AMATEUR JUDGING.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 282, 28 November 1929, Page 31

AMATEUR JUDGING.

learning from shows. ANIMALS TO SELECT. (By SUNDOWNER.) I have heard it asserted more than once that an agricultural show is merely an excuse for farmers to foregather and enjoy a pleasant day or two amid congenial surroundings "swapping lies," and that not one in ten is genuinely interested in the quality stock which is there for his inspection and edification. Even if this assertion is -true, and personally I think it is slightly exaggerated, I still claim that the show is justified, for in the social intercourse and exchange of views and experiences alone, the farmer must learn much that is helpful to him in his work, and Heaven knows he has few enough opportunities of keeping in touch with the doings and thoughts of the world during the balance of the year, when he is hard at work on his farm. However, there are farmers who ae genuinely inteested in the stock exhibited, and it is with the object of increasing that interest for those who perhaps lack knowledge of the points which influence the judges in giving the awards, that I will attempt to cover in this article the main points of conformation in the chief live stock to be seen at shows. There may be some points which I will stress which judges may consider contentious, but by adhering to main points only I hope I may avoid that avalanche of criticism that the amateur judge so often brings upon his head.

First of all it must be remembered that the perfect animal has not yet been produced, and probably never will be, for with experience in possibilities, the ideal is always growing, but it is essential that the would-be judge should have a mental picture of his ideal animal —at the moment —and compare the animals before him with that ideal. Hence most judging is done by the eye, and the eye will make fewest mistakes when the owner has a keen love of live stock- and has had practical experience in their breeding and management. Beginners are as a rule too keen to handle the stock before them. All rings of stock should be carefully sized up from a distance before any handling is done. First impressions are usually better than the confusion which comes with too much examination at close range. For the most part handle only to verify or contradict first impressions. Another important thing in judging live stock is to give every feature its true value. It is a great mistake to have two or three only fancy points in mind, and neglect others which may be more vital to the excellence of the animal.

The same system of judging cannot be applied to all classes of stock. With horses, for instance, very little handling is required, except to test for side bones, hock malformations, etc., while with 6heep a considerable amount of handling may be necessary to detect whether the outward excellent form may not be the result of 'clever manipulation of the shears, and to gauge the quality and evenness of the fleece.

Eye and Hands. In breeding cattle most of the judging is done by the eye. It may, be necessary to grasp a handful of the hide to gauge the pliability of the skin, the quality of the hair, and the depth of fleshing on the ribs, but other handling is unnecessary.

With dairy cattle closer examination is advisable, for apart from the skin and hair, it is necessary to examine the ndder, milk veins, teats, milk wells, escutcheon, tail, etc. With fat cattle the depth and evenness of fleshing is most important. The shoulder point, the rib, the back and the loin must be evenly covered with a mellow, firm flesh. Handling is necessary to be sure of this, and a r,liable skin and soft, silky hair denot<» quality. With sheep, after the judga has formed an opinion through his eye, he should use his hands, carefully working backwards from . the head along the back and ribs. He should gauge the filling of the neck, the width of shoulder, the spring of rib, strength of top, width of loin, width over the rump, and size of leg of mutton all with his hands flat and fingers close together. As he comes down the back he should get the depth of fleshing. He should finish his handling by opening the fleece low down just behind the shoulder, where the wool is finest, and again down on the thigh where it is coarsest. Pigs require no handling, except to feel the firmness of the fleshing in a fat class. Method in judging is essential to consistent work. The good judge selects the animal that most nearly meets his ideal, and then proceeds to line up the others which follow most nearly in type. Dairy type differs considerably from beef type. In the case of beef animals the ability to lay on flesh is the first essential, while in a dairy cow the ability to produce milk is of most importance. When judging or selecting a dairy cow one must always bear in mind that she is a manufacturing plant, and must be able to eat and digest an abundance of raw material; she must have the ability to thoroughly" assimilate this raw material and convert it into blood; she must have the necessary apparatus for secreting this material in the form of milk; and she must have the disposition to do so. Thus the cow must have a well-developed digestive system, strong constitution, active mammary system, and marked dairy temperament. A well-developed digestive system is indicated by a large barrel. This is obtained by length of body, width in the rear part of the barrel, and general depth throughout. Consequently a dairy cow must be long from the shoulders to the hips, wide across the top from hip point to hip point, and must be deep from the rear of the loin to the base of the abdomen. This width at the hooks should be carried well forward, giving a wide loin throughout. The loin should be level, with the rear ribs well sprung. The r&ar ribs should be long, broad, flat and wide apart. A strong constitution is indicated by great chest capacity,. which demands depth from top to bottom of the body just back of the forelegs, thickness through the body at this region, width on the floor of the chest, the fulness in the fore flank: The fore ribs should spring out quite strongly, and, descending, obtain their greatest width onethird to one-half way down the body, thus giving ample room for heart and lung development.

