31 



abdominal wall; a large vein with a small inlet is an indication of 

 weakness rather than strength or good milking qualities. 



The power to digest food and the possession of organs or 

 characteristics indicating milk production on a large scale are of no 

 value if not accompanied by the peculiar temperament which goes 

 with the power to elaborate milk from blood, that peculiar nervous 

 temperament which is the exact opposite of the placid character 

 shown by the animal that makes flesh rather than milk out of its 

 'food. The nervous disposition always found in the good milch cow 

 shows itself in the bright, prominent eye, in the large brain room 

 indcated by the broad forehead, in the clean, fine bone, in the open 

 joints and, generally speaking, in the loose, open character of the 

 carcase as opposed to the closely knit, compact frame of the ideal 

 beef animal. 



There are many minor features of the dairy cow closely studied 

 and examined by good judges of dairy cattle. Not a few men pay 

 close attention to such features as the tail, the form of escutcheon or 

 manner of growth of hair on the rear udder and inner thighs, the 

 colour of pigment on the inner ear, the pelvic arch, and the arrange- 

 ment of the vertebrae in the spinal column. 



In judging individual cows, a not uncommon practice in the 

 United States and Canada is to make use of what is known as the 

 Score Card or Scale of Points. In these Score Cards the principal 

 features of the cow are arranged in regular order and an arbitrary 

 valuation placed on each. This valuation is supposed to indicate the 

 relative importance of the different features when they are of that 

 peculiar character or form that experience has shown to be associated 

 with good dairy qualities. To arrive at some conclusion as to the 

 value of a given animal by the use of the score card, values are set 

 down indicating the scorer's estimate of the degree of excellence of 

 each feature in comparison with what might be called the ideal type 

 of that feature. The summing up of all the values given indicates 

 the nearness of approach of the individual under consideration to 

 what might be called the scorer's ideal cow. 



Below is submitted a score card for dairy cows. This card was 

 prepared by the writer some few years ago for -use in some live stock 

 judging work in which he took part. The figures in the first column 

 in heavy type indicate the values assigned to the ideal of the feature 

 in question. The figures in the second column are the values assigned 

 by the writer to the cow whose photos appear on Plates 6, 7, 8, 9. 



