The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1878-09-06
HOW TO CHOOSE 4 GOOD COW.

The following from nd exchange on tho
above subject will be Of interest to those
about to purchase dairy stock:
The head of an extremely pood co,v
should be small, us thcIbest mixers are fine
boned; it should be lopg and "cut nm" nm
der the neck, with I ,disbing faco. The
ne meek should be thin AID comparatively long.
Inc hips should bo high. The hind legs
OF the COW that is the best for diary purposes
should be somewhat crooked, and il was
mere that breeders, p making SELECTIONS, of.
ten made mistakes by preferring Sattle with
a. leg quite straight up and down behind.
There should be slight "sag" Il the belly
ptid dagia ~ IN 81
hips being higher than the shoulder, and
the line from belly to briskat inciining
upward. The tails of the dairy cattle are g
generally of pretty good length, With con-
siderable taper. 1t is important in select
ing cattle for breeding that all these points
should be made known, it being impossible
TO make the best purchases by smmetry
alone. There are four points thaeShouid
DC specially studied, and which sGsSsas In
tallible indications of milking qualities.-
First, the milk veins, so-called, pasi1g from
the forward side of the udder aiong5t ID tn
der side OF the animal toward the font
They are either small or large, straisht or
crooked. Consider the size of these veins,
for the size is one of the infallibH tests of
good milker. BE 5hreful to see whether
the vein is double or not, for itsSmetimes
branches out, and if doublek the Two should.
be added together, becau9e they may<1e
equal to ono large vein. The Veins. some
times form an angle on the front side of the
udder. This seldom occurs iexcept on
very good cow. On calves and feshy cat
tic it is difficult to find tho veEs, therefore
the test can only be applied to COWS in milk
ing condition. A network of veins on
the perineum is n good test and indicates
milk: The chine, reaching half way from
the shoulder to the hip, should be examined.
IT it be double, tho COW is above the aver
age. Sometimes with single chino is a
depression into which two fingers can be
laid, if the animal is not too fat. This is
good. 1t indicates lax physical condition
Of the animal, and this is favorable either
for milk or beef.
The fourth test, and one which is infalli-
nnnaists in observation of iha -asantAl,-
extends from the front Of the bag where
the hair begins to grow backwards, over the
bag and up and around the thighs. Cows
with the escutcheon we'll marked have
strong constitutions, digestion rapid and
complete. The rear mirror is divided into
two parts, the vertical mirror which extends
from the bag toward the root of the tail
and the thigh mirror which extends around
the thigh outward. 1t is mistake TO take
the straight vertical mirror as guide alone
and to say that when there is wide mir
ror between the loins up and down, there
is good milker. The thigh mirror mus
lbss)srgs and woll marked, Oval spots o
tysfge s.SGbn the back of the bag are indi
cations Of large flow of milk. The from
mirror is the space between tho front tea
and the place where the bag joins the bod
10 front. IF this space is lsrgesthe indies
ton is Of good milking sanatties. Th
milk mirror elbows ON bull, and should b
i examined before selecting male for breet
ing. The bull will have the mirror perfec
4 ly marked, but will not be as extended {
in the COW. Calves can bs Judged by til
Test Of tho milk mirror, but careful ol