332 REARING AND FEEDING OF ANIMALS. 



horns, improved in Durham, whence the latter name, widely 

 diffused throughout the kingdom, especially in all dairy dis- 

 tricts, on account of their peculiar milking qualities. 3. The 

 middle-horns, a distinct, valuable and beautiful breed, without 

 any mixture whatever with the two preceding classes. These, 

 however, have been intermixed in every possible way, and are 

 found pure only in their native districts as for instance the 

 long-horns in Leicestershire the short-horns in Durham and 

 the middle-horns in Devon. But the more natural, main or 

 proper division of breeds, we conceive to be into those of the 

 mountains and those of the plains. 



The proper foiin and shape of cattle is a matter of great importance to the 

 farmer and breeder, for whatever may be the breed, there are certain confor- 

 mations which are indispensable to the thriving and valuable ox or cow. 

 When we have a clear idea of these, we shall be able more easily to form an 

 accurate judgment of the different breeds. If there is one part of the frame, 

 the form of which, more than of any other, renders the animal valuable, it is 

 the chest. There must be room enough for the heart to beat, and the lungs to 

 play, or sufficient blood for the purposes of nutriment and of strength will not 

 be circulated; nor will it thoroughly undergo that vital change, which is es- 

 sential to the proper discharge of every function. We look, therefore, first of 

 all to the wide and deep girth about the heart and lungs. We must have 

 both: the proportion in which the one or the other may preponderate, will de- 

 pend on the service we require from the animal; we can excuse a slight degree 

 of flatness of the sides, for he will be lighter in the forehand, and more active; 

 but the grazier must have width as well as depth. And not only about the 

 heart and lungs, but over the whole of the ribs, must we have both length and 

 roundness; the hooped, as well as the deep barrel is essential; there must be 

 room for the capacious paunch, room for the materials from which the blood 

 is to be provided. The beast should also be ribbed home; there should be little 

 space between the ribs and the hips. This seems to be indispensable in the 

 ox, as it regards a good healthy constitution, and a propensity to fatten; but a 

 largeness and drooping of the belly is excusable in the cow, or rather, notwith- 

 standing it diminishes the beauty of the animal, it leaves room for the udder; 

 and if it is also accompanied by swelling milk veins, it generally indicates her 

 value in the dairy. 



This roundness and depth of the barrel, however, is most advantageous in 

 proportion as it is found behind the point of the elbow, more than between the 

 shoulders and legs: or low down between the legs, rather than upwards to- 

 wards the withers: for it diminishes the heaviness before, and the compara- 

 tive bulk of the coarser pr.rts of the animal, which is always a very great con- 

 sideration. 



The loins should be wide: of this there can be no doubt, for they are the 

 prime parts; they should seem to extend far along the back: and although the 

 belly should not hang down, the flanks should be round and deep. Of the hips 

 it is superfluous to say that, without being ragged, they should be large; round 

 rather than wide, and presenting, when handled, plenty of muscle and fat. 

 The thighs should be full and long, close together when viewed from behind, 

 and the farther down they continue to be so the better. The legs short, vary- 

 ing like other parts according to the destination of the animal; but decidedly 

 short, for there is an almost inseparable connection between length of leg and 

 lightness of carcass, and shortness of leg and propensity to fatten. The bones 

 of the legs, and they only being taken as a sample of the bony structure of the 

 frame generally, should be small, but not too small small enough for the well 

 known accompaniment, a propensity to fatten small enough to please the con- 

 sumer; but not so small as to indicate delicacy of constitution, and liability to 

 disease. 



Last of all the hide the most important thing of all thin, but not so thin 



