FIGURE AMD QUALITY OF A SHORTHORN.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5678, 3 May 1880, Page 3

FIGURE AMD QUALITY OF A SHORTHORN.

(" LAUD AND WATER.") We propose to analyse a really good specimen of a shorhorn from the point of his nose to the brush of his tail. The muzzle should be fine, with a wide, open nostril, a large but not coarse mouth, lips thin, fineunderjaw, with a slight pendulous skin underneath. The head should bo well proportioned in length, breadth, and general symmetry, shorter in the V'bull, longer in the cow, but a, sine qua non ■ as to the bull should be that he possesses a fine masculine head with plenty of curly hair and a prominent eye full of expression. The horn in either bull or cow should have a, graceful, outward spread form inclining gently downward or upward at the sides and front, small, and fine. The ear should be upright, large, and thin, and well covered with hair. The head of a shorthorn gives the animal much of its character for grace and comeliness, if not of general excellence. The neck should be strong and well set, of a graceful oval shape adjoining the head, running backward on a level in the cow, and with a gradually rising crest in the bull, deepening and widening as it approaches the bosom. The chest is a most important feature, from which spring the brißke't, shoulder, and fore ribs. It should be deep, broad, and full, indicating robustness and good constitution. The brisket should be set prominently forward, nearly perpendicular in/ front, broard, and well let down, with a thin pendulous skin underneath, indicating an elasticity of the flesh enclosed within it. The shoulders should be broad and even at the tops, •working backward into a level with the chine in the rear on a direct line, moderately upright, spreading outward a3 they descend from the top of the chest, smooth at the forward points, and thence sloping gracefully and tapering symmetrically into the fore legs above the knees. The fore ribs, springing in a well-rounded arch from the spine, should be well expanded, long, and deep, giving abundant space for the well-sized heart and lungs to play, and develope what some may term the " fore-flank," at the floor of the chest, into full breadth and lcvelness with the belly. The cropa or spaces behind the shoulders should be full, perfected mainly by a sufficient springing outward of the fore ribs from the chine, with a full coating of flesh upon them. The spine should run on an even level from the chine to the setting on of the tail, although in some of the choicest animals a slightly depressed notch is permitted at the connection of the spine with the tail. The loin should be broad, full, and level with the spine anc hips, for there the choicest meat usuallj lies, adding much to the weight and value of the carcase. The hips should be wide „ spread, smooth, on a level with the spine ' not falling oIE and tapering downwards Drooping hips are apt to be narrow, witl "cloddy buttock" in the rear, givinj tough and lean meat of little value. Tin rumps, narrowing gvacef ully from the hip to the pin-bones cr points of the rum}: ought to bo long, full, broad, and level The latter should bo wide apart, giving proportional symmetry to either sex, an a groat advantage and convenience to th cow in parturition. Tho tail, well an strongly connected with tlio spine on straight line, should be small, and, tapei ing gradually to the brush, possess a fn tuft of long hair. The hinder ribs shoul spring roundly from the spine, be Ion; cbep, and well set back towards the hip holding the belly up l'-'vcl as near as mil be with the floor of tlio chest, thus givii abundant room for the viscera to pla; The flank should bo full and low on a Hi ■with the bolly and thighs, the skin loose' developed to fill the fatty flesh when rcac for the butcher. The udder should t

broad, square, and set well forward, and wide between the teats. The thighs should bo straight, like those of the horse, standing" well apart, with a strong muscular hock, tapering into a fine-boned flat log below. The twiat, or space above the junction of the thighs, should be broad, full, and clothed with a soft silky hair in either sex. The hair should be close, long, and soft, affording a " natural blanket " for cold weather. The touch or handling quality should be elastic, mellow (not flabby), and springing under the pressure of the fingers. Good handling is one of the best points in a shorthorn. The skin should be moderately thick, strong, and loose, and showing plenty of cellular tissue underneath. The above qualities, briefly described, are generally accepted by experienced shorthorn breeders as constituting the necessary points of a perfect specimen of the race,