INTRODUCTION. 21 



is said to be full-mouthed ; but he is not actually so until six years 

 old, when all the eight are level. 



A irood judjje of cattle will generally determine the a^e with con- 

 siderable accuracy fur many years after that. From six to nine he 

 will be guided by the wearing down of the teeth, and after that by 

 the diminution in their bulk, as in the milk teeth. At nine the two 

 middle fore teeth are evidently smaller and narrower than the rest; 

 at ten the two next are so ; and so on until twelve, when, as in the 

 steer of two years old, the teeth again begin to stand singularly apart 

 from each other. 



Age by the Horns. — The surface of the horn continues nearly smooth 

 until the expiration of the second year of the animal's life, w^hen a 

 wrinkle or circle of thicker horn begins to be formed around the base. 

 This is fully completed in a twelvemonth, and another ring then 

 begins to appear, so that if the perfect rings or circles arc counted, 

 and two added to them, the age of the beast is supposed to be ascer- 

 tained. These rings, however, are not always clear and distinct, and 

 it is very easy to remove one or two of them with a rasp, at least to 

 the unpractised eye, when the animal begins to be unmarketably old. 

 In addition to this a well-known fact should be stated, that if a heifer 

 takes the bull at about two years old, the first ring is formed a twelve- 

 month before its usual time, and, consequently, she would always 

 appear to be, reckoning by her horns, a twelvemonth older than she 

 really is. 



After all, the age, as denoted by the horn, can only be calculated 

 in the cow : these rings do not begin to appear in the ox or bull until 

 the animal is five years old, and then they are frequently too con- 

 fused to be accurately counted. 



Yonntr Catl/e are, for the most part, best understood by the follow- 

 ing names : — The Bull, while sucking, is called a BuU-Calf; and 

 from one to two years old a Stirk or a Yearling Bull ,- every year after- 

 wards he is called a Bull of three, four, five, and six years old, be- 

 yond which period he becomes aged. A young castrated male, after 

 the first year, is called a Slui-Ca If or Slirk-Slof, and then a Steer: at 

 four 3'ears old he receives the name of a Bullock. A female is at first 

 called a Qney-Calf, and then a Heifer until the age of four years : she 

 afterwards takes the name of a Cow, which is retained as long as she 

 lives. 



The Neck of the ox is comparatively shorter than in the horse. It 

 consists of seven bones, each of which, although widened, is short- 

 ened and roughened, for the accumulation of more flesh and fat. 



The Chest is the larfje bony cavity containing and defending from 

 injury the heart and lungs. It is formed of the thirteen rack bones 

 of the back, thirteen ribs on each side, and the breast-bone below 

 and before. The ribs are so articulated with the spine as to allow 

 of some little mntion in respiration. It is of much importance that 

 the chest should be wide and full, and at the same time deep in the 

 girth, otherwise there will not be sufficient space without for the 



