84 JUDGING CATTLE 



137. Head Feminine, Lean, Long. A very essential 

 quality is for the head to have a feminine appearance. 

 The ideal head of a cow is devoid of the heaviness and 

 coarseness characteristic of the bull. Just as milk giving 

 is a peculiar trait of the cow so is fineness in the head. 

 The face should be long and especially lean with the 

 features very distinct. The eye should be full, mild and 

 bright, and more or less active. A kindly disposition is 

 reflected by a mild eye, while one that is bright is in- 

 dicative of vigorous circulation and good health. Large, 

 dilated nostrils permitting easy entrance of air to the 

 lungs, with prominent windpipe, are usually associated 

 with depth of chest and lung capacity. In size the ear 

 should be medium, possessed of fine quality, and a rich 

 orange color inside. The strong horn of the bull is not 

 desirable, but rather one that is small and fine in quality. 

 The poll should be prominent, with the forehead broad 

 and full, showing strong development of brain. 



138. Neck Thin. A slim, fine neck carrying the head 

 gracefully is a characteristic that adds much to the ap- 

 pearance of a dairy cow. The fullness and heaviness here 

 which characterizes the beef animal should be completely 

 absent. The neck must be thin and join an equally thin 

 and bare shoulder, with the withers sharp but yet quite 

 open. The performing powers of the dairy cow depend 

 greatly on the depth and volume of the barrel. It has 

 been noted the important part that the heart, lungs and 

 stomach perform in the work of a dairy cow, so that the 

 necessity of having a barrel that will afford ample room 

 for the work of these will be readily apparent. The ribs 

 should be long to supply storage capacity for food. The 

 backbone should be prominent and strong, for through it 

 and under it run two of the largest channels, representing 

 two of the most vital systems of the body, the nervous 

 and the circulatory. 



139. Hind Quarter Lean, Elevated. As a whole, the 

 hind quarter in a deep milking cow is strikingly free from 

 fleshiness, and there is usually a slight raise in the quarter 



