CHAPTER X. 

 DAIRY TYPE. 



Dairy animals that are correct in type present a marked 

 contrast to beef animals. The body and back are longer and 

 much narrower, the thighs are thin, the neck longer and more 

 slender, and in all parts the animal is lean and angular, whereas 

 the beef animal is thick-fleshed and smooth. The dairy animal 

 should present a muscular appearance, without being at all 

 beefy, but should not be so low in flesh as to present an emaciated 

 appearance. Both males and females are rather sharp at the 

 withers, deep ribbed, fairly short of leg, and are well divided 

 between the hind legs. There should be no bulge to the thigh, 

 and no tendency toward the development of what is called the 

 twist in beef cattle. There is a limit to an animal's feeding and 

 digestive capacity, hence one animal cannot produce both beef 

 and milk in maximum quantities. Breeders of dairy cattle 

 want the dairy cow to do one thing only; they discriminate 

 against beefiness just as sharply as they favor evidences of 

 large milking capacity. 



The Dairy Cow. 



Dairy cows may be judged by two distinct methods. One 

 method consists of keeping records of the cow's production, 

 including the duration of the lactation periods, the pounds of 

 milk given at each milking, and the results of the Babcock tests 

 for butter-fat. Records may also be kept of the quantities 

 of feed consumed and the cost of the feed-stuffs used, so that 

 at the end of each year an accounting may be made with each 

 cow, and her profitableness or unprofitableness accurately 

 determined. This method gets right at the cow's producing 

 capacity and removes all doubt concerning her right to a place 

 in a producing herd. It is also much used in estimating a cow's 

 value for breeding purposes. This method may be called judg- 

 ing by performance. 



Breeders of dairy cattle have an advantage over breeders 

 of beef cattle, it being difficult for the latter to obtain complete 

 records of performance. A slaughter test fully reveals a beef 



138 



