JUDGING CATTLE

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 211, 22 September 1937, Page 13

JUDGING CATTLE

Scoring Cards and the Show Ring ART OF PICKING Many new breeders liave asked tho quegtion why judging cattle cannot be done by the allotting of points for each merit of the iqdividual animals, go many points being taken off for the faults; in fact, it appeaiv. to many who are not very conversant with live stock that judging and breeding may be done satisfactorily by eumming them up .on a score card, says a writer in the Australasian. This would not only lead to chaos, but the judging would take two or three days to aecoraplish at many of our Royal shows, and judges would find it a very difficult matter to balance their points np to coincide with their decisions. An animal might score many points in many places, but may have one bad fault which would debar it from being a top etud sire4 and yet, on points, that exhibit might be a winnor. A score card for points has been adopted by many breed so6ieties, with a view to educating beginners as to the most important and tho lesser faults or virtues of the diii'crent broeds, and in. what order of meri,t they are looked upon by the breed societies, and thore is no doubt these scales of points are very usoful from an edueational point of view; but they would be useless and would lead to confusion if introduced into the judging ring. The judging of live stock is a gift or instinct, and can never be worked out by mathematics, as many appear to thlnir. The Nick. Because a bull which cost, say, 1000 guineas, is mated to a cow costing say, 500 guineas, it does not follow that the progeny is worth 1500 guineas; in fact, it may not 1)6 worth 50 guineas, as they may not "nick/1 as it is termed in mating. Some really good sires get wretcked calves from certain show cows, and yet they may breed well with other inferior cows, and vice-versa. It does not always follow that the chanipion LjuII of the show is the best breeder's bull there; and, as a matter of fact, there is often a great deal of differenee in a champion bull and a breeder 's bull. For instance, a bull might possess so many excellent show points tliat a judge would have no hositation in placing him aixthe head of his section, and yet he may not possess just that ruggedness, character, or that '♦it11 which stamps an animal capable of producing progeny which will improve any stud or win at shows., A champion ofton will win the day by the way in which he is paraded — blpoin, handling, and geueral appearance very often will take a bull to tho { toi) of the class — but in the same class ' there may be a bull which 1b out of conditiou, badly brouglit out, and badly paraded, and although the judge cau realise what this latter bull is likcly to make up into he would not be justiiied or "garne11 enough to put that animal over the other, in spite of feeling certain that if the bull had besn exhibited in proper form he may have gone above the winner, and knowing that he would pick this bull for a breeder. There is no doubt it is far more difficult to pick good breeders than show winners, and that is where the true art of judging comes in. Som® men have the reputation of being ablo to pick what are known. as "makers,11 that'is, being able to select an animal right out of eondition which wUl build up into a, champion; while men suck as the late late Mr. William Duthie have such instinct in picking sires that their failures are few. What was more important was the fact that the bulls Mr. Duthie bred carried on the good work by reprodueing well'*=-so much so that many very ill-shai)cd Collynie bulls whiCh would not be looked at in the sIiqw ring prpved to be remarkable sires of shqw stock. Probably no Collynie bull that has come to Auqtralia wourd win at our ltoyal Show; but tliey have produced many winners, and there is no doubt this is due to that marvellous judge 's uncanny instinct in pickipg breeder 's bulls. The same may be said of Bakpwell aud, Batcs ; botli followed differ.ent types, but they were very defmite in what they were breeding for, and each type in its tum had its run of popularity according to tho i'ashiou. Show-Ring FasMons. Of courge, tliere are points and certain rules wliich it is safe to follow; but there never will come a time when cattle can be judged o-r bred successfully by the laying down of score cards for points. If judging were carried out in this way there would be a very' great risk of show f'ecls becoming far more dangerous than they are to-day ; and there is no quostjon that in some cases showing has been the ahsolute ruination of some excellent breeds of animals, and they liave practically gone out of existence, fasliion ip the show l-ing having mado them absolutoly useless for tho purpose for wljicb they were priginally bred. , This had happened with some breeds of cattle, horses, sheep, and dogs, and is a factor wliich all breeders have to keep in mind, as the real object of showing, of cour.se, is to improve tlie breeds in such a way that the improve- . , uients will be carried on in a pracfcical

manner, until the animals— in the case of cattle- — reach the consumers in the form . of first quality beef which has been produced and fattened in the most economical way and in the shortest possible timo, giving the hest and least wasteful carcases. Judging by score cards would be very nearly as risky as breeding by pedigree regardless of conformation, which is very often done by beginners ; in fact, a pedigree is often used in selling stock, all the good ancestors being pointed out, the seller hoping meanwhdle that the buyer will not notice (perliaps) many faults which have crept into the animal, in spite of the wonderful breeding. Th'ie late Mr William Duthie, when asked how he picked a bull, replied that he always looked the animal well over to see how he filled the eye, and then examined the four top sires ; but many look at the pedigree first and the animal after.