Vol. VIII. Xo. 196. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



341 



upon the surface, having due reganl. of course, to what has 

 been said in tht^ foregoing remarks on the injury caused by the 

 injudicious use of fork and spade. Manure applied to the 

 surface should be covered, if possible, with a tliin layer of 

 earth ; but if applied in the form of compost, this is not so 

 necessary an operation, as the volatile constituents of the 

 manure are then in a great Tueasure held fast. 



In applying chemical manures of a caustic character, it 

 is always well to mix them with a suitable proportion of 

 absorbent earth, and to cover again with a coating of the 

 same material. The primary oly'ect in applying manure is 

 to maintain a due proportion of plant food when land has 

 become exhausted of its natural constituents, or to supply 

 something in which the land is deficient. It is of course 

 patent that, with the continued production of annual crops, 

 a large (juantity of material is removed from the soil, and 

 this must be replaced, whether by Nature or artificially, or the 

 crop will fall short. Farmyard manure takes a foremost 

 position for this purpo.=;e amf)ng all others, and long-continued 

 Ijractice shows that, when properly ajjplied, it is of the greatest 

 value to the land, not only for its uiannrial properties, but 

 also for its mechanical action upon the soil ; and moreover, it 

 •can never be as dangerous to use as chemical manures, 

 which are admitted to be decidedly hazardous when applied 

 by unskilled labour. 



QUALITIES OF A GOOD MILKING COW. 



Useful information as to the characters of a good 

 cow of the dairy type is given in Bulletin No. 20 of the 

 Storrs Agricidtnral Experiment Station, U.S.A. From 

 this the following extracts are taken : — ■ 



DIGESTIVE ORGANS. — Milk is a manufactured article, 

 produced by the cow from the food which she con.suraes. 

 The capacity of a cow for producing milk depends largely 

 upon her capacity for digesting food and assimilating it into 

 her tissues. For the accommodation of a large and efficient 

 -digestive apparatus, a good dairy cow should have a long, 

 deep and wide barrel with well sprung ribs. This form of 

 middle piece gives ample room for the storage of food, and 

 for an apparatus capable of disposing of large quantities of 

 the coarse, bulky fodder which the cow consumes. 



HE.4ET AND LUNGS. — The chcst .should be deep, pro- 

 viding room for generous-sized heart and lungs. These 

 organs, vital in every animal, are required to do more 

 than ordinary work in the dairy cow. The digestion 

 •of a large amount of food and its conversion into milk 

 require an expenditure of energy and vitality equal to 

 that spent in the performance of hard work. Therefore, 

 there should be a vigorous circulation of blood and ample 

 provision for its purification, and for a large supply of 

 oxygen. 



Collier estimates that a cow, giving an average quantity 

 of milk produces, on an average, 138,210,000 fat globules per 

 second during each twenty-four hours. This, and the secretion 

 of the other constituents of the milk, illustrate the amount of 

 activity in the milk organs alone, and suggests the need of 

 a highly developed nerve system. The more pronounced of 

 the outward signs that indicate this nerve development are 

 a bright, lively, and prominent eye, this prominence cau.sing 

 a dished face ; a wide forehead ; a wide junction of the skull 

 --and spinal column, indicating a large brain ; a large prominent 

 backbone, giving room for a well developed spinal cord ; 

 a long slim tail; and considerable energy and vigour and 

 style of action. 



MILK 0EG.\Ns. — The milk organs are quite intimately 

 •concerned in the productive capacity of the cow, as it is in 



these that the milk and butter-fat are finally elaborated from 

 the food. It is not altogether clearly understood how the 

 milk is made in the gland, but it seems quite probable 

 that it is produced by the epithelial cells within the udder. 

 So far as is known, the quantity of milk that can be 

 produced depends in a large part upon the number and 

 activity of these cells. The number of such cells is limited 

 by the size of the udder ;xnd the amount of fatty tissue 

 it contains. The dairy cow should have a large udder 

 capacity, the larger the better, but the size of the udder 

 should not be due to any large amount of fat or flesh. 

 There .should be an elasticity of the tissue, with a shrinkage 

 of the udder when empty. The udder should have con- 

 siderable surface, extending far forward and well up 

 behind. It should be well balanced and symmetrical 

 in shape, indicating good development in all quarters ; for 

 the more perfectly developed the organ is, the larger the 

 amount of milk it will be likely to yield. It should be 

 spread considerably from side to side also, while the teats 

 should be even, and squarely jjlaced. To make room for 

 such a capacious, well developed udder, the hind legs of the 

 cow should be wide apart, the thighs should be thin, and the 

 flanks high arched. 



The milk veins should be large and e'.astic, should 

 extend well to the front, and should enter the abdomen 

 through large or numerous orifices, thus permitting a .strong 

 flow of blood through them, with a minimum of resistance 

 as it returns to the heart. Besides these veins, there is a net- 

 work of them in the four quarters of the udder, and still 

 others pass upward behind, which, when large, indicate 

 considerable productive capacity. 



Many generations of selection and breeding by man 

 have prolonged the period of activity of these organs in the 

 dairy cow, but the beginning is always a function of repro- 

 duction, which must occur with considerable regularity ia 

 profitable cows. In order that this may happen with the least 

 tax upon the general vigour and activity of the cow, she 

 should have broad hips and a high pelvic arch. 



AGRICULTURAL EXAMINATIONS. 



The -econd I'reliminary Examination, in connexion with 

 the scheme of Reading Courses established by the Imjjerial 

 Departmeni; of Agriculture, was held on October 11, in 

 Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, 

 and St. Vincent. Twenty candidates, altogether, presented 

 themselves for examination : live in Antigua, four in I5arbados, 

 two in Dominica, three in (irenada, one in St. Kitts, three in 

 St. Lucia and two in St. Vincent. (Jf the whole number, 

 five failed to satisfy the examiners. 



The names of the successful candidates are as follows : — 



FIRST GLASS. SECOND CL.\SS. 



G. W. B. McDonald (Antigua) .1. H. lloden (Antigua) 



J. H. Field (Barbados) C. H. Shepherd „ 



A. E. Owen (St. Kitts) E. M. I'eterkin (Barbados) 



11. W. Niles (St. Lucia) G. de Lachevotier (Dominica) 



D. Derrick (St. Vincent) W. M. Arrindell (St. Lucia) 



THIRD CLASS. 



.1. G. Kirton (Barbados) 



J. T. Gairy (Grenada) 



J. Maricheau ,, 



C. W. Mathurin (St. Lucia) 



G. A. Robertson (St. Vincent) 

 Of those in the First Class, G W. B. McDonald 

 (Antigua) and E. W. Niles (St. Lucia) obtained special 

 mention. 



Further particulars concerning this examination will be 

 given in the next number of the Agricultural Neivs. 



