228 THE BREEDS OF LIVE-STOCK 



the hide is heavy, loose and very pliable, and covered 

 with a dense, soft coat of hair. The body of a well- 

 fattened Hereford should be free from any paunchiness. 

 The breast should be broad and full, but free from 

 loose dewlap, the shoulders smoothly laid and broad on 

 top, but not too open between the blades. The crops 

 should be wide, the ribs well sprung and extending well 

 backward, the loin broad and of good length, the hook 

 bones by no means prominent, but down within the lines 

 of the ribs, the tail-head on a line with the level of the back, 



and the rump-bones 

 wide apart and well 

 up, so as not to 

 present a drooping 

 appearance. The legs 

 should be short, 

 straight, strong in 

 bone and set well 



FIG. 36.- Hereford bull. a P ai>t ' The line f 



the back should be 

 practically straight and level from top of shoulders to the 

 tail-head. The quarters should be full and well rounded, 

 and the outlines of the animal, when viewed from the side, 

 should present a somewhat box-like appearance, and from 

 the end more that of a barrel (Figs. 36, 37). 



The Hereford has great length and thickness of loin, and 

 all the bones of his frame are so well covered that they can 

 scarcely be felt through the thick covering of flesh. Along 

 his back from shoulder to rump his spine is so deeply 

 buried in flesh that the vertebrae are not perceptible to 

 the touch except at the small indentations, commonly 

 called ties, near the middle of the back. These ties, 

 usually one to three in number, are the attachments of 



