364 



THE GENESEE FAEMER. 



EUIES FOR JUDGING FAT CATTLE. 



Stevens, ia his " Book of the Farm," gives some 

 rules for judging fat oxen, from wlncJi we make a 

 few extracts : 



'• When you look at the near side of a ripe ox in 

 profile — and this is the side usually chosen to begin 

 with — whatever be its size, imagine its body to be 

 embraced witliin a rectangled parallelogram, as in 



TEB SIDE VIEW OF A WELL FILLED-UP FAT OX. (fIG. 1.) 



fig. 1 ; and if the ox is filled up in all points, his 

 carcass will occupy the parallelogram a 5 c fZ as ful- 

 ly as in the figure ; but in most cases, there will be 

 deficiencies in various parts — not that all the defi- 

 ciet cies will occur in the same animal, but differ- 

 ent ones in different animals. The flank «, for in- 

 stance, may be shrunk up, and leave a space there 

 to the line; or the brisket^ may descend much 

 farther down than is represented ; or the rump c 

 may be elevated much above the line of the back ; 

 or the middle of the l)ack g may be much hollowed 

 below the line ; or the top of the shoulder h may 

 be mnoh elevated above it; or a large space may 

 be left unfilled in the hams above d. Then a sim- 

 ilar survey should be made behind the animal ; the 

 imaginary line should in.scribe it also within it the 

 perimeter of a rectangled parallelogram, though of 

 difterent form from the otiier, as represented in fig. 

 2, where the breadth of the hook-bones, a and b, 

 is maintained as low as the points c and d ; and 

 the closing between the legs at e is also well filled 

 up. This figure gives a somewhat exaggerated 

 view of the appearance of a fat ox behind ; but 

 still it gives the form of the outline which it should 

 have. Then go in front of the ox, and there ima- 

 gine the outline of the body at the shoulder, in- 

 scribed witliin a rectangled parallelogram abed, 

 fig. 3, of exactly the same dimensions as the one in 

 fig. 2. The shoulder, from a to Z>, is apparently of 

 the same breadth as across the hook-bones, from a 

 to &, fig. 2. The otf-side of the animal may of course 

 be expected to be similar in outline to the near 

 side. Having thus obtained an idea of the outline 

 which a fat ox should have, let us now attend to 

 the filling up of the area of the parallelogram. 



On looking again at the near-side view, fig. 1, 

 observe whether the ribs below and on each side 

 of g are rounded, and nearly fill up the space be- 

 tween the more projecting points h and k, that is, 

 between the sUoulders and the hook. Observe 

 also whether the shoulder h is flat, somewhat in 

 the same plane as y, or more rounded and promi- 



nent; and whether the space behind the shoulder, 

 at i, is 1 ollow or filled up. Observe, again, whe- 

 ther the shoulder-point I is projecting and sharp, or 

 rounded off; and whether the neck between a and 

 Z, is flat and sunk, or sweeps finely in with the 

 shoulder. Observe yet more, whether the muscles 

 at m are thin and flat, or full and rounded ; and 

 whether the hook-bone k project-^ or sinks in, or 

 appear to connect itself easily with the rump c on 

 the one hand, and with the ribs g on tlie other. 

 With all tbese alternative particulars before you, 

 they should be arranged in the following manner, 

 to constitute points in perfection. 



The line from the shoulder to the hook, from h 

 to Jc, fig. 1, should be parrallel to the back-bone. 

 The space on each side of g, along the ribs from g 

 to h, and along the loins from g to i, does not fall 

 in with the line h and /t, but should be a little 

 nearer, and almost as high as the back-bone, with 

 a rounding fall of the ribs down the side of the an- 

 imal. The loin, from k to g, should be perfectly 

 flat above, on the same level as tlie back-b<nie, and 

 drop down on this side, in connection with the ut- 

 most rounding of the ribs. The point of the hook 

 k should just be seen to project, and no more ; and 

 the space between it and the rump c should 

 gradually sweep round to the narrower breadth ot 

 the pelvis, as seen from a to c or 5 to c in fig. 4. * 

 is placed at the utmost bend of the ribs, along 

 which a straight line should touch every point 

 through i, tVom the front of the shoulder to the 

 buttock. The triangular space comprehended with- 

 in a h Z, should gradually taper from the shoulder- 

 point to tlie head. A straight line from Z, the 

 shoulder-point, should touch every spot from it to 

 m. The line of the back should be straight from a 

 to c ; the tail should drop perpendicularly from c 

 to d ; and the belly should sweep level, not high at 

 e nor dropping at/. There are thus tliree straight 

 lines along the side of a fat ox, from a to c, one 

 through i, and from I to in. Proceeding behind 

 the animal to fig. 2, the space between the hooks, 

 from a to &, should be level, but a little rounded 

 off at both ends, and the bone at the top of the 

 tail only being allowed to project a little upward 



THB HIND VIEW OF A WELL THE FRONT VIEW OF A WELL 

 FIILED-UP. FAT OX. (fIG. 2.) FILLED- UP FAT OX. (fIG. 3.) 



The muscles on each side below the hooks, at g 

 and/, when fuller than the hooks, is no deformity, 

 but should they be no fuller, they are right. Th« 

 muscles at c and d, down the side of the hams, are 

 allowed to sweep gradually toward the hock joints 

 of the legs. The closing at e should be well filled 



