STOCK DEMONSTRATION.

Waikato Times, Volume 96, Issue 15358, 5 October 1923, Page 6

STOCK DEMONSTRATION.

IMPROVING THE DAIRY COW. I UTILITY POINTS STRESSED. (No. II.) In yesterday's issue we dealt with the opening article of a demonstration given at Morrinsville by Mr C. E. Robertson, of Wellington, the wellknown stud stock expert and judge. The concluding part of Mr Robertson's remarks is given below. All keen breeders to-day, the lecturer added, were convinced that nervous temperament was the great essential in the dairy cow. Its possession kept the cow continually working. The beef animal had an opposite disposition. It was sluggish, and by inheritance had a tendency to convert its food into fat. The dairy cow was active in all her habits. The weakness In their present system of judging purebred dairy cattle was the lack of consideration given to the possession of dairy temperament. Some cows possessed it in much greater degree than others, and on account of this variation careful consideration in judging individuals was necessary. All cows that were large and economical producers of milk and butterfat had highly developed dairy temperament. A'igreat deal could be said about this power in the dairy cow. In addition to the features about the head—the clean-cut outline and prominent and observant eyes, and general appearance of fine quality—other evidences of dairy temperament were a thin, fine and lengthy neck, clean- in appearance (free from dewlap), neatly jointed to the head, and not too full at the throat, oblique shoulders bare of flesh, and sharpness in the wither. The vertebrae or backbone (through which the spinal column passed) should be prominent and sharp. This, also applies to the hips and pin bones. The ribs should be fairly prominent, especially the short rib, and they I .should be very open. It should be I | possible to place two or'three fingers between the fourth and fifth ribs. The thighs should also be thin and well arched. Quality of bone was a great essential in 'a dairy cow. Size with quality was the requirement. A coarse animal generally had a sluggish disposition. As for the tail, a lengthy tail with a good brush gave a finish to the appearance of the cow. The chief purpose of the tail was to brush away flies. Its length did not indicate milking quality. Rather the desirable tail for the dairy cow was the whip-like, open jointed one. This indicated quality and openness of the vertebrae. Of course in judging a dairy animal, allowance must be made for age and development, and for the stage of the lactation period in a cow or heifer. Heifers with their first calves, if they had been well fed, would usually carry more flesh than older cows. It took time to milk flesh off and for the heifer to come into shape. A good cow that had been well fed would carry more flesh just before calving or towards the end of her season than she would when in full milk.

"Making the Milk." The final process of "making the milk," or milk-secreting, took place in the udder. The demonstrator added that a well developed udder showing great capacity and of elastic texture was therefore essential for heavy production. The inward tissue should be plastic and fine to feel, and not hard or fatty. Width and length gave capacity to the' udder. The udder should then be attached well forward and caught high behind. If a cow was thin and curved in the thighs, width would be possible. The structure of the cow's hindquarters corresponded fairly accurately with the length, width and levelness of the vessel. In the dairy cow great length and levelness from hip-bones to pinbones was required, together with good width of hips, and great width through the thurls. Length, width and squareness on top meant good dimensions of the udder below. If the pin-bones were down, the udder would generally be tilted. Depth of udder was a weakness, for a pendulous udder was easily damaged and more subject to ills. Strength and fineness in the texture and handling were the features required. The quarters should be equally developed and the teats of good form and size, well placed for ready handling. While a well-balanced udder was the ideal, there was always an opportunity to criticise an udder either for irregularity of quarters, attachment, or handling quality. In some breeds more points were given for shape of udder than allowed under other standards. A good shaped udder did not necessarily mean a heavy producer. It must always be kept in view that each essential part of the body bore relationship to the other, and it was necessary that each should be highly developed to secure a really good cow.

Points In Judging. A successful judge, it was added, carefully considered all parts of the body, and did not allow extra development of any one essential to influence him. For example, a cow which lacked capacity might easily have a well-shaped vessel, but generally speaking that vessel would not have capacity. If stocked to bursting pcint, however, a good show could be made in the ring. The udder was one of the great essentials, but too much could be made of its outward appearance. As an indication of the ability to give large yields of milk, duality and texture of the udder were all important. In connection with this ability of the udder to make milk,a thorough circulation of the blood was another of the great essentials. Unless the blood was very active in circulation to all parts of the body, a dairy cow could not be expected to yield a large How of milk. When the food was digested and assimilated, the blood carried it to all parts of the body including the udder. The greater the How of blood to the underline, the greater opportunity for milk-making. Prominent veins on the udder, length, development and the twisted nature of the "milk" veins on the abdomen were indications of great blood circulation to the underline, as were the size of the "milk" wells, or the openings at the end of the veins. On great producers there generally was a regu- I lar net-work of these veins all over the abdomen, and as many as six wells had been found. Two wells were the rule. Milk veins were also found on good dairy bulls, and were an indication of a good circulation of blood to the underline. The blood passed down to the udder through arteries located on the inner side of the thighs. On one famous producer noted for her great mammary system, one of these arteries was quite prominent, and the pulsation when she was in full milk was apparent to the eye. An impression Corrected. At one lime it was thought the "milk veins" conveyed the milk to the udder, but that was wrong. The Americans had gone so far as to put a

twitch on these veins for 24 hours to see if the milk was held back. After the blood was utilised by the glands In the udder and the nutrients for milk-making extracted, the blood was carried back to the heart for purification. Other indications of good blood circulation were the oily condition of the skin, and the oily secretions in the ears and at the end of the tail. A yellow skin was not an indication of high-testing milk. It was associated with blood circulation, and indicated a very healthy condition of the inward works of the cow. No cow was perfect in all respects. The judge had to weigh up the apparent deficiencies, and the best all-round cow would be the winner. Some judges paid too much attention to one essential over another: Deficiencies in constitution, digestive capacity, dairy temperament, milk-making ability and blood circulation should be given first consideration. Deficiencies ir symmetry of form, breed characteristics and qualities which simply pleased the eye were more pardonable than those affecting production.

