THE COW AND THE DAIRY. 33 



a soft skin is not a new discovery, but was perfectly well known to the husband 

 men of ancient Italy.&quot; These are the observations of Sir John Sinclair, who adds 

 the following as a summary of good points to be attended to in choosing cattle: 

 &quot; They should be 1. Of a moderate size, unless where the food is of a nature pe 

 culiarly forcing ; 2. Of a shape the most likely to yield profit to the farmer ; 3. 

 Of a docile disposition, without being deficient in spirit ; 4. Hardy, and not liable 

 to disease ; 5. Easily maintained, and on food not of a costly nature ; 6. Arriving 

 soon at maturity ; 7. Producing considerable quantities of milk ; 8. Having flesh 

 of an excellent quality ; 9. Having a tendency to take on fat ; 10. Having a valu 

 able hide ; and, lastly, Calculated (should it be judged necessary) for working. 

 It is thought best to begin to break-in Oxen at three years old, and to give them 

 full work at four. 



With respect to judging of cattle by their horns and teeth, we offer the follow 

 ing observations by Mr. Hickey : 



&quot; The ordinary guide for ascertaining the precise age of cattle is the horn, 

 which is also indicative of the breed ; at three years old (this is laid down as a 

 rule) the horns are perfectly smooth, after this a ring appears near the root, and 

 annually afterward a new circle, so that, by adding two years to the first ring, 

 the age is calculated ; but it has been clearly shown that this is a very uncertain 

 mode of judging ; that the rings are only distinct in the Cow ; and that * if a 

 Heifer goes to the Bull when she is two years old, or a little before or after that 

 time, there is an immediate change in the horn, and the first ring appears ; so 

 that a real three-year old would carry the mark of a four-year old. In the Bull 

 they are either not seen until five, or they cannot be traced at all ; nor in the Ox 

 do they appear until he is five years old, and they are often confused ; besides, 

 * there is also an instrument called a rasp, which has been said to make many an 

 arm ache a little before a large fair. Without any delusive intentions, howe ver, 

 an ugly set in the horns of young cattle is often remedied by filing a little off the 

 sides o f the tips opposite to the direction which it is desired that the horns should 

 take. 



&quot; Some men have an antipathy to horns altogether, and would even carry their 

 dislike so far as to extirpate them from the brows of all their cattle ; they can in 

 dulge their taste by paring off the tops of the horns when they first break through 

 the skin. Perhaps it is not generally known that the larger the horn the thinner 

 the skull. 



&quot; The age is indicated with unerring certainty by the teeth, to those who have 

 judgment and experience, until the animal reaches the age of six or seven ; until 

 two years old, no teeth are cast ; at that age, two new teeth are cut ; at three, 

 two more are cut ; and, in the two succeeding years, two in each year ; at five 

 the mouth is said to be full, though not completely so until six, because until that 

 period the two corner teeth (the last in renewal) are not perfectly up. The front 

 or incisor teeth are those considered, for a full-grown beast has altogether thirty- 

 two teeth.&quot; 



Method of Ascertaining the Weight of Cattle while Living. 



&quot; This is of the utmost utility for all those who are not experienced judges by 

 the eye ; and, by the following directions, the weight can be ascertained within 

 a mere trifle : take a string, put it round the beast, standing square, just behind 

 the shoulder-blade ; measure on a foot-rule the feet and inches the animal is in 

 circumference this is called the girth ; then, with the string, measure from the 

 bone of the tail which plumbs the line with the hinder part of the buttock ; direct 

 the line along the back to the fore part of the shoulder-blade ; take the dimen 

 sions on the foot-rule as before, which is the length, and work the figures in the 

 following manner : Girth of the bullock, 6 feet 4 inches ; length, 5 feet 3 inches ; 

 which, multiplied together, make 31 square superficial feet ; that again multi 

 plied by 23 (the number of poands allowed to each superficial foot of cattle meas 

 uring less than 7 and more than 5 in girth), makes 713 pounds ; and, allowing 1 

 14 pounds to the stone, i 50 stone 13 pounds. Where the animal measures less 

 than 9 and more than 7 feet in girth, 31 is the number of pounds to each super 

 ficial foot. Again, suppose a pig or any small beast should measure 2 feet in 

 girth, and 2 feet along the back, which, multiplied together, make 4 square feet ; 

 that, multiplied by 11, the number of pounds allowed for each square foot of cat 



3 



