210 JUDGING FARM ANIMALS 



the place where the withers terminate, and the more level 

 surface of the back commences. This is a departure from 

 good conformation for which nothing can compensate. It 

 not only takes away so much substance from the spot on 

 which good flesh and fat should be thickly laid, but it 

 generally shows an indisposition to accumulate flesh and fat 

 in the right places." The ribs on the ox number thirteen 

 pairs, and according to Sisson, 2 they are in general longer, 

 wider, flatter, less curved and less regular in form than 

 in the horse. They have a more horizontal extension from 

 the spine than do those of the horse, thus providing large 

 chest capacity above as well as below. The sternum is 

 wider, flatter and relatively longer than in the horse. The 

 shoulder blade is in a degree triangular, with a prominent 

 projection on its outer face, which furnishes strong mus- 

 cular attachment. The long leg bones are shorter and 

 heavier than with the horse. The pelvis has a somewhat 

 level carriage, but with an upward curve of its rear 

 part or ischium points, more commonly known as pin 

 bones. The ox is a two-toed or cloven-hoofed animal. 

 Lydekker states 3 that two of the toes in each limb, cor- 

 responding in the forelimb to the third and fourth fingers 

 of the human hand, and in the hind limb to the third and 

 fourth toes of the human foot, form a symmetrical pair 

 on either side of a vertical line drawn between them. In 

 most cases these two toes or hoofs are flanked, as in the ox, 

 by a smaller pair representing the human second and fourth 

 fingers and toes. This division of the foot is extended 

 through the pastern joint, to the point where the shank 

 bone meets this joint. Such a division of the foot has its 

 disadvantages, for it is a weaker formation, making strained 

 feet much more possible than in the case of the single 

 hoof of the horse. In the space between the toes, filth also 

 accumulates, thus promoting lameness and disease, espe- 

 cially what is termed ' ' foul foot. ' ' 



2 The Anatomy of the Domestic Animals, 1914, p. 130. 



3 The Ox and its Kindred, 1912, p. 12. 



