318 FEEDING ANIMALS. 



Every dairyman who desires a herd of great excellence 

 must use females only of the common stock, and breed 

 these to the best thoroughbred male of the strain of blood 

 he thinks best adapted to his specialty in dairying. These 

 females should be selected with great care. 



SELECTING DAIRY Cows. 



Look first to the great characteristics of a dairy cow a 

 large stomach, indicated by broad hips, broad and deep 

 loin and sides, a broad or double chine these indicate a 

 large digestive apparatus, which is the first essential re- 

 quisite to the manufacture of milk. Secondly, a good 

 constitution, depending largely upon the lungs and heart, 

 which should be well developed, and this is easily deter- 

 mined by examination; but the vigor and tone of the 

 constitution is indicated by the lustre of the hair and 

 brightness of the eye and horns, and the whole make-up. 

 Thirdly, having determined her capacity for digesting 

 surplus food for making milk, look carefully to the re- 

 ceptacle for the milk the udder and the veins leading 

 to it. The cow may assimilate a large amount of food 

 which goes mostly to lay on flesh and fat ; but if she has a 

 long, broad, and deep udder, with large milk veins, it is 

 safe to conclude that her large capacity for digestion and 

 assimilation are active in filling this receptacle. In fact 

 the udder is the first point to look at in a cursory examina- 

 tion of a cow, for Nature is not apt to create in vain. If 

 it reaches to the back line of the thighs, 'well up behind, 

 reaches well forward, is broad and moderately deep, with 

 teats well apart, and skin soft and elastic, it may be inferred 

 that Nature has provided means for filling it. 



If the udder be a small round cylinder, hanging down 

 in the front of the thighs, like a six-quart pail, the cow 

 cannot be a profitable milker, whatever digestive apparatus 

 she may have. 



