A PERFECT SHORT-HORN. 



22 9 



The flank : Should be full and low, on a line with the belly and 

 thighs, the skin loosely developed to fill with fatty flesh when perfected 

 for slaughter. 



The udder in the cow : Should be broad, square, and set well 

 forward, with fine, thin hair, wide between the teats, which should be 

 placed well apart, of medium size and length, and gently tapering. 



The testicles of the bull : Should be full for his age, equal in 

 size as near as may be and lightly haired. 



s The thighs : Should drop perpendicularly from the pin-bones or 

 points of the rumps, broad on the upper sides, and full throughout, 

 the flesh running well down towards the hocks in the bulls. In the 

 cows, from the rump-points downward the backward slope of the 

 thighs may retreat forward and be thinner than in the bulls, as is the 

 wont of her sex. Still, they should be muscular and strong. 



The hind legs: Straight, -like those of the horse, standing well 

 apart, with a strong muscular hock, tapering into a fine-boned, flat 

 leg below, and ending in a well-spread, compact hoof, of color like 

 the forward ones. 



The twist, or space above the junction of the thighs : Should be 

 broad, full, and clothed with a soft, silky hair in either sex. In cows 

 used for dairy purposes some importance has been given to the 

 " escutcheon," according to Guenon's theory (the hair running both 

 inversely and transversely far upward and outward on the thighs, 

 indicating high milking qualities) ; but we consider that of minor 

 consequence, as experience has not given anything more than a 

 doubtful belief in its certainty of application. It relates to the lacteal 

 tendency of the cow only, and needs no further discussion here. 



The hair : Should be close, long and soft, furnishing a warm win- 

 ter covering. It will be short enough in the warm season, as nature 

 provides for the changing temperatures. 



The touch, or handling quality : Should be elastic, mellow (not 

 flabby), and springing under pressure of the fingers like a light India 

 rubber ball. Good handling is one of the best points in a Short- 

 horn. 



The skin : Moderately thick, strong, and loose, easily moving by 

 action of the hand upon it, and showing plenty of cellular tissue 

 underneath. 



The above qualities have been generally accepted by experienced 

 and skillful Short-horn breeders to constitute the necessary points of 

 a perfect specimen of the race. 



