THE DAIRY COW

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVIII, Issue 82, 19 March 1928, Page 9

THE DAIRY COW

IMPORTANT FEATURES HOW COOD POINTS ARE RECOGNISED. DEMONSTRATION BY MR A. 0. LOVELOCK. At the request of the Hastings Breeders’ Association, Mr A. C. Lovelock, the well-known Jersey breeder, of Woodville, who judged the Jersey sections at Wednesday's Show, gave a most interesting talk on “The Dairy Cow’’ to a large number of interested listeners during the afternoon. ESSENTIALS. Th© first essential for a good dairy cow, said Mr Lovelock, was a good constitution; and to have that it was necessary that she should have a wide muzzle with an open nostril, i.e., ample breathing power. A good spring of rib going back from behind the shoulder and sloping downwards, afforded room for strong lungs and for free action of the heart. Tlie dairy cow, lie pointed out. was quite unlike the beef beast, as she was really working everv day of the year; and to enable her to do that efficiently a strong blood-svsteni was necessary. She had much more to do than simply to add flesh For good results, the right type of udder was an important factor. To have well-proportioned quarters, it was necessary that she should have good length between the hips and the pin bones, and good width between the hips. Where a cow was down in the pin hones it usually followed that her back quarters were also down, causing them to give th<> stronger flow of milk. Much importance was attached to the formation of the mouth. The lower iaw should be very strong in order that sho can pick up her food readily. GENERAL FEATURES. Reverting to the shape of the body, Mr Lovelock said it was necessary that it should be of considerable depth, and to have that rhe ribs must he well sprung with a correct sloping. Too much spring, however, from the hack was not lesirable. as it tended to pause the body to become very round.

A further feature was a prominent bold and bright eye. This indicated her nervous temperament and her nerve force. Another desirable point was a good long neck, as it not. only enabled hej- to reach her food more easily, but added considerably to her appearance. The head to be well shaped, should l>e well dished and nicely scalloped between the horn and the eve. and nicely chiselled below it. Tlie length between the and the nose, to make a good head, should not be

THE UDDER. Again referring to th e adder. Mr Lovelock said that if the cow has not plenty of room for her milk, no matter what her ether features might be. she fails as a dairy cow. A good square, roomv udder which kept out of the mud was the type to be found on all good cows. A long, tortuous vein nearly always indicated that a cow was of a good type. At the end of this there should be a good milk-well, large enough to insert a finger into. From a utility point of view, the top fine should be as straight as possible, while a straight bottom line was always pleasing to look <t. SCRUB BULLS UNDESIRABLE. Air Lovelock mad© a strong appeal to the farmers present to eliminate bulls from their herds. Attention should be paid to the herd situ. One of the worst scrub hulls, he said, was the pedigree scrub bull. He did not think that the pedigree breeders were supplying dairymen with the type necessary for production—a question of the utmost importance to the farmers. 'GROUP herd testing. Mr Lovelock referred briefly to the advantages of group herd testing, stating that its importance was being realised more each year. He added that in this respect the Waikato district was easily the most progressive in New Zealand. In reply to a question. Mr Lovelock explained that a good escutcheon usually showed that a cow had a well caught udder. A eurl on the hock was an indication of a good cow. Mr Lovelock was accorded a hearty vote of thanks for his demonstration, which was most instructive.