JUDGING AT SHOWS.

Putaruru Press, Volume II, Issue 12, 4 January 1924, Page 4

JUDGING AT SHOWS.

A DIFFICULT PROBLEM. j The judging question is an eternal ‘ one, and the reversing of decisions ! within a week is naturally the cause ■ of much heart-burning. There is i generally room for a difference of | opinion, and this i - the more appaij ent when the standard is high as it ! was at the recent Taranaki shov. s. j The ambition of the breeder is to j produce animals combining' beauty of j form with all the outward appearI ances of constitution and heavy production. As yet the perfect animal has not been evolved, nor yet the. near perfect. Some animals are endowed with beauty of form to a remarkable decree. Their appearance at once claims the attention of the connoisseur of beauty. Other animals have the evidences of a great constitution and capacity remarkably developed. Tn the show ring the judge must weigh the one with the other, and it is only through long experience with the best that he becomes capable of giving' a decision that will hold water.' His decision given, the ringsiders are immediately critical. Tim one section favours beauty of form and breed type. These are the “ type ” men. The others favour those animals lacking finish or equality but showing all the outward evidences of the heavy producer. This class of animal comes under the definition of “ dairy ” type. The judge aims to place the animals not according to the standard of either group, but in accordance with an ideal he carries in his mind, in which is combined in the highest degree the qualities of both type and production. The dairy cow is. however, essentially a utility animal, and to continue successful as a breeder, the only firm foundation is that of constitution and performance. A cow may be sweetly pretty, but if she cannot maintain herself in good health and return to her owner a good profit over and above her keep, she can only be regarded as a robber cow, a term which is entirely correct. It can be readily seen then that a conscientious judge faced with rings of high-class animals has a most difficult task and invariably a thankless one.