380 PRINCIPLES OF STOCK-BREEDING. 



parts of the organization that are more favorably situ- 

 ated cannot fail to be abundantly supplied with the 

 materials required for the renovation and increase of 

 their tissues. 



What, then, are the indications of activity in the 

 processes of circulation and assimilation in the skin 

 that may be safely relied on as an index of the per- 

 formance of these functions in other parts of the sys- 

 tem? 



The experience of practical men has enabled them 

 to give an answer to this question that is strictly in 

 accordance with the principles of physiological sci- 

 ence. 



Without a knowledge of the correlations of struct- 

 ure and function in the animal economy, that render 

 it possible to judge of the condition of one part of 

 the system by an examination of another, they have 

 found by long-continued observation and experience 

 that the quality of flesh, ability to fatten rapidly, and 

 constitutional vigor, are uniformly reflected in the 

 peculiarities of the coat and skin. 



As it is difficult, if not impossible, to describe the 

 slight variations in "touch" that represent marked 

 differences in quality, so that they can be readily rec- 

 ognized, without practical illustrations on the living 

 animal, we can only give a general outline of the con- 

 ditions to be observed, leaving the student to gain a 

 knowledge of details by actual experience. The first 

 point to which attention should be directed in apply- 

 ing the test of " touch " is the hair, which we have 

 already seen is correlated with the true horn of the 

 horns and hoofs. 



