86 JUDGING CATTLE 



It is unnecessary to go into the details of the various 

 classes of escutcheons as Guenon enumerates eight classes 

 and eight orders or, in other words, eight different shapes 

 and eight different sizes. He claimed that the shape was 

 indicative of the quantity and the size was an index of the 

 duration of the milk flow. The broader it extends over 

 the thigh and the greater the length of it the better the 

 escutcheon is considered to be. Guenon believed that the 

 thigh escutcheon indicated the quantity of milk the cow 

 gave, while the upper portion or vertical escutcheon the 

 length of time she would milk, and with these he con- 

 sidered the feel of the skin, the character of the hair, 

 and the color of the skin as indicative of the quality of 

 the milk. "With these features he also associated "the 

 thigh ovals" on the udder just above the hind teats, for 

 in his view an escutcheon was not considered of a high 

 order without them. 



143. Udder Long, Plastic. When empty the udder 

 should nearly lose its form and appear to consist of folds 

 of soft, pliable and elastic skin. The hind quarter should 

 be full behind and attached high, while the fore quarter 

 should extend far forward. Length in the udder is im- 

 portant, as it gives a long line of absorption. It should 

 be fully thirty inches long from the attachment at the 

 back to where it joins the belly. It is to be remembered 

 that the udder not only secretes milk from the blood 

 and hence is an important organ, but it is also a receptacle 

 for holding the milk. In Bulletin 62 issued by Purdue 

 University, Professor Plumb presents some instructive 

 studies of this important organ. 



144. Teats Evenly Placed. These should be just 

 large enough to fill the hand and yield milk easily but 

 never leak. They should be evenly placed, standing at 

 least six inches apart in all directions when the udder is 

 full. 



145. Milk Veins Large, Branching. The milk veins 

 are considered important as they indicate the amount of 

 blood that has passed through the udder. In a cow that 



