ANIMAL FORM AN INDEX OF QUALITIES. 3Y3 



As the neck furnishes the butcher with cheap 

 pieces only, it might at first glance appear that it 

 should be as light as possible, to diminish the propor- 

 tion of the coarser parts of the carcass. In practice, 

 however, it will be found true that improvements in 

 this direction have limits that cannot be safely passed. 

 The neck should be short, but well developed at the 

 base, to blend symmetrically with the chine and shoul- 

 ders, and thus add to the value of the fore-quarter by 

 increasing the thickness of flesh in parts that would 

 otherwise be defective ; and it should also taper gradu- 

 ally toward the head, without the development of a 

 dewlap or other indications of coarseness. 



Dr. Finlay Dun says : " The distance between the 

 ears and the angle of the jaw should be short, but the 

 width behind the ears considerable an important 

 character in relation to health, as cattle with necks 

 narrow and hollow behind the ears are defective in 

 vigor. A well-developed neck also indicates vigor, 

 and is especially necessary in the bull and in cattle in- 

 tended for feeding. Many good milch-cows, however, 

 have long fine necks ; and, on the other hand, no cow 

 will ever be of much value for the dairy with a short 

 thick neck." * 



The thickness of the neck, particularly at the base, 

 seems also to have a direct relation to the capacity of 

 the chest, which the feeder will consider as one of the 

 most important parts of the animal. Many breeders 

 of mutton-sheep prefer a thick neck, as it is usually 

 found in connection with a capacious chest and a vig- 

 orous constitution, and thick flesh along the back. The 



1 Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, vol. xv., p. 87. 



