Relationships between chemical and physical composition of Scottish Blackface ewes

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Abstract
Chemical and physical compositions were respectively determined on right and left sides of 23 Scottish Blackface ewe carcasses. Relationships were derived whereby physical carcass composition, in terms of muscular tissue plus associated fatty tissue, subcutaneous plus perirenal fatty tissues, and bone, could be estimated from weights of chemically determined water, fat, ash, and fat-free dry matter. The use of these relationships is discussed, and it is suggested that in certain circumstances the estimation of physical carcass composition from chemically determined components could result in considerable economies of time and labour. The use of certain readily determined physical components as indices of the chemical composition of the whole body is considered, and relevant prediction equations presented.