Mr. French's Testimony to the System. 33 



practical value for indicating the milking qualities of tlio cow, my experience is that a 

 finely-developed escutcheon is rarely seen on a poor milker, while many excellent 

 milkers have very small or no escutcheons at all. In other words, its presence is a 

 good sign, while its absence is not necessarily a cause lor distrust. Milk-veins, as an 

 indication for milking capacity, are of about the same value as the escutcheon." 



"The editor of the Jersey Bulletin, in commenting on thig, says: 



«' We should be very glad to know of a cow, worthy to be called an 'excellent milker' — 

 duration of the flow after becoming pregnant being one of the tests — which has no es- 

 cutcheon at all, or a very small one. As at present advised, we don't believe she ex- 

 ists. Most old cow men would say that, if the escutcheon is as valuable an indication 

 as the milk-veins, too much effort can hardly be made to extend knowledge concern- 

 ing it." 



" Henry Tanner, professor of agriculture, Queen's College, Birmingham, 

 England, says, in a volume of prize essays of the Highland and Agricul- 

 tural Society: 



" Some attention has also been given, within a few years, to a discovery, made by 

 Mons. Guenon, respecting ' the escutcheon,' as it is termed. Like miany other persons, 

 he was carried beyond the boundary of discretion in his speculations, and thus his 

 valuable observations were for a time lost in the mist with which he enveloped them. 

 Sufficient is already known of its value, at least, to lead us to the conclusion that it is 

 worthy of more general knowledge. . . . 



"A very extended observation has proved that, other conditions being equal, the 

 modification of form presented by tlie escutcheon will lead to an estimation, not only 

 of the quantity of milk which the animal will produce, but also of the time during 

 which the cow will keep up the supply of milk. 



" Without going into detail upon this point, I may briefly state that the larger the 

 extent of theescutcheon, the greater is the promise of milk, and also of its continu- 

 ance, even after the cow is again in calf. A cow may have a small escutcheon, and yet 

 be a good milker ; but observation leads to the conclusion that, if she possessed a more 

 fully developed escutcheon, she would have been a better milker. It maybe consid- 

 ered a point of merit, not as deciding whether or not the cow is a good milker, but 

 rather asan additional indication which maybe taken into consideration in conjunction 

 with other characteristic points. It is also desirable, in estimating the extent of the, 

 escutcheon, to make full allowance for the folds in the skin ; otherwise, a large escutch- 

 eon may be taken for a small one. Besides the escutcheon, there are tufts of hair (epis) 

 which have a certain degree of value when seen upon the udder of the cow." 



" I presume there are many men who, although perhaps not caring a pin 

 for an escutcheon, yet consider themselves fully capable of selecting a good 

 milk cow. Now, although ignoring the escutcheon in their judgment, are 

 they not apt, in selecting an ideal cow of any particular milk breed, to 

 find a good escutcheon developed of one class or another ? 



" Perhaps it may be asked, if the Guenon system is a true one, why are 

 not the Short-Horns a great milk breed, for in them we often find very large 

 and perfect escutcheons ? 



" This question may be answered as follows : The Short-Horns were origi- 

 nally a good milking breed ; but, having been made particularly a beef 

 breed, the milking propensity or mammary system has in most families 

 been changed or bred out. Notwithstanding this change, they may retain 

 the escutcheon, not as a mark of quality, but as one of the characteristic 

 marks of the breed. 



"All farmers are aware that a first-class milk cow may, by injudicious 

 feed and treatment, especially as regards milking, become a second-class 

 animal. Now, such a system, carried out generation after generation, must 

 certainly degenerate a milk breed, however good their marks and quality. 



"Among the Short-Horns, probably the best milkers have good esciitch- 

 eons ; but an Ayrshire cow, with an inferior escutcheon, might be found 

 to give more milk than a Short-Horn with a superior escutcheon, simply 

 because one breed has been bred especially for beef, the other especially 

 for milk. 

 3 



