Sharp County record., 1878-09-06
FARi TOPICS.

Outward MhKs OLA GOOD Cow
This subject to ne is very familiar, ana
has been for tie last q years. 1t IS
Going over the same ground that has !
been gone over in every concelvaole
form that man'imagmation could place .
if in. and ALWAYS striking at the same
noints. Nevertheless, it will have to be
repeated over aid over again until every
dairyman and dairyman's son Is I'M
nressed with lis Importance and inter-
ested in the dissemination OF such
knowledge. 49,,
The growing magnitude OF the DAIRY
interests of ouJ State is probably only
realized by a very few, even OF the most
sanguine. l admit that was ignorant
of the extent Of it IN the wastern por,,
tion of the State before being called
upon to investigate this subject, though
living in dairy district myself-Brad,,
ford, Susquehanna, Wyoming ana
WAYNE all having a reputation for hne
butter and cheese, and living very much
upon that interest. With all this repu-
tation, | do say that | doubt very much
if there is any other class OF business
that, as a whole, is done in SO lndlller-
ent manner. 49,,
There is no animal that has been bred
so carelesssly for the business for Whlc1
it was intended as the milch-cow, ana
no class of men so blind to their own
interests as the dairymen. They are
as a general rule, purchasing, feeding,
and milking COWS which barely, II at
all, pay for their keeping; raising calves
of the same sort from COWS that are not
fit to breed from; using sires without
the least consideration whether they IRE
from good milking families, or asking
the question whether their dams ever
Gave any milk. With this reckless way
Of breeding, how is it to be expected
that dairying can be q successP
To breed superior COWS for the DAIRY
the first point is to select your COWS re-
pardless of race, but do not purchase
cow because she is cheap-they seldom
if ever pay in a dairy.
Such as have shown themselves to be
deep, rich mixers, whose antecedentS;
have shown and proved them to be gooo
COWS, and who stamp the same charac
teristics upon their offspring, seldom i
ever, miss, providing they have fall
chance. By selecting bull from COW
of the same good qualities and raising
YOUR own calves, | will guarantee tina
in very few years you will have q here
of COWS that will not disappolnt y,O'
either in quality or quantity of milk
providing you give them the proper 100 !2I
t and enough of it to manufacture mlll
} from, for you are all aware that the GOV
= is but machine for converting Vegeta
BILE substances into milk.
1t is not always the handsome COW,
will soon describe to you, that gives tn
LARGEST quantity or the best quality Q
milk, for J bye seen among the native
al other go5a85w5 " W5f5 5fS wed %ftdt fnHf mSfk5da "a
| both in the escutcheon and the lactea
7 veins. would breed from such a COW
using thoroughbred bull with undoubt
: ed milking qualities, for it is an eas,
matter to breed all the fine points as ia
as beauty is concerned.
: If the judges at our county and tow
fairs were men who understood tn
points and marks of a good dairy COW
, and would not have their judgmen
swerved by the general outline of sym
metry and other points of beauty in tht
animal, but would carefully examine the
texture and turns of the hair, the skin
flesh, and other signs and marks, and
decide according to that rule, showing
and explaining to the inquiring minds
why they have given the premium in the
case, they would be doing their county
Or town, and in fact the whole country,
a lasting service. On the contrary, |
am sorry to say, there is very little re-
gard shown in selecting judges as to
their qualifications to decide intelligent
ly upon the subjects required Of them
many of them showing little or no
knowledge of the business before them.
There IS another point to be looked
after, and that Is the training OF the
heifer the first year after her coming in
to profit. A good heifer can easily be
spoiled by careless milking and allow
ing her to dry up after being in milk a
few months, for she is very certain to go
dry at the same time ever after. She
should be well fed and MIXED nearly up
to her coming into profit the second
year. All cows are inclined to deterio-
rate, and nothing but good breeding and
care will keep them up to the standard
you wish to have them in for milk; and
you must not forget the color Of their
hair, horns, Or muzzle.
The best COWS are of medium size, as
rule, and small bOned. The head is
small and rather long, with thick, wide
lips, which give the muzzle fiat ap-
pearance; eyes large and bright, with a
placid EXPIRE dssion ear large and thin,
g7itb cCFt dillyr, bo;v, ood VIII ,,:al