CHAPTER VII 

 REASONS AND METHODS IN JUDGING LIVE STOCK 



The study of the relationship of the form of an animal 

 to purpose or function, is a most important duty of the 

 live-stock student who would know farm animals. The 

 word conformation is used in a general reference to the ar- 

 rangement of the parts of the form to one another. When 

 one says an animal has a good conformation, he simply 

 means that the different parts are well balanced and in 

 harmony with one another. Scientific study has shown 

 that all animals, no matter how odd they may seem, have 

 conformations best suited to their needs and conditions 

 of life. The giraffe, with excessively long neck, feeds on 

 the twigs and leaves of the trees overhead; the lion, with 

 cat-like form, slyly creeps up and springs upon its' prey, and 

 tears and cuts away its flesh by means of its powerful jaws 

 and teeth; the deer, light and most graceful of form,, grazes 

 on the grass and tender twigs, and bounds away to safety 

 like a flash, when an enemy appears. Form, size and 

 color, all have their special purposes. Our domestic animals 

 have developed under artificial conditions, over which man 

 has had large control, and this has resulted in our horses, 

 cattle, sheep, and swine becoming creatures of special pur- 

 pose to a very unusual degree. The great speed of the 

 Thoroughbred, the massive size of the Shire, the excessive 

 milk development of the Holstein-Friesian, and the heavy 

 fleece of the Merino, are all fine examples of this special- 

 purpose development. 



The most efficient judge is a student of animal form 

 who at all tipiea : can see and understand clearly this re- 



