386 AMERICAN CATTLE. 



be long and habitual familiarity with recognized data, in order to 

 their being successfully applied in practice, they at the same time 

 furnish a set of rules, a knowledge of which is of very great 

 advantage, to those who have been prevented from acquiring an 

 experimental acquaintance with the points to which such rules 

 refer, either by youth or want of opportunity. 



"The points to be attended to, in judging of a good milk cow, 

 are, by universal consent, considered to be shape and size of the 

 animal, both as a whole, and in detail; texture of the skin and 

 hair, development of the lactiferous parts; temperament or habit 

 of body and dispositions; and finally, strength or endurance of 

 constitution. A maximum development of these points, marks 

 out a first-class cow of the breed to which she belongs ; but the 

 milking properties differ in endless variety, not merely as these 

 points are prominent, or the reverse, but also in proportion to 

 the circumstances of climate, soil, and treatment. The escutcheon 

 test of M. Guenon, is a new element in the question; and when 

 fully established, and better understood, will probably occupy the 

 first rank among the external signs, which indicate the natural 

 milking properties of cows; but as yet it is rarely recognized in 

 Britain ; and there are few farmers, even in the best dairy coun- 

 ties, that have even heard of such a test. How far M. Guenon's 

 observations have been borne out, by facts supplied by the 

 examination of a great many dairy cows in our own country, 

 both by the writer and others, will be discussed at the close of 

 this section; meantime, we shall direct the reader's attention to 

 those points which experience has proved to possess a marked 

 influence on the milking properties of cows. 



SHAPE. 



"Whatever may be the breed to which a cow belongs, there 

 are certain points of configuration which are considered essential, 

 as regards her milking properties. There may be, and are fre- 

 quently, great discrepancies between the one and the other; but 



