teens (Cece eee peel leer ene 2. & 3B 4 8 = 3 re 5 E a5 as) n mn 5 | £. oe ~ [o) ue owe a ao is} Rute . . 3 o. 09 o 4 3 & o a dl (e' e 9 = © ms as) % ° n > WH =~ ° as Ae 1 + 3 o = jee] yn 5 > Lo -<] ceed = > as 3 a oe & 2 ° a =09 | = = . & + S e Ee. a * nt wm BS iy re ra e a wo a” bo ee 2 3 3 “ XY o ~ o b = [e) is 4 e) = 2 = w i i) w — = i) o w ® o tae w w $4y6}0M @6D10AD yusseyip 4 Sessp21D2 Boy wos paujyoyqo Syn> y10d yo #4Bi0om ayy BulMmoys ajqoy © uaalb 31 Mojag IA a18Vi A a 87 - SECTION XI MEAT AS A FOOD 53. GENERAL.—Meat differs from vegetable foods in that the former contains little or no carbohydrates but much complete protein, while in the latter carbohydrates predominate, fats being variable in both. The carbo- hydrates found in meats consist-entirely of glycogen, sometimes called animal starch, which is found in small amounts of muscle tissue and in greater quantities in the liver. It is customary to disregard the carbo- hydrate content of meat in discussing its composition. Grossly, meat is composed of an edible portion, consisting of lean and fat, and an inedible portion, which includes the bone and gristle. _ 54. LEAN MEAT.—Lean meat is muscle tissue. It consists of protein, chiefly myosin; connective tissue (sarcolema), which yields gelatin and elastin on cooking ; fat ; water, which varies in amount in inverse proportion to the amount of fat. present; extractives or meat bases; mineral salts, chiefly phosphates of potassium, magnesium and calcium, and iron com- pounds; glycogen; gases (carbon dioxide and oxygen) ; enzymes, hemo- globin, or coloring matter; some soluble sulphur compounds, which play an important part in the change of color of meat; ete. 55. FAT.—Fat tissue consists of a framework, or stroma, of connective tissue enclosing in its meshes the large fat cells. Within the cell wall fat globules are deposited. Fat deposits are found most abundant between the outer surface of the muscular structure and the skin, lining the internal cavities (abdominal, pelvic and thoracic), around the internal organs, and lastly between the muscle bundles and within the muscle tissue itself. Animal fats are almost entirely the triglycerides of stearic, palmitic and oleic acids. They are usually firm at the temperature at which meats are ordinarily held. When fats are burnt the glycerine decomposes and forms acrolein, the vapors from which are intensely irritating. 56. BONES AND TENDONS.—tThe percentage of the inedible por- tion in meat varies with the kind of animal and its condition. The per- centage of bone to flesh is greater in beef than in pork cuts; greater in thin carcasses than in those that are fat; greater in the forequarter than in the hind; etc. Cartilage, and yellow elastic tissue (such as is found in the ligaments of the neck, back, etc.) cannot be made to yield any nutritive material. The marrow canals of round bones and the spaces in the spongy tissues of all bones are filled with fat which can be utilized to advantage in making soups. Bones are also the source of a large percentage of the edible gelatin found on the market. However, in cooking meat for the table little = rr FF FO or no nutriment is obtained from bones or tendons and these are ordinarily considered as waste. The average percentage of bone in beef cuts as now marketed is about 15 percent. 57. WATER.—The moisture content of meat varies with the fat con- tent. Lean flesh, free from fat, averages somewhere between 70 and 75 percent of moisture. During the fattening process some of the moisture of the muscle fibers is replaced with fat, which reduces the moisture content. Fat tissue contains far less moisture than lean. Tibbles (Foods, Their Origin, Composition and Manufacture) gives the composition of the fat of beef, lamb and pork as follows: eee. Water 9.97% Stroma 1.66% Fat 88.37% Oe 10.48% 1.64% “ 87.88% I ie a 6.44% * 1.36% eZ.20 90 598. CONNECTIVE TISSUE.—This may be described as the binding tissue of the body, the substance that holds the organs and tissues in one cohesive mass. It is composed of cells, fibrils and intercellular substance. The fibrils are almost wholly collogen which yields gelatin when cooked. It sometimes exists in very dense forms, as in ligaments and tendons; in other cases it is very thin and flimsy. It forms the stroma of fat tissue, the framework of glandular organs, the covering of muscles and muscle fibers, the deep layers of the skin, the matrix of bone. It is said that if all other structures of the body could be removed without destroying the connective tissue it would still give a perfect form of the body. When eaten it does not form protein in the animal body, but it is a protein sparer. 