THE SHORT-HORNS. 159 



sometimes so mucli as almost to appear a deformity ; the arm 

 gracefully tapering to the knee, and below that a leg of fine 

 bone, ending with a well rounded foot; the ribs round and full, 

 (giving free play to vigorous lungs,) and running back well 

 towards the hips ; the crops full, but as a rule scarcely equal in 

 fullness to the Devons; the chine and back straight from the 

 shoulders to the tail ; the hips uncommonly wide, and level with 

 the back and loin; the loin full and level; the rumps wide; the 

 tail set on a level with the back, small and tapering; the thigh 

 full and^ heavily fleshed; the twist wide; the flank low and full; 

 the hock, or gambrel joint, standing straight, (as with the horse,) 

 or nearly so; the hind leg, like the fore one, clean and sinewy, 

 and the foot small. 



Thus, it will be seen that the short-horn differs from most 

 other breeds, in its fullness and rotundity of carcass, and in the 

 small amount of waste flesh and bone, or offal that it carries, 

 in proportion to the consumable flesh it may lay on. 



The true colors of well bred short-horns range from pure white 

 to deep red ; and between these colors, either of which frequently 

 comprise the whole animal, their intermixtures in all variations 

 of roan; as light roan, with the white predominating over the 

 red; red roan, with the red prevaihng over the white, as either 

 may over the other in different degrees; red and white flecked, 

 or spotted, in every possible way. The red may also vary in 

 shade from light, or yellow-red, into the deepest mahogany. 

 The old-fashioned short-horns sometimes showed a drab-dun, or 

 fawn color, mixed with white, which we have in some instances 

 seen crop out in one of later days. We have also seen a very 

 few instances of dark brown roan — almost smoky in shade, 

 among those of excellent quahty, and unimpeachable pedigree. 

 But the clear white, and full red colors, either by themselves, or 

 intermixed in various beautiful and picturesque proportions, are 

 the prevailing colors of our own time. Some of our breeders 



