DAIRY CATTLE 363 



470. Fore quarters. The shoulder should be well muscled, 

 sloping, narrow, and open at the withers. A wide, deep chest 

 is associated with large lung and heart capacity, so essential to 

 a strong constitution, to good respiration, digestion, and produc- 

 tion in any kind of an animal. The fore legs should be short, 

 fine, and straight. 



471. Body. The heart girth should be large, indicating large 

 lung and heart capacity. The back should be long, strong, and 

 loose- jointed, but not necessarily straight. The spaces between 

 the vertebrae should be wide and open, indicating width of rib. 

 The ribs should also be long and far apart. The abdomen, or 

 barrel, should be long, wide, and deep, especially just in front 

 of the udder. A cow must have large capacity to be an eco- 

 nomical producer, for she must eat and digest large quantities 

 of food. Often a cow will not show great depth of barrel but 

 may have a large capacity for food by having a greater width of 

 barrel and greater spring of ribs. A strong jaw, keen eye, large 

 muzzle, and capacious barrel are the indications of ability to 

 consume and digest large quantities of food. The loin should 

 be broad and strong, with roomy coupling. 



472. Hind quarters. The hind quarters should show the 

 leanness characteristic of the other parts of the body. The hips 

 should be far apart, prominent, and level with the back. The 

 rump should be long and wide, with a roomy pelvis ; the pin 

 bones, high and wide apart. The thighs should be long, thin, 

 and wide apart, with plenty of room for the udder. The legs 

 should be fine, straight, and far apart. 



473. Udder. The udder is the gland or milk factory where 

 the nutrients are taken from the blood and made over into milk. 

 The udder is largely used as an index of the ability of the cow 

 as a producer. It should be capacious, free from flesh, and 

 when empty should be soft and flexible. Capacity in the udder 

 should be gained by length and width rather than by depth. 

 The udder should be attached to the body high behind and far 

 forward and should show good width throughout. This form 

 affords ample surface for the blood vessels to spread as they 



