INDIVIDUAL MERIT 59 



parallelogram. The principal exceptions are the dairy 

 breeds of cattle, the Thoroughbred {running) horse, the bacon 

 hog, the Merino breeds of sheep, and one or two other 

 breeds not of special importance. This type has been 

 developed because of the value accruing through the increased 

 amount of edible products in animals of such conformation. 

 The form of practically all English and Scotch breeds of 

 live stock is parallelogramic, barring a few important excep- 

 tions. From a knowledge of these facts, students in judging 

 can very often determine in a general way the points upon 

 which stress should be placed. 



In judging live stock, if a proper analysis is made of the 

 various types of domestic animals, it will not be extremely 

 difficult to decide on the general merits of any class of 

 individuals. While this knowledge cannot be used in making 

 keen discriminations between individuals, it can be used very 

 successfully in establishing a foundation for the beginner. 

 If the particular points qualifying the specific type of an 

 animal are conjoined with the general type upon which the 

 animal is developed, it will be especially helpful in deter- 

 mining the rating of a class. For example, in a class of pure- 

 bred animals, if the points indicating breed character have 

 been mastered and they are properly correlated with the 

 general form of the animal, the rating of the animals in the 

 class can be practically determined. 



One of the next important types of live stock with which 

 the student has to deal is the angular, wedge-shaped form 

 of the dairy cow. If the type of the dairy animal is once 

 well fixed in the mind and the points, of utility clearly 

 defined and distinguished, it will furnish an excellent founda- 

 tion on which to build a knowledge of the important differ- 

 ences in the various dairy breeds. 



The bacon hog is different from the fat type of hog, 

 especially in the width of the animal, which is comparatively 

 narrow considering its length and depth. It is necessary 

 to have a long, smooth, deep and lean side in the bacon hog, 

 as it is not possible to obtain bacon characteristics in the 

 square, compact form of the fat hog which conforms to the 

 general type first described. This is one of the exceptions 



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