70 ILLINOIS STATE DAIRYMEN'S ASSOCIATION. 



is quite as impossible as to produce high class rib roasts and por- 

 terhouse steaks on the backs of dairy bred cows. 



The fifth essential is the ability the cow has to manufacture 

 the digested food nutrients that have been brought to the udder 

 by the blood, into milk and butter fat. Experience has demon- 

 strated that certain types of udders have proven most efficient for 

 this purpose. 



The udder should be long, broad and of good texture. To 

 gain length the udder must be attached high behind and extended 

 far forward. You will notice on this cow that if a plumb bob 

 were dropped from her hip downward the line would fall just in 

 front of her udder. If it were dropped from the pin bone it would 

 fall just behind the udder. Thus it is that good length from hip 

 bones to pin bones is desired, for it is an indication of the length 

 of udder development. Furthermore, it is desired that the tail 

 head carry straight out. Cows that droop at the rump because 

 of the law of correlation have tilted udders, or udders with a por- 

 tion of the fore quarters sacrificed. On the other hand, cows that 

 carry out straight at the tail head carry straight forward in udder 

 development, adding to the size and capacity of front udder de- 

 velopment. 



As we turn this cow around you will notice that she is thin 

 in the thighs, in fact, I measure the thigh with my thumb and 

 finger and she goes up high behind. This conformation is neces- 

 sary in order to have a wide udder and is the formation described 

 by the term thighs out-curving and in-curving. An udder that is 

 long and broad with each quarter well rounded out and a teat on 

 each corner meets with the specifications relative to form. 



However, many of you, perhaps, have owned cows with such 

 udders that were disappointments. The reason likely was be- 

 cause the udder had no texture or quality. This cow not only 

 has a large, well developed, shapely udder, but you will notice the 

 presence of much quality and freedom from coarseness and beefi- 

 ness, as indicated by the texture, pliability and elasticity of the 

 covering. You will notice the blood vessels, which indicate that 



