Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1898-01-08
How to Tell a Good Cow.

college, writes as follows of the ma
terial points in good cow;
Every breed of cattle is made
up of poor, medium and good COWS.
Some breeds have a larger percent
age of good dairy cows than others,
and each breed has some character
istic which distinguishes most of
the animals of that breed For inc
stance, Holstein COWS, as rule,
give large quantity of milk, but
not all of them do this. So the Jer-
seys usually give rich milk, but
some of them do not. In buying
COW much depends on what is de-
sired; and unless one is a judge Of
cows, it is necessary to know the
individual characteristics of the
COW in order to get what is wanted.
The profitable dairy COW does not
belong to any breed, and yet she is
found in all. The breed does not
make the COW, but wherever she is
found, be she Jersey, Guernsey,
Holstein, Shorthorn, or what not,
she possesses certain external
marks by which a judge of dairy
cows knows her.
The first requisite is that she
shall be a large eater. The food Of
COW serves two purposes; first IL
furnishes the heat and energy de-
manded by her bodily functions
and the COW that eats only enough
to supply these is worth nothing as
a dairy cow; second, it furnishes
material foI making milk or meat,
or both, and the more of her food
she can turn to account for these
purposes the greater her value as
dairy or beef COW, as the case may
be. She may be big eater, but if
she converts her food into bone,
muscle and tallow, she is a beef
cow and not a dairy COW.
But can we judge of the eating
capacity Of COW without seeing
her eat? Most certainly. The cow
that is a good feeder always has
plenty of room in which to store
her food, and she also has broad
large muzzle, and strong jaws.
Hence the deeper and wider a cow
Is through the middle, the better
she is.
at requires no judge of cows to
tell whether she makes meat or
milk Of her surplus food. The
great mixer is nearly always an
angular looking animal, with prom,
inent hips and back bone, light
shoulders and small neck, but
withal an active, healthy animal.
She is, however, often a nervous
animal, and is always easily af-
fected by changes in her surround
inge.
"Perhaps the most important
point to consider in estimating the
dairy qualifications Of a COW is the
development of the special organs
for milk secretion, namely, the I'D
der and the blood vessels leading to
and from it. The udder should be
large and semi-circular in outline.
An udder hanging very low and
shaped like meal sack is a poor
one, because the glandular tissue
necessary for milk making is not
plentiful Of the blood vessels that
can be examined, the large veins
running forward from the udder
known as milk veins, and which
carry the blood as it returns from
the udder to the heart, are of great
importance. The size of these
veins is an excellent indication of
the amount ofblood flowing through
the udder, and hence the amount of
milk secreted. There are no good
dairy COWS on which these veins
are not prominent. Another point
of great value is the veins of the
udder itself. When the udder of
good dairy cow is distended with
milk the veins of its surface are
easily felt.
From the above it is seen that
dairy characters are not breed
characters. Many good cows have
no blood of any improved breed in
them. But the breeders of some
breeds have by more or less in
telligent use of the butcher knife,
partially eliminated inferior cattle
from these breeds, so that a much
larger per cent. of these cattle pos
sess some one or more characteris-
l.:oI> @Lo buao1o,o Jacsuo a.