670 CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK AN1> COMPLETE STOCK DOCTOR. 



XXn. Wide in the Crops. 

 The animal broad in the crops has a better back ; but it is also evidence 

 of a better rib beneath the shoulder-blade, giving greater Avidth to the 

 chest within, and consequently greater play to the lungs. This position 

 of the shoulder-blade enables the legs to be brought more gracefully 

 under the chest beneath. There are some beasts whose fore legs stand so 

 wide apart that they very much resemble two sticks stuck into a large 

 pumpkin. Such animals are considered awkward and inconvenient at least. 



XXIII. The Back Straight and Broad. 



A broad back affords valuable roasting pieces, and will be the delight 

 of the butcher. The straight back affords a better spinal column, and gives 

 the proper space to the cavities beneath, which, as we have just seen, are 

 occupied by the most important organs. A straight line also gives to the 

 ribs a more graceful as well as a more convenient attachment. 



XXIV. The Ribs Barrel-Shaped. 



The ribs rising well from the spine, giving to the body a round or bar- 

 reled shape, gives much more room to the organs within — the heart and 

 lungs — than there would be if the ribs descended in such a manner as to 

 give a flat side. A beast with flat sides, and consequently a narro\^f 

 throat, will lack greatly in vigor and health, and all the essential quali- 

 ties that constitute a good bullock. A "bad rib gives poor space to the 

 abdominal organs which lie immediately behind those of the chest, unless 

 the belly is greatly sagged, which is generally the case. 



XXV. The Touch. 



By handling or the touch, butchers asceilain beforehand the quality of 

 the flesh. By it the breeder ascertains the aptitude to fatten as well as the 

 quality and quantity of flesh that the animal Mill carry. Of all the qual- 

 ities of the ox, this is probably the most difficult to understand. It is 

 the peculiar sensation of softness and elasticity that is produced by the 

 pressure of the hand on different parts of the body. This sensation de- 

 pends, in part, upon a large cellular development beneath the skin and 

 between the muscles, and in part upon the muscular structure, adapting 

 itself to the duties it has to perform. It is very common to find a soft- 

 ening of the muscular fibre as an accompaniment or a precursor of dis- 

 ease that may mislead. The same mayvbe observed in the aged of both 

 man and beast. What is 'touch,' or what is it to 'handle well?' How 

 is it to be distinguished from that which portends bad health and old age? 

 By its elasticity — its power to replace the parts when pressed — a springy 

 sensation. 



