JUDGING FARM ANIMALS 129 



would not its wealth be thereby greatly increased? In the esti- 

 mation of the unprejudiced stockman it most certainly would. 



A natural interest by man in animals, as shown in sym- 

 pathetic care and affection, offers a good reason for making 

 them a subject of careful study. The greater the intelligence 

 with which one can look an animal over, the more pleasure 

 will be found in the occupation. A business that does not 

 offer an incentive to greater effort can not profit a man much. 

 The production of beautiful and useful animals can not but 

 bring out the best there is in a man's character; while at the 

 same time he is rendering a service to his fellow man by 

 producing something that adds to the wealth of the com- 

 munity. We call a man a great artist who paints on canvas 

 a beautiful picture of a magnificent horse, but what shall we 

 say of the man who bred and raised this horse to his perfect 

 state? Is he not the greater artist of the two? 



The use of the scale of points, or score card, as it is often 

 called, is a first step in the systematic education of the per- 

 son who desires to learn how to judge live stock. The scale 

 of points was first originated about 1828, on the island of 

 Guernsey, we are told, *when the fudges introduced it for 

 comparison in judging their cattle. The people on the 

 island of Jersey also felt that something should be done to 

 improve their cattle. So they selected two cows, one of 

 which- they thought had the nearest perfect form in the front 

 half of the body, while the other was considered to have a 

 perfect rear half. Then they placed a numerical value on 

 each of these best halves of the body, using these two cows 

 to furnish a standard or model with which to judge other 

 cows. They also selected two bulls, and made a score card 

 for the males by the same process. As a result of this 

 unique method, the people on Jersey adopted in 1834, "A 

 scale of points for Jersey cows," as it was called. They 

 gave the cows 27 points; and another scale gave the bulls, 

 and the heifers not in milk, 25 points. The people on the 



*The Guernsey Breed. Charles L. Hill, 1917, p. 52. 



