196 



DOMESTICATED ANIMALS AND PLANTS 



It will be seen upon careful study that some of these points 

 are based upon utility, while others aim at mere looks, often 

 covering points that, from the standpoint of utility, are trifling. 

 Now we keep cows, for example, for milk and butter, and those 

 that can make the most for a given amount of feed are the 

 best cows, quite independent of the length of the tail or the 

 color of the tongue. Meat animals generally are valuable in 



Fig. 33. Prime baby beef, $8.00 per hundredweight (1910) 

 After Mumford 



proportion to the amount and quality of the meat they can 

 make, and horses for their service at labor or upon the road. 

 In pure breeding a great variety of minor matters are bound 

 to enter in, and this fact constitutes one of its difficulties, but 

 practical improvement of the mass of farm animals should 

 proceed upon utility standards. 



Market classes and grades. For animals that are shipped 

 largely to the open market, like beef cattle, sheep, pigs, and 



