Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1870-11-19
AGRICULTURAL,


Our readers are not all farmers and nanv
were NOT even brought up on a farm, hence they
may De supposed not to know IN uch about cows.
Yet, as every body who can should keep a good
COW, everybody ought to have some definite
ldea OF what constitutes and how to recognize
ana select such an one. How 10 buy one is quite
another matter. When it comes to buying we
would much prefer TO delegate the Job, and run
the RISK OF being cheated little, than to stand
ana wr1ggle, and decker over few dollars and
yet II Is best always to buy Just as cheap as the
owner will part with any thing
III one mas the Opportunity, he shonld by all
means see the COW MIXED, take a tumblerful of
mix ana let 1t stand to see how much cream
VIII Ilse. and IL there are several OF which he
mas the choice, he would do well to apply this
test 10 several OF the best. A good COW will
give ten to twenty quarts OF milk day and one
giving ten quarts of milk, when fresh should
make large quantity Of butter. Take no stran-
gers word for what his COW will do, unless he
assures you she will take down fences as fast as
you can put them up, or perform some similar
ieat- III possible, see her MIXED twice, morn
ing and evening, and take some of the milk at
Ter the milking, examine its color, set il for
cream IN cylinder glass or in q tumbler; com
pare the amount Of cream with the amount of
mix look to the color of the cream. which
should be yellow, and TO that of the milk which
may be blue, but will be better il white. Get,
II possible, guarantee that the COW holds on
well: that she gives milk in good quantity to
within four to six weeks of calyIng. Some cow
Which give large amount OF milk at first fall
on In their yield very rapidly a few weeks after
Delng got with calf, and these animals, though
few in number are always for sale. We know
OF no certain way Of detecting this bad quality
by inspection-although according to the Cue
non system there are external indications which
may he relied upon; yet IL takes, we imagine
long study OF the Gueron "milk mirrors" of
cows 10 detect those showing this characteristic.
French herdsman, named Guenon, early in
the present century, discovered that a very in
terestlng connection exists between the amount
OF mix gwen by any COW and the size and form
vi the banG or surface Of upward growing short
mar extending oyer the back part Of the udder,
and more or less upward, sometimes close to the
root OF the tail. This has been called the
, INK s mlrI1r, or "eScutcheon," as il has at
general statement, 1t may be said that the
larger, broader, and higher this "milk- mirror"
Is, tne more milk COW will give in proportion
TO her size, and the longer she will hold out In
buying mich COW, beauty is not necessarily
considered, for her usefulness Is what she Is
valued for; and, according to the old saw, .'hand
some Is that handsome does" Still, beauty of
color and form makes such an animal attractive,
ana ados at times many dollars to her price.
Very frequently, the very best cows are abso-
lutely ill-shapen, and they are always thin in
flesh when in full milk. In fact, one can pick
out in July the best COWS of a herd by the ease
with which their ribs may be counted.
All That is unOctuOus in a COW that gives rich
milk does not go to cream, but a certain portion
makes her hide pliable and soft and her hair
glossy. The color Of the skin is usually an indi-
cation Of richness of the milk, for il has e.
pecially upon white spots, and where the skin is
bare Oh hair-as close around the eyes and with
IN the ears rich golden yellow or yellowish
The exact age of the COW is dlficult TO deter
mine, but IL Is of little moment compared with
the number OF calves she has had. This may be
accurately determined by the rings on her
horns. The first calf Is usually dropped when
the heifer Is either two or three years old and
calves year by year after that cause, of course
annual rings. Exposure during a very severe
winter, or q ut of severe sickness, continued
several weeks, will also form a ring cow Is
in her prime at about five years old, or after
having her third calf. After she Is eight wears
old, marked falling of is USUALLY noticeable;
yet the difference In the vigor of different breeds
isgreat.
Health is An important consideration, which
the buyer must always bear in mind. IL the
COW eats heartily Of common fodder; If she gives
good quantity Of milk; IL her udder Is not
lumpy, or caked or hot; If she has no cough
and does not 60 lame, and is warranted sound
~ Is iair TO suppose she is in good, ordinary
The comfort of the mixer, and the chances
that the COW will be we'll MIXED, are greatly in
creased, II her teats are Of good size. so that
they will ill the hand when grasped and If she
milks freely. Tricks cannot be detected easily.
A sef-milker, IL in pasture, wears a yoke
usually, to prevent her getting her head around
to her side. One that holds up her milk or kicks
cannot be told except by her mixer. An IA nest
man may often sell a breachy COW for a ruly
one, IL she has always been kept on rich pas
lures or In company with other cows, for when
she is alone or on poor pasture, she may go
over or through any fence.-Hedrh and Home.