THE DAIRY COW 49 



milk, a good cow usually lias large milk veins 

 underneath her belly. 



Production the best quality of a dairy cow. 

 Though a good dairy cow usually possesses most 

 of the desirable characteristics shown on the 

 score card at the end of this chapter, it is suffi- 

 cient to say here that tho real test of her value 

 as a dairy cow is her butter fat producing 

 ability. This can only be learned by using a 

 pair of scales to ascertain the amount of milk 

 she produces, and a fat test to determine the 

 richness of her milk. There are many cows 

 that give a good flow of milk, reasonably rich 

 in fat, during the fore part of their period of 

 lactation, yet cows of this kind may be very 

 undesirable animals to keep, owing to the fact 

 that they may not be persistent milkers. The 

 value of the methods employed in determining 

 the productive qualities of an individual cow are 

 discussed in detail in a separate chapter in this 

 book. 



Pure dairy breeds best. It is unfortunate for 

 the dairy industry that we do not find more pure- 

 bred stock in this country. The farmer should 

 raise pure-bred stock because it is usually more 

 profitable for him to do so rather than to raise 

 "scrubs." It may cost a trifle more to begin 

 with, but it will be money well invested if he 

 intends to make dairying a paying business. In 



