CARE AND FEEDING OF DAIRY CATTLE. 15 



will be applied free by the veterinarians attached to the Department of Agriculture. 

 Contagious abortion is a more difficult disease to guard against, and the losses 

 from it are very heavy. All that can be done is to make careful inquiry as to the 

 freedom from cases of abortion of the herd from which the animal comes. The bull 

 may carry germs of this disease. 



Often when stock is bought from dealers and not from the breeder it is difficult 

 to get reliable information. 



AGE. 



A cow will usually give her greatest yield during the fourth milking-period, or 

 about her sixth year. Some, however, make their best record later. If a cow con- 

 tinues to breed every year, as she should do, she usually shows no very marked 

 decline until twelve years. Most cows have to be disposed of for different reasons 

 before reaching that age. A three-year-old will give about 75 or 80 per cent, as 

 much milk as when mature at six years. The per cent, of butter-fat tends to decline 

 with advancing years. 



THE DAIRY TYPK. 



The special points to be seen in a good dairy cow in full flow of milk are : 



(1.) The extreme angular form, without surplus flesh, but showing health and 

 vigour : 



(2.) The great development of udder and milk- veins : 



(3.) The middle or barrel of the cow is very large in proportion to the size of 

 the animal. 



The difference between the dairy and beef types will be shown by the accom- 

 panying diagram. 



A good dairy cow never carries much flesh when in full milk. She may put on 

 tlfsh when dry, but after calving the strong stimulation to produce milk, which every 

 good cow possesses, makes her part with this flesh and fat in the form of milk. A 

 cow that carried any considerable amount of flesh after milking some months lacks 

 the necessary stimulus. She may yield well for a few months, but she will not be 

 a persistent milker. 



A thh> cow, however, is not necessarily a good cow, but it is easy to distinguish 

 between a starved, dull-looking animal with rough, staring coat, and the well-fed, 

 sleek-looking but thin dairy cow carrying a look of thrift, contentment, and capacity 

 put to good use. 



The wedge shape is particularly noticeable in most good cows. The point of the 

 wedge is at the withers or top of the shoulder, which are sharp and not beefy. The 

 wedge gradually widens out along the top of the back until its greatest width is 

 reached across the hips. 



The ribs are well spread and deep to provide the capacity to consume large 

 quantities of bulky food. 



The heart-girth or chest capacity is large to provide room for the vital organs 

 the heart and lungs which purify and pump the blood from which the milk is made. 



The rump from the hip-bones to the tail is long and level with the rest of the 

 back. A drooping rump is unsightly and often indicates a faulty udder below. 



The proper conformation of the thighs and udder will be seen from the illus- 

 tration. The thighs should not be beefy, but should appear quite thin and arched 

 on the inside. 



THE UDDEE. 



A good udder is attached high behind and well forward on the abdomen. This, 

 with good depth and width, gives great capacity. The fore-quarters more often lack 

 development than the hind-quarters. They should be equally developed, making the 

 vessel shapely. The teats should be level and wide apart when the cow is fuilking. 



The texture of the udder is important. Large, well-formed udders may contain 

 tdb much connective tissue to be effective. These are termed fleshy udders. In such 



