26 GuENON ON MiLcu Cows. 



" Thus far we have considered the escutcheon in reference to its form 

 and size alone, and may now say, that the quantity of milk depends on 

 these, but its quality is indicated by other signs, which we find to a great 

 extent in the same place. It is too well known to require any assertion, 

 that some cows give a large quantity of very poor milk, and others an 

 equally large quantity of rich milk. It is equally well known that some 

 cows give but little milk, though they yield a good quantity of butter ; 

 and I repeat, that the signs indicative of these differences of quality are 

 found in the escutcheon, and they are easily recognized. If the skin in the 

 escutcheon is soft and oily, and particularly if it is of a rich yellow color, 

 (though this is more easily seen by examining the end of the tail,) sugges- 

 tive of "gilt edged" butter, that cow will give good milk. In such cases 

 we will find her hair soft and short. There may be some long hairs, too, 

 but the undergrowth will be as mentioned, and often has almost the qual- 

 ity of fur. But if, on the other hand, the skin is white and dry, and the 

 hair thin and harsh, the cow gives poor milk. If her escutcheon is large 

 and symmetrical, she may give a large quantity of poor milk. The form 

 and size of the escutcheon indicate quantity^ the skin and hair indicate 

 quality. These signs are true also as applied to bulls, being in such cases 

 a proper guide in the selection of animals to breed milkers from. My own 

 experience and observation, which has been considerable in the matter, 

 convinces me that cows inherit their milking qualities more from their 

 sires than from their dams ; and it is probable that many who have been 

 disappointed in heifers raised from some favorite milkers, will be disposed 

 to agree with me. If this be true, then the Guenon method has an appli- 

 cation that must prove valuable to those who breed cows for dairy pur- 

 poses. Another interesting fact is, that we can discover all the signs on 

 a calf, and are thereby enabled to select with much certainty those that are 

 fit for the dairy, and to reject those that would be only a disappointment, 

 if raised for that purpose. Of course, a very small cow, with ever so good 

 an escutcheon, cannot be expected to give a very large quantity of milk, 

 and might be inferior in that respect to one having a less perfect one, 

 where the animal is of greater size. But in such cases, the small cow would 

 give much more in proportion to the cost of keeping. In all cases, there- 

 fore, the size should be taken into account. • 



" There is a sign that may be mentioned here, (though it does not prop- 

 erly belong to the Guenon system,) which is a very certain evidence that 

 a cow will give a large quantity of milk, though it expresses nothing in re- 

 lation to quality. It is the large size of the vein running forward from 

 the udder, on the belly, and just under the skin. This is called the milk 

 vein, and when it is very large and crooked, and enters the abdomen 

 througli a hole that will allow the entrance of a man's finger, it is, I repeat, 

 a sign that the cow will yield a large quantity of milk. 



" The time that a cow will continue to milk after she is with calf, varies 

 in diflferent cases — some ceasing almost as soon as pregnant, and others 



