THE CULTIVATOR. 
113 
ters ; but even these, when mixed with other substances, pass into 
the earthy soils, by imperceptible gradations. We may say, there¬ 
fore that the great part of soil consists of an intermediate class, and 
that it is often difficult to bring them under any division, derived 
from their texture alone. Such soils, however, can always be distin¬ 
guished by their powers of production. They are good, bad, or in¬ 
termediate between good and bad ; and their relative value is deter¬ 
mined by the produce, which, under similar circumstances, they will 
yield.___ __ 
Cattle Husbandry. 
(From the Edinburgh Quarterly Journal of Agriculture for Sept. 1834 .) 
ON THE POINTS BY WHICH LIVE-STOCK ARE JUDGED. 
BY JAMES DICKSON. 
Were an ox of fine symmetry and high condition placed before a 
person not a judge of live-stock, his opinion of its excellencies would 
be derived from a very limited view, and consequently from only a 
few of its qualities. lie might observe and admire the beautiful out¬ 
line of its figure, for that might strike the most casual observer. He 
might be pleased with the tint of its colours, the plumpness of its 
body, and the smoothness and glossiness of its skin. He might be 
even delighted with the gentle and complacent expression of its 
countenance. All these properties he might judge of by the eye 
alone. On touching the animal with the hand, he could feel the 
softness of its body, occasioned by the fatness of the flesh. But no 
man, not a judge, could rightly criticise the properties of an ox far¬ 
ther. He could not possibly discover, without tuition, those proper¬ 
ties which had chiefly conduced to produce the high condition in 
which he saw the ox. He would hardly believe that a judge can 
ascertain, merely by the eye, from its general aspect, whether the 
ox were in good or bad health;—from the colour of its skin, whe¬ 
ther it were of a pure or cross breed;—from the expression of its 
countenance, whether it were a quiet feeder;—and from the nature 
of its flesh, whether it had arrived at maturity or no. The discove¬ 
ries made by the hand of a judge might even stagger his belief. He 
could scarcely conceive that that hand can feel a hidden property,— 
the touch,—which of all tests is the most surely indicative of fine 
quality of flesh, and of disposition to fatten. It can feel whether that 
flesh is of the most valuable kind; and it can foretell the probable 
abundance of fat in the interior of the carcass. In short, a judge 
alone can discriminate between the relative values of the different 
points, or appreciate the aggregate values of all the points of an 
ox. The parts of the ox by which it is judged are called “points.” 
We have thus seen that a person even totally ignorant of cattle 
may judge of some of the most apparent properties or points of a fat 
ox; but were a lean ox placed before him, he wmuld be quite at a 
loss what opinion to pass on its present, and far more of its future, 
condition. The outline of its figure would to him appear rugged and 
angular, and consequently coarse. To him the body would feel a 
number of hard bones, covered with tough skin and coarse hair. 
A judge, on the other hand, can at once discover the good or the bad 
points of a lean as well as of a fat ox; because the properties of the 
former are the same in kind, though not in degree, as those of the 
latter; and in accordance with the qualities of these points, he can 
anticipate the future condition of the lean ox, save and excepting 
the effects of accidents and disease. 
But, it may be asked, if a judge of cattle is a character so easily 
attained as is here represented, how is it that the opinion of a judge 
is always held in deference, and is always referred to in cases of dif¬ 
ference of opinion 1 This question admits of a veiy satisfactory an¬ 
swer. Errors in the judging of cattle arise not so frequently from 
not knowing the points to be judged of, as from judges allowing one 
or more of their favorite points the power of too great an influence 
over the future increasing condition of the ox ; and as long as there 
are so many points to be considered, and as most of them may be 
partially altered by local circumstances, a difference of opinion may 
exist among judges of lean stock. 
