146 TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 



The hind legs should be placed well apart, and they should 

 come down straight. If the 'toes point outward and the hocks 

 come close together, the conformation is weak and there is not 

 sufficient room for the udder. 



The udder of the dairy cow comes in for special attention, 

 ranking in importance with the chest and barrel, the three being 

 fundamental in the make-up of a sucessful dairy cow. The 

 udder's size, texture, shape, and teats should be carefully studied. 



Size of udder. The udder should be large in circumfer- 

 ence, carrying well forward along the belly, and extending by 

 a graceful curve high up between the hind legs. When a side 

 view of the cow is taken as she stands in natural position, the 

 udder should carry out far in front of the hind legs, and the 

 swell of the rear quarters of the udder should be plainly evident 

 back of the leg. A measurement of nearly six feet around the 

 udder has been reported, just two inches less than the cow's 

 heart-girth. The udders of heifers are often deceptive, having 

 much greater capacity than the exterior indicates. This is 

 because the udder is held snugly against the abdominal wall; 

 but with increase in age and yield of milk, the added weight 

 produces some relaxation of the supporting tissues, and the 

 udder becomes more pendulous and prominent. 



Texture of udder. Two sorts of tissue mainly compose 

 the udder glandular tissue and connective tissue. The for- 

 mer is the seat of secretory activity, and the latter serves the 

 purpose of a framework or support. More or less fatty tissue 

 is also present. Naturally, it is very important that there be 

 a large proportion of glandular tissue and a relatively small 

 amount of connective tissue. This is determined by examining 

 the udder with the hands for mellowness, which indicates that 

 the udder is largely glandular; or still better by having the cow 

 milked, when the udder should show much decrease in size, 

 and the skin covering it should shrivel. When the udder is 

 composed largely of connective tissue, if feels firm and is referred 

 to as "meaty," and when it is milked out, the yield of milk is 

 small and the udder shows little or no decrease in size. Unfor- 

 tunately, meaty udders usually excel in shape and appearance, 

 while the most glandular ones have not sufficient connectiev 

 tissue to properly support them, the heavy weight causing them 

 to hang down rather loosely to form what is called a "pendant" 

 udder. Many large producers have such udders, whereas it 

 is a fact that the type of udder that wins in the show ring is 



