THE JEKSEY, ALDERKEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 99 



ance of the dam of a bull being unexceptionable in her 

 udder and mirror. Her qualities inherited by her son 

 will be transmitted to her daughters. 



While careful as to mirrors we must not neglect the 

 other essential features of a good cow, the buckskin 

 hide, the rich-colored skin, and the fine bone. Let the 

 hair be soft and thickly set, and let the skin be mellow. 

 This latter quality is easily determined by grasping be- 

 tween the thumb and forefinger the skin at the rear of 

 the ribs, or the double thickness at the base of the flank 

 that joins the stifle joint to the body, or that on the 

 inside of the rump bone at the setting-on of the tail. 

 Let the teats be well apart ; let them yield a full and 

 free stream, and be large enough to fill the hand with- 

 out the necessity in milking of pulling them between the 

 thumb and forefingers. And let us ever keep in mind 

 that the large yielder must be well fed. In this connec- 

 tion, though foreign to our subject, it seems a fit time to 

 speak of field arrangements for milking. In our own 

 fields we have sheds for shelter, and in one of them, 

 which is in a central position, cheap stanchions are 

 arranged so that each cow at milking time is fed a quart 

 or more, according to yield, of good bran. Some object 

 to this, on the score of economy, and others are loth to 

 acknowledge their cows having anything but grass. 

 This is the first season we have ever fed while the cows 

 are on grass, and their condition and yield has con- 

 vinced us of the wisdom of the practice. It helps to 

 sustain the system of a large yielder, drained by the 



