MILCH COWS. 225 



a great milker. Sometimes the veins differ in size on opposite 

 sides of the belly, and in those cases the udder is rarely regular 

 shaped, but gives more milk on one side than the other. 



Our beau-ideal of a milch cow is an animal, in form wedge- 

 shaped, — with the head on the little end, with an udder longer 

 than it is broad, with four teats of equal size and length, 

 with short, yellow horns, bright eyes, soft, yielding skin, flexi- 

 ble rump, and last, but not least, a high, broad escutcheon. 

 An animal with these marks might be worthy, but would not 

 long stand in need of the society's premium. Such an animal 

 would make her mark anywhere. The difference in the product 

 and profit of cows is perfectly astonishing. The best milkers 

 on record have given from twenty-five to thirty quarts of milk 

 daily, and one instance is vouched for in Flint's " Dairy Farm- 

 ing," where a Dutch cow gave not less than twenty-two quarts 

 daily a whole year after calving. * The best cows never go dry 

 without special pains, and then only for brief periods. The old 

 big-horned brindle of our boyhood, even now rises in imagery 

 before us. Four years we knew her, and during that time she 

 never for a day withheld her lacteal treasures. Four calves 

 she had in those years, and twenty-six pounds of milk was once 

 her yield at a single sitting, twice for ten days in June and ten 

 in September, she reached the average of fifty pounds of milk 

 daily. So nicely poised were her developments, that seemingly 

 a single cabbage leaf increased her lacteal quantity. Thin and 

 bony always, her generous bosom continually expanded with 

 the milk of kindness. Her breasts literally were full of milk, 

 if her bones were not moistened with marrow. Under her 

 tuition we learned the use of cream. Her golden and waxy 

 butter was a continual feast. Her milk furnished our youthful 

 arms with the sinews of war. To us she was indeed a faithful 

 friend. At last she died full of years and honors, and her 

 memory is embalmed in at least one human heart. Ever 

 since that time we have loved the cow. Blessed be the race ; 

 without their kindly aid Young America would shrivel. Calves, 

 pigs and babies all thrive on milk. As a popular institution, 

 the cow is unrivalled. 



J. N. Bagg, Chairman, 



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