If one end is much nearer the outlet than the other, that would naturally be selected for extraction, but if they are equidistant the choice would fall on the hind end, as having only the two limbs to deal with without any risk of complication from the head.
"Special Report on Diseases of Cattle"
U.S. Department of Agriculture J.R. Mohler
The course of this river, unlike the others, curved round from N.W. towards north, and having its origin in mountains equidistant between Cape York and Wilson's Promontory, it was reasonable to suppose that we had at length crossed the division between northern and southern waters.
"Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia In Search of a Route from Sydney to the Gulf of Carpentaria (1848) by Lt. Col. Sir Thomas Livingstone Mitchell Kt. D.C.L. (1792-1855) Surveyor-General of New South Wales"
Thomas Mitchell
These primary branches are mostly three to five in number, and all in excess of three should be removed as soon as selection can be made of three strongest that are as nearly equidistant from each other as may be.
"Cacao Culture in the Philippines"
William S. Lyon