The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1920-02-19

s an Asset OF SpeciaI value.
spect they are intermediate between
| feeders and fat cattle so far as flesh
is concerned. Early maturity and easy
fattening qualities should be present
to marked degree. Good handling
qualities are essential, as excessive
fat, showing that the animal has been
pampered, is undesirable. Heavy flesh
is necessarily of Importance, but breed.
ing cattle should be judged more by
their value as breeding stock than by
the flesh they carry. Superabundance
of flesh may hide defects. Too much
emphasis cannot be given to the fact
that animals being judged should have
ability to transmit their usefulness
and desirable characteristics to their
offspring. In fact, prepotency should
be so strong and the line of breeding
so well defined for the specific pur-
pose that the animal will have ten
dency to produce better individuals
than itself. Prepotency is obtained
by consistent breeding toward a def
mite type and therefore Is to be ex-
pected most frequently among animals
true to their breed type.
Suggestions About Judging.
In judging class of cattle or in
specting single individual, one should
first make a general survey Of the ami
mails or animal, examining the general
features from a distance and noting
the general outline and typical beef
| form.
When first approaching an animal,
! note the front view and the features
Of the head and the width and depth
of the chest. On moving toward the
side. note the depth of the body and
the lowness of the flank. The rear
view will give the width of the back.
spring Of the ribs and thickness and
development of the hind quarters, par
ticularly the thighs and twist. After
survey Of the animal from a short
distance. a close inspection Of the va
rious parts of the body should be
made, beginning at the head.
In the case of beginners, judging
work usually should commence with
the use of the score card, after the
various parts of the animal have been
identified and the use of the card has
been explained. One should make
complete examination of the individ-
ual before the various cuts are noted
on the card. The score card is in
tended primarily for beginners. and Is
to be used I'm learning the details OF
comparative judging. Comparative
judging is employed exclusively In
placing the awards at public beef-cat-
tie shows. Practice test may be con-
fined to selecting the best individual
in class of cattle of the same age.
AS one becomes more proficient, an
imals Of different ages may be judged,
but the sexes should be kept separate.
In comparative judging one must ex-
anime the various parts and make d.
rect comparison, keeping In mind the
parts which are relatively The most
important.
The judge-to-be should gradually ac-
quire facility in summarizing the total
Of the qualifications Of each animal.
Use Of the score card is a step toward
efficiency In the difficult task of com
paratlve judging. Only In close COM
petition in comparative judging does
the experienced judge need To place
side by side the smallest details. How
ever, in many Judging contests, this
becomes necessary. and the Judge may
finally be required to make his deci-
sion upon relatively f1ne points.
Sample score cards for fat and feed
er-beef cattle and for breeding beef
cattle, together with model card for
comparative judging by class or team,
constitute part Of the material con-
tanned In a recent Farmers bulletin
issued by the department of agricul-
ture, entitled Judging Beef Cattle"
The 81 pages OF text discuss In popu-
lar language the various features of
Judging beef cattle, and II contains
suggestions regarding their scoring.
The bulletin may be had free upon re
uuact