TYPES AND MARKET CLASSES OF LIVE STOCK 149 



straight and large ones very crooked indeed. There will be at 

 least two milk-veins, one on each side of the belly, and some- 

 times there will be three, the third one having a position on the 

 middle of the abdomen between the two side veins. They 

 sometimes show more or less branching, each branch passing 

 forward and disappearing through its own milk- well. Although 

 diameter of veins is probably most important, length and exten- 

 sion of veins are also regarded as important, indicating an in- 

 creased venous development and capacity for a larger flow of 

 blood, due to the added number of milk-wells which make easy 

 the work of handling a large circulation. Nearly all phenom- 

 enal producers have veins not only of large diameter and decided 

 tortuousness, but also of many branches and forward exten- 

 sions. Small veins, called udder veins, occur on some udders, 

 their presence being further evidence of a well-developed mam- 

 mary circulation. 



The milk -wells vary in size to correspond with the veins, 

 and are taken into account in judging. They should be large 

 and easily indented when the finger is applied to them. They 

 are especially valuable in estimating the milking qualities of dry 

 cows, for while the udder and milk-veins are much decreased in 

 size during the dry period, the wells maintain their usual diameter. 



The escutcheon or "milk mirror" is that portion of the udder 

 and thighs that is covered with hairs turning up and out, in 

 place of down, as on the rest of the body. A Frenchman, 

 Francois Guenon, beginning in 1814 as a boy of fourteen years, 

 worked out in great detail what is known a& the Guenon or 

 -escutcheon theory. He classified cows and bulls into ten orders 

 and each of these again into four grades, depending on the size 

 and shape of the escutcheon. To each of these orders and grades 

 he ascribed certain values. He also attached certain values 

 to the location of the tufts, ovals, or swirls in the hair on the 

 thighs, making seven additional classes of these. Guenon 

 claimed to be able to tell accurately the producing ability of 

 the cow, and it is said that in tests before various agricultural 

 .societies in France he was very successful in proving his theory. 

 The escutcheon theory was formerly highly credited by many 

 dairymen, and in rather recent years at least one agricultural 

 college published a score card for dairy cows that gave about 

 fifty points out of one hundred to the escutcheon. 



Modern tests have found this theory to be altogether lack- 

 ing in accuracy. At the present time most score cards used by 



