civilised countries, must have diminished the capacity of
their chests in relation to other parts of their bodies; and it may be
fairly doubted if any good could result by reducing to still smaller
dimensions those most important organs. Probably the lungs and hearts of
the improved breeds of stock are already too small, and that it is only
the individuals which are least affected in this respect that answer to
Mr. Bowly's description of a fat-disposed beast. Whether or not small
lungs are desirable in a bullock or milch cow, it is certain that a ram
or a bull should be possessed of a capacious chest, for otherwise he
will have but little vigour, and will be likely to produce a weakly
offspring. A sire should be a perfectly developed animal in every
respect--sound lungs and heart, and not over fat. It is sufficient that
it belongs to a good fattening breed; but to produce offspring with a
tendency to fatness and early maturity, it is not necessary that the
sire should himself be obese. It is to be regretted that so many sires
of the Shorthorns and other improved varieties should be used for
breeding purposes, when their hearts and lungs have become, by
over-feeding the animals, unfitted for the proper discharge of their
function. The progeny of such sires must _naturally_ inherit the
_acquired taint_ of their diseased progenitors, and prove weakly and
unhealthy animals.

With respect to the general outline structure of a bull, he should have
a small, well-set head, rounded ribs, straight legs, small bones, and
sound internal organs. The following are considered to be the best
points in a Shorthorn bull:--A short and moderately small head, with
tapering muzzle and broad forehead, furnished with short, white,
curved, graceful looking horns; bright, yet mild, large eyes, placed in
prominent orbits; dilated nostrils, and flesh-colored nose, and long,
thin ears. The neck should be broad, deep, and muscular, sloping in a
graceful line from the shoulder to the head. The chest should be wide,
deep, projecting, but level in front. The shoulders should be oblique,
the blades well set in towards the ribs. The forelegs should be stout,
muscular above the knee, and slender below it; the hind legs should be
slender to the hock, and from thence increase in thickness to the
buttocks, which should be well developed. The carcass should be well
rounded at each side, but level on the back and on the belly. There
should be no hollows betwe