DAIRY ASSOCIATION. 



355 



\ BODY. 



A larg^e heart girth is beheved to be a vaUial)lc characteristic 

 because it indicates, among other thmgs, a fairly well sprung rib 

 and large development of the chest with the consequent increased 

 development of lung power. The ribs should be well sprung and 

 long, and each individual rib broad and the ribs themselves far apart. 

 A well sprung rib is necessary in order that the animal may have 

 sufficient capacity for storing and digesting the immense quantities 

 of feed necessary to produce the milk and butter. The back should 

 be high and lean. The spaces between the vertebrae, called by some 

 the chine, should be far apart; the spaces wide and open. The loins 

 should be broad and strong, held well up to the level of the back. 



Fig. 3. Bettie, a Guernsey Cow Owned by the Minnesota Experiment Station. A Year's 

 Test Showed Her to be an Unprofitable Animal. 



THE HINDQUARTERS. 



The al)domen sliould be very large and deep, showing great capacity. 

 What is known as capacity in dairy animals is indicated by a large 

 abdomen showing large room for the digestive organs. Figs, i and 

 2 show an animal having great capacity. Fig. 3 illustrates one very 

 deficient in this important quality. 



However important may be the characteristics already men- 

 tioned the efficiency of the animal will after all be most determined 

 by the qualities observed in the hindquarters. It is here that the 

 milk is elaborated and evidences of milk producing efficiency are to 



