JUDGING CATTLE 



IV. JUDGING DAIRY BULLS. 



146. Judging Dairy Bulls. In judging dairy bulls 

 many points may be noted that they have in common 

 with dairy cows, especially features of type, but it is a 

 much more difficult task to judge between those of this 

 sex than it is to discriminate between developed cows. 



147. Purity of Breeding. It seems necessary to say 

 that the first requirement in the dairy bull, as in the in- 

 stance of all other stock sires, is purity of breeding. The 

 sire should meet all the requirements demanded of a pure- 

 bred animal for registration. In addition the dairy sire 

 should have the characteristics which are called for by 

 the scale of points for the breed represented. 



148, Uniformity of Breeding. To secure the greatest 

 prepotency in a sire, the breeding for some generations, 

 back must show a uniformity in the type and characteris- 

 tics of the ancestry. When the animals mentioned in a 

 pedigree lack uniformity, or have been dissimilar in type 

 and characteristics, it is not probable that the progeny 

 will show that uniformity which every breeder desires to 

 see in the herd. 



149. Pedigree Based on Performance. The most valu- 

 able characteristic relating to the pedigree of a dairy bull 

 is the number and the merit of the records that have been 

 made by the cows that are named in it. This feature is 

 not usually considered in the show ring, though it should 

 be, as it has a marked influence on the worth of a dairy 

 sire. The most important feature of the pedigree of a 

 dairy sire is the degree to which his dam was a good 

 dairy cow, and in a lessening degree the records of those 

 that preceded her. Next in importance to this is the 

 number and the merit of the performances of the cows 

 that are mentioned in the sires' line. Not only should 

 the dams in the pedigrees have good records as per- 

 formers, but the males should also be getters of per- 

 formers. A bull that has breeding of high order based on 



