THE DAIRY COW

Waipa Post, Volume 36, Issue 2146, 19 April 1928, Page 5

THE DAIRY COW

POINTS OF QUALITY. JERSEY CLUB DEMONSTRATION. Te Awamutu Jersey Club has in the past two years shown commendable enterprise in arranging demonstrations of the ideal Jersey type by competent authorities and by fostering pedigree \stock sales, but one of its most noteworthy enterprises* was in seeuriig/a visit to Te Awamutu district of Mr E. Griffiths, the well-known Taranaki' judge, importer, and demonstrator, to give district Jersey breeders and others interested the benefit of his knowledge. Two demonstrations were ararnged—one at Mr H. Allen's farm on Brotherhood's Road, Kihikihi, and the other at the Waikeria Institute. The first took place "on Tuesday, and was attended by a large and representative attendance, including many ladies. Mr Griffiths was warmly welcomed by Mr G. S. Clarke, president of the local Jersey Club, and he was invited to demonstrate first on two bull calves, then on a bull 18 months old, and also on a cow.

Mr Griffiths was soon fully occupied in his task. At the outset he said that a dairy farmer's chief object should be to raise the standard of each cow, and not deceive himself like many who •lianced attendance on a cow for 365 days in a year, twice a day, without troubling to find out if it was a good or a bad cow. The cow was simply a machine, and one of the finest machines in the world. She was called the foster-mother of the human race. She never struck for higher wages, and all she asked was plenty of shelter, kindly treatment in the form of the right kind of food, and a dry place to he on. The selection of a sire was of the utmost importance, as the future of the herd depended on it. It was not enough that a sire should be a successful show-ring competitor, it being truthfully said that that could make a bull famous, but only a good daughter could make him truly great. Ancestry was the one great consideration in selecting a sire, and in a four-gen-eration pedigree there were thirty ancestors to be considered. Get as many good females in the pedigree as possible to provide uniformity of production and constitution, said the lecturer. Type was a most important factor, and to obtain type in-breeding and line-breeding had to be carefully studied. Mr Griffiths enumerated the desirable points in a bull, and after calling attention to the chief essentials he remarked that uniformity combining the most good points was the aim of breeders. Judging a bull was more difficult than judging a cow, as most breeders knew, and a good method, after sizing up the relative importance of deficiencies and values, was to ob-

serve the general lines as the animal was moving. A closer view revealed the individual weaknesses. The gen-

eral shape of the head, the top half, important. Bright, willing eyes, reasonably wide, wider than the base of the horns. A good bull should have a good crest. An effeminatelooking bull would not re-produce vigorous stock. Constitution, capacity, blood circulation, nervous temperament, and ability were the five cardinal qualifications of a perfect cow and also of a good bull. The capacity c-f a good beast was indicated by a • wide jaw and roomy barrel, with wellshaped ribs, set reasonably wide from a level top line. Free carriage when walking was a good point. Blood circulation was denoted by a brightness of the eyes, a good skin, and generally a healthy appearance, The demonstrator described the methods of obtaining nutriment,. adding that nervous temperament must not be confused with nervousness. It denoted vitality as distinct from a phlegmatic disposition. The dark eye was an indication; other indications were width between the eyes and the fine bone of the vertebrae and hips. Ability to produce milk was the fifth of the principal features. A soft, pliable, thin skin, covered with fine hair, was an indication; a reasonable width between the pin bones, legs not too close together, adequate udder room, and a Slight dip in the back were features. The udder should be well rounded at the back, and not cramped when full. The ribs should be well spaced, as they assisted digestion, there being muscles working beneath the ribs that assisted the movement of food in the stomachs. A thin thigh

was an essential in the ideal dairy type, and was in direct contract to that of the beef animal. Mr Griffiths said conformation was a feature that was not fully appreciated. Some rather rough - looking cows were wonderfully good produced, but they were not so likely to reproduce good stock as were the typey animals, and good oows that were perhaps lacking in quality had ancestors that were very good producers and of a good type. To a questioner, Mr Griffiths said he preferred an animal with a slight " dish " in the forehead. Some lines of Jerseys were more noted than others for perpetuating the " dish," but nearly all of the very best producers had a more or less pronounced " dish." The be slightly rounded, giving facility for dealing with the into the mouth. ' It enabled- the food to be properly ground and mixed with assorted juices for digestion. To another questioner, the lecturer said the colour of the skin inside the ears and between the legs was often an indication of milk quality, but it was not an infallible indicator. He

