THE BASTARD SIGNS. 189 



They are to be looked for carefully, as they often mislead the 

 best judges. They are distinguished in the first, or Flanders 

 class, by an oval in the vertical escutcheon ; or by the hair 

 on the edges of the vertical, where it meets the down-running 

 hair, having a coarse, bristly, wiry character, and rather of 

 a lustrous appearance, standing out from the body. The 

 oval on the vertical has hair also of a shiny, lustrous ap- 

 pearance. 



All the other classes have, alongside the vulva, two oval 

 patches of coarse hair, one on each side. The larger the 

 ovals, and the coarser the hair on them, the sooner they will 

 fail. Generally speaking, if the animal is closely examined, 

 the hair will be found harsh, dry, and long, particularly on 

 the back of the udder ; the skin is apt to be white and thick ; 

 little or no dandruff, and of a dry, scaly nature. 



THE OVALS. 



There is nearly always a sign accompanying a good escutch- 

 eon, and that is, one or two ovals on the bag, just above the 

 hind-teats, on which a fine coat of hair grows downwards. 

 They are shown on all the preceding engravings. These 

 may be large or small, may be one or two, and may be alike 

 or unlike in size ; but they are always good signs. Two are 

 better than one, and, the larger and more uniform they are, 

 the better ; and, the finer and softer the hair on them, the 

 better the indications. No escutcheon is first-class if it has 

 not both or one, and of good size. They are generally easily 

 perceived by a whiter and more shiny appearance of the hair 

 on them. If they are very large, and irregular in shape, and 

 have very coarse hair on them, their value would rapidly 

 diminish ; and, in such cases, it will generally be found that 

 there are other deteriorating signs. 



There is still another very unfailing good mark, though it 

 is not mentioned by Guenon ; and the Pennsylvania Guenon 

 Commission first brought it to notice, as their experience had 

 long proved it to be a good sign. They call them Thigh-ovals. 

 It is where the vertical loses itself in the thigh-escutcheon. 

 Here the down-running hair makes a semicircular dip into 

 the broad escutcheon. If this is of fine short hair, it is an 

 excellent sign, and the Commission put great faith in it. My 

 own cow, a Jersey (a representation of her escutcheon is 



