180 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. {1 Sepr., 1902, 
Now, I will give you a little advice on selecting cows. You may take it as 
a maxim that a good milk cow usually shows good exterior points, yet many 
animals showing bad external points are superior milkers. The true test of a 
dairy cow is her performance at the pail. The owner and manager of the 
largest dairying establishment in the world (Mr. Robertson, Canada), when he 
went to Ayr, his native county, to select new stock, found amongst the 
celebrated prize-takers so many inferior milkers that he made his selections 
from the herds actually in use in the dairies of Ayr and Dumfries. Ifa 
_ superior herd is to be built up, no test other than that of the pail must be 
relied on. The best milking cows, regardless of breed, should be selected, and 
in making such a selection keep the following cardinal points in view :— 
Size: Anywhere between 600 to 2,000 Ib. live weight, other things being equal. 
Conrormarron: Large barrel, as shown by deep middle and ribs well sprung. 
Neck, shoulders, and thigh thin, wide over hips and loins, thin in flesh, and 
lacking beef form when well fed; showing good health in having good heart 
and girth and smooth hair. 
Mr. John Mahon says the true type of a dairy cow may be thus described: 
Fine hair, yellow oily skin, thin neck, thin sharp shoulders, flat thighs well 
apart to make room for the udder. Long hips, large chest capacity for lung 
expansion, and the most essential of all is a deep flank with well-shaped udder 
running along the belly and well up behind the thighs, free from any but fine 
hair, with milk veins visible and extending toward the arm-pit, the head long 
and broad between the eyes; large muzzle with a clear eye which indicates 4 
strong constitution. 
It is a mixtake to cross pure-bred stock ;,they should be kept distinct and 
ure. The different breeds have been crossed, and dismal failures have resulted. 
A Jersey judiciously crossed with an ordinary cow will give far better results 
than if crossed with a pure-bred, especially if the pure blood comes from the 
sire’s side. A cross with an Ayrshire sire from a good milking strain and the 
Shorthorn or ordinary cow will give good results. This cross is within the 
reach of every dairyman in this State. 
Breed your own cows. Jt is not always easy to get good cows without 
breeding. If others can breed them, so can you; then, what need to go outside 
your own fence to find a good milker. An intelligent farmer, and especially 
professional breeders are not likely to sell their best cows and keep the worst; 
but, if you do happen to get a really good animal from either breeder, you will 
be made to pay such a price as will make you sit down and wonder why you 
never thought of breeding your own stock. Breed such animals as are best 
suited for the district in which they are to be kept. For high poor ridgy 
country, Mr. Mahon recommends a light animal, such as the Ayrshire or Devon, 
crossed with the best of the cows to be found in our present herds. For heavy 
black soil country he advises the Ayrshire and Shorthorn cross, which produces 
strong animals of sound constitution. If you want to make cheese a specialty, 
then adhere to the Ayrshire and Holstein. The Shorthorns are good milkers if 
bred for the purpose, and in this country have yielded an average of 400 
gallons of rich milk and even as much as 1,000 gallons. Still the Ayrshires are 
considered preferable to the Shorthorns, and, if selected from a good milking 
strain, are difficult to surpass. 
Questions on Lesson 10. 
1. In commencing your dairy herd, what breed of cattle would you begin 
with? Why? ; 
_ 2. Name six of the best breeds of dairy cattle. 
3. What is meant by a “ general purpose cow’? What are the objections 
to such an animal ? 
4, What is the nearest approach to the general purpose cow? 
5. Which breeds are considered the best for milk and butter production ? 
a 
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a 
