JUDGING A COW BY LOOKS

Shannon News, 7 August 1925, Page 3

JUDGING A COW BY LOOKS

An Australian farmer thought so much of a cow that he paid a fancy price for her and brought her at considerable expense some miles to his farm.

He thought her the best cow in that district, and certainly by appearance site was a top-notcher. She was first tested six weeks after calving and gave one half pound of butter for the twenty-four hours milkings, the test being 1.9 per cent. fat. She was in good health and condition, and feed was plentiful. The following month she just exceeded a quarter of a pound of butter for the day. The third month’s test showed the day’s butter production to be under a quarter of a pound. She gave a fair .quantity of milk but there was too little fat in it. She was a ‘‘pig feeding” cow and was soon culled out. The same farmer bought in the sale yards a forward springer for £3. He described her as “miserable runt of a thing,” and he felt ashamed to have io look at her in ' his milking yard alongside his better looking cows. His object .n buying her was to milk her a lev months, dry her off, and' then, as he had plenty spare feed, fatten her and sell her to the butcher at a small profit.

The cow just previously described (1.9 per cent, test) was called Violet. J lie second one went under the name ol' Stinker. Those two names exactly described the owner’s (he considered himself no mean judge) opinion of the two animals. Wh(en the !herd came to be dipped on account of ticks, Violet was handled most carefully lest she should be knocked about, but Stinker was tumbled in just anyhow. y When the tester visited the farm, the poor scraggy runt yielded over a pound, of ...utter a day. The owner could not make it out, but next month the Babcock told the same tale, and so it continued for five mouths. But meantime the two cows had exchanged names and when the tick inspector came around to dip,- the “new Violet,” was handled with due care. It eventually turned out that this heifer was bred from stock noted for production, but had been stunted in groyvth. She had, however, inherited, the production capacity, and mated to a good bull has since bred some good milkers. "