BASIS OF PROFITABLE STOCK BREEDING 83 



except possibly where the animals^ are young. 

 The head of the dairy animal must be lean, 

 with broad muzzle, short nose, large nostrils and 

 dish face. The ears must be thin and pointed. The 

 horns must be very fine, without any indication of 

 coarseness. The neck is long and muscular, with the 

 exception of bulls, in which it is strong and heavily 

 muscled. Shoulders should incline at a good angle 

 well into the back. The withers should be sharp 

 and narrow. 



The breast of dairy cattle does not show so great 

 width as in the beef type and the same is true of the 

 chest. The ribs must be well sprung, to provide 

 large capacity for the consumption and utilization 

 of feeds. Dairy cows with very short ribs are poor 

 feeders and usually possess defective constitutions. 

 The front legs should be straight. 



The back of the dairy cow usually shows some 

 droop from shoulder to hip line. This, however, 

 must not become excessive, as a strong, well-sus- 

 tained back, with but little depression, is to be 

 preferred to the sway back. 



The udder of the dairy cow is a most important 

 part, in that it indicates capacity of producing milk. 

 The skin of the udder should be soft and the hair 

 should be fine. Large cows should have larger 

 udders than small cows, and the animal of from 

 900 to 1,000 pounds in weight should, at six years 

 old, have an udder that will yield at least 40 pounds 

 of milk a day. The milk veins which convey blood 

 through the udder are usually regarded as indica- 

 tions of a cow's general capacity to produce milk. 

 On good dairy cows the veins are very large, tor- 

 tuous and prominent. The milk wells or openings 

 admitting the milk veins into the under part of the 

 belly should be large. Large milk wells and prom- 