Judging a Milker. The udder should be large and of good quality. It should be long between the rear and forward attachments, extending high between the thighs. It should be broad and well-filled in the rear and forequarters, with no noticeable division between the quarters. It should also be well balanced —that is, each quarter of the same size. The bottom, of the udder should be level and run well forward on the abdomen. In quality the udder should be soft, pliable and elastic. The teats should be placed squarely in the centre of each quarter and should be large enough for comfortable hand milking. The milk veins carry the blood from the udder back to the heart, and should be, long, large, tortuous and branched, entering the abdomen through large orifices called the milk wells. The size of these veins indicate the flow of blood through the udder, and consequently the opportunity for large milk secretion. Dairy temperament is shown by a natural leanness throughout. The head should be clean-cut and long from the eyes down to muzzle. The forehead broad, the eyes prominent, full and placid, the neck long and lean. The spine should project above the shoulders at the withers, and should show prominence and openness right down the back. Quality is evidenced in a loose thin skin, fine, soft, bright, oily hair, and smooth, fine, clean bone. The cow should be fine about the head, with a fine horn, no coarseness about the shoulder, and a fine slim tail. Beef breed animals must be low-set, deep of body, very thick, and must show a strong, straight top and a straight underline, carried well down at the fore and rear flanks. In fact, the best type is filled out in conformation to give the appearance of almost a perfect rectangle. It is important that those portions of the body which furnish the best cuts in the carcase should be well developed. This means a great spring of rib and wide, deep loins and wellfilled rounds. The head generally indicates what goes behind it, and a short, broad head, with a broad open muzzle, a short face, wide between the eyes and at the poll, is generally an indication of a good doer, and almost always goes with the thick, low-set animal. The neck should be short and thick, but the junction of the head and neck should be clean cut with an absence of throatiness. The filling at the neck vein at the junction with the shoulder should be well set into the body, and covered with flesh showing wide on top, which indicates a large amount of lean meat under the shoulder blades. Prominent, rough shoulders are very objec-, tionable, because they generally go with an animal that is heavy in front, producing too large a percentage of cheap meat. The shoulders should blend well into the body, leaving no depression in heart girth. This means that the animal must show a great spring of rib, which should be carried well down to the fore flanks, giving plenty of capacity in the chest, which should end in a full, blunt brisket. The spring of rib should be carried right back over the body, giving the animal a large capacity. When judging cattle to be used for breeding purposes, or purebred beef cattle, attention must be paid to any indication in the animal that such good qualities as he or she possesses will be transmitted to their offspring. Masculinity in the bull, and femininity in the female, combined with prominent eyes usually indicates prepotency, as this characteristic is called. The bull should have a masculine head, a full forehead, strong horn, and a heavy and burly, but not coarse, appearance. The neck should be full, with a well-developed crest, the shoulders should be strong but not coarse. The female should show'greater refinement throughout. Prue-bred animals should also show breed colour, but so long as this is true little attention should be paid to the pattern of markings. Generally animals with a washy colour, and especially those with light points, have weak circulation accompanying weakness of constitution.