THE STUDY OF FORM AND FUNCTION 5 



character prevails, and where qualified judges preside, the 

 most beautiful and perfectly balanced animals find their 

 places in relative order of merit. In recent years the 

 criticism has been made, that dairy cattle judges have often 

 given preference to beauty rather than utility. This has 

 been applied especially to judges of Ayrshire and Jersey 

 cattle and in a limited degree to judges of Clydesdale 

 horses. Refinement of form, beauty of head, and highly 

 developed fore udder, have been sought for in the Island 

 Jersey and the Scotch bred Ayrshire. The criticism has 

 been made that the cows showing these characteristics in 

 the greatest perfection, are less profitable than some of 

 the plainer sort. This is perhaps true in a degree. How- 

 ever, there is no good reason why it should be so. The 

 great improvement that has resulted from years of careful 

 breeding, since the formative periods of the breeds, has 

 undoubtedly given important recognition to the relation- 

 ship of beauty to utility. This has been aptly brought out 

 by Mr. James M. Codman, a well-known Guernsey breeder, 

 who says : ' " The most perfect utility is distinct from 

 beauty and is not synonymous with it. You may have the 

 two at the same time, but no process can make them the 

 same thing. Look at the early pictures of the scrawny, 

 misshapen cows of the Channel Islands, and contrast them 

 with the beauty developed to-day, and they have not lost 

 productive capacity — probably gained in it. I think we 

 are indebted to the Jersey breeders on that island for show- 

 ing what could be done by the hand of man by selection in 

 adding beauty to utility. Guernsey breeders have accom- 

 plished the same result, though with a different idea in 

 view. Of course there are inferior animals still left; it is 

 to be hoped that it is only a question of time for them to 

 disappear. ' ' 



Commenting editorially on a statement credited to Mr. 

 C. L. Hill, a noted Wisconsin Guernsey breeder and judge, 

 that he could see no reason why cows cannot be high-class 



s Gruernsey Breeders' Sale List Bulletin, May, 1909. 



