82 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



HOW TO CUOOSE A GOOD MILCH COW. 



We copv the following reraurks ou the points indi- 

 cative of a' good milch cow, from the supplement to 

 a recent English edition of Prof. Magxe's Treatise 

 on .Milch Coics, by John Haxtox. They are stated 

 with great clearness and judgment, although, perhaps. 

 in a very few ca.s."s, undue prommence may be given 

 to some particulars : 



" The points to be attended to in judging a good 

 milch cow. are, by universal consent, considered to be 

 shape and size of the animal, both as a vrhole and 

 in detail; texture of the skin and hair; deveolpraeut 

 of the lactiferous parts ; temperament or habit of 

 body and disposition ; and finally, strength or endu- 

 rance of constitution. A maximum development of 

 these points marks out a first cUvss cow of the breed 

 to which she belongs ; but the milking properties 

 diflfer in endless variety, not merely as these poiuts 

 are prominent or the reverse, but also in proportion 

 to the circumstances of climate, soil and treatment. 

 The ccusson test of M. Guenox is a new element in 

 the question ; and when fully established, and better 

 understood, will probably occupy the th-st rank among 

 the external signs which indicate the natural milking 

 properties of cows; but as yet it is rarely recognized 

 in Britain. How far ^L Gcexox's observations have 

 been borne out, will be discussed hereafter; meantime, 

 we shall direct the reader's attention to those points 

 which experience has proved to possess a marked in- 

 fluence ou the milking properties of cov,-s. 



" Shape. — Whatever may be the breed to which a 

 cow belongs, there are certain points of configuration 

 which are considered essential as regards her milking 

 properties. There may be, and are frequently, gi-eat 

 discrepancies between the one and the other ; but 

 still, generally speaking, the rule holds good that, aO 

 things being ahke, the cow which approaches nearest 

 to a certain standard will be the best milker. The 

 head must be rather lengthy, especially from the eye 

 to the point of the nose; the nose and muzzle should 

 be cleanly cut, and free from thick skin or fleshy 

 lumps; the cheek bones thin, and in like manner de- 

 void of thick skin or flesh (not thick chapped) ; eye 

 prominent, of a placid and benignant expression, with 

 Uttle of the white exposed to dew. If horned, the 

 horns should taper gradually to a point, and have a 

 clean surface, free from rugosities; the breed wUl de- 

 termine the shape and set of the horns. 



" The neck should be long, thin, and free from loose 

 skin. A good milk cow may be deer or ewe-necked, 

 but never bull-necked. The chest and breast should 

 be deep, rather than broad, and the brisket should 

 project downward and forward; and, whether large or 

 othenvise, should be round, well shaped, and without 

 loose folds of skin depending from it. The girth be- 

 hind the shoulders moderate, and arising more from 

 depth than breadth of chest; shouldei-s rather narrow 

 at top ; back-bone on a line with the shoulder-top ; 

 ribs arched, and well home to the haunch-bones, which 

 should be wide apart, and forai a straight line across, 

 neither depressed in the center, at the lumbar verta- 

 brae. nor drooping at the extremities ; hind-quarters 

 lengthy, and the rump or tail-top nearly on a line 

 with the back-bone ; thighs rather thin, but broad, 

 well spread, and givmg plenty of room for the udder; 



belly projecting outward rather than downward, with 

 plenty of room for food ; the udder shonld be 

 larger in a lineal direction — that is, well back- 

 ward as well as upward — between the hind legs 

 and forward on the belly; also broad in fi'ont, filling 

 up the space between the lower flanks, but rather 

 short vertically — a deep hanging udder, from its 

 swinging motion, being always the cause of great fa- 

 tigue to the animal when walking ; the teats should 

 be moderately long, straight, and equal in thickness 

 from the udder to the point, and also at considerable 

 and equal distances from each other ; the two front 

 teats especially should be well apart, and the direction 

 of all four should be outward. When full of milk, 

 the udder should be greatly enlarged in size, and,, 

 when newly emptied, shrink in a corresponding degree, 

 and the sldn gather into soft creases. The mammary 

 veins running on each side of the belly, large 

 througliout their whole course, and swelling into 

 large pufls at or near their junction with the udder ; 

 thigh veins also large and easily felt by the baud. 



" Of all these .shapes, the more important are the 

 long, finely formed head ; long, thin neck ; rump 

 nearly on a line with the back-bone; broad quartei-s; 

 long uddei-s from back to front ; and large veins un- 

 derneath the bellv, and downward, from the loins and 

 thigh, to the udder. When seen in front, the body 

 of a good milk cow should present the appearance 

 of a blunted wetlge, the apex of which is the breast 

 and shoulder. Seen fi-oni behind, she should present 

 a square, well spread shape. Seen sideways, she 

 should be lengthy, but not lanky. 



" Skill. Hair and Color. — The skin is ever a true 

 index of the milking properties of the cow. It should 

 l)e 8 )rt and flexible on every part of the body, ea- 

 pecitilly ou the back-ribs, and also on the rump-bones, 

 situated on each side of the insertion of the tail 

 The latter is a point much prized by dair^-men ; so 

 much so that a very successful farmer in Cheshire, 

 Mr. Jabez Wright, told the writer that, in buving a 

 cow, if the skin on the rump wa<s soft and easily lifted 

 from the bone, he never sought for further signs of 

 her milking powers. Of course, while feeling thi3 

 point, Mr. Weight's practiced eye would at once take 

 in, at a glance, those other points which constitute 

 the toute ensemble of a good milker ; but the one 

 referred to he considered indispensable. The skin in 

 these parts wUl vaiy, however, according to the con- 

 dition of the cow. If full of flesh, the skin may be 

 loose, and yet the animal be a poor milker; but if im 

 lean condition, with loose skin on the rump-bone she 

 will milk well and fatten quickly when dry. The skin 

 on the ribs is of the next importance ; and if it cor- 

 responds in softness and looseness with that on the 

 rump-bones, another point of excellence is established. 

 These two points conjoined, are con-cct exponents 

 of the internal constitution, and are always accompa- 

 nied with more than an average tendency to milk 

 freely and fatten rapitllv. The former indicates a 

 more than ordinary power of producing milk ;■ the 

 latter a great aptitude to fatten; and their conjoined 

 presence indicates the union of both tendencies. The 

 skin on the udder generally partakes of the quality 

 of that on the rump and rilis. and will therefore be 

 soft and flexible, in proportion to their softness and 

 flexibihtv. Still there is a difference to be observed, 



