396 AMERICAN CATTLE. 



"We are able not onlj to oppose argument to the assertions 

 of M. Guenon; we can also appeal to the difficulties hitherto 

 experienced in applying his classification to practice. M. Gue- 

 non has not yet formed a single pupil worthy of him. And among 

 the thousands of persons who occupy themselves with his method, 

 is there a single one who has acquired sufficient skill to justify 

 the claims which the author makes for it? 



"It may be affirmed that, to form pupils as skillful cw himself 

 in judging of cows, M. Guenon would not only have to teach 

 them that a certain figure for the tuft corresponds to a certain 

 number of pints of milk, but he would have, above all, to com- 

 municate to them his perspicacity, his talent for observation, and 

 his great experience; he would, in fine, have to fit them for 

 estimating, in addition to the direction of the hair of the twist, 

 the whole of the marks usually employed in making choice of 

 milk cows. 



"All the attempts made on the Guenon method, not excepting 

 those of the author himself, prove the soundness of our opinion. 

 The most skillful, when called to decide on the quantities of 

 cows, whose yield of milk was well known, erred seven times 

 on eight cows, and fifteen times on twenty-one. And, least 

 these errors may be attributed to chance, on account of the 

 small number of cows submitted for trial, we should mention 

 that other estimates proved erroneous, 152 times on 174 cows,* 

 and 321 times on 352, and that the error amounted to 921 pints 

 of milk on a total of 2,683 pints;f in other words, there was 

 error in regard to almost all the cows; and error amountmg on 

 an average, on each, to more than a third of the yield. On 

 some individuals the estimates were wrong to the extent of from 

 n}4 to 21, and even from 26 to 28 pints a day I 



" ♦ Report to the Central Society of Agriculture, by M. Yrart, in name of a Com- 

 mittee. 



" t Report to the Minister of Agriculture, by M. Lefebvre Sainte Marie, in name 

 of a Committee. 



