JUDGING FARM ANIMALS 127 



fied to manage any business at the present day who does not 

 know the difference in the values of the goods he handles. 

 Then why should not the man who owns stock on the farm 

 be capable of giving an intelligent judgment as to compara- 

 tive values among his animals? A large number of herds of 

 dairy cattle in the United States have been shown to be 

 unprofitable. This fact is not, as a rule, due to the kind and 

 amount of food given, but rather to the sort of animals kept. 

 The man who knows how to select the right kind of dairy 

 cows to build up a herd will find his knowledge a source of 

 profit rather than loss, if he makes good use of the same. 

 Without doubt, hundreds of thousands of dairy cows are 

 unprofitable to their owners. This fact in itself is a good 

 reason why one should study the relation of form to pro- 

 duction and put into application the knowledge gained. 



Important defects in animals are often passed by un- 

 noticed by men who are not capable judges. The man who 

 knows nothing of a horse and desires to purchase, if he de- 

 pends on his own judgment, is liable to be deceived and to 

 buy something he does not want. A side bone or a spavin 

 may be a little thing to see, but its presence on the horse is 

 a distinct imperfection, as one will quickly learn if one tries 

 to sell such an animal. A good judge will discover these 

 imperfections and let someone else be the purchaser. On 

 every hand are men engaged in buying live stock who 

 have given no serious study to qualify themselves for this 

 work, hence they are often grievously disappointed. 



Buying immature or green animals that give promise of 

 great development is a specialty with some experts. Such 

 men are keen students of animal form. It is not difficult to 

 pass on the merits of a mature horse that stands before one 

 in perfect condition, ready for the show ring. It is not so 

 easy a matter, however, to go into the pasture and select the 

 best prospect from a bunch of thin yearlings that have had 

 no special care during the warm, dry summer days. The 



