JUDGING DAIRY CATTLE 83 



bocly showing that she is an animal of nervous organiza- 

 tion and further that she utilizes all her foods for the 

 making of milk and not for the filling out of her form. 



In a good dairy cow there is a feminine look that is very 

 characteristic. There is no thickening of the neck, or a 

 crest on the neck, or any heaviness of the fore quarters 

 indicating the slightest masculinity, but all of these parts 

 are light, clean cut and in every way indicative of feminine 

 character. The size of the dairy cow comes into the dis- 

 cussion of type. This has something to do with her per- 

 formance, but there is no distinct advantage in having a 

 cow very large if there is not with it characteristics which 

 indicate enlarged dairy qualities. 



134. Skin Soft, Fine. The skin should be soft and 

 comparatively thin. It is a point of much value to dis- 

 criminate against a thin, papery skin, as such is usually 

 associated with the weakness of constitution. The skin 

 should be unctuous, or oily to the touch, giving the im- 

 pression that butter might be squeezed out of it. When 

 the secretions of the skin are healthy it may be expected 

 that the secretions in the rest of the body are going on 

 vigorously. The skin lining the ear should be of a golden 

 color and so should that in the region of the udder, inside 

 the thighs, around the eyes, at the root of the tail and 

 below any spots of white hair. 



135. Hair Silky, Fine. The hair covering all the body 

 should be short, soft and silky. The udder especially 

 should be covered with hair of this character, and not with 

 long, coarse hair, as is often observed on poorly milking 

 animals. Coarse, harsh hair is generally an indication of 

 lack of refinement and an evidence of unthriftiness. 



136. Bone Fine Texture. The dairy cow in her daily 

 life needs but sufficient bane to maintain her form. As a 

 rule the milking cows are loose in form but possessed of 

 fine quality. There should not be any appearance of 

 weakness due to fineness, yet the f^rm should not be coarse 

 and heavy. 



