IMPORTANCE OF OTHER SIGNS. 201 



the year round, or almost the year round, it would have an 

 escutcheon that runs higher ? 



Mr. Hazard. Yes, sir; the higher and broader, the 

 better. 



Dr. Wakefield. I should like a cow that would give a 

 large amount of milk all the time; and, if I am looking for 

 that, may I not expect, when I find a cow that has a nar- 

 rower escutcheon on the thighs, and wider on the vertical, 

 that I have found one that will make milk much longer ? 



Mr. Hazard. A cow will give much more milk in a year 

 that is of that shape. 



Question. The gentleman, I suppose, has great confi- 

 dence in this escutcheon when it comes up to number one. 

 Would he consider it a safe criterion to go by in buying ? 

 Would he be willing to buy a cow with no other good marks ? 



Mr. Hazard. I would not. I don't think, since God 

 has given us five or six other points to go by, that we should 

 disregard those, and rely entirely on the escutcheon. If you 

 are selecting a cow, you must not say, " Oh, there is a Flan- 

 ders escutcheon, I will buy that cow." You must go and 

 examine her, and see whether she has a fine skin and fine hair, 

 and see if she is all right. The escutcheon must be accom- 

 panied by the other marks of a good cow. Guenon does not 

 pretend to say, that, because a cow has the escutcheon, she 

 is first-class. He simply says, if she has that, accompanied 

 with some other marks, she is a first-class cow. It does 

 not follow, because a cow has a good escutcheon, that she 

 is a desirable animal. She may have been injured in some 

 way. I will tell you an instance of that. I was examining 

 a herd of sixteen Devons, and as I was passing along the 

 stalls, seeing the posteriors of the animals only, I stopped by 

 the side of one cow, and said to the owner, " Doctor, here is 

 a cow you ought not to have in your herd." — " What is the 

 matter? " said he. I said, "She is part bastard." He says, 

 "That is one of my best cows." — " You are very much mis- 

 taken," said I. " You had better test that cow. I think 

 you are wrong about it." Said he, " Why ? " I showed him 

 the bastard-mark. Then he asked me, "How much milk 

 does she give ? " I replied, " Eight quarts." He said, " She 

 is a sixteen-quart cow. You are much mistaken about it." 

 Finally he said, " To tell you the truth, that used to be my 



