118 DAIRY INDICATIONS. 



portions of the body, and neglect of other portions, such a 

 wedge-shaped type has resulted, and is considered desirable 

 by dairy men. The refinement about the head and neck, and 

 the lightness of the forequarters, indicates that the animal is 

 not disposed to lay on flesh, but rather devoted her food to 

 milk-making. The importance of strong constitution has 

 already been pointed out, and this is secured in the dairy 

 cow by a deep chest, with good spring of rib. Thus in the 

 beef animal the strength of constitution is secured by a deep, 

 wide chest of cylindrical form; in the dairy cow, by a deeper 

 chest, egg-shaped, with large end down. As the supply of 

 nutriments furnished through the blood to the mammary 

 glands is governed by the efficiency of the digestive organs, 

 a large barrel is very desirable, and is ensured by long well- 

 sprung ribs, set wide-apart. The open-jointedness of the 

 back is merely an indication of the general openness of the 

 skeleton, which, as it gives a large, roomy body, large for 

 weight, is considered desirable. The broad loin accompanies 

 width of hindquarters and a roomy barrel. The young ani- 

 mal is nourished before birth by blood vessels passing through 

 the navel, and if large, it is considered to indicate that the 

 foetus was well nourished before birth; and as an animal 

 born strong and vigorous invariably makes a better animal 

 than one born weak, there is some reason back of the de- 

 mand for a large navel. The width of hips, length and 

 width of rump, and width between the pin bones, are all 

 indicative of a large, roomy pelvic region, well adapted to 

 sustain the udder, and to the demands made upon the female 

 in giving birth to young. 



Viewing the cow from behind and on the inside of the 

 thighs it will be noted that the hair inclines to grow in an 

 opposite direction from that on other parts of the body. The 

 portion so noted is known as the escutcheon, and its im- 

 portance is due to the fact that it is to some degree indica- 

 tive of flow of blood to the udder. It is believed that a 

 well developed escutcheon is only found in connection with 

 large arteries. 



Knowing the structure of the udder and the relation of the 

 glandular structures within to the milk secretion, it is clear 

 that a long udder, containing a great number of the glandular 

 structures which make up the milk glands, is favorable to a 

 large secretion of milk; and this length of udder is secured 



