278 THE PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE 



HIND QUARTERS : 



Hips, smoothly covered ; distance apart in proportion 



with other parts 4 



Rump, long, even, wide, tail head smooth, not patchy 5 



Pin-bones, not prominent, far apart 3 



Thighs, full 3 



Twist, deep, plump 4 



Purse, full, indicating fleshiness 2 



Legs, straight, short, shank fine, smooth 3 



Total . . . . 100 



486a. A correct, long pedigree is also evidence that no 

 crosses outside of the breed have been made within the time 

 covered by the record. Then the longer the pedigree, the longer 

 the time which has elapsed since the breed was formed. Many 

 breeds, as Shropshires, Berkshires and the like, start from mixed - 

 blood animals more or less remote. The term "pure breed" 

 simply means that a breed of animals has been bred so long 

 within the variety that a fair degree of uniformity in all lead- 

 ing characteristics has been secured, and power acquired to 

 transmit the leading qualities with a fair degree of certainty. 



487a. If the farmer has a dairy, let him resolve to breed 

 from no animal which gives less than 4,000 pounds of milk a 

 year. Animals which give less than this amount are often 

 kept at a loss, and they should be disposed of at once. Every 

 dairyman should also test his milk for richness, by means of 

 the Babcock test. Eead Wing's "Milk and Its Products," for 

 instruction on the Babcock milk test, and other matters of 

 dairying. 



491. There is a marked tendency for farmers to run too 

 much to one thing, following the lead of some person who has 

 been successful in a particular line. In some localities in the 

 East, especially in the great grape and hop districts, the ill 

 effects of specialized agriculture are often seen. When grapes 

 and hops bring prices which barely pay for picking them, and 

 this not infrequently occurs, the farmer becomes discouraged, 

 neglects his plantations, and when prices rise to the point where 

 profits should be received, the yield per acre falls so low by 



