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-farmers on this subject have already been productive of much injury. 
They have regarded milking properties in the individual alone, with¬ 
out attending to that union of the proper shape and constitution ne¬ 
cessary to make the most profitable dairy stock. A large-boned, coarse 
cow, though she may by chance give a large quantity of milk, may be 
expected to produce a progeny similar to herself, and if no attention is 
paid to correcting the defects of form and constitution, the stock, in a 
succession of generations, become monsters of deformity, and run them¬ 
selves out. Finally, if a general indication of the milking qualities of 
cows is afforded by Guenon’s rules, (in the minutia to which they are 
carried, it is impossible they can be true,) their use is superseded by other 
means of judging, which have long been acted on. That is, a cow which 
possessed the points alone laid down, might be safely taken for a good 
one, whatever might be the character of her “escutcheons,” and in ad¬ 
dition to the mere ability of giving milk, she would possess other quali¬ 
ties which would greatly increase her value. 
It is proper to remark that the points given in this article, have special 
reference to butter properties. The cow most valuable for butter, may 
not afford the greatest quantity of cheese—richness of milk not being 
essential to the latter purpose. The oil or fat in milk, is the source of 
butter, and casein (a nitrogenous substance) the source of cheese. The 
oil in milk, however, increases the richness of cheese, and in this respect 
is deserving attention. The habit of giving rich milk, in a cow, also in¬ 
dicates that the animal has some tendency to fatten, a property which 
should by no means be overlooked, as it is for beef that all cows are ulti¬ 
mately wanted. But the fattening tendency should be kept in subserviency 
to that of giving milk; it should not be manifested to the extent which 
would lessen the value for the dairy, by converting the food of the ani¬ 
mal into fat at the time it was wanted for butter, but should be possessed 
to the degree indicating the butyraceous quality of the milk, and a ten¬ 
dency to thrive when dry. This balance of the dairy and fattening pro¬ 
perties, can readily be discovered by the eyes and fingers of a close, 
practical observer, but is difficult to describe in words. 
The breeds of cattle most distinguished for fattening, are the improved 
Short-horn, Hereford, Devon, West Highland and Galloway. Those in 
ivhich dairy properties predominate, are the Ayrshire, Yorkshire, Short- 