Now, what are those points of an ox, a thorough knowledge of 
which is so essential to constitute a perfect judge 1 Could they be 
described and illustrated with such precision, as that they may be 
applied at once to every ox, in whatever condition it may be, a great 
advancement would be made towards establishing fixed rules for the 
right judging of all the domestic animals. Fortunately for the sup¬ 
pression of human dogmatism on this subject, Nature herself has fur¬ 
nished rules for ascertaining points for judgment, which can only be 
VOL. I. P 
discovered by long and constant practice. Nevertheless, I shall en¬ 
deavor to describe them plainly, and after perusing the description, 
l hope my readers will perceive that they are established laws of 
nature; and are therefore unerring and applicable to every species 
of cattle. Like other phenomena of nature, a knowledge of them 
can be acquired by observation. This knowledge is the most diffi¬ 
cult which a farmer has to acquire, inasmuch as the management of 
live-stock is a much more difficult branch of husbandry than the cul¬ 
tivation of corn. And although the importance of this knowledge is 
acknowledged by every experienced farmer and a desire for its ac¬ 
quirement is strongly felt by every young one, it is remarkable that 
very little is said in professed works on agriculture on those rules 
which guide us in judging of fat or lean live-stock. 
The first point to be ascertained in examining an ox is the purity 
of its breed, whatever that breed may be. The ascertainment of 
the purity of the breed will give the degree of the disposition to fat¬ 
ten in the individuals of that breed. The purity of the breed may 
be ascertained from several marks. The colour or colours of the 
skin of a pure breed of cattle, whatever those colours are, are al¬ 
ways definite. The colour of the bald skin on the nose, and around 
the eyes, in a pure breed is always definite, and without spots. This 
last is an essential point. When horns exist they should be smooth, 
small, tapering, and sharp-pointed, long or short, according to the 
breed, and of a white colour throughout in some breeds, and tipped 
with black in others. The shape of the horn is a less essential point 
than the colour. 
Applying these marks on the different breeds in Scotland as illus¬ 
trations of the points which we have been considering, we have the 
definite colours of white and red in the Short Horns. The colour 
is either entirely white or entirely red, or the one or the other pre¬ 
dominates in their mixture. The skin on the nose and around the 
eyes is uniformly of a rich cream colour. The Ayrshire breed in its 
purity is also distinguished by the red and white colour of the skin, 
but always mixed, and the mixture consists of spots of greater or 
smaller size, not blended together. The colour of the skin on the 
nose and around the eyes is not definite, but generally black, or 
cream coloured. In other points, those two celebrated breeds differ 
from one another more than in the characters which I have just de¬ 
scribed. In the West Highland, Angus, and Galloway breeds, the 
colour of the skin is mostly black in the animals of the purest blood, 
although red, dun, and brindled colours, are occasionally to be seen 
among them. The black colour of the skin cf the nose and around 
the eyes is indicative of the pure blood of black-coloured cattle, but 
a cream-coloured nose may frequently be observed among the other 
colours of skin. It would perhaps be hazardous to assert, in the 
case of the West Highlanders, that the characters above given are 
the only true indications of the pure breed, for their origin cannot 
now be certainly determined ; but the characters given will certain- 
ly apply to the purity of the blood in the Short-Horns and Ayrshire 
breeds. 
The second point to be ascertained in an ox is the form of its car¬ 
cass. It is found, the nearer the section of the carcass of a fat ox, 
taken longitudinally vertical, transversely vertical, and horizontally, 
approaches to the figure of parallelogram, the greater quantity of 
flesh will it carry within the same measurement. That the carcass 
may fill up the parallelogram as well as its rounded form is capable 
of filling up a right-angled figure, it should possess the following con¬ 
figuration. The back should be straight from the top of the shoulder 
to the tail; The tail should fall perpendicularly from the line of the 
back. The buttocks and twist should be well filled out. The bris¬ 
ket should project to a line dropped from the middle of the neck. 
The belly should be straight longitudinally, and round latterally, and 
filled at the flanks. The ribs should be round, and should project 
horizontally, and at right angles to the back. The hooks should be 
wide and flat; and the rump, from the tail to the hooks, should also 
be flat and well filled. The quarter, from the itch-bone to the hook, 
should be long. The loin-bones should be long, broad, and flat, arid 
well filled ; but the space between the hooks and the short-ribs should 
be rather short, and well arched over with a thickness of beef be¬ 
tween the hooks. A long hollow from the hooks to the short ribs 
indicates a weak constitution, and an indifferent thriver. From the 
loin, the shoulder-blade should be nearly of one breadth; and from 
thence it should taper a little to the front of the shoulder. The neck- 
vein should be well filled forward, to complete the line from the neck 
to the brisket. The covering on the shoulder-blade should be as full 
out as the buttocks. The middle ribs should be well filled, to com- 
