Rewards — Of the Ovals. 21 



The notes of his reexaminations corresponded exactly with his first 

 statements. The committee therefore awarded Mi*. Guenon a gold medal, 

 made him a corresponding member, subscribed for twenty-five copies of 

 his book for each of the sub-societies, and distributed their report through 

 all the agricultural channels of France. 



With these testimonials, the highest that could be procured in France, 

 Mr. Guenon went on with the publication of his book, which had a wide 

 circulation in every department of France. And he was finally granted a 

 pension for life of three thousand francs a year by the French govern- 

 ment, after the National Assembly's committee on agriculture had given 

 the system a thorough test. In the presence of fifty of the most eminent 

 agriculturists, M. Guenon made his examinations, and judged correctly 

 of all but one of the quantity, of all but one of the time, and of all of the 

 quality ; and the committee reported the results were altogether conclusive, 

 and that his discovery had reached to the dignity of a science. They also 

 declared the daily production of milk in France might be increased by 

 several millions of pints daily, and that the abundance and quality of milk 

 in the dams must contribute largely to the improvement of the progeny. 

 They voted him the pension, and invited him to deliver lectures in the 

 different veterinary, agricultural, and normal schools of the kingdom, and 

 before the different agricultural societies, as " the speediest and best means 

 of spreading the knowledge of this discovery," and " to repair the time lost 

 in ridicule, doubt, or indifference — the inevitable preface to all under- 

 takings beneficial to humanity." 



In the foregoing account of Mr. Francis Guenon, it will be seen that, by 

 his indomitable perseverance in perfecting his system or method, he raised 

 himself from the ranks of a poor gardener's boy to the position of a great 

 benefactor, and was presented with various medals and decorations, and a 

 large sum of money voted to him. Surely, such a brilliant position must 

 have been won entirely by merit, for he had neither means nor influence 

 to advance him into notice. 



Of the Ovals. 



The ovals on the udder are spoken of by Guenon, and our experience 

 is that they are always indicative of a good yield ; particularly, when they 

 are uniform in size and position, and of fine, soft hair, descending on the 

 udder. But there is another set of marks, which the Pennsylvania Guenon 

 Commission have denominated thigh ovals, which are an invariable indica- 

 tion of a good cow, particularly when she is otherwise well-marked. Of 

 these, Guenon does not speak. Eusebius H. Townsend and Chalkey 

 Harvey were the first to call attention to them, and Charles L. Sharpless 

 has writtdh of them. Our own cow, which took the premium over all the 

 Jersey cows, at the fall exhibition, in 18Y8, of the Chester County Agri- 

 cultural Society, has them most extraordinarily developed. As she is a 

 very thorough example of this marking, we have had the likeness made of 

 her escutcheon, and request the reader's attention to it. 



