JUDGING DAIRY CATTLE 77 



them, and it is only with this in mind that the various scales 

 of points are submitted here in this work. That which fol- 

 lows is used at the London and Canadian Dairy Show as a 

 basis for making awards: Twenty points for constitution and 

 conformation, one point for each pound of milk, twenty 

 points for each pound of fat, four points for each pound of 

 solids not fat, one point for each ten days in milk after the 

 first twenty days (limit 200 days); ten points is deducted 

 from the total score for each per cent of fat below three per 

 cent fat in the milk. 



While the judging of dairy cattle by points may not be 

 completely satisfactory, it is a quick method for use in the 

 show ring and it assists in the study of the many traits that 

 are common to dairy cattle. Its value does not lie in the 

 degree to wl^ich it assists in distinguishing the good cows 

 from the bad ones but chiefly for the insight which it gives 

 into the nature and functions of the dairy animal, and it is 

 the deeper knowledge of them that leads to better care, more 

 intelligent feeding and more successful breeding, which all 

 culminate in greater production. 



128. Dairy Cow's Function. To be able to draw correct 

 inferences from the points of the dairy cow, it is necessary 

 to understand her function and how she performs it. The 

 function of the dairy cow is to make milk, so that it is desir- 

 able to have a complete knowledge of how she does this and 

 more especially the operation of the chief organs employed 

 in the process. After studying this so as to see the work 

 performed by each part, it is then realized that the type of 

 the dairy cow is produced simply by the activity of these 

 parts and it is in this way that it is possible to obtain a clear 

 conception of the close relation of function or work, to type. 



129. Making of Milk. To understand how milk is made 

 let us follow the course of the food after entering the cow's 

 mouth. From there it passes into the gullet and then to the 

 first stomach or paunch. After remaining there for a time, 



