HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD COW. 447 



neck should be long, flat and narrow, with a tendency to rise at the 

 ■withers, and breadth behind the arm to allow of a full expansion of 

 the lungs, the chest being rather deep than broad ; the flat-sided 

 cow is more especially to be chosen if she has depth to the barrel, 

 with the ribs bending fairly outward, somewhat the shape of a horse- 

 collar ; the hips should be wide, rugged and high, and the pelvis or 

 haunches wide and large, drooping toward the tail ; the thigh long 

 and lean from hip to hock, the veins being prominent and easily 

 felt ; the legs slender, with flat bone ; and small flat feet, the hinder 

 ones having a good width between, to afford room for the udder. 

 A long and thin tail is a great point in breeding. 



The udder, the reservoir of the milk, to which all former points 

 are secondary, should be free from hair, flexible and soft, with no 

 tendency to flesh ; the bag extending well forward, as level as pos- 

 sible with the belly, and high up between the thighs. The feeding- 

 veins should be particularly observed. In the heifer with her first 

 calf they must be felt for with the hand ; in this case two holes will 

 be discovered by feeling under the belly nearly in a line with the 

 navel on each side in good milking heifers — about the size of a 

 dime. As age increases the holes extend, and the veins become 

 large and easily perceived by the eye ; the larger these feeding- 

 veins appear, the greater is the quantity of milk. The teats should 

 be well separated, not fat or fleshy, and not too long, but sufficient- 

 ly tight to retain the milk, having a tendency downward — that is, 

 to use the technical term, not strutting, or pointing away from the 

 quarters, as this causes waste of milk and difficulty in milking. The 

 hide also will be found useful in determining the fitness of particular 

 cows for particular localities, but has little to do with the milking 

 properties. If possible, it is better to accustom a cow to cold and 

 exposure by degrees, in which case the hide will adapt itself to the 

 altered condition by thickening and producing more hair. 



A good cow not only yields much good milk, but almost in pro- 

 portion to the quantity given daily is there a long continuance of 

 the secretion between the periods of calving. But no cow should be 

 allowed to give milk beyond eight months before calving ; the system 

 requires at least one month's rest ; the calf will be larger and health- 

 ier, and the mother will yield better and richer milk after calving. 



The fact that the system is more capable of undergoing natural, 

 though very marked, changes in early life without danger renders 

 a young animal indispensable for the dairy, either to breed from or 

 to prove profitable to the keeper. To determine the age of a cow is 

 therefore a matter of importance, and this can be done with great 

 precision by examining the teeth and horns. 