59. POST MORTEM CHANGES IN MEAT.—a. Rigor mortis.— Certain changes take place in meat after slaughter. These changes may be divided into three stages, of which the first stage is rigor mortis. Rigor mortis is a tensing or firming of the flesh caused probably by the formation of acid in the muscles with coagulation of myosin and stiffening of the fat cells. At the time of death the reaction of muscle tissue is alkaline but it rapidly becomes acid due to the formation of lactic acid. The rapidity with which rigor mortis sets in and its duration is dependent upon the tempera- ture and the muscular activity during life. In comparatively warm tem- peratures rigor mortis appears early; it is retarded by cold. Vigorous muscular activity during life hastens rigor mortis after death. Its duration is proportionate to the rapidity with which it sets in—if it begins soon after slaughter it soon subsides, and vice versa. b. Ripening.—During the second stage the meat ripens, i.e., it becomes more tender and flavory. This is brought about largely by enzymic action. Muscle tissue contains pepsin in small amounts. Following slaughter the 89 action of pepsin upon the connective tissues partially digests them, render- ing the flesh more tender. Edelman states that the toughness of lean meat diminishes 25 percent in a few days of ripening. At the same time this protein digestion produces peptones and proteoses in abundance. c. Putrefaction—tThe third stage is putrefaction and is the result of bacterial action plus an extreme development of the second stage. Putre- faction is hastened by warm temperatures and the presence of moisture and retarded by cold and dryness. The line between extreme ripening and putrefaction is narrow, and marks the division between safety and danger. Putrid meat, of course, should not be used under any circumstances. How- ever, the ripening of meats in this country is so little practiced that there is but little call for discriminating between well ripened meat and that which is putrid. Less than one-tenth of one percent of the beef and no pork, lamb, or veal are commercially aged to a point where such discrimination would be required. Putrefaction consists in the decomposition of protein sub- stances with the formation of gases which give a foul odor, toxins which may become strong poisons, fatty and other acids, and various other substances. 60. COLOR OF MEAT.—Color is largely dependent upon the class, sex, and age of the animal, the temperature under which the meat is held, exposure to the air, the length of time held, etc. Beef has a darker color than either veal, lamb or pork. Horse meat is darker than beef. Animals in a high stage of excitement or with high temperatures at the time of slaughter do not bleed well and produce dark colored carcasses. Improper or insufficient bleeding produces flesh of dark color. This is found more frequently in dressed poultry than in any other class of flesh. The nature of the feed has considerable bearing upon the color of the flesh and fat of the dressed carcass. The principal variations in the color of meats as found in our markets vary largely and are based upon age and sex. The meat of young animals is lighter in color than that of mature animals. The meat of bulls, stags, boars, and bucks are considerably darker than that of steers, cows, gilts or ewes. When meat is exposed to the air it becomes lighter in color for a time. Prolonged exposure, however, produces permanent dark- ening of the surface of the meat. The higher the temperature the more rapid will be the darkening. Fat, when exposed to the air, gradually, but slowly, becomes a yellowish cast owing to the breaking down of the fats into fatty acids and glycerine. 61. PALATABILITY AND FLAVOR OF MEAT.