The Marshall republican., 1912-03-29

lay o
A dairy COW Ia one OF the specific
dairy type and breed capable of max.
ing a large and economical production
Of milk and butter fat. A careful study
and analysis OF this definition and its
application to cows whenever one has
opportunity TO apply II will greatly aid
In getting In mind the correct ideal
OF the dairy COW and in Judging and
buying COWS.
Type refers to tho conformation
Of an animal and IL indicative OF util-
ity. Specific dairy type" refers TO an
animal having q large. deep barrel. q
prominent, well developed udder, and
sharp. clean cut features about the
head. neck. shoulders. back. hips and
rump. duo TO the absence Of thick
flesh. Such q type indicates dairy utii.
ity and that she IL OF little value ex-
cept for milk production.
The dairy COW must be- Of distinct
dairy breed a. well a. Of dairy type:
otherwise she may convert her feed
into iesh rather than milk and thus
result In a beef animal. The National
and International dairy shows Of this
country recognize the Holstein, Guern-
sey. Jersey. Ayrshire. Brown Swiss.
and Dutch Belted breeds OF cattle as
distinct dairy breeds. High grade and
pure bred animals OF these breeds are
found In this state and rank In num-
Der In the order named. Pure bred
animals possess 100 per cent. OF the
blood OF their respective breeds while
the grade animals have a predomin-
ancc OF the blood OF q given breed but
less than 100 per cent Grade cows
are generally by pure bred sires and
out OF native or grade dams.
A large production OF milk and but
ter fat IL a necessary requisite for q
dairy COW. Tho production for al least
a year should be taken into consldera-
tion because some cows make n large
production during the carly part OF
their lactation and then dry or soon.
II ia characteristic OF beef cows and
OF many poor cows OF the dairy breeds
to dry on soon. A strictly dairy COW
tends to mako a large and economical
production OF butter fat throughout
her life time which means that she
converts q comparatively large
amount OF the feed that che eats into
milk and butter fat. and only n small
portion OF II into building up the tissues
OF her body. A dairy COW shows marks
OF dairy breeding and constitution;
and not only produces milk and butter
fat In large and economical quantities.
but also at regular intervals progeny
which tends to be satisfactory for
dairy purposes.
Essential Features Of the Dairy Cow.
The dairy COW is q living machine
which. when in perfect health and
form. has four prominent features.
These are: q body indicating a large.
digestive capacity, n dairy tenn
permanent which Is nervous and results
In milk production rather than flesh
a large we'll developed I'D
der of healthy gland tissue, and q
circulatory system that dis
tributes the blood actively to all parts
Of the body and gives vigor. health.
and activity. A cow usually fails in
the production Of milk as she fails In
one or more Of these essential fea-
lures. Each part OF the body bears
some relationship to one or more of
these essential features and enables
one to judge OF their prominence.
Where one IL able to consider all the
parts Of the body and Judge these es-
features he is not likely to err
seriously In his Judgment.
Digestive capaolty.-A large body.
more especially the barrel in proper
lion to the size OF the animal, is In
iicative OF capacity. The body OF the
dairy cow should be wedge shaped as
from front. side and top. That
10. wider at the hip points and be-
tween the fore legs than at the with
ers. and deeper from the hip points
% the lower line OF the rear flank
han at the fore quarters. This char
lcter OF the body has led to the term.
.riple-wedge-shaped conformation, and
giving consideration to the d.
capacity Of the COW one should
that II 10 the base ends Of
he wedges. rather than the sharp
snds which indicate her capacity.
Long. well sprung ribs. openness Of
chine. width Of back over loins. size
II barrel. depth and width between
he hips. and fullness OF rear TANKS
III combine to indicate large digestive
sapacity. A wide forehead and = COM
paratively long face r Indicative Of
he Size and feed capacity Of the body
md likewise the broad muxsle. good
'ized mouth and strong. sinswy Jaw.