JUDGING THE DAIRY TYPE OF CATTLE 



279 



parallelogram, a conformation associated with beef produc- 

 tion. Emphasis should be made here of the fact that, 

 under certain conditions, such as immaturity or being in 

 flesh while dry, dairy cattle do not always show the same 

 type that they will 

 later on. As stated 

 by Sturtevant in 

 1875 (p. 273), the 

 yearling and two- 

 year olds may have 

 parallel rather 

 than diverging 

 lines on the side 

 view. "While judges 

 of dairy cattle in 

 making their plac- 

 ings, usually give 

 preference to 

 young cattle of 

 wedge form, this is 

 not always so. Oc- 

 casionally one sees 

 a beautiful heifer, 

 with most attrac- 

 tive mammary de- 

 velopment, that is 

 somewhat thick in 

 front, and fleshy 

 all over, simply be- 

 cause her calf fat has not been milked off. In three 

 months such a heifer may possess a very typical wedge- 

 shaped conformation. There is more or less dis- 

 cussion in the agricultural press and among dairy 

 cattlemen, on the relationship of form to function, in 

 which there naturally is diversity of opinion. However, 

 the judge must keep in mind that without ideals and stan- 

 dards, it will be as utterly impossible to arrive anywhere in 



Fig. 153. "The point of the wedge is at the 

 withers, and its widest part the space between 

 the points of the hips." 



