TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 145 



dairy cow is a milk machine and should be studied and operated 

 as such. It is thus much easier to put emphasis where it belongs 

 and so arrive more quickly at the true worth of the animaL 

 Milk is manufactured in the udder from nutriment derived 

 from the feed, and if the cow has the true dairy temperament 

 and does not tend to take on flesh, the quantity of her milk yield 

 will be in direct relation to the quantity and quality of the feed 

 consumed. A heavy milk flow therefore necessitates full de- 

 velopment of the organs of digestion, respiration, and circula- 

 tion, the external evidences of which are a large heart-girth, 

 a large barrel-girth, and a rather lengthy middle. 



The hips are very prominent, and should be as wide as 

 possible. Narrowness across the hips is often associated with 

 a lack of width in barrel, and when the hips and rump are nar- 

 row, the hind legs often set close together, leaving little space 

 for the udder. 



The rump should be wide and level to insure against dif- 

 ficulty in calving, and should not rise strongly at the tail-head 

 as that conformation usually goes with the sway-back. A level 

 rump is usually associated with a level udder. Length of rump 

 is also very desirable; it gives symmetry to the form, and pro- 

 vides room for a .long udder-attachment below. A narrow, 

 peaked rump is liable to cause trouble at calving time, and, as 

 pointed out, it brings the hind legs too close together. At the 

 end of the rump on either side of the tail are the pin-bones. 

 They should be wide apart, for reasons similar to those just 

 mentioned. From the point of the hip to the end of the rump 

 there should be a well-marked hollow, insuring against beefiness 

 of rump. 



The tail performs a part in milk production by protecting 

 from the annoyance of flies. The fleshy part of the tail should 

 extend to the point of the hock and the brush should be heavy 

 and long. The root of the tail should be carried on a line with 

 the rump, showing no undue prominence or roughness. 



The thighs should be muscular, but not fleshy. From a 

 rear view they should be fine and there should be no fleshing 

 between the legs to take up the space that should be filled by 

 the udder. It is desirable that the thighs be long, and that 

 the conformation inside the thigh be incurving. Much varia- 

 tion in rumps and thighs will be found in dairy animals, ranging 

 from decided beefiness to the trim, clean-cut conformation 

 shown by the best dairy cows. 



