474 GuenorHs System of Selecting Cows hy the Escutcheon. 
examining one of tbe cows, and ascertaining how it was fed, and 
hearing the results, and comparing this with his own knowledge 
of what such a cow should do, could the more safely base his 
calculations of what all the other cows of that herd would do. 
8. The Breed. — Guenon, by a long course of attention to the 
yields of different breeds, knew that one breed on an average 
would give more milk than another breed, while those of 
another breed might give less milk but more butter ; also, he 
had learned the indications as to quality. Thus he could safely 
judge the quantity of milk and the quality of it, or in other 
words the quantity of butter such milk would make. Thus it 
was important he should judge by the breed as one of his points. 
9. The Size. — Each pure-bred animal must, to a certain 
extent, conform to the average size of that breed, but there are 
three weights that we may and he did divide them into ; they 
are the large, of five hundred and fifty to six hundred and fifty 
pounds, dressed weight ; the medium, of three hundred and 
twenty-five to four hundred and fifty pounds, and the small, one 
hundred and ten to two hundred and twenty-five pounds. If 
the cow is viewed as a machine, we must expect no more from 
her than we would from machines. A small engine is rated as 
a two-horse power ; a medium size, say, at four-horse power ; 
and a large one at six-horse power ; or, to make the comparison 
from ourselves, we do not all eat alike ; a small, moderate 
eating man we do not expect to do as much work in lifting,^ 
pulling, or other heavy work as a larger, more powerful man 
consuming much more. Thus, applying the same facts to cows, 
we may reasonably expect the same results from them, for the 
laws of nature are the same through every branch of the animal 
kingdom. Therefore, in judging cows the size of the animal 
must influence our estimate of them, not only in one breed from 
another, as the Jersey from the Friesian, but in specimens of the 
same breed, for the breed and the size will always mqdify the 
quantity to raise or to lower it. The large may give twenty- 
four quarts, the medium nineteen quarts, the small fourteen 
quarts, though all may have the same character of escutcheon. 
10. The Escutcheon. — I have named this last, while most 
people would name it as the first and only point of Guenon's 
system, because he was the first to classify and give significance 
to the various shapes in which it shows itself. 
I hold that it would be very unsafe, and certainly very unfair 
to Guenon, to judge animals only by that one of his ten points. 
For all the other points I have explained he thought, and I 
think, very necessary to form an infallible opinion of the animal. 
But with the other points in conjunction a knowledge of the 
escutcheon is invaluable. It is the best outward indication of 