Type and Production. There could be said to exist two schools in each of the dairy breeds today—the type men and the heavy production men. The former were apt to neglect full development of the essentials for neatness and a pretty appearance. The latter should strive for more quality, which meant economy of production. The type was practically the same in all breeds of dairy cattle, the size, colour, horns, and shape of the head being the characteristics that varied. A cow could be both a great ylelder and of handsome appearance. There were now many fine examples of both being combined in the one animal, but the progressive and far-seeing judges of the day were stressing more than ever that a cow should have the evidences of a heavy producer before she could expect to win championship honours. Judges should be called upon to substantiate their decisions in the showring by oral demonstrations. At one time it was not considered etiquette to ask the judge to give his reasons in support of the awards made, but to-day it was and should be expected of the judge that he do so. The lecturer, who had used the various animals brought forward to illustrate his remarks, then made some comparisons, and also gave an illustration of prepotency.

j Conformation In the Sire. Referring to the conformation of the good bull, Mr Robertson said the standard outlined for the good cow should be followed, except that masculinity was imperative, and strength was more apparent than with the cow. Briefly, the characteristics to look for in the bull were: The nostrils should be large and open, face fairly long with a clean-cut appearance, being broad between the eyes that are large, prominent and observant; horns should be fairly strong at the base, but not coarse; ears should be of fair length with an indication of alertness; neck should be fairly long, being clean cut throughout, and nicely crested, denoting masculinity. A head and neck of this description indicated that the essentials of the dairy animal were present. Shoulders should be oblique and not coarse, and broad at the points. Depth of chest and obliqueness of shoulders tended to fineness at the tops. It was a mark of excellency for the top of the shoulders to be fine, 'living them a wedge-like appearance. Further indications of the necessary essentials are heart, girth, and barrel, which should be long and deep, and of a real bony nature. Backbone should show great development, being fine and open jointed, and like the well-bred cow of desirable conformation, having absolute freedom from beeflness over the entire body. Rump formation should be keenly dealt with, as this was the end that weaknesses generally started from. Hip bones should be fairly broad with great length and straightness from hip to pin bones. If a bull was prepo- ( tent at all he was bound to leave his mark in the hindquarters of his heifers, so it was most essential that only bulls well developed in these parts should be used.

Question Time. At the conclusion of his address, Mr Robertson urged his hearers to cross-question him on any point they desired, particularly if they were not entirely in accord with the views expressed. This invitation was readily availed of. In reply to one question as to the value of the escutcheon in selecting producers, Mr Robertson stated that. Guenon's theory was not favoured to-day. It had been carefully tested, and his theory that the shape of the escutcheon Indicated the production that a cow was capable of was not upheld. Teat placement on the .scrotum of the bull could not be accepted generally as a certain indication of the teat placement on the heifers sired by such a bull. A bull it prepotent should reproduce the udder and teats of his dam. The average man's experience was so limited in this regard that this his opinion must be set aside. It was a very minor,point in any case. Rump formation and well arched thighs were the indications pointing to good udders in the progeny of a sire. Each breed was specially adapted to a particular type of country and climate, that was to say the environment most suited for any breed was that which was similar to its original home. Under any other conditions a change would naturally take place. New blood was introduced in an endeavour to keep the type. Cattle bred in a colcl climate were more virile than those bred in a warmer temperature. If the former were taken to a warmer climate they would respond in a most remarkable manner. The world-wide reputation of the Scotch Shorthorn was due to its constitution. This was imparled to the breed through the nature of its environment. At the Addington sales in Canterbury, Southland bred store sheep realised 2s per head more than locally grown, and North Island grown offered in the same market realised 2s less, a difference of 4s in favour of the southern bred sheep. The great producer could be termed abnormal in a sense when she was compared with the average producer, but the aim was to raise the average standard to the level of the great producer, and only through the aid of the outstanding or exceptional animals could this be done. Good cows were expensive to purchase. It was more economical for the farmer to raise his own through the use of a dairy or bultcrfat sire, hence the movement favouring the use of such bulls. It was much more difficult to improve a good pedigree herd than an ordinary dairy herd. Any well selected bull would raise the standard of the ordinary herd, as there was now a wide range of good buttcrfat bulls to select from. To be an improver a bull should not only show the desired dairy characteristics, but must have masculinity. Whenever occasion presented itself dairymen as well as breeders should seize the opportunity to carefully study the great producer, or. her sire. ' The latter.

should be particularly overhauled, as the average dairyman and breeder, had through his limited experience with bulls little ' oportunity to study the good sire. In moving a hearty vote of thanks to the demonstrator, Mr G. R. Campbell said they owed a debt of gratitude to Mr Robertson for the very instructive afternoon he had given them. He had much to impart that must prove of great value to his hearers. This information had been given in a clear and lucid manner, making it easy for them to assimilate. He had very much pleasure indeed in expressing their appreciation. A round of applause terminated the proceedings.