38 GUIDE TO DAIRYING IN SOUTH AFRICA 



U necked. The chest and back are broad, the line 

 of back straight to the tail ; the body is long, the 

 limbs flat and long. The hind legs of the cow are 

 often inclined to be knockneed ; the bones should be 

 fine, skin delicate and flexible. 



The cows are large, weighing from 1000 to 

 1400 Ibs., and are irregularly marked with black 

 and white. Those with most black on them are 

 more eagerly sought after in South Africa, but this 

 is merely a question of personal taste, as the colour 

 of the animal does not have any effect on its 

 milking qualities. They are very gentle cows and 

 easy to handle. They fatten quickly at any age, and 

 so are easily turned into beef when finished with in 

 the dairy. The calves are large and strong. The 

 cows yield enormous quantities of milk, sometimes 

 averaging per month an amount equal to their own 

 weight for ten or twelve successive months. 

 Although the milk yield is far beyond that of most 

 of the other breeds, its quality is usually poor, and 

 in some cases far below the standard required by 

 law, viz. 3 % , the butter-fat test in many cases being 

 as low as 1*8 %. The milk is usually lighter in 

 colour than that of the Jersey, Guernsey, or Devon, 

 even when fairly rich in fat, and consumers who 

 have been accustomed to milk of a richer appear- 

 ance sometimes object to it on account of absence 

 of colour, which gives an impression of poorer 

 quality. 



