ORIGIN OF GUENON'S SYSTEM. 177 



HIS SYSTEM. 



His system was based upon the discovery that on the pos- 

 teriors of the bovine race, reaching from the vulva, and 

 extending down over the udder, and on the inside of the 

 thighs, a portion of the hair grew upwards, and was easily 

 distinguished from the surrounding hair growing downwards. 

 In so doing, the upward hair takes different shapes, which he 

 called escutcheons. The size and shape of these indicate 

 the quantity of milk the cow will give and the length of 

 time she will continue to milk after calving. This latter was 

 also affected by certain tufts of coarse hair, or blemishes on 

 the escutcheon. 



Then he noticed the character of the hair growing upon 

 the escutcheon, the color of the skin under it, and the quali- 

 ty of the skin. It depends upon the quality of the hair and 

 the skin to define the quality or richness of the milk the ani- 

 mal will give. The indications of the best quality, by the 

 hair, are where the hair is short, soft, silky, furry ; and, by 

 the skin, where the skin is soft like a kid glove, very olea- 

 ginous, unctuous with the richness or fat pervading the 

 animal, and exuding through the skin, and forming dandruff. 

 The nearer the color of the skin comes to that peculiar rich 

 yellow or copper color which Guenon calls Indienne, or nan- 

 keen color, the better it is. Particular attention must be 

 given to these points, for they have a great bearing on the 

 judgment to be formed; and the escutcheon is only to be 

 judged in connection with these and other points. 



In addition to the escutcheon, the hair, the skin, and the 

 color of the skin, there are other points quite necessary to 

 interpret infallibly. These are the breed, the size, the feed, 

 the care and treatment, the surroundings (such as climate, 

 temperature), period of gestation, and age of the animal. 

 The breed must be considered, because it will affect the 

 quantity, quality, and size of the animal. For instance, we 

 ' should not judge the little Jersey from the same stand-point 

 as the Durham ; in one case the size of the Jersey, even 

 with the same class and order of escutcheon, would indicate 

 a less quantity of milk; yet the Jersey would most proba- 

 bly indicate a better quality. So we would not judge an 

 Ayrshire from the same point of view as a grade cow, or 



