JUDGING BY POINTS.

Western Star, 31 March 1911, Page 4

JUDGING BY POINTS.

Many years ago the system of, judging animals by “points" was in' vogue, but it was rarely used, and! was much in disfavour by qualified judges, and was only resorted where two or three judges could not agree as to the classification of a few animals. Nowadays it is coming into vogue again, principally as a method of teaching farm students how to judge animals, and, so train their eyes that they can use them to some purpose afterwords. This method of tuition has been imported from tho other side of,the Atlantic, for it has long been a part of tho system of agricultural education there to set a live animal in tho midst of a class of young men and have the teacher go over the animal point by •point and explain what are good points and what deficiencies are to be( avoided, and then set the class to assess the. point-values themselves on score-cards provided for the purpose. The system of point-scoring has been exceedingly successful in dairy competitions of various, kinds, in inspecting dairy farms and creameries, while for scholastic examinations it has always been in vogue. For live stock, however, it is too tedious. In a card now lying before the writer, which is used by the colleges in America for judging draught horses, j there are,4o items to be assessed and filled in,i and it is manifest that say, a class of twenty animals the ‘ work would take hours, whereas a!

couple of judges would judge them 1 in the ordinary way in as many.minV utes. For teaching young men the ■ principles of judging, and training their eye to know an animal at a glance, however, the system cannot be beaten, and years of practising it; have confirmed belief in it. Indeed,' older men would have their ideas on the matter expanded of they were to take one of these cards and work over a horse, and then compare notes with the figures arrived at by a friend over the same animal. Most judge by instinct, without any definite notions’ in their heads. The scoring system compels them to put their ideas into definite figures. \