MARKET CLASSES AND GRADES OP CATTLE 15 
Cows as a class have a conformation which is distinctly rangy or 
angular. As a rule, they are considerably wider through the hips 
than through the shoulders and have more depth through the fore 
than through the rear part of the body. The lines of the sides are 
usually irregular and oblique and show a marked tendency to con- 
verge at a point in front of the animal. Relatively large middles 
or bellies which sag more or less are characteristic of cows as a class. 
They are less thickly muscled than other classes of cattle of similar 
age and weight. In thickness of flesh they display considerable un- 
evenness, the hind quarter as a rule being more heavily fleshed than 
the fore quarter. 
The fat covering of cows is usually unevenly distributed. It is 
greatest over the hind quarters where, if of any considerable degree 
of thickness, it is inclined to be bunchy and excessive. Cows, as a 
class, have relatively thin hides, fine hair, small bones, and a fair 
degree of smoothness at joints of the legs. 
A stag is a male bovine animal which was castrated after it had 
reached sufficient maturity to make reproduction possible and which 
has developed to a noticeable degree many of the physical charac- 
teristics peculiar to the adult uncastrated male. 
As a rule, stags vary slightly from the rectangular and compact 
form, being wider and deeper through the fore quarter than through 
the hind quarter. As a class, stags are heavily muscled, their mus- 
cular development being most marked in shoulders and neck and to 
a considerable extent in the rounds. The top and under lines and 
lines of the side are more or less irregular and uneven, the top line 
arching more or less over the withers and neck and the lines of the 
sides bulging somewhat in the shoulders and rounds. 
Stags, with the exception of bulls, carry less thickness of finish 
than other classes of cattle but their fat is usually fairly well dis- 
tributed. As a class they have relatively thick hides, coarse hair, 
large bones, and a relatively high degree of coarseness or roughness 
at the joints of the legs. 
A bull is an uncastrated male bovine animal which has reached 
sufficient maturity to make reproduction possible and has developed 
physical characteristics peculiar to its class. Bulls as a class show 
a greater development of masculine characteristics than does the 
class termed stag. 
The general build or shape of bulls is more or less irregular and 
uneven although it tends to be rectangular and contact. The top 
line is usually somewhat uneven, being relatively low in the back, 
rising slightly at the hips and rump and usually rising to a marked 
degree over the top of the shoulders and neck. As a rule bulls are 
considerably thicker through the shoulders than through other parts 
of the body, although rump and rounds are also relatively heavy and 
thick. Bulls are more heavily muscled than other classes of cattle, 
the thickness of muscles being especially noticeable in neck, shoulders, 
