16 INTRODUCTORY REMARKS! 



9. The loin should be flat and wide the side lying parallel, and nearly as high as the chine 

 almost as wide at the fore as at the hinder part ; being an indication of thr, ;ibs bowing out, 

 which is desirable. 



10. The hip or huckle bones should be wide apart, coming upon a level with the chine, to the 



first touch or setting on of the tail. 



11. The first touch or tip of the rump should be tolerably wide, so that the tail drop in a level 



between the two points. The tail should come cut broad, as an indication of a flat chine. 



12. The thigh should not be too full outside nor behind, which is always an indication of bully 



flesh, but the inside or twist should be fall. 



13 The hock or hough should be flat and rather thin, not coarse and gummy, which indicates 

 coarseness in the animal. 



14. The hind leg should be flat and thin. The le^s of a medium length, and the hock or hough 



rather turning out. 



15. The feet or claws not too broad. 



16. The flank should be full and heavy when the animal is fat, indicative of being fat inside. 



17. The belly should not drop below the breast, but in a horizontal line with it. 



18. The brisket. 



19. The shoulder should be rather flat, not projecting. 



20. The foreleg should be also flat and upright, but not fleshy. 



21. The round or pot-bone should not project, but lie flat with the outside of the thigh. 



22. The under jaw. The jaws should be rather wide, particularly for beasts intended for work 



ing, as it affords them greater liberty to breathe. 



23. The chap should be fine, indicating a disposition to feed. 



24. The ribs should spring nearly horizontally from the chine, the sides round forming a circle ; 



in which case the animal will never drop in the belly, and will lay its meat on the prime 

 parts. The great objection to the Sussex breed of cattle is that they are too sharp in the 

 chine, and the ribs too flat. When this is the case, the animal will always drop in the 

 belly, and seldom lay its meat on the prime joints. 



Remarks on Breeds. 



W e have thus briefly treated of some of the many breeds of cattle considered val 

 uable as dairy stock in Britain ; but we pretend not to give any decided opinion as 

 to which is best. The merits of each kind have been vigorously contested by tneir 

 respective advocates, and it would be extremely difficult to decide between&quot; them. 

 Upon the form and qualifications of a perfect Cow, it ought to be observed, that 

 whatever breed is selected, there is a wide difference between the form of one 

 meant for fattening and that intended for the dairy. The first should resemble 

 the Ox as nearly as possible ; while the latter should be long and thin on the 

 head, with a brisk, quiet eye, lank in the neck, narrow across the shoulders, but 

 broad at the haunches ; and there should be no tendency to become fat. Tne ud 

 der should be large and full looking, but not protruding too far behind ; the teats 

 all pointing out and downward, equal in size and rather long and tapering ; all 

 corresponding with the signs or escutcheons as given in this book. A Cow with 

 a high back-bone, large head, small udder, and showing an inclination to become 

 fat, will be found to be a bad milker. This description applies to all breeds ; and 

 of course the difference between a Cow for fattening and one for yielding milk 

 will be comparative. 



Mr. Aiton mentions the following as the most important qualities of the Dairy 

 Cow ; &quot; Tameness and docility of temper greatly enhance its value. One that 

 is quiet and contented feeds at ease, does not break over fences, or hurt herself 

 or other cattle, will always yield more milk than than those who are of a turoit- 

 lent disposition. To render them docile, they ought to be gently treated, fre 

 quently handled when young, and never struck or frightened. Some degree of 

 hardiness, however, a sound constitution, and a moderate degree of life and spir 

 its, awe qualities to be wished for in a milch Cow, and what those of Ayrshire 

 generally possess. Some have thought that a Cow living on a small quantity of 

 food was a valuable quality, but that will depend upon the quantity of milk giv 

 en by the Cow that eats little compared with those that eat much. If the Cow 

 that &quot;eats little gives as much milk as the one that eats more, it certainly is a val 

 uable quality ; but of this I entertain doubts, which forty vears experience and 

 observation have served to confirm. Speculative writers airlrm that some Cows 

 will fatten as well, and yield as much milk, when fed on coarse as others will do 

 on rich food. Cows that have been reared and fed on coarse pasture will yield 

 some rnilk of a good quality, and from which the best butter may be extracted ; 

 while a Co\v that has been reared and fed on much better pasture, would, if turn 

 ed on that which is bad, give scarcely any milk. With persons living in towns 

 and villages, and keeping but a single Cow, with opportunity of grazing on the 



