EXAMINE THE UDDER.

Te Aroha News, Volume XLI, Issue 6572, 5 February 1925, Page 8

EXAMINE THE UDDER.

/ WHEN SELECTING A COW When you are estimating the quality of a cow’s udder an actual examination is absolutely,necessary. We have found by extended experience that before buying a cow it. always pays to.go over every part of . the udder with the hands. Gentle massage (says a writer in the “Breeders’ Gawill locate every Gump and hard spot. Such tumor-like places or “'bunches” in an udder tell the story of past attacks of inflammation slight or severe, and indicate the likelihood of a recurrence of the attack at a subsequent calving. They should also lead one carefully to examine the milk secreted by the affected gland. It is therefore well to strip a stream' of milk from each teat in turn into the palm' of the hand, then note its appearance and smell, and if there seems to be no sign of abnormality one may venture to taste the emul-

sion. The quarter that contains a tumour or scar tissue has been attacked at some time in its history, and will be subject to further attacks. In some instances tuberculosis of the udder is present, especially where the lump is high up at the rear of the udder. Testing with tuberculin should therefore be done without fail when hard, insensitive lumps are felt on an udder. It is also unsafe to buy a “three teater” cow or one whose milk is abnormal in any way, for infection possibly may spread from such a cow to the others in the herd. A careful manual examination of the udder in all of its parts, and as to the quality of the milk yielded, is of paramount importance before money is invested in a cow, and never should be neglected. , \

An indication that members of the Canterbury A. and P. Association are supporting not dflly with enthusiasm but also with hard cash, the general committee’s scheme of improvements at the Addington Show Grounds in view of the Royal Show which is to be held there this year, is given by th@ fact that several members in forwarding their subscriptions for the year to the association are also forwarding an extra guinea as a subscription to the Show Grounds Improvement Fund (says the “Press”). As there are over one thousand annual members, the fund would be appreciably swelled if this example were generally followed. One member, Mr A. R. Fleming, Port Levy, in forwarding his annual subscription, enclosed a cheque for £25 for the Show Grounds Improvement Fund.