FIRST CENTURY OF DAIRYING IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 



excite the nerve organisation to greater activity. The brain is the 

 power house of this system, and the lull eye means great nerve power. 

 We might call the eye the nerve gauge. Second, the backbone, which 

 is the casing of the spinal cord, should be large for reasons given 

 under the heading of vitality (number three). Third, the forehead 

 should be broad and dished. The breadth indicates brain capacity, 

 as the dishing of the frontal bone is caused by the eye socket being 

 enlarged to meet the demands of the enlargement oi the eye before 

 referred to. 



Digestion. First, the mouth should be large, nostrils wide and open, 

 and the lips large, giving breadth of muzzle. This breadth of muzzle 

 is an indication of great intestinal development. Second, the spine 

 process at the point known as the pelvic arch, and the chin sh nld 

 be prominent giving a fin-like appearance. This is caused by the udder 

 and.paunch, as they become weighty, pulling at the ribs, so that they 

 hang less obliquely than in ordinary stock, and as each rib is attached 

 to a single section of the spinal vertebrae, the change of the rib 

 <irom oblique to a more ne-rpendicu ar position throws each spinal 

 process into greater prominence. Anyone taking the trouble to ex- 

 amine the skeletons of cattle could in time master the cause of the 

 alteration in structure caused by great milk producing for a genera- 

 tion or two, especially if the anima s were great eaters. Third, the 

 spacing from rib to hip-bone, so often looked for by judges, is caused 

 by the reasons just given; for if the ribs are brought away downward 

 and forward to the front legs they are also brought away from the 

 hindquarters. Further, the paunch so unusually developed by the eat- 

 ing capacity of the cow compels the breathing to be performed more 

 in the fore part of the body. The ribs are largely used in inhaling 

 air in the act oi breathing. This largeness of the paunch throws 

 these ribs at this point out of use, and as a consequence Nature 

 eliminates or takes out the ribs in course of time. May we not say 

 that the floating rib is one that is in the process of elimination and 

 will be dropped ? Here, then, we have another registry of Nature 

 that the animal is a great consumer when under stress of production. 

 Fourth, the depth from the stomach immediately in front oi the udder 

 should be considerable. This indicates that the digestive process is 

 very closely allied with milk secretion. If this line is short the animal 

 might eat largely, but expends its force so obtained in running and 

 roaming about, but not in producing milk. The connection between 

 food, blood, and milk is here strong and unbroken. This is a very 

 important point. Anatomy and physiology will unite with experience 

 in testifying that a poor connection here will result in a very poor 

 type of cow. 



Milk Secretion. First, udder capacity is the first thing to be noticed. 

 The fore udder is not easily seen by the eye, whereas the rear udder 

 extends upward to that point between the thighs, where the skin 

 ceases to be as ample as on other parts of the body. The hindquarters 

 will be broad, flat, or long and wide, according to the position from 

 which they are viewed ; but generally defined as rump long and wide ; 

 thighs flat and wide ; broad and flat under the vulva with pelvic arch 

 and tail well defined. Second, the udder should be fine-haired, as the 

 continual flow of blood for generations in great quantities has -De- 

 duced animal heat in that part to the point of fining or expelling the 

 hair. Third, the udder should have a glandular quality. This is e\i 

 dence that blood is crowding the udder space, to the exclusion of 

 more fleshy tissue. Fourth the milk veins will develop with the years 

 of treatment of the cow, by the same law that action will develop 

 any member ; but the holes through the abdominal wall will ever be 

 present at all ages. There should be on each side one single one, 

 and larger at maturity, and from these, two more. The extensions 

 of these entrances towards the front legs are in proportion to the 

 strength of line in dairy breeding. Sometimes these entrances are 



168. 