—Palatability and flavor depend upon the fat content, extractives and meat bases (creatin, carnin, creatinin, xanthin, sarkin, hypoxanthin, etc.) and the muscle salts (potassium, magnesium and calcium phosphates, and iron 90 al compounds). Meat bases are abundant in beef, venison, game birds, and the like, but deficient in pork and lamb; they are greater in mature than in immature carcasses; greater in male than female animals, and greater in well-fed than in poorly-fed animals. Meat extractives and aromatic bodies increase with aging. Intermarbling of fat within the lean has a great bearing upon its flavor. Not only is this fat deposited in visible amounts between the muscle groups of the fattening animal, but it actually replaces some of the moisture within the muscle fibers itself. Under the influence of heat much of the moisture of meat is forced out by the contracting muscle fibers. In the case of lean meat this action leaves the meat dry, and, of course, less flavory. With fat meat, however, the fat cells burst under the influence of heat and much of the escaping fat is absorbed by the muscle fiber making it juicy and flavory. 62. TENDERNESS OF MEAT.—Tenderness depends upon many fac- tors—the amount of connective tissue contained in the cut, the age, sex, breeding and feeding of the animal, the degree of ripening and the mode of cooking. It has been shown that connective tissue forms an elastic but tenacious framework for practically all organs and tissues of the body. In some cuts of meat it exists in greater quantity than in others. In the freshly killed carcass it is tough but softens markedly with ageing. Cooking con- verts it into gelatin and elastin. However, either raw or cooked, the cuts containing the least connective tissues are the most tender. The flesh of young animals is more tender than that of old animals due to the hardening of muscle fibers through use. This is well illustrated in the breasts of squab and of pigeons ; the former are tender and flavory while active flying renders the breast of the pigeon tough, dry and less flavory. To a large extent this is due to the fact that such actively used muscles are practically devoid of fat deposits. The meat of entire male animals (bulls, boars, bucks, etc.) is always tougher than that of emasculated (steers, wethers, barrows) or female (heifers, cows, ewes, gilts, etc.) animals. In this connection tough- ness is in almost direct proportion to the degree of color of the flesh. Dark colored meat never is tender, and no degree of ripening or cooking will make it as tender as light colored meat of the same class. Breeding in- fluences the tenderness and flavor of meat. For example, the carcass of a Shorthorn, bred through generations for the production of large quantities of palatable meat, is always more tender and more flavory than that of a Jersey whose breeding all concentrated upon the production of milk. The tissues of the body are built up from the food an animal eats. Therefore the nature of the feed has a direct bearing upon the tenderness, and more particularly the flavor of the meat.. A hog fed on fish refuse will produce pork of a fishy flavor. An animal fed on cottonseed meal and like oily prod- 91 ucts will produce meat of an oily character, dark in color, and less tender and less flavory than one fattened on corn and legumes. The amount of muscle activity the animal was required to undergo influences greatly the tenderness of the meat. For example, a Texas steer on the plains of the southwest that is required to travel miles daily to rustle enough food and water for its subsistence cannot be expected to produce as tender beef as the pure bred steer, in a feed lot of the Corn Belt, that gets up to eat his meal from a feed-trough and lies down in a bed of straw to digest it. Lastly, | the tenderness of the meat 1s influenced by the mode of cooking. Meat that contains a comparatively small quantity of connective tissue or that has been mellowed by ageing, will ordinarily be tender when cooked by any method or if eaten raw. Cuts with a high percentage of connective tissue, on the other hand, should be thoroughly cooked by some method that will gelatinize the fibrous structure and make it more tender. 63. DIGESTIBILITY OF MEAT.