SECRETARY'S REPORT. 143 



the animal depend ; and upon the touch of this quality rests, in a good 

 measure, the grazier's and the butcher's judgment. If the " touch" be 

 good, some deficiency of form may be excused ; but if it be hard and stiff, 

 nothing can compensate for so unpromising a feature. In raising the skin 

 from the body, between the thumb and finger, it should have a soft, flexible 

 and substantial feel, and when beneath the out-spread hand, it should move 

 easily with it, and under it, as though resting on a soft, elastic, cellular 

 substance ; which, however, becomes firmer as the animal " ripens." A 

 thin papery skin is objectionable, more especially in a cold climate, 15 



100 



Points of the Hereford Bull. 



As regards the male animal, it is only necessary to remark, that the points 

 desirable in the female are generally so in the male, but must, of course be 

 attended by that masculine character which is inseparable from a strong, vigor- 

 ous constitution. Even a certain degree of coarseness is admissible, but then it 

 must be so exclusively of a masculine description as never to be discovered in 

 the females of his get. 



In contra-distinction to the cows, the head of the bull may be shorter, the 

 frontal-bone broader, and the occipital flat and stronger, that it may receive and 

 sustain the horn — and this latter may be excused if a little heavy at the base, 

 so its upward form, its quality and color be right. Neitheris the looseness of the 

 skin, attached to. and depending from the under jaw, to be deemed other than 

 a feature of the sex, provided it is not extended beyond the bone, but leaves the 

 gullet and throat clean and free from dewlap. \ 



! The upper portion of the neck should be full and muscular, for it is an indi- 

 cation of strength, power and constitution. The spine should be strong, the 

 bones of the loin, long and broad, and the whole muscular system wide and 

 thoroughly developed over the entire frame. 



