196 MANUAL OF FARM ANIMALS 



COW. If one can say that one organ is more important than 

 another, the udder is perhaps the most important organ in the 

 dairy cow. The udder should be considered from two points 

 of view : the size and form, and the quality. 



The udder should be large. In form it should be moderately 

 thick, attached high and full behind, extending well down, 

 though not pendulant, and extending far in front. The quar- 

 ters should be comparatively even, with the teats of convenient 

 size and well placed. The length of the udder is important 

 since it gives a long line of absorption. It should be approx- 

 imately thirty inches from the attachment at the back to 

 where it joins the belly. 



More important than the size and form of the udder is its 

 quality. Many persons have purchased a cow because of her 

 large udder, only to learn that it was large because fleshy 

 and not because of containing much milk. Perhaps the best 

 way to determine this is to see the udder milked out. When 

 empty, the udder should almost lose its form. It should appear 

 to consist of folds of soft, pUable, and loose skin. The im- 

 portance of this cannot be overestimated. Those of large 

 experience can determine by the touch whether the udder is 

 large because fleshy or large because filled with milk. When 

 filled with milk, the udder yields to pressure somewhat as a 

 sponge when filled with water. On the other hand, when large 

 because fleshy, the yielding is more like soft rubber. There is 

 a characteristic difference which can be learned only by ex- 

 perience. 



While there are many defects of the udder, the most common 

 are small front quarters, with the teats much higher above or 

 close to the hind ones; fleshy udders which reduce but little 

 with milking and yield a small flow; udders entirely deficient 

 in size and often with very unequal quarters. One must be 

 on the alert for small teats, so deficient in size as to be very 

 inconvenient when milking. 



