388 AMERICAN CATTLE. 



equal in thickness from the udder to the point,* and also at con- 

 siderable and equal distances from each other : the two front teats 

 especially, should be well apart, and the direction of all four should 

 be downward. When full of milk, the udder should be greatly 

 enlarged in size, and, when newly emptied, shrink in a corres- 

 ponding degree, and the skin gather into soft creases. (To judge 

 accurately of a good milker, the udder should be seen both before 

 and after milking. L. F. A.) The mammary glands, running 

 on each side of the belly, large throughout their whole course, 

 and swelling into large puffs at or near their junction with the 

 udder; thigh veins also large and easily felt by the hand. (See 

 plate 26.) 



"Of all these shapes the more important are the long, finely- 

 formed head; long, thin neck; rump nearly on a line with the 

 back-bone; broad quarters, long udder, from back to front, and 

 large veins underneath the belly, and downwards, from the loins 

 and thigh, to the udder. When seen in front, the body of a good 

 milk cow should present the appearance of a blunted wedge, the 

 apex of which is the breast and shoulder. Seen from behind, she 

 should present a square, well-spread shape. Seen sideways, she 

 should be lengthy, but not lanky. (See plate 26.) 



SKIN, HAIR, AND COLOR. 



"The skin is ever a true index of the milking properties of a 

 cow. It should be soft and flexible on every part of the body, 

 especially on the back ribs, and also on the rump bones, situated 

 on each side of the insertion of the tail. The latter is a point 

 much prized by dairymen; so much that a very successful farmer 

 in Cheshire, Mr. Jabez Wright, told the writer that, in buying a 

 cow, if the skin on the rump was soft and easily lifted from the 



* We prefer that the teats be slightly tapering to the point, as more delicate in 

 appearance, and easier to milk. L. F. A. 