—Digestibility depends upon the toughness of the connective tissue, the degree of autodigestion that has taken place prior to its preparation, the method and degree of cooking, the amount and nature of the fat, etc. Tough sarcolema (the connective tissue covering the muscle fibers) resists the action of the digestive juices, so that the tougher the meat is the slower will be its digestion. Lean meat is very largely protein. Protein digestion begins in the stomach through the action of pepsin. On the other hand the gastric juices have but little effect upon the fats of meat. Therefore, lean meat that is imbedded in fat may entirely escape digestion within the stomach and its digestion would be greatly delayed in the intestines. For this reason pork is slower of digestion than beef. Flesh with short fibers, such as chicken, rabbits, etc., is more easily digested than that composed of long fibers. Raw meat is more easily digested than cooked meat ; boiled meat more quickly digested than roasted or fried. Cooking, however, increases the safety of eating meat. Lean pork, particularly, should never be eaten raw because of the danger of trichinae infestation. Measled beef if eaten raw will result in the development of tape worms within the digestive tract. The surface of meat also may be contaminated with pathogenic micro-organisms, such as the tubercle bacillus, streptococci, and the like. Heating meat until the center of the mass reaches a temperature of 140° F. renders it safe so far as parasitic infestation or infection is concerned. Cooked meat is more palatable than raw, as the cooking process liberates meat bases and extractives upon which the flavor of meat is dependent, while the browning of the meat and fat develops certain pleasant odors and flavors. Cooking meat results in certain losses of moisture and meat solids. Grindley and Mojonnier, in U.S.D.A. 92 — Bulletin 141,—Losses in Cooking Meat—report the following losses in nutrients : Water Protein Fat Ash UE 45.07% 7.25% 11.70% 44.62% In roasting (beef, avg.)........... aes 7a 1.21% 24.71% 15.12% As pork is usually cooked longer than beef the losses are usually greater. 64. NUTRITIVE VALUE OF MEAT.—Muscle tissue is composed almost entirely of water and nitrogenous substances with small amounts of mineral matter and fat. Under the stress of muscular exertion muscle tissue is worn out and must be repaired. Also, growth in the young animal is accomplished only by taking in with the food those elements with which tissues can be repaired and built. To build nitrogenous tissues nitrogenous food must be eaten. Meat constitutes the principal source of our nitrogenous food supply. The only vegetable food that in any measure simulates meat in protein content are the legumes and these fall far short of being complete protein foods. Meat furnishes all the nitrogenous elements from which repair and growth of the human body can be obtained. The nutritional value of meat is but little influenced by its tenderness, tough meat being practically the same in nutritive value as tender meat, though it is more slowly digested. Losses incident to cooking do not effect the nutritional value of lean meat to the extent it is sometimes thought to do. These losses are largely moisture, extractives and meat salts. Meat extractives and salts, while they stimulate the appetite, have but little real nutritional value. Therefore, beef tea, bouillon, thin soups, and the like have little food value. Tibbles says that a pint of good beef tea contains the nutriment of only one ounce of beef. Fats are rich in fuel value, being burned in the body for heat and energy, or are stored in the body as fat. Meat is notably deficient in some of the vitamins. Biologically, however, meat, because of its rich protein content, is the greatest vitamin-sparer of all foods. On the other hand, the glandular organs, such as the liver, kidneys and spleen, of many animals are particularly rich sources of vitamins A and B. Peoples, such as the Eskimos, who subsist almost solely on flesh, escape the perils of vitamin deficiency only by eating the visceral organs as well as the flesh of the animals upon which they subsist. 93 o. vad as . ¥ ' ‘ “4 ; gi fs ie y \ f | ‘ - 7 4 : ~ * 4iw = i , * 2 “ £ { ; e ‘ a * Ny r c ‘ * rh i é a - ' ’ . ¢ = . ‘ 4 < . Py 7 3 i 4 { jl : Z PRX 5 P. ' ' >. ion”, , ‘A - kon 2 P j * 4 aS o . . a -“ t i . « \ i : 4 * 7 i> : +4 a ‘ a _ ) . « 7 ~~ Meer : i A a ry @ 1 le a > a -—s ea