470 GuenoTLS System of Selecting Cows hij the Escutcheon. 
Then, with a cow having all the good points, we may 
naturally expect to see double, large, prominent, knotty, and 
zigzag veins — commonly called milk-veins — leading to a large 
capacious udder, capable of holding the great quantity of milk 
which such an animal is likely to make. 
The udder should be as nearly level at the under side as 
possible, and stretching forward nearly level with the belly, not 
" cut away " in the forward quarters, nor hanging down un- 
evenly in the hinder quarters. If the thighs are wide apart, 
they will allow the expansion of the udder behind, so that the 
wrinkles of the skin, when the cow is milked out clean, may 
again expand when the udder is full and flush with milk. The 
udder should not be fleshy, nor the outer skin thick, nor covered 
with long or coarse hair ; in a first-class udder we expect it to 
collapse to " a rag " when milked out. The teats should be of 
medium size, not too large to be ungainly or more than filling 
the hand, nor too small to be easily handled, even by a large 
hand. Evenly placed on the udder, and not "strutting" too 
much. Such points as we have mentioned above are what 
Guenon would look for when judging of the cow's conformation. 
4. The Age. — Guenon and all good judges of cattle would 
take into consideration the age of cows. As a heifer, with her 
first calf, she cannot be expected to give as much milk or make 
as much butter as with her second calf ; nor with her second as 
much as with her third calf. Heifers should not be allowed to 
calve before they are two years old, nor, better, before they are 
two and one half years of age. They may be considered to be 
in their prime from five until eight years of age. 
The age of cows is judged by the teeth, the horns, and by 
the general appearance. In the upper jaw cattle have no 
incisors ; in the lower jaw they have eight. At birth the calf 
generally has four incisors. On the seventh or ninth^ day it 
loses the umbilicus. At three months the other four incisors 
appear, two on each side of the first four. Towards the end of 
the first year the two middle milk-incisors fall out, and are 
replaced in about a fortnight by two others. Towards the end 
of the second year the next two fall out ; towards the end of the 
third year those next to the former, and towards the end of the 
fourth year the last two. All these teeth are replaced by new 
ones, which are easily distinguished from the original teeth -by 
their size and lustre. However, the teeth of cattle, especially 
when brought up in a stable, do not change as regularly as 
those of horses or sheep. At five years the second teeth com- 
mence to alter in the same order in which they had appeared, 
although not with perfect regularity. The older the Ccattle, the 
more elongated, duller, darker, and looser do their teeth be- 
