86 JUDGING CATTLE 



quality of blood that leaves the udder. In 1878 a commis- 

 sion was appointed by the Governor of Pennsylvania to 

 inquire into the reliability of this point, and they reported 

 in its favor. It is unnecessary to go into the details of the 

 various classes of escutcheons as Guenon enumerates eight 

 classes and eight orders or, in other words, eight different 

 shapes and eight different sizes. He claimed that the shape 

 was indicative of the quantity and the size was an index of 

 the duration of the milk flow. The broader it extends over 

 the thigh and the greater the length of it the better the 

 escutcheon is considered to be. Guenon believed that he 

 thigh escutcheon indicated the quantity of milk the cow 

 gave, while the upper portion or vertical escutcheon the length 

 of time she would milk, and with these he considered the 

 feel of the skin, the character of the hair, and the color of 

 the skin as indicative of the quality of the milk. With 

 these features he also associated ' ' the thigh ovals ' ' on the 

 udder just above the hind teats, for in his view an escutcheon 

 was not considered of a high order without them. 



143. Udder Long, Plastic. When empty the udder 

 should nearly lose its form and appear to consist of folds of 

 soft, pliable and elastic skin. The hind quarter should be 

 full behind and attached high, while the fore quarter should 

 extend far forward. Length in the udder is important, as 

 it gives a long line of absorption. It should be fully thirty 

 inches long from the attachment at the back to where it 

 joins the belly. It is to be remembered that the udder not 

 only secretes milk from the blood and hence is an important 

 organ, but it is also a receptacle for holding the milk. In 

 Bulletin 62 issued by Purdue University, Professor Plumb 

 presents some instructive studies of this important organ. 



144. Teats Evenly Placed. These should be just large 

 enough to fill the hand and yield milk easily but never leak. 

 They should be evenly placed, standing at least six inches 

 apart in all directions when the udder is full. 



