The Toledo chronicle. [volume] (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1873-1924, 1877-01-04
Signs of a Valuable Cow.

FIRST of all, see that the animal has
feminine appearance cowy look.
The next thing to be looked after is
the digestive apparatus, particularly
the bowels and stomach. A large and
strong boiler is not more essential to
the power of the engine than large
and vigorous stomach is to the produc-
ton of milk. A COW cannot make
milk out of nothing. If she gives a
large flow she must eat and digest
large amount of food to make it from,
and she must have stomach equal to
the task-one that has capacity to hold
and power to digest enough to manu-
facture the milk out of. When the
digestive organs are relatively larger
than the other viscera they give depth
and breadth to the abdomen and a
somewhat wedge-shaped form, the
body tapering forward. The large
stomach and bowels here indicated
mark diathesis in which the fluids
abound-a condition, as will readily be
understood, very essential to a large
flow of milk; broad hips and depth
and breadth of the lumbar regions in
dictate large development and flow of
blood and vital influence to all the
parts surrounding and connecting 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 determined by
the depth and breadth of the thorax.
They should have good development,
enough to secure health and vigor, but
the lungs in particular should not be
excessively large. When very large
they burn up, by increased respiration,
the fat-forming material. BY the ex-
traordinary energy they create they
induce unusual exercise and motion,
which make a rapid waste of tissue
and rapid assimilation to repair it,
and thus divert nutriment from pro-
ducing 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 cor
responds with the size of the apertures
through which they are filled. Large,
open nostrils indicate large lungs, and
oice cersa. In the same way the indi
cations of the mouth correspond with
the size of the stomach.
The chine is regarded as an index to
milking capacity. When it is double
it denotes breadth Of vertebre, which
correspond to the broad, open struc-
ture, which is favorable to a large
flow. 1t is an accompaniment of broad
hips, and these in turn denote a large
cavity, which is essential to good milk
ers. The milk mirror, or escutcheon
of Cuenon, is one of the leading indi-
cations of milking capacity. 1t consists
of the peculiar appearance of the hair
on the udder. Looking at the hind
part of the cow, more or less of the
hair which covers the udder and ada
cent parts will be seen to turn upward
or outward. This reversed hair forms
the so-called escutcheon. If the space
occupied by the up-turned hair, espec-
tally the lower part of it, is very large
and broad, so that itextends far outward
on to the thighs, it is regarded as indi-
eating large flow of milk. If the up
per part of it is broad and smooth, it
is regarded as favorable to prolonged
flow. If the reversed part of it is
narrow and irregular in its upper part,
it is unfavorable to prolonged flow.
The manner in which the inverted hair
connects with the hair adjacent is sup
posed to have significance. A gradual