PRACTICAL FARMER. 



121 



iFrom the Highland and Agricultural Fociety of Scotland.) 



our THE POINTS BY WHICH I.IVE STOCK ARE 

 JUDGED. 



BY MR JAMES DICKSON, CATLLE DEALER. 



AVere an ox, of fine symmetry and liigh condi- 

 tion, placed before a person not a jii<lge of live 

 stock, his opinion of its excellencies would be de- 

 rived from a very limited view, and consequently 

 from only a few of its qualities. 



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 observe 

 and admire the beautiful outline of its figure, for 

 that might strike the most casual observer. He 

 might be even delighted with the gentle and com- 

 placent expression of its countenance. All these 

 properties he might judge of by the eye alone. 

 On touching the animal with the hand, he would 

 feel the softness of its body, occasioned by the 

 fatness of the flesh. But no man, not a judge, 

 could rightly criticise the properties of an ox far- 

 ther. He could not possibly discover, without 

 tuition, those properties which had chiefly con- 

 duced 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 skin, whether it 

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

 sion of its countenance, wliether it were a quiet 

 feeder; and from the nature of its flesh, whether 

 it had arrived at maturity or no. The discoveries 

 made by the hand of a judge might even stagger 

 liis 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 qual- 

 ity of flesh, and of disposition to fatten. It can 

 feel whether that flesh is of the most valuable 

 kind ; and it can foretell the probable abundance 

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

 judge a'one can discriminate between the relative 

 values of the diflTerent points, or appreciate the 

 aggregate values of all the points of an ox. Ihe 

 parts of the ox by which it is judged are called 



We have thus seen that a person even totally 

 ignorant of caitie may judge of some of the most 

 aj'parent j.ropertit^s or points of ayai ox ; but were 

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

 a loss wiiat u|nnion to pass on its present, and far 

 more on its future condition. i he outline of its 

 figure would to iiitn appear rugged and angular, 

 and consequently coarse. i o hini the Itody would 

 feel a nuuiber of hard bones, covered with a tough 

 skin and cijarse hair. A judge, on the other haiul, 

 can at once discovir the good or tlie bad . oints of 

 a isau as well as of a fat ox ; because the proper 



ties of the former are the 5ame in kind, though 

 not in degree, as those of the latter ; and, in ac 

 cordance with the qualities of these | oints, he can 

 anticipate the future condition of the lean ox, save 

 and excepting the eflTects of accidents and disease, 

 Hut, it may be asked, if a judge of cattle is a char- 

 acter so easily attained as is here represented, how 

 is it that the oj;iuion of a judge is always held in 

 de'erence and is always referred to in cases of 

 diflference of opinion ? 



This question admits of a very satisfactory an- 

 swer. Errors in the judging of cattle arise not 

 so frequently from not knowing the points to be 

 judged of, as from judges allowing one or more of 

 their favorite points the ])Ower of too great an 

 influence over the future increaslig condition of 

 the ox ; and as long as there arc so many points 

 to be considered, and as most of tiiem may be par- 

 tially altered by local circumstances, a diflference 

 of opinion may exist among judges of lean 

 stock. 



Now^, what are those points of an ox, a thorough 

 knowledge of which is so essential to constitute a 

 perfect judge? Could they be described and 

 illustrated with such precision, as that they may 

 be applied at once to every ox, in whatever con- 

 dition it may be, a great advancement would be 

 made towards establishing fixed rules for the right 

 judging of all the domestic animals. Fortunately 

 for the suppression of human dogmatism on this 

 subject, Nature herself has furnished rules for 

 ascertaining points for judgment, which can only 

 be discovered by long and constant practice. 

 Nevertheless, I shall endeavor to describe them 

 plainly, and after perusing the description, I hope 

 my readers will perceive that they are established 

 laws of nature ; and therefore unerring and appli- 

 cable to every species of cattle. Like ether phe- 

 nomena of nature, a knowledge of them can be 

 acquired by observation. This knowledge is the 

 most difficu't which a farmer has to acquire, inas- 

 much as the management of live stock is a nuich 

 more difficult branch of husbandry than the culti- 

 vation of corn. And although the importance of 

 this knowledge is acknowledged by every experi- 

 enced farmer, and a desire for its acquirement is 

 strongly felt by every young one, it is remarkable 

 that very little is said in professed works on agri- 

 culture on those rules which guide us in judging 

 of fat or lean live stock. 



The first point to be ascertained in examining 

 an ox is the purity of its breed, whatever that 

 breed may be. '1 he ascertaiiinieni of the [xirity 

 of the breed will give the degree of the disposition 

 to fiitt.^n in the individuals of that breed, 'i he 

 purity of the breed may be ascertained I'rom sev- 

 eral marks. 



Tlie color or colors of tli siiin oi a |>ure breed 

 of cattle, whatever those colors are, are aiways 



