646 



DAIRYING. 



skin all over the bo«*,y 

 should be soft and mellow 

 to the touch, with smooth, 

 glossy hair. The tail should 

 be rather thick at the set- 

 ting on, and taper down 

 fine below. 



The udder is of special 

 importance. It should be 

 large in proportion to tlve 

 size of. the animal, and its 

 skin thin, with soft, loose 

 folds extending away back, 

 capable of great distension 

 when filled, but shrinking 

 to a small compass when 

 empty. 



M. Guenon, of Bor- 

 deaux, France, a close ob- 

 server of stock, after long 

 observation and experi- 

 ence, laid down .especial 

 rules for the guidance of 

 dairymen in the selection of the best points for milk in cows, 

 or what he denominates the " mirror escutcheon." These con- 

 sist mainly in the connection between the milking qualities of the 

 cow and certain external marks on the udder, and on the space 

 above it, called the perinceum, extending to the buttocks. To these 

 marks he gave the name of the " milk-mirrOr," or " escutcheon," 

 which consists, as defined by him, of certain perceptible spots rising 

 up from the udder of the cow in different directions and sizes^ in 

 which spots the hair grows upward, while that on other parts of the 

 body grows downward. 



These peculiar marks M. Guenon reduces to several distinct 

 classes, and these classes he again subdivides to such a degree as to 

 render the classification beyond the comprehension of ordinary 

 readers, and practically worthless to them for reference, making 

 them scarcely worthy the space they would occupy should we here 

 reproduce them. 



In Figs. 191, 798, 799, and 800 we present four different forms 

 of the milk escutcheon as described by M. Guenon, which the reader 

 can compare with life at his pleasure. 



Fig. 796— Best Illustration of the Milk Escutcheon. 



