226 CATTLE 



tips bending inward or upward. In color a waxy yellowish tint is 

 preferred, though blackish tips are not debarred. The head should 

 be lean and shapely and short from between the eyes to the muzzle, 

 which should be flesh color and broad, with large nostrils. A dark 

 or blackish muzzle is distinctly objected to by most breeders. 

 The neck should be short, neatly attached to the head, and blend 

 smoothly into the shoulders. Shorthorn shoulders tend to be a bit 

 prominent and bare. They should be well laid in and smoothly 

 covered with flesh. Back of the shoulders the crops and fore flanks 

 are often deficient, and lack of heart girth is a frequent criticism of 

 the breed. Superior animals show a body that is very broad of 

 back, strong of loin, and so prominent of rib as to give a large 

 girth and digestive capacity of the first order. The flanks before 

 and behind are also low and full. A thick, deep body is usually 

 associated with a low, full chest and prominent breast, essentials 

 with a proper constitutional development. The brisket should be 

 broad and deep and carried forward as a part of a smooth, full, 

 and attractive breast. The hind quarter of the Shorthorn is usu- 

 ally typical of the breed, superior in its general development to 

 that of any other beef breed. Regarding the hips William Hous- 

 man writes of the Shorthorn : " In fat or lean animals the hip 

 bone must be liberally covered, not bare, hard, or sharp ; each 

 hip ' cleft,' and the hollow filled with elastic flesh. This is an im- 

 portant test of the quality of the animal, especially in the lean 

 state." The rump is usually long, level, and broad and well 

 covered with meat, while the thighs and quarters are long, thick, 

 and deep from front to rear, showing a maximum amount of 

 meat for this quarter. Animals of naturally heavy-fleshing quali- 

 ties frequently get "patchy" about the root of the tail at the 

 rump, and also roll some on the sides, thus detracting from the 

 smoothness of finish. The modern demand is for smoothness, 

 and the old-fashioned, rough, patchy class of cattle are in great 

 disfavor among progressive Shorthorn breeders. Quality and 

 smoothness are two essentials insisted upon, and the observant 

 student will note that in the show ring of to-day, in important 

 competition, those animals given preference are smooth and show 

 a condition that signifies the distinctly superior butcher's beast. 

 The ^tdder of the Shorthorn usually shows greater capacity than 



