Mammal Study 299 



but sags in front of the hips, which are prominent and bony. The 

 shoulders have little flesh on them; and if looked at from above, her body 

 is wedge-shaped, widening from shoulders backward. The stomach line 

 is not parallel with the back bone, but slants downward from the shoulder 

 to the udder. The following are the points that indicate a good milch 

 cow: Head high between the eyes, showing large air passages and 

 indicating strong lungs. Eyes clear, large and placid, indicating good 

 disposition. Mouth large, with a muscular lower jaw, showing ability to 

 chew efficiently and rapidly. Neck, thin and fine, showing veins through 

 the skin. Chest deep and wide, showing plenty of room for heart and 

 lungs. Abdomen, large but well supported, and increasing in size toward 

 the rear. Ribs, well spread, not meeting the spine like the peak of a roof, 

 but the spine must be prominent, revealing to the touch the separate 

 vertebrae. Hips, much broader than the shoulders. Udder, large, the 

 four quarters of equal size, and not fat; the "milk veins" which carry 

 the blood from the udder should be large and crooked, passing into the 

 abdomen through large openings. Skin, soft, pliable and covered with 

 fine, oily hair. She should have good digestion and great powers of 

 assimilation. The milch cow is a milk-making machine, and the more 

 fuel (food) she can use, the greater her production. 



The physiological habits of the beef and milch cattle have been 

 changed as much as their structure. The food given to the beef cow goes 

 to make flesh; while that given to the milch cow goes to make milk, 

 however abundant her food. Of course, there are all grades between the 

 beef and the milch types, for many farmers use dual herds for both. 

 However, if a farmer is producing milk it pays him well to get the best 

 possible machine to make it, and that is always a cow of the right type. 



A Geography Lesson 



All the best breeds of cattle have been evolved in the British Isles and 

 in Europe north of Italy and west of Russia. All our domesticated cattle 

 were developed from wild cattle of Europe and Asia. The cattle which 

 roam in our rapidly narrowing grazing lands of the far West are European 

 cattle. America had no wild cattle except the bison. In geography 

 supplementary readers, read about Scotland, England, the Channel 

 Islands, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland and the different kinds 

 of cattle developed in these countries; for example, "A Holland Dairy," 

 in Northern Europe, Ginn & Co. 



How to Produce Good Milk 



There are three main ingredients of milk fat, curd and ash. The 

 fat is for the purpose of supplying the animal with fat and we make it into 

 butter; the curd supplies muscle, or the lean meat of the animal, and 

 is the main ingredient of cheese, although cheese to be good should con- 

 tain a full amount of butter fat; the ash which may be seen as residue 

 when milk is evaporated, builds up the bone of the animal. The best 

 butter cows are those which give a larger per cent, of fat and a small 

 per cent, of curd, like the Jerseys; the best cheese cows are those 

 which give a fair per cent, of fat and a larger yield of curd, like the 

 Ayrshire and Holstein. 



