188 



BEGINNINGS IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 



sometimes have a heavy dewlap, which is rather objec- 

 tionable. 



The shoulders of the dairy animal incline to be somewhat 

 prominent and are often rough. This is in most cases due 

 to the lack of covering of flesh. The smoothness of the 

 shoulder found in the beef animal is not to be expected with 

 the dairy type, but the blades should extend well into the 

 back and not be coarse. The withers above the shoulders 

 should be lean and somewhat sharp. In fact, dairy cattle 



judges place a premium on 

 thin, sharp withers. Many 

 great producing cows, how- 

 ever, have some thickness or 

 fleshiness at this point. Oc- 

 casionally, one will find dairy 

 cows with the shoulder points 

 noticeably separated from the 

 body. This is what is called 

 a spread shoulder, and shows 

 a weakening of the muscular 

 attachment. Such a cow has 

 an undesirable appearance, 

 but otherwise is not seriously 

 affected. 



The body of the dairy cow should be deep at the chest, 

 yet not thick. As one views the animal from one side, the 

 depth from the top of withers to bottom of the chest should 

 be much greater than the length of leg. From a front view, 

 the chest appears somewhat narrow. Not much depression 

 back of the shoulders below the withers, at the point known 

 as the "crops," is desired, for this indicates weakness in 

 heart girth. The same criticism will apply at the fore flank. 

 The back should be well and strongly carried, with the spine 



Fig. 110. The withers of the dairy 

 cow. Photograph by courtesy of 

 The Farmer. 



