372 AMERICAN CATTLE. 



"With these marks of a feminine description, cows should 

 unite a sanguine-lymphatic temperament, and especially a mild 

 disposition. Good milkers allow themselves to be easily milked; 

 often, while ruminating, they look with a pleased eye, easily recog- 

 nized, at the person who milks them ; they like to be caressed, 

 and caress in return. 



COLOR. 



"We do not mention color as a sign of milking qualities, for 

 we find good milkers among black Dutch cows, and red Flemish 

 cows, as well as among white cows, and the wheat-colored cows 

 of Bresse. Color .may be of great value, but it is chiefly as 

 indicating the origin of the animal. The Flemings and Nor- 

 mans are very careful in preserving the colors of their horned 

 cattle, but it is only because a red color, serving to characterize 

 animals of Flemish, and a brindled color those of the Norman 

 breed, facilitate the sale. 



THE HYGIENIC CONDITIONS TO WHICH COWS HAVE BEEN SUB- 

 JECTED, THEIR AGE, AND THE NUMBER OF CALVES THEY 

 HAVE HAD. 



"Cows which have been calved in a mild and somewhat moist 

 climate, and which have received due care, and abundance of good 

 moist food, are generally good milkers. 



" As happens in the case of all organs, the milky glands are 

 developed by the exercise of their functions, and hence cows 

 never give so much milk after their first and second, as after 

 their subsequent calvings, especially when they have been made 

 to calve young, before the development of their organs. It is 

 after they have reared several calves, and been treated with 

 regularity for a long time, that they give most milk. 



"Here, however, we may take the opportunity of advising 

 those who wish to have excellent cows, not to select animals 

 five or six years old, exposed at fairs. Cows at that age are 

 seldom sold, if free from fault. 



