14 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



■when Uie cod is larjre and fat, is even more apart. 

 Tlie fore hind quarters arc more nearly alike in 

 weijflit, wlion tlie fore and hind legs stand equally 

 aniirt. . 



S The ohjoctionahle deviations from these points 

 aro as foil.. us: In fig. 1, ah(>.How hack at the ribs 

 (I is had. showing weakness of tiie h:n'k-hone. A 

 h\'j\[ slioiildor ate is alwuys iitteiuk-d with asharp- 

 iKss, liuviiig the effect of bringing the shoulders, 

 fiu' 3. tuo close. A long distance lietween the ril)S 

 d'iuu\ iiook-1) .ne /.-, fig. 1, makes the loins hollow, 

 gives the ox what is called a uanJiy appearance, 

 which is hlways prone to looseness of the bowels, 

 and washiness is also accompanied with an inordi- 

 nate breadth of hook,*, from a to «, fig. 2. A'sharp 

 jiroiectiiig hook is always accompanied with flat 

 rilis at </, ti:^ 1, and llat ribs make a hollow side, 

 ■which bears little flesh, and pushes the viscera into 

 the lower part of the abdomen, causing the belly 

 to droop considerably below the line of the frame. 

 "With this ci)nfurmation, the yellow-colored, tough 

 insensible integument of the belly, having a greater 

 \vei'.Tlit to bear, becomes thick and stronger, and 

 the flesh less valuable, and it has al.so the effect of 

 Thinning the flank a. Flatness of the rib is also 

 acconqiMuied with a hollownessof tlie space beliind 

 the siioidder, giving to that part of tlie body a con- 

 tractid appearance. The sharp shoulder and hol- 

 low ribs are accomp.'inied with a projecting shoul- 

 der joint h, which ftgain causes a thinness of the 

 neck. Tl.e rump-bone at c frequently rises up- 

 ward, spoiling the straight line of the back ; and 

 depriving the rump between h and c of flesh, 

 where it becomes hollow, deteriorating the value 

 of the most valuable parts of the hind-quarter. A 

 prejeoting hook-bone I- also thins the muscles be- 

 low it, anil as far back as tlie rounds; and this is 

 accomjianied with an enlargement of the opening 

 at the closing, fig. 2. 



9. Whenever the shoulder becomes thin and nar- 

 row, viewed in front, fig. 3, the shoulder points are 

 much wider than the shoulder-top; and while this 

 icthe case, the brisket below never becomes fat, 

 Aiid then the fore-legs stand too near eachother. 



10. A great commeudation of a fat ox is a level 

 broad back from rump to 

 shoulder, as the whijle flesh 

 on that sp.ace, seen when view- 

 ed from above, fig, 4, is of_ the 

 most valuable description ; 

 where the triangular space in- 

 cluded between a b c is the 

 rumj), the triangular space be- 

 tween a d c the loin, and the 

 .space betw een d and e, deflect- 

 ing on each side, are the ribs. 

 All the points of a fat ox that 

 have been enumerated can be 

 judged of by the eye alone, 

 and most judges employ no 

 other means; but the assist- 

 ance derived Jfrom the hand 



is important, and in a pupil 



►1p. 4.-Tl.evicn-ofthecan not be dispensed with, 

 ti.ck of a ripefat ox. u. The fir.st yxnnt handled 

 Is at the tail-head, fig. 1, although the lea.st fat 

 htre is obvious to tlie eye, and sometimes it at- 

 tains an enormous size, amounting to deformity 



covered ; but if the bone be easily felt, both tlie 

 ramp between the book k to the ribs d, may be ex- 

 pected to be hard and deficient of flesh. To the 

 points of the fingers the flesh upon the rihs g 

 should feel soft and thick when the ribs are round; 

 but when flat, the flesh feels hard and thin from 

 want of fat. The skin, too, on a. rounded rib, feels 

 soft ,nnd mobile, and the hair tiiick set, soft, and 

 mossy, both indicative of a kindly, disposition to 

 lav on flesli and fnt. The hand, on grasping the 

 flank rt, finds it tliick, when the internal tallow is 

 abundant, as well as the cod fat and large, and, on 

 looking at it from behind, seems to act as a cush- 

 ion between the hind-legs, to keep them asunder. 

 The palm of the hand passed along the line of the 

 back from the tail-head c to the top of the should- 

 er e, points out tlie hard parts upon it, and when 

 all feels soft and pleasant, the flesh is good. Hol- 

 lo wness behind the shoulder h is a very cotnmon 

 occurrence ; and when it is filled up witb flesh and 

 fat, the flesh of the fore-quai-ter is good. _ You 

 wtnild scarcely believe the dilference of the feel of 

 the flesh betw"'ixt a lean and fat shoulder. A high 

 narrow shoulder e is attended with a ridged back- 

 bone, and lowest narrow hooks 7.;, a conforinatior 

 named raz<'r-lacl\ always acccompanied with a de- 

 ficiency and hardness of flesh along the back, whert 

 the best flesh of a good ox should be. This con- 

 formation is always indicative of a slow and obdu- 

 rate feeder. The" shoulder point h should be cov- 

 ered, and feel soft like the point of a good hook 

 bone, and in that state indicates a well-filjed neck 

 vein, which runs from that point to the side of th< 

 head. The shoulder point is more often bare auc 

 prominent than the hook-bone. When the neck 

 vein is so firmly filled np as not to allow the point 

 of the fingers to enter into the inside of the should 

 er point, it indicates abundance of tallow in the in 

 side ; as also does the fulness between the bri^ke 

 and inside of the fore-legs, and the projection for 

 ward of the brisket. When the flesh become 

 heavy on the thighs, making a sort of doubl 

 thigh, the thigh is^called hjary, an<l it indicates 

 tendencv in the whole flesh of the ox to grow rath 

 er on the lower than the upper part of the body 

 These are all x\\% points that require touching whe 

 the hand is med ; and in a high-conditioned 05 

 they are gone over very rapidly. 



IviLT.iNO Canada Thistles.— In the spring o 

 1861 I bought a few acres of land. That part o 

 it on which I intended to make my garden an 

 plant my vegetables grew so full of Canada thistU 

 that I thought it was entirely worthless. But 

 resolved to try what hoeing would do; so just i 

 soon as the thistles got one or two inches long, 

 hoed them through the whole season. This yea 

 up to the present date, not one thistle has a] 

 peared. Any one who will adopt this plan of e: 

 termination will never Imve to complain of the 



pggl^g JAMBS LKNNON. 



Eochester, N. T., Foremher, 1862. 



Lahgk and Small Horsks.— The Maine Farm 

 think< that a 900-pound hor?e is preferable, f 

 most work on the farm and tlie road, to a heavi 

 IhT h".ok-boae I is 'touched, and" should be well i horse. What say our readers ? 



