326 STATE BOAKD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Shorthorn, as will be found in the included description, which is as follows : 

 Fine muzzle, with a wide open nostril; a fair sized mouth, with thin lips and 

 light, fine under jaw devoid of flesh ; color of the nose yellow or orange ; the 

 head should be well proportioned, of proper length and breadth, fine for the 

 cow and stronger in the bull, cheeks lean, forehead broad, narrowing along the 

 face towards the muzzle ; the eye should be prominent and large, with a mild, 

 gentle expression ; the horn should be light, with an inclination to curve inward 

 and downward, of a waxy character, with or without black tips; ear should be 

 upright and thin, and covered on the outside at least with a good coat of long 

 silky hair, and flexible in movement ; the neck should be strong at the base 

 and well set, tapering towards the head, where it should be of an oval shape, 

 running backward on a level in a cow, deepening and widening as it approaches 

 the bosom, where it should connect in a smooth expansion, so that it can hardly 

 be seen where the neck terminates or the bosom begins. The neck should be 

 free from hanging skin. The chest should be deep, broad, and full, indicat- 

 ing robustness and good constitution. The brisket should be set prominently 

 forward, perpendicular in front, broad and well let down, with a thin, pendulous 

 skin underneath, indicating an elasticity of the flesh enclosed within it. 

 Shoulders should be broad and even at tops, smooth and well covered at the 

 points, and sloping and tapering symmetrically into the fore legs above the 

 knees. The knees should be round, muscular, and stand well apart, the legs 

 below fine boned and terminating in hoofs of proper size. The cups or spaces 

 behind the shoulders should be full and smooth. Bibs should be well sprung, 

 long, and deep, giving abundant space for well sized heart and lungs to play, 

 and develop what some may call fore flank. The back should be on a level 

 from the chine to the setting of the tail. The loin should be broad and full, 

 and level with the hips, which should be wide, smooth, and level with the spine^ 

 The rumps long, full, broad, and level, narrowing from hips to pin bones or 

 points of the rumps, which latter should be wide apart. The tail well and 

 strongly connected with the spine on a straight line, small and tapering to the 

 brush, which should be full of long hair. The flank should be full and low, 

 on a line with the belly and thighs. The hind legs should be straight, stand- 

 ing well apart, with a strong, muscular hock, tapering into a fine-boned flat 

 leg below, ending in a well shaped hoof. The twist or space above the junc- 

 tion of the thighs should be broad, full, and covered with soft, silky hair. The 

 hair should be close, long, and soft. The touch should be elastic, mellow, and 

 springy under pressure of the fingers. The skin should be moderately thick, 

 strong, and loose, moving easily with the action of the hand upon it, showing- 

 plenty of cellular tissue underneath. 



The above description is condensed from Allen's description of a perfect 

 Shorthorn, and is generally conceded to be correct; and in breeding for beauty 

 and perfection these different qualities cannot be over looked. The successful 

 breeder must be a close student by observation and comparison. He should 

 study physiological development, and understand well the processes by which 

 nature produces the best specimens of the animal kingdom. He should know 

 the laws which govern heredity. He should know what are defects, and know 

 how to breed them out. The aim should be to produce an animal which shall, 

 so far as blood or pedigree are concerned, be of the best, and at the same time 

 combine the greatest number of good qualities which go to make the most per- 

 fect Shorthorn. 



The subject is inexhaustible, and can only be just alluded to in a paper for 

 an occasion like this. The other part of the topic assigned me, " Care of 



