THE SELECTION OF A DAIRY COW.

Otago Witness, Issue 3005, 18 October 1911, Page 17

THE SELECTION OF A DAIRY COW.

By W. R. Gilbert, in “Hoard’s Dairyman.”

It must be remembered that it is much more difficult to point out the indications of a good dairy cow than it is to point out the indications of a good beef animal. The reason for this is that the making of milk is a mystery, and one of the greatest mysteries of 1 Nature, and there is no one outward, infallible sign of a cow’s ability to produce milk. There are many men who claim to know such a sign; but I must confess at the outset that I have never yet been able to discover one that can be relied upon in all cases. I shall commence at the front of the animal, and go had?, pointing out briefly the good and bad points of a dairy cow. , —Head. — In the case of a dairy cow, we prefer that the head should be lean and clean cut. There should be no superfluous muscle or meat about it. There should be a good width of nostril to indicate good breathing and the lung power of the animal. The lips should be strong, with a good blunt muzzle. —Eye.— Tho eye should be bright, of good size, and The reason I like a prominent eye is that it is the indication of an animal that makes good use of its foods, while an animal with a sunken eye is lacking in this respect, and has a weak constitution; also, a prominent, bright eye indicates the nervous power of a dair.y cow. —Horn.— The horn should be fine compared with tho size of the cow; a spiky horn is an indication of coarseness. The ears should be of moderate size, and not coarse. —Neck. — The neck should be long and slender — not too thick or too beefy. A short, thick neck donates that the animal will lay on beef; and also ruggedness of constitution, such as wc find in a beef animal. The opposite is true of the dairy cow. The outward conformation, when rightly understood, is a sure indication whether the animal will lay its food on its back or put it in the pail. We require a long, slim neck, but I like to see style in the manner the animal oayries its head. To my mind/ everything that is right in the beef animal is wrong in the dairy animal.

—Shoulder. — ' The top of the shoulder should be pointed. This is a good point, if the sharpness is got by the backbone rising above the shoulder blades, and not by the shoulder blades themselves. The majority of out best dairy cows have the backbone clearly defined, standing above the shoulder blades. A dairv cow should not have a large brisket, but should have plenty of ' room for the heart-and lungs, indicating! a good constitution, and plenty of vitality.

—Barrel.— Coming back to the barrel, it should have.the capacity to contain and assimilate large quantities of food. - —Ribs.— The rib bones of the dairy oow should be flat, not round, as we often find in beef animals. There should be as much space as possible between the ribs. Speaking generally, the best dairy cows are of loose conformation, and the distance from the last rib to the hip bones should be such as to indicate plenty of room for the stomach. I like a broad rib much better than a round, well-sprung rib. What is termed round, well-sprung ribs often carry a round barrel or middle-piece; still, a cow falling in behind the shoulders shows want of constitution and small heart and Jung development. This must not be confounded with a broad, deep rib. I nrefer heart and lung development to be gained by depth of rib rather than by roundness. Backbone.— The backbone should be prominent. The reason I like prominent backbone is that the nervous force generated in the brain is carried back to the udder along the spinal column. A prominent backbone indicates strong development of nervous foroo which is being sent to the udder to produce milk. —Loin.— The loin should be strong, so> that tho oow will have strength to carry her calf and large quantities of food, and maintain her formation until she reaches old age. —Hip.— The hips, or "hook" bones, should be prominent, and she should have good length of quarter. Tho pelvis arch should be prominent. The pin bones should be a good distance apart, giving room for easy parturition. —Flank.— The flank should be arched, indicating plenty of room for the cow's udder. I do not like a deep flank, such as we find in a fat steer. If you look over your cows you will find your best cows have high, arched flanks. —Limbs.— The limbs should be in proportion to the animal's size, but we do not require too much development of bone. There should be great width between the hind legs, giving room to the udder. -^Udder. — I now come to what should bo considered one of the most important points in the dairy oow. One of the rules of a horseman is, "No foot, no horse." My rule in judging a dairy cow is, "No udder, no oow." If there is one thing more than another that indicates the dairy qualities of a oow it is the udderl Personally, I lay great stress on a good bead, neck, and shoulders, but I lay mor<vstress on a good constitution and upon the size of the mid-dle-piece, indicating the capacity of the cow to use food; but more important still is the development of the cow's udder and the organs connected with it. You will see a great many cows in which the forequarters are deficient. If you examine a large number of cows you will not find many with equal development in the front and hindquarters. The question has often been asked, Why are so many cows deficient in this respect? The explanation is that the arteries supplying the blood enter the udder in tho posterior quarters;

consequently more blood oomes into that part, and it is built up more rapidly. While a oow may not have a perfect udder, she may have a good udder,'and her milk veins may be quite prominent; and this is a very important sign, as it is an indication of a large amount of blood in connection with the udder. The veins are forced to the outside of tho skin, and it is a strong indication of milk-producing qualities. The udder should be covered with soft skin, the hair not coarse or long, and the teats of good size.

—Milk Veins. — What are commonly called milk veins, coming forward, from the cow's udder, should be of good size, and more or less twisted, not running straight. The blood passes from the udder to the heart and rungs to be purified; hence the size of the vains are not duo to milk within, but to the impure, or venous, blood, which indicates the amount of blood which comes into the cow's udder. Milk is the product of nervous force applied to the hiood in the udder in some mysterious way which no man has been able to explain. This nervous force in the dairy cow is applied to the blood, and it is changed into milk; hence the value of the bright eye and the high spinal column. —Hair.— Tho hair should be fine, soft, and furry in character. The reason of this is that, in order to have hair of good quality, it must be well supplied with blood. This indicates a good heart and circulation, which means a good constitution, with good feeding qualities and perfect health. It is a sure sign that a oow is not in good health when the hair is starting and and turned the wrong wr- If anything is wrong with the digestion and circulation the hair is improperly nourished, and we have a hair that is dry and turned the wrong way. —Skin.— As regards the skin, it should be soft, but not too thin and papery, still not of the mellowness of a fat steer, but something between both, but not harsh, thick, and dry. The colour of. the skin is said by ' many to be an indication of the richness of the milk. This is not to be relied upon. The colour of the skin denotes the colour of the milk and butter. A cow with a yellow, nankeen skin will generally yield yellow milk and yellow butter, if not spoiled in the making; but it is no true indication of the percentage of butter-fat. I believe a skin covered with fine scales of a fatty nature is a fair indication of rich milk. —Tail.— Some judges lay great stress on the length of tail as an indication of milking qualities. It should reach the hook and have a great switch. Still, I have seen good cows where the tail did nqt reach within two inches of the hock. I think a long, slender tail denotes a persistent milker. -—Escutcheon.— The escutcheon commences from the middle of the four teats, a part of its hair extending forward under the belly in the direction of the navel, while the other part, beginning a little above the hocks, spreads as far as the middle of the hind surface of the thighs, as high as the top of the vulva. The escutcheon is a direction opposite to that which covers other parts of the skin. The hair of the escutcheon is also distinguished by its tint, which is duller than that of the other hair. The form indicates the class to which it belongs, while the extent of the surface covered denotes the milk-giving capacity. The fineness of the hair and the colour.of the skin must be taken into consideration, as cows which have large escutcheons and composed of fine hair are the best milkers, especially if the skin is a yellowish colour, with scales of a fatty substance. Cows which have the skin of the escutcheon covered with long, coarse hair of a flaring character will give poor milk ; while cows whose udders are covered with short, furry, and velvety hair will generally yield rich milk.