16

‘The strength of an animal does not

depend on the size of the bones, but on

that of the muscles. Many animals with large bones are weak, their muscles being small.—-Animals that were imperfectly nourished during growth, have their bones disproportionately large. If such deficiency of nourishment originated from a consti- tutional defect, which is the most frequent cause, they remain weak during life. Large bones, therefore, generally indicate an im- perfection in the organs of nutrition,’ espe- cially when conjoined with a form that indicates the lungs to be unduly small, or confined.

On the whole, a compact, round-made, not flat-ribbed body; a deep chest; a broad loin, full flank, and straight back; a small head with clean chaps, and a fine tapering neck; limbs and bones not coarse and large; and a soft but not thick skin, with hair neither staring nor hard, are among the chief marks of a good kind. The shorter legged animals, too, are generally preferable; those of an opposite description being found to be the least hardy, and the

most difficult to rear or fatten.

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