WEDGES OF THE DAIRY ANIMAL 



279 



the value of these factors, singly or combined. Likewise, 

 correct judgment on dairy form and capacity is the result 

 of continuous practice in determining the value of a single 

 factor or its combined influence with one or more of the 

 others essential to high and continuous production. 



Wedges of the Dairy Animal. The extreme development of 

 the dairy animal toward the wedge-shaped form is significant 

 of factors not wholly understood by the average person. 

 Why a dairy animal should be so extremely different from a 

 block animal would ordinarily cause comment, yet a basic 



FIG. 117. Front wedge of the dairy cow, showing the general tendency to 

 grow wider toward the hindquarters. 



understanding of this development is comparatively simple 

 and significant in its meaning. One of the fundamental 

 principles involved in a heavy producing dairy animal is the 

 extreme development of the body or barrel compared with 

 the size of the animal. In a heavy producer the barrel is 

 wholly out of proportion with any other part, region, or a 

 combination of them. 



Viewed from three different angles the dairy animal 

 presents three distinct wedges, namely, the front wedge, the 

 side wedge, and the top wedge. The meaning of these 



