Learning the Escutcheons. 25 



in size and shape from this pattern escutcheon, and that will enable him to 

 tell which order of her class to put her in, and that will then inform him 

 what quantity of milk she will give, and how long she will give it when 

 with calf. And we repeat here, it is necessary only to acquire the knowl- 

 edge of the first three or four orders of each of the ten classes, as if the 

 cow examined does not come within those orders, she is not worth exam- 

 ining further nor keeping longer, nor certainly worth purchasing. Then 

 the learner must next acquire a knowledge of the distinguishing marks 

 which point out a Bastard cow, for an account of which marks, see under 

 that head. 



Now all of this knowledge must, to put it into profit practically, be sup- 

 plemented by the careful examination of the hair and the skin, of the es- 

 cutcheon, and the udder: of the hair, whether it is short, fine, soft, and 

 furry ; of the skin, whether it is soft and close-grained like a kid glove, 

 thin, oleaginous, and yellow or golden. For if the hair is harsh, and long, 

 particularly on the back part of the udder, it will shorten the time of 

 giving milk, and indicates a poorer quality. The more oily or greasy to 

 the feeling the skin of the udder and the perineum is, the more it indicates 

 good quality and richness of milk, for the oil or fat is there, showing it is 

 in the nature of that animal to give butyraceous milk. So with the color 

 of the skin, if it is golden it is indicative of rich milk, and the majority 

 think it will make a finer colored butter. There is one point more in 

 judging by the escutcheon, and that is its size and position, and the gen- 

 eral rule is, the higher up it is on the thighs, and the broader it is on the 

 thighs, together with the higher and broader it is on the perineum, even 

 up to the vulva, then the better it is. Then remember the escutcheon has 

 two principal parts, called the thigh escutcheon and the vertical escutcheon ; 

 the thigh escutcheon extends over the udder and the thighs ; and the ver- 

 tical is over the perineum or that part of the posterior which extends from 

 the udder up to the tail and above the vulva. 



If the thigh escutcheon is high and broad, therefore very large, and ex- 

 tends far outward on to the thighs, it indicates a large flow of milk. If the 

 vertical or upper part is broad and smooth, it indicates a prolonged flow of 

 milk. 



If the thigh or lower portion of the escutcheon is narrow, the flow will 

 be proportionally small. If the vertical or upper part is narrow and 

 irregular, it is unfavorable to a prolonged flow. 



Chalkley Harvey says further of these marks : " Imperfections, that is 

 blemishes of form, occur in considerable variety on both large and small 

 escutcheons. They are all certain evidence of a diminished value of the 

 cow as a milker. A small and imperfect escutcheon on a good cow, is 

 something I have never yet seen. Any want of symmetry in the form of 

 an escutcheon is an imperfection. The two sides should be alike. A small 

 but perfect escutcheon may be better than a larger one that is imperfect. 

 A very good one is both large and perfect. 