did not favour exceptional length of barrel in a bull; great length must be accompanied by great depth. He preferred a compact animal of fair size. The shoulder must be sloping, and the bull's shoulders should be wider than those of a cow. Mr Griffiths continued that when walking a good Jersey placed its feet rrasonably straight, not brushing the hocks. A dip in the back was regarded as a detriment; the desire was for a straight back. A dip was held to indicate a weakness in the loins, which should protect the kidneys. The front legs should indicate a sufficiency of heart, room, but not unduly pronounced. Many bulls were rather too narrow between the front legs. Dairy cattle had usually a larger heart than the beef types, just as a raqehorse

had a larger heart than the draught type. The escutcheon of bull and cow ■was not regarded as particularly indicative, because there were other points better indicating blood circulation. , • 1 £ . The lecturer said that evidence o± a good constitution in a cow has to be found in wide, open, distended nostrils, well-developed windpipe, plenty of heart and lung room, spring or rib, deep, broad chest, and good, strong loins. Capacity was a great factor in a cow. She must have a long, wide, deep body, large wide mouth, large open space between ribs, deep abdomen, and good back and loins to carry weight. Vitality, or dairy temperament, Was absolutely essential; this was displayed in large and placid eyes, broad forehead, long thin clean neck, clear spinal column, hip and pin bones sharp and clearly defined. The udder should be long and wide, but not deep, and should be carried well along under the abdomen. It should be well up at the back, half-moon shape, and cover a lot of body space. The teats should be well placed about the centre of each quarter. Mr Griffiths said that every cpw that had proved herself an outstanding producer had points that indicated her superiority. The five essential points were the same as for the bull—constitution, capacity, blood circulation, nervous temperament, and ability. The well-conformed and goodlooking cow would reproduce more, of her kind than wquld the cow that was a good producer but lacking in conformation, or the one that was strong on conformation but weak on production. The type described would, with very few exceptions, be a good producer. A cow whose hocks touched when she walked was not the best type, for she cramped her udder room. A cow with a fine skin would have a constitution to meet changes in the weather. The lecturer did not think the skin could be too fine, provided it was pliable and felt healthy. Tail length had nothing to do with a cow's dairy ability, but he liked to see a cow whose tail vertebrae just reached to the hooks, with a brush at the end sufficiently long to enable her to brush off flies, thus enabling her to rest placidly. Udder secretions should not be pronounced, practically none being observable sideways. Fleshiness should not be apparent; the udder that after milking was as limp as a rag was preferred. The size of the ear was part of conformation, but did not count heavily in,show points. A heifer with a fiat tail usually indicated beef proclivities. Five two-year-olds were placed in the ring, and the public were asked to place them in order of merit. Mr Griffiths, after the judging was completed, then made his choice, and the nearest to his estimate was then determined. The winners were Messrs S. A. Cooke and H. R. Clarke, and to determine who should take the prize a toss was agreed upon, and Mr Clarke won.

Judging the points of a well-bred cow was the next competition, and there was again a good entry. The Jersey standard of excellence was the basis, and there was provision for giving reasons why points were awarded in each division. Mr Griffiths gave 8 points out of 10 for head and neck, 4 for forequarters (the standard is 6), 17 for body (standard, 20); for udder he awarded 26 (standard, 30); 11 for hindquarters (standard, 14), 16 for general appearance (standard, 20), a total of 82 out of 100. Messrs J. S. Edwards and A. S. Wyllie were nearest (almost identical) ,with Mrs C. North a close third; Mr G. Ramsay was next.

The next competition brought forward seven entrants, including two ladies. They had to describe the various points of excellence, and v ,.m i ost of them did it well. Mr Griffiths, awarded the honours equally to Messrs 0- S. Clarke and H. Allen, and then proceeded to point out the faults and excellences of the animal. At the close the demonstrator was accorded a very hearty vote of thanks for his informative address and.fpr coming from Taranaki to assist .ins educating the Waikato dairymen in' their task of breeding better - class Jersey stock. Mr Allen was also accorded thanks for providing stock and facilities for the demonstrator, while the ladies who so capably dispensed refreshments came in for warm thanks.