River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1873-09-12
Points I'm "a Good mixer.

blOu Writes muCl from LIle cidTHCbeTlS-
tics peculiar to the sex. First of all,
see that the animal has a feminine
Appearance cowy look. The next
thing to be looked after is the digestive
apparatus, particularly the stomach
and bowels, A large and strong boiler
is not more essential to the power of
an engine, than large and vigorous
stomach is TO the production of milk.
A COW cannot make milksout of moth
ing. If she gives large flow, she must
eat and digest a large amount of food
to make it from, and she must have o
stomach equal to the task one that
has a capacity to hold and power to
digest enough to manufacture the milk
out of.
When the digestive organs are rela
lively larger than the other viscera'
they give depth and breadth to the
abdomen, and somewhat wedge
sheped form-the body tapering for
ward.
The large stomach and bowels mark
a diathesis IN which the fluids abound;
condition, as will readily be under.
stood, very essential to large flow of
milk and the depth and breadth of
the lumbar region, indicate large de-
velopment and flow of blood, and vital
influence to all parts surrounding and
connected with the milk producing
vessels. Gaunt cows are small mixers.
A good constitution is important.
This may be judged of by the luster
of the hair and the brilliancy of
the eyes and horns. Constitution
depends mostly upon the heart and
lungs, the size of which may be deter
mined by the depth and breadth of the
thorax. They should have good de-
velopment, enough to secure health
and vigor, but the lungs, in particular,
should not be excessively large. When
very large they burn up, 10y increased
respiration, the fat-forming material
BY the extraordinary energy they
create, they induce unusual exercise
and motion, which make rapid waste
of tissue and rapid assimilation to
repair it, and thus divert nutriment
from producing milk. If too small,
the animal may be an excellent mixer
while she lives, but will be feeble and
short lived.
The capacity of the lungs corresponds
with the size of the aperture through
which they are filled. Large, open
nostrils indicate large lungs, and Uice
versa. In the same way the indications
of the mouth correspond with the size
of the stomach.
THE UDDER AND ESCUTCHE0N.
The udder should be large and capa-
cious. 1t need not be fleshy. 1t should
be broad and reach we'll forward. A
large development of the fore part of
the bag is a more certain indication of
quantity than the back part. The
teats should be set wide apart, and be
of good size for handling. Teats which
are small next to the udder, denote
small tubes inside the bag, which, of
course, is unfavorable to quantity.
The flow of blood to and from the
udder helps to determine the inclina-
ton to secrete milk. The arteries
which supply the milk vessels with
blood reach the bag inside, and are not
seen externally, but having supplied
those organs with blood, they pass
through the udder and ramify on the
surface above and outside of the bag,
turning the hair i'll the direction in
which they run, upwards and outwards,
forming the escutcheon of Guenon.
The size of the escutcheOn is re-
garded rs the measure of the quantity
of blood supplied to the milk-produc-
ing vessels, and is evidence of their
capability of celebrating milk. In the
same way the veins take up the blood
and carry it back in the milk veins,
which pass through the bag and along
the body, and enter the body through
one or more holes on their way to the
heart. The size of these milk veins
and the holes where they enter the
body vary with the escutcheon, am, ,
like it, give evidence of the quantity of
venous blood passing away from and
through the udder, and they have the
same significance, with reference to
quantity, as the supply of arterial
blood and the size of the escutcheon.
But none of these indications taken
singly is an infallible evidence of large
yield. They must be considered to-
gether A large escutcheon and milk
veins, coupled with small stomach,
would be marked down at least one
half of what they might otherwise
signify. And large digestive appa-
ratus, coupled with small milk veins
and escutcheon, should be marked
down in the same way. Keeping the
leading indications in view, observa-
ton will soon enable one to make close
estimates.
RICHNESS.
Soft, fine hair is by many regarded
as an evidence of richness, and oftener
than otherwise it proves true. But
some COWS that give the very richest
have hair that is quite coarse and
harsh. The appearance of the skin is
a guide. A clear white, or pale skin Is
an evidence, either that yellow fat is not
formed, or if formed, the peculiarlties
of the animal are such that il is used up
in supporting respiration. When it is
so abundant as to lodge in the pores of
the skin and give it a yellow color, it