446 



FARMERS' REGISTER— POINTS TO JUDGE LIVE STOCK. 



From the [British] Quarterly Journal of Agriculture. 



ON THK POIKTS BY WHICH LIVE-STOCK ARE 

 JUDGKD. 



I By Mr. James Dickson, Cattle-Dealer, Edinburgh. 



Were an ox of fine symmetry and liigh condi- 

 tion placed before a person not a judge of live- 

 stock, his opinion of its excellencies would be de- 

 ri^ved from a very limited view, and consequently 

 I from only a few of its qualities. He might ob- 

 serve and admire the beautiful outline of itstigure, 

 for that miglit strike the most casual observer. He 

 might be pleased with the tint of its colors, the 

 plumpness of its body, and the smoothness and 

 glossiness of its skin. He might be even delight- 

 ed witli the gentle and complacent expression of its 

 countenance. All these properties he might judge 

 of by the eye alone. On touching the animal with 

 the hand, he could feel the softness of its body, oc- 

 casioned by the fatness of the flesh. But no man, 

 not ajudge, could rightly criticise the properties of 

 an ox farther. He could not possibly discover, 

 without tuition, those properties which had chiefly 

 conduced to produce the high condition in which, 

 he saw the ox. He would hardly believe that a 

 judge can ascertain, merely by the eye, from its 

 general aspect, whether the ox were in good or 

 bad health; — from the color of its sldn, whether it 

 were of a pure or cross breed; — from the expres- 

 sion of its countenance, whether it were a quiet 

 feeder; — and from the nature of its flesh, Avhether 

 it Jiad arrived at maturity or no. The discoveries 

 made by the hand of ajudge might even stagger 

 his belief. He could scarcely conceive that that 

 hand can feel a hidden property, — the touch, — 

 which of all tests is the most surely indicative of 

 fine quality of flesh, and of disposition to fatten. 

 It can feel whether that flesh is of the most valua- 

 ble kind; and it can ibretel the probable abundance 

 of fat in the interior of the carcass. In short, a 

 judge alone can discriminate between the relative 

 values of the different points, or appreciate the ag- 

 gregate values of all the points of an ox. The 

 parts of the ox by which it is judged are called 



We have thus seen that a person even totally 

 ignorant of cattle may judge of some of the most 

 apparent properties or points of afat ox; but were 

 a lean ox placed before him, he would be quite at a 

 loss what opinion to pass on its present, and far 

 more of its future condition. The outline of its 

 figure would to him appear rugged and angular, 

 and consequently coarse. To him the body would 

 feel a number of hard bones, covered with a tough 

 skin and coarse hair. A judge, on the other hand, 

 can at once discover the good or the bad points of 

 a lean as well as of a fat ox; because the proper- 

 ties of the former are the same in kind, though not 

 in degree, as those of the latter: and, in accordance 

 with the qualities of these points, he can anticipate 

 the lliture condition of the lean ox, save and ex- 

 cepting the eflects of accidents and disease. 



But, it may be asked, if a judge of cattle is a 

 character so easil}' attained as is here represented, 

 how is it that the opinion of ajudge is alwa3s held 

 in deference, and is always referred to in cases of 

 difference of opinion? This question admits of a 

 very satisfactory answer. Errors in the judging 

 of cattle arise not so frequently from not knowing 

 the points to be judged of, as irom judges allow- 

 ing one or more of their favorite points the power 



