The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1861-06-22
1lle Gliputia se,vs.
SATURDAY. JUNE e, 1861.
IxDIcAT1oNs or ! oooD N1IFgg


Mr. George Ogden. of Lexington. Ky
asks how he may be able to tell. 6y insnect'
ing COW or calf, that it viii make = GOOD
mixer.
To the initiated this Is yery easy. he will
be mistaken scarcely one time out of twen-
~ in making his selections. But to convey
this knowledge to another, BY the men alone
is impossible; the most We can do Is h
give few general rules to guide Mr.. o. In
selecting. We could give him more infor-
mations orally, in one hour with Us among q
herd of COWS and calves, than If we were 10
write q volume. What a misfortune that
farmers, cons are not taught these things.
as well as many others of great practical
value relating to their profession /! Are
they not IS important to them as reading
writing, or arithmetic And still more
important than much that they are required
70 learn at schoole But to the question
proposed.
There are three points which indicate
great milking qualities. The most impor.
tant or certain of. these, especially in the
cali, is the adder. This should be broad
and full, extending well forward along the
belly, and well up behind the skin rather
soft and elastic, and neither too thick nor too
thin and the hair around Of silky touch.
The teats should be of good size, placed
rather wide apart, and at right angles to
each other, the ends slightly pointing out
in an Oblique direction.
It is favorable indication for the udder
to show fifth or even sixth teat, though
these should be much smaller than the 9TH
ers. especially in the grown COW. In the
calf the relative difference may not be SO
great.
The second important consideration is
the mix -veias. which should be large and
quite Jagged. These will be well develop
ed several months before the heifer drops
her first calf. and invariably show large
ever after. We never knew a cow with
such veins that did not give large guam
tity of milk-whatever the quslity might
be--unless some accident had happened to
Ler. or she had been very improperly man
aged. We have also known cows that were
great mixers which did not show large
milk-veins, but these are mere exceptions
to the general rule.
The third important consideration is the
eseutcheons. OF these pretty accurate no.
tion may be obtained by perusing Guenon's
work on this subject, published with pu-
merous illustrations. These marks, how
ever, are not quite SO certain test as the
udder and milk veins. We speak from our
own experience, which has been consider
able in these matters; though we know
there are many who are so enthusiastic as
TO look upon the escutcheons as the only
irJalli6le point indicating a good mixer.
Perhaps this applies more particularly to
the large Flemish breed of COWS than to
any other, as these were Guenon's models.
In addition to the above, there are other
points which may be taken into considera-
ton in making up ones mind whether a
COW is good or poor mixer. If the for
mer, her eye is generally bright; her head
long and clean her chest slightly thin for
the breed and her body rather wedge
shaped from the hips forward, while she is
extra-capacious behind. with thin thighs !;
the skin rich cream color, and very elastic.
In the latter we have noticed that the eye
was not ordinarily so prominent /; the head
thicker; the shoulders and thighs coarser
and more meaty, and the posterior devel-
opment narrower.-Farns and Garden.