BUYING A COW.

Otago Witness, Issue 3614, 19 June 1923, Page 12

BUYING A COW.

Many men will give the assurance that the purchase of a cow is “a gamble anyway,’’ and it certainly is more or less a lottery. Still, there are measures of precaution in buying which will make the proposition comparatively safe if remembered and put into practice. What should a purchaser look for in purchasing a cow for dairy purposes? The subject is one which will bring diverse opinions, but at least it can be said that there are 'rules by which a purchaser can be safely guided. The attention of an old Scottish breeder was once drawn to the presence of a large bone spavin upon a hock joint of one of his own cows, and when com 4 ~-sA with he answered, “Never mind the spavin; she has a grauii’ mouth and poke.” Tho spavin would have been a very serious matter on the hock of a working horse or upon that of a service bull, but to this wise owner it seemed of little moment, as the cow has a large mouth and a capacious udder. Care should be taken to buy no cow that has not this needful combination, for it is required of every cow that is to prove profitable in the production of milk and butter-fat that she shall have great capacity for taking in large quantities of feed. A prospective purchaser of a cow should beware of an animal that has a long, anxiouslooking face and muzzle that could easily take feed from a rubber boot or an oldfashioned deep-setting rmlkcan. The elongated head and narrow muzzle indicate with absolute fidelity lack of constitution, narrowness of make-up throughout the frame, and inability to take care of the great amount of feed needed for generous milk-making and calf-building. Always favour the wide forehead, face, and muzzie. Width between the eyes means more than what is deemed to be “intelligence’’ in an animal It is the indication of aptitude of bony development, of large skull sinuses or cavities, of the great capacity for the drinking in of ar, and so is associated with a large windpipe and large lungs, which mean much as indications of robust constitution, vitality, and endurance. The wide muzzle inchoates a big dental battery for tne mastication of feed, and that always means capacity of digestive apparatus to care for the feed consumed.

The cow that has large, bright, prominent eyes should always be favoured. They tell of good condition and good health. Beware of the cow that has dull, sunken, and listless eyes, or eyes that are retracted into their orbits, and apparently swimming in water. The latter symptoms are frequently seen in the cow that is in an advanced state of tuberculosis, while the dulness is the sure sign of lack of thrift. “The duller the eye the deader the beast.” One also should note that the eyes are free from disease, for “pink eye” (contagious ophthalmia) quickly spreads to the herd from an infected animal introduced into the herd, and is indicated by opacity or cloudiness of the eye, swollen or inflamed epelids and flowing of tears Look at the teeth. If an intelligent purchase of a cow is to be made, the teeth must not escape examination. If the teetn are poor or lacking age has made perfect mastication impossible. The teeth must oe sound, as an indication of soundness a-nd strength of constitution or “efficiency ’ in tho soldier. So, too, we should find sound teeth in the dairy cow that is to eat well and last well. ... ,

It is well to remember that inc.sor teeth of cattle are directed forward, are shovelshaped, and loose in their sockets. Many an unobservant person or beginner with cows has been tricked with this natural condition into imagining all sorts of troubles as the cause. The teeth are loose and projecting that they may not lascerate the hard palate of the upper jaw, which serves the purpose of an upper set of incisors. If the cow is quite old the broad part of the incisor teeth will be found much worn and even wholly worn off, so that mere rounded stubs of the necks of the teeth remain. A cow in that condition is rarely a profitable investment, unless she is purebred and fam ous as a producer of fine calves. The latter may be raised by hand or “mothered on another cow, but the toothless old cow will be unlikely to live long or produce a large flow of milk with profitable persistance. Leaving the head and the slim fine quality neck, let us be sure that the cow has a very capacious middie-piece. She must have a large body if she is to perfectly care for large quantities of Eeed, and so we want it to be wide through the lower third deep from the backbone to lower lme, and long from elbows to flanks. Then lock for pronounced and very wide ribs that are not too close set, In a horse the ribs are rounded like the hoops of a barrel, and are not very wide apart. In a cow, the nos are much flatter, and one should be able to place-tips of two or three fingers between each pair. Standing opposite the left flank of the cow—tho side opposite which milking is done- understand that two thirds or so of the barrel of the cow is occupied by the rumen or paunch, which cares for the coarse feed consumed by her, ana it should appear capacious and well fined, not restricted in appearance or tucked up at the flanks. The cow that looks fit to run fast and far and jump a high fence at the other end is the wrong type for modern dairy PU A P °loiig well-set. and tapering tail, with plenty of switch, is desirable. Lows which are heavy milk producers are frequently thin and bony, and a prospective buyer should not. refuse a cow because of her “poor” appearance. Now let us consider the bag or vessel oi udder. Call it what we will, it must be in keeping with the right type of head and tody if the cow is to do well as a. milkproduce/. Remember that the udder is earried high in a heifer and gradually descends in the older cow, so that it then becomes