FARM NOTES

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 283, 11 April 1929, Page 6

FARM NOTES

JUDGING A MILKING COW.

The- Five Chief Points to be Noted.

“ Dairying is just like any industrial proposition because a man goes into it to make as much, out of it as he can. Therefore it is essential that he milks cows which give profits. If one cow out of 20 does not give a profit then .the farmer is loting 5 per cent. It is essential that he milks the best possible cows by the best machinery, which should be looked after carefully.”

Tn the above language Mr. E. Griffiths, the noted Jersey breeder of New Plymouth, put in a nutshell the purpose of an address given to farmers at Matamata on Thursday afternoon, when in plain and simple language he endeavoured to assist dairymen in their efforts to judge a good dairy ccw. Five Pointers. Mr. Griffiths explained that every dairy cow showed its capacity for milking in its external form. This capacity he divided into the following five sections which were essential for a good producer: (1) ' Constitution, (2) capacity, (3) blood circulation, (4) nervous temperament, (5) ability. In judging the above points the tyro was advised to stand off from a cow to first of all get a good idea

of its constitution, capacity and general appearance. A start should be made at the head, noting the eye, nostrils and forehead, then along the back for the vertebrae and tail, and finally the skin and udder. How to JuJge. Constitution.—This was judged by t the room for the heart and lungs bej hind the shoulders. The nostrils should be open wide and round. The I thorax should he deep and wide and the eye bright. Actual size in an animal had nothing to do with constitution as a large beast often died under adverse conditions where a smaller one would pull through. Capacity.—This meant ability to feed rapidly, to store, and to digest the food. The first essential was a broad muzzle covering a broad jaw, which could secure a broad bite.

Mastication followed, and so a deep, rounded jaw was necessary—a rounded jaw was better than a straight one. Digestive Organs. Mr. Griffiths then explained that a > cow fed and filled the first stomach. It then regurgitated its food and chewed the cud. This chewing mixed saliva with the food, after which it was again swallowed, to the third stomach, from which the food passed to the fourth stomach and then to the intestines. These were something like 43 yards in length and carried out the last process of digestion. Turning again to the cow being used for demonstration purposes the speaker pointed out that for storage capacity there should be plenty of length from shoulder to hipbone as well as width and depth. The general shape should he wedge-like. Wide hips and loins also assisted in giving storage capacity. A knowledge of how the digestive organs did their work was gained by examining the skin, which was always soft and pliable when digestion was good. Brains Gcquirtd. Nervous Temperament.—This was indicated by a bright eye, broad forehead, plenty of length to the poll so as to give room for the brain. A small brain meant small control, while a large brain meant good control. The backbone should be fine and not coarse, because a fine backbone meant a large spinal cord. There should be fine bone all round, including the tail, and small hipbones. The escutcheon hair should run I well up the back of the udder and should he fine. At one period this i was thought to be the chief guide to judging a good milker, but it was

now found that the veins were the best guide. The escutcheon must be wide, and the udder well covered, but the better indication was by the tortuous milk veins underneath the body. Pendulous Udders. Ability.—This covered a cow’s capacity to turn food into milk and was evidenced by the size, form and texture of the udder, which should be long and wide. It was possible to have this ability in a pendulous udder, but this was not desirable, as when a cow lay down such an udder was exposed to the weather ; also when walking in mud the udder dragged, with the result that the teats cracked and mud got into the milk. The best form of udder therefore was one which was long and wide, and to carry this satisfactorily ] the thighs should he thin and curved. The teats should be well set on the I four corners and not too short. Goose Ramp. The frame from the hipbone to the I pinbone was a good guide in this i connection and should show length \ and width. A tilted udder was genj erally caused through a cow having i a droopy back or what was known I as goose rump. j The udder should be soft and silky and the teats wide apart. Cowi hock—the hocks being too close-—was a bad feature. A rich colour on the inside of the ears and end of the tail was also a good sign. These were the main points to be noted in judging a dairy cow, but it I had to be remembered that even the (best judges were at fault at times, and the final test of all lay in weighing and testing. The Most Economical. From a general point of view a ‘ cow should have a uniform appear-

ance and should walk well with head kept well up. A sloping shoulder assisted in this latter respect. In New Zealand the Jersey herd proved to be the most economical dairy cow in testing associations and records. Five Jerseys could be carried to four of the larger breeds, thus there was one extra cow for additional profit. Questions. If a cow is short fed does it have to fill its first stomach before it can digest its food properly? No; it does not affect the digestion; but a cow which does well—that is a good producer—is always busy. It seldom sleeps. Is it detrimental to a cow to have a high set tail ? From a show point of view, Yes; but from a capacity point of view,

»No. The tail should set well between the pin-bines. Some judges advocate a big cow for big production. Do you agree ? No. There is a happy medium. If too big the animal has got to keep too much body instead of putting the extra into milk.