200 
ILLUSTRATED STOCK DOCTOB. 
She’s light in her neck, and small in her tail ; 
She's wide in her breast, and good at the pail ; 
She's fine in her bone, and silky of skin — 
She’s a grazier's without, and a butcher’s within. 
Buying Milch Cows. 
In selecting cows for milk, or heifers from which to breed milking stock 
the breeder must be guided by the same general principles as in buying 
beef-making steers. That is to say, the animals must be fine, with 
mellow though rather thin skin, and mossy hair ; the head small, but face 
straight and rather long ; the horns should be fine, short, and if some- 
what curved it is a good indication. The eye must be bright and yet 
placid. The barrel, pelvis, rump and thighs should be roomy ; and, for 
obvious reasons, avoid a dish-faced, and especially a wild-eyed cow, or 
one with a dull, heavy eye. The first shows viciousness, the last stupidity 
— both dangerous and both unprofitable. 
In buying for milk, the object being to breed your stock, select heifers 
of three years old ready to come in, provided the stock bulls were 
suitable ; if not, have nothing t« do with them. In this case buy heifers 
of two years old that have never been bred. Then, by attention to 
what we have said upon breeding, you cannot go amiss. 
Buying Dairy Milkers. 
When the buyer is selecting cows simply to wear out in the dairy, and 
without any reference to retaining or improving the breed, all he has to 
look to is an animal that will give a good flow of milk, and hold the flow 
for a long period. Many cows will start out with large messes, and at 
the end of three months will hardly give enough to keep a calf ; others 
will continue in milk for six months ; others, again, will continue in milk 
well up to the time for again dropping a calf. These latter are the cows 
to buy. Select them according to the rules heretofore given, and of from 
three to five years old, but not unless they are well along in calf. A 
dairy cow will continue to improve in her milking qualities until she is 
six years old, sometimes until she is seven or eight ; they will continue 
to give ample returns until ten years old, and often until eleven or twelve. 
Milk Mirrors, 
Besides the rules already laid down, there is an infallible sign in the 
milk mirror or “escutcheon,” as it is now called — in cows, heifers, 
calves, and also shown distinctly in the bulls of milking breeds. We 
have studied and bred by it since its first publication in the United States* 
It is the result of years of study by M. Francois Guenon, a practical 
