INDIVIDUAL MERIT 63 



Substance. The. term substance refers to structure. Gay 

 defines it as being manifested by the scale of the animal in 

 general and the amount of any one particular tissue such as 

 bone. Quality and substance are not correlated but more 

 or less of each is essential, depending upon the type of the 

 animal. 



Quality. Quality in an annual is not a material attribute. 

 The best method to use in impressing the significance of 

 quality upon the mind is to study two animals carefully 

 which have diverging qualifications in this respect. Where 

 quality is clearly evident it is not only an indication of what 

 will be found on minute examination of the exterior, but 

 it represents also the character of the bone, tissue and flesh, 

 for example, of meat-producing animals. From the breeder's 

 standpoint evidences of quality are seen in a fine, clean, 

 mellow skin which is pliable and elastic to the touch. Animals 

 possessing quality usually have a fine clean bone, a fine- 

 textured flesh, and a minimum of waste on the block if 

 produced for this purpose. In other than meat- and wool- 

 producing animals quality is manifested in the clean-cut, 

 smooth, firm conformation. Evidence of the blood circula- 

 tion is also usually clearly apparent in such animals. 



In judging quality the mistake should not be made of 

 placing an undue value on a thin, papery skin, as such a 

 condition does not represent quality. A thick, harsh, 

 inelastic skin is likewise undersirable because it is usually 

 accompanied with large, coarse bones, rough, prominent 

 joints, and coarse-textured flesh. A further characterization 

 of quality is indicated in the head, shoulders, and tail setting. 

 The head should be clear in outline, clean and free from any 

 abnormal condition such as roughness, coarse hair, undefined 

 features or facial outlines. The muzzle should be large yet 

 indicative of quality. The shoulders should be compact, 

 smooth and evenly covered, except in the dairy breeds, which 

 should have light shoulders and sharp withers. In cattle, 

 swine, and sheep inferior quality is also indicated by a rough, 

 open condition over the top of the shoulders. In the horse 

 it is manifested by a coarse, unsymmetrical blending of the 

 neck, shoulders, and withers. Taken as a whole, the animal 



