224 HINTS ON SELECTION, CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF CATTLE. 



unless given with intimate knowledge of all the peculiar conditions we 

 have mentioned, and many others which will doubtless occur to the 

 thinking reader. There are, however, certain points which may be given 

 as an aid to individual selection, and of these we mention: 



First. The animal should be carefully studied, with reference to 

 some standard description of the breed to which it belongs; such a de- 

 scription we have aimed to give in each Chapter devoted to a breed, and 

 no animal should be selected for breeding purposes that does not show, 

 in appearance or progeny, the dominant character of its particular breed. 



Second. If a cow desired for the dairy, she should have the typi- 

 cal milk wedge; that is, as seen either from above or from the side, a V- 

 shaped outline, with the apex forward. The fore region may be rather 

 light in appearance, but the barrel must gradually deepen to the flank, 

 joining the udder in an almost continuous line, as though the entire body 

 were a portion as indeed it is of the milk machine. As to shape and 

 appearance of the udder, breed characteristics must largely govern, but 

 we may say in general that a well-formed udder should be large only 

 when distended with milk; when empty it should appear small, and will 

 usually hang in loose folds or wrinkles. As a rule, those cows having 

 broad udders close up to the body, but spreading well forward and back, 

 may be expected to give a good quantity of milk, while the cows with 

 rather narrow and longer udders "bottle-shaped" will usually give a 

 better quality as to butter content. The so-called milk veins, running 

 from the udder region on either side of the abdomen forward, should be 

 irregular and puffy, rather than straight and even; a rich yellow colored 

 skin is usually an excellent indication of value in the butter line, and a 

 soft, glossy coat, is an invariable accompaniment of health. 



The escutcheon or "milk mirror," consists of hair turned in a re- 

 verse direction from that grown on other parts of the body, and is found 

 on the udder spreading forward and backward, and between the thighs, 

 covering a greater or less surface according to the milking capacity of 

 the animal. As previously stated, we shall not undertake a description 

 of the various classes and orders of escutcheons outlined by Guenon; 

 the system is of sufficient importance to justify all the comment, favor- 

 able and otherwise, which it has provoked, and we can do no less than 

 advise a careful study of the subject before deciding as to its practical 

 utility. In our own experience, we have found the Guenon system of 

 much value. The escutcheon cannot, in our opinion, be relied on as the 

 only expression of good or bad milking quality, but if properly used in 

 connection with other milk signs it furnishes a most valuable aid in the 

 selection of dairy stock. Finally, and most important of all, be sure 

 that the animal has a feminine look; a decided cowy appearance, espe- 

 cially of the head, not only indicates milking promise, but may also be 

 accepted as a uniform sign of docility. 



