JUDGING SHORTHORN CALVES.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2164, 22 May 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

JUDGING SHORTHORN CALVES.

The following remarks by the Rev. R. j Holt Beevor, the well-knowu and success- | fill breeder of shorthorns, may be of in- , terest to our readers :—: — [ To make the future of shorthorns pros j poiious. it is obviously essential to keep them in all points up to the mark. To begin with, then, I will present the beginner with the following advice. Mr ! K. Strait m onw told mo that he knew j by a calf only six hours old wimt he was yoing to make when giown up. This ] sounded very pulling at the time. '< and it was long before I could wotk it i out. It means, however, no more than this. Look liist at its hea«t and front. Then if they please, see if the top line of its back will divide thus :— From bom* by tail to hip-bone should he the same length as fiotu hip-bone to top of -houlder, and as from top of shouMor to the point ri<rht above the* bend of thu neck. Thpn the leg should ho hnlf thi> | depth of the c.niM-u in length. Having proceeded ho fur with satisfaction, now nome the crucial iriqniiie-*. Through the heart is it hollow, or nan it u full, rounder! frame, within which the luujrs cm |«Uy? Then, the lust jmiut in explanation, but the first in practice : — From hip-bone to hip-bone acioss the buck should be exactly the lentrth of from hip-bone to bone beside the tail. Never be content if you have the chance with anything lea*. And on tho plate of the loin and hindquarter you should feel a decided layer of meat. The consideration of these points, all to be found and tested in the calf at its earliest »jre, will >oon enable you to discover whether it is worth forcing or not Above nil things, insist ou the breadth of loin. If would-be breedera will only wot k with Homoihing of this care, there nan be little fear for the ultimate future of Shorthorn*, whatever they may do this year.