176 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



September, 1913 



The Good Cow. 



There is an appearance, about a 

 good cow that is a pretty perfect 

 indication of her worth ; but it is 

 almost impossible to convey the 

 information to another, and make 

 it possible for another to put into 

 practice this intuition, or first- 

 sight imjjression. The first sight 

 of a cow should impress the buyer 

 with her conformitv to what might 

 be called s\Tnmetrial femininity. 

 The cow is a mother, and the 

 good cow in appearance carries 

 with her the look of beneficence, 

 as though she were willing to bes- 

 tow upon someone, whether calf 

 or owner, her life's energy, wuich 

 is in her case milk. The points 

 of a good cow and the signs by 

 which we mav know her, are a 

 little complicated, as cows are, 

 in fact, individuals, and have their 

 peculiar make-ups ; so signs can 

 be used only in a general way, as 

 two cows doing equally weffl. in 

 mUk production would va/ry some- 

 what in form. Four points are of 

 special importance : — A bony, 

 lean, but small head ; with bright, 

 prominent eyes, a prominent 

 spiny backbone ; depth of body 

 and much width between the -for- 

 ward legs at the brisket, to de- 

 note capacitv and strong vitality, 

 and an udder of long abdominal at- 

 tachment from front tO' rear, and 

 well-balanced as to form. These 

 points well-developed will govern 

 largely the milk from the cow. 

 It should be well borne in mind, 

 that, to secure either profitable 

 milk in a cow, speed in a horse, 

 fine wool in 9, sheep, bacon in a 

 hog, and eggs in a hen, this idea 



of getting an animal with, little 

 fat and much meat and nerve- 

 power must not be lost sight of. 

 To secure them, angular wedge 

 forms must be obtained, and just 

 as we broaden them out, square 

 them up, and get the blockv form 

 we get fat instead of milk, 

 strength instead of speed in the 

 horse, mutton and coarse wool in 

 the sheep, lard in the hoff, and a 

 general-purpose fowl in the case of 

 the hen. The making of milk is, 

 while a mystery, largelv controlled 

 bv brain, and so needs a bright, 

 intelligent, and slisfhtlv protruding 

 eve to indicate it. It is a fact that a 

 cow of dull eye and low intelli- 

 gence rarely is a cow of large or 

 long producing power. She usu- 

 aflv gives milk six months or .so, 

 and for the rest inf the year 

 " boards " with her owner at his 

 expense. The strong, prominent 

 backbone, well-developed vertebrae, 

 slightlv falling below a straight 

 line, and rising to a noticeable 

 pelvic arch, are the si^ns of a 

 stroncT muscular and nerve de- 

 velopment ; wide hips, whirlbone 

 joints well apart, and thin but 

 miuscular thie^hs, indicate well- 

 built maternal organs so essential 

 in a cow of large powers. As a 

 rule, the udder of a cow should be 

 slisrhtlv fleshy, so that it will not 

 collapse when milked out ; covered 

 with a thin skin, soft and .silky to 

 the touch, and very elastic com-- 

 pletes this .sicm. A bod-v- of large 

 capacity, with sloping-, sprung ribs, 

 and large and crooked milk-veins, 

 gives indication of capacity and 

 di?'estive powers ; large heart eirth, 

 with sharp shoulders uniting at 

 the top tells of lam-e hearty bin^s, 

 and liver ; the testimonv of strong 



BAGOT, SHAKES, & LEWIS, Ltd. 



Stock and Station Agfents, Wool Brokers, Live Stock Salesmen 

 and Licensed Land Brokers. 



Manaeinjf Direotori— Goorgw W. Bagot, John Lewi*. 

 Wool Manap#ra— G«org» Dowling. G«org« J«ff«ry. 



Land Managw— Alfred C. Catt. 

 Inipector of Branches — James Wilkinaon. 



Sales of fat and store stock, land, and farm clearing sales conducted in 

 any part of the State. 



All station and farm requiaitei supplied ; large seiates disposed of for 



Closer Settlement ; advioe given ae to best means of realisation ; plans pre- 

 pared. Valuations made in all parte of South Australia. An efficient 

 staff dealing with city and suburban properties. 



Sellers of house and land property in city, suburbs, and country are 



rsqusstsd to ssnd us particulars. Our lairge oonneotion (over 20 country 



markets in best ogntrss hdld monthly) plaoss us in ths vsry bsst position 

 io dispose of th«m. 



Splendid «staies in New Sovth Wales and Queensland for S«le. 



Head Office: 18 King William Street, Adelaide. 



Wtality, large blood flow, and ma- 

 chinery to propel, purify, and ela- 

 borate. These are things closely 

 allied to large and rich milk- 

 making. 



« 



Early Breaking of Draught Colts 



Opinions differ as to whether it 

 is better to bring high-class 

 draught colts into work at two 

 or three years old. At first it 

 would appear that the youngsters' 

 growth would be checked bv early 

 working, and that full development 

 of bone and muscle would be 

 checked. It is, however, admitted 

 by most th6roTighlv experienced 

 men that is not the case, for 

 two-year-old broken colts often 

 make the finest specimen of horses, 

 and fisrure^ most promineotlv in 

 the show-ring. 



The real fact of the case is that 

 the yoimgsters gain more than 

 thev lose bv the earlv breaking. 

 Being broup-ht earlv to work saves 

 a good dieal of galloping about in 

 the fields, which tries undeveloped 

 bone and muscle much more than 

 light team work. After being bro- 

 ken there is never the wild buov- 

 ancv displayed a"-ain, and the davs 

 of plav are past for ever. It is 

 between the sprino- of the .second 

 and third vear, when not broken 

 at the former date, that so many 

 youngsters lame themselvies. Thev 

 often or-et in hifh condition — indeed, 

 fat — and then' r^allopintr and, screw- 

 ing about in their excitement and 

 merriment tries the strongest 

 limbs — at least, the stron<re.st limbs 

 that colts possess. If broken at 

 two vears old this trick is in a 

 great measure saved. 



Violent exercise is peculi^rlv li- 

 able to cause lamenes-s. in the 

 hocks, much more .so than anv 

 ailment in the foireleiifs. The re- 

 .siult fs" often serious. 



When brought into work, as be- 

 fore intimated, the exuberance of 

 spirits is subdued, steadier habits 

 are acquired, strange objects and 

 the ways of man are made fa- 

 miliar, wholesome but sustaining 

 food is proA'ided, and the gentle 

 strain on the muscles is useful ra- 

 ther than otherwise, as it grad|U- 

 ally .strengthens the Parts. It is, 

 however, necessary that onlv liarht 

 work be given to the two-vear-old, 

 el.se some harm is verv likelv to 

 befall. .Ml that really should be 

 done is to break the voungster to 

 work, and to show what is expect- 

 ed of it in lafter-life. — The, New Zea- 

 land Farmer, Stock, and Station 

 Journal. 



