78 THE BODY. 



by the broad udder, requires strength of loin and 

 back. Hence the Ayrshire cow should excel in this 

 point. The short ribs should be arched but little, 

 and their length should be great, so supporting the 

 skin, as to leave a deep hollow at the flank when the 

 animal is hungry or thirsty, to be obliterated by re- 

 pletion. This is indicative of the tendency to milk- 

 giving as contrasted with the tendency of laying on 

 flesh ; and such are our requirements. 



The looseness of attachment to the udder behind 

 is always accompanied by openness of vertebral joint, 

 and this indicates a certain laxity of tissue and 

 vascularity of system. 



The breadth of the udder with its proper accommo- 

 dation not only requires that there should be breadth 

 between the thighs, but that these should be thin and 

 flat at the point which may be technically described 

 as the twist, for it is preferable to have the pressure 

 on the udder from within rather than from without. 

 The round ham and fleshy thigh is more characteristic 

 of the grazing than of the dairy animal. % 



It appears to be a physiological law that when 

 nourishment flows to one organ or part in excess, it 

 rarely flows in excess elsewhere. We should there- 

 fore expect that the great development of the udder 

 in its functional and structural relations would have 

 an influence in checking excessive development of 

 other parts. We accordingly find that the Ayrshire 

 cow when in milk seldom lays on flesh, nay, more a 

 milk-giver by inheritance, she has failed to develop 

 her forward parts in correspondence with the develop- 



