GOOD YIELDERS

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 January 1939, Page 3

GOOD YIELDERS

DAIRY PRODUCTION POINTS. In discussing production of dairy cattle, a writer in an Irish exchange deals interestingly with the various points to look for in picking the good yielding cow, taking for his model a Shorthorn type of cow. His remarks, which are as follows, should’ be of interest to readers:—See that the animal is of average size, neither too big, nor too small. View the animal from front, rear and side. She should have a good strong level back, with good width especially over thp rump. She should be inclined to a wedgeshape in three directions, narrowing from back to front on top and side; and from top line to lower line (at back) with good depth around her middle. Now start at the head and work back along. The head should be refined and feminine, with good width between the eyes which should be clear, prominent and placid. The face should be of medium length with a flesh-coloured muzzle. The neck should merge nicely into the withers, and should be clean, with very little dewlap. The shoulders should be lean and sloping with the points prominent, but not too much so. She should have a good deep chest, with plenty of room in the heart region, and good width at the - elbows. The barrel should be long, deep and wide, with well sprung ribs, wide apart. Loins should be broad and level with the hips prominent, fairly wide and level. The rump should be long, have good width, and be level with the pin bones showing well apart. The tail should spring fairly clear from the rump and be of good length. The thighs should be lean, and incurving, placed well apart. The legs should be well placed under the animal, being not too long and with good, clean bone. The udder should begin high up at the back, come down to a good depth, and go well forward. The teats should be of correct length, spaced evenly apart, and without any apparent defects. The skin of the udder should be soft and silky to the touch. The milk veins should show well forward, and be prominent with a good number of branches. It may seem a rather formidable task to look over all these points, yet with very little practice it will become so much a habit that a minute or two will suffice for a preliminary look-over. The easiest way to get conversant with these points is to look through the cows in the herd and pick out chose that approximate nearest to this scale. Needless to say, the perfect animal is almost impossible to find, but the nearer the farmer can get to it the better.