The cow occupies the first place among domestic animals, in value to the
American people, not excepting even the horse. From the original stock,
still kept as a curiosity on the grounds of some English noblemen,
cattle have been greatly improved by care in breeding and feeding. Those
wild animals are still beautiful, but only about one third of the weight
of the ordinary improved cattle, and not more than one fourth that of
the _most improved_. Improving the breed of cattle is a subject by
itself, demanding a separate treatise. It is not to be expected that we
should go into it at length in a work like this. But so much depends
upon the cow, that we can hardly write an article on her without giving
those general principles that lie at the foundation of all improvement
in cattle. The few suggestions that follow, if heeded, would be worth
many times the value of this book to any farmer not already familiar
with the facts. The cow affects all other stock in two ways; first, the
form of calves, and consequently of grown cattle, is affected as much by
the cow as by the bull. The quality and quantity of her milk, also, has
a great influence upon the early growth of all neat stock. Cattle are
usually named from their horns, as "short horns," &c. It is a means of
distinction, like a name, but not expressive of quality. The leading
marks of a good cow are, medium height for her weight, small neck,
straight and wide back, wide breast--giving room for healthy action of
the lungs--heavy hind-quarters, and soft skin with fine hair, skin
yellowish, with much dandruff above the bag behind. A smart countenance
is also expressive of good qualities; there is as much difference in the
eyes and expression of cattle as of men. Select only such cows to raise
stock from, and allow them to go to no bull that has not good marks, and
is not of a superior form. Another important matter is to avoid
breeding in and in. This is injurious in all domestic animals and
fowls. Always have the cow and the bull from different regions:
attention to this would constantly improve any breed we have, and by
improving the size of cattle, and milking qualities of cows, would add
vast amounts to the wealth of farmers, without the necessity of
purchasing, at a great price, any of the high-bred cattle. We have
observed, in our article on calves, that abundant feeding during the
first year has much to do with the excellence of stock. Unite with these
regularity in feeding, watering, and salting, keeping dry and warm in
stormy, cold weather, and well curried and clean, and a farmer's stock
will be much more profitable to him. But this brief mention of the
general principles must suffice, while we give all the further space we
can occupy with this article to--
THE INFALLIBLE MARKS OF THE MILKING QUALITIES OF COWS.--M. Francis
Guenon, of France, has published a treatise, in which he shows, by
external marks alone, the quality and quantity of milk of any cow, and
the length of time she will continue to give milk. These marks are so
plain, that they are applicable to calves but a few weeks old, as well
as to cows. Whoever will take a little pains to understand this, can
know, when he proposes to buy a cow, how much milk she will give, with
proper feed and treatment, the quality of her milk, and the length of
time she will give milk after having been gotten with calf. If the
farmer has heifer-calves, some of which he proposes to send to the
butcher and others to raise, he may know which will make poor milkers,
and which good ones, and raise the good and kill the poor. Thus, he may
see a calf that his neighbor is going to slaughter, and, from these
external marks, he may discover that it would make one of the best
milking cows of the neighborhood; it would then pay to buy and raise it,
though he might have to kill and throw away his own, which he could see
would make a poor cow if raised. Thus, all extraordinary milkers would
be raised, and all poor ones be slaughtered: this alone would improve
the whole stock of the country twenty-five per cent. in as many years.
Attention has been called to this, in the most emphatic manner, by _The
New York Tribune_--a paper that always takes a deep interest in whatever
will advance the great industrial interests of the whole people--and
yet, this announcement will be new to a vast number of farmers into
whose hands this volume will fall. To many it will be utterly
incredible, especially when we inform them that the indications are,
mainly, the growth of the hair, on the cow behind, from the roots of the
teats upward. "Impossible!" many a practical, common-sense man will say.
But that same man will acknowledge that a bull has a different color,
different neck, and different horns, left in his natural state, from
those he would exhibit if altered to an ox. Why is it not equally
credible that the growth of the hair, &c., should be affected by the
secretion and flow of the milk on that part of the system where those
operations are principally carried on? But, aside from all reasonings on
the subject, the fact is certain, and whoever may read this article may
test its correctness, as applied to his own cows or those of his
neighbor. The great agriculturists of France (and it is no mean
agricultural country) have tested it, under the direction of the
agricultural societies, and pronounced it entirely certain. This was
followed by an award, by the French government, of a pension of three
thousand francs per annum to Guenon, as a benefactor of the people by
the discovery he had made. The same has been amply tested in this
country, with the same certain results. It now only remains for every
farmer to test it for himself, and avail himself of the profits that
will arise from it. Guenon divides cows into eight classes, and has
eight orders under each class, making sixty-four cows, of which he has
cuts in his work. He also adds what he calls a bastard-cow in each
class, making seventy-two in all. Now, to master all these nice
distinctions in his classes and orders would be tedious, and nearly
useless. Efforts at this would tend to confusion. We desire to give the
indications in a brief manner, with a very few cuts; and yet, we would
hope to be much better understood by the masses than we believe Guenon
to be. We claim no credit; Guenon is the discoverer, and we only
promulgate his discovery in the plainest language we can command; and if
we can reach the ear of the American farmers, and call their attention
to this, we shall not have labored in vain.
The appearance of the hind-part of the cow, from a point near the
gambrel-joint up to the tail, Guenon calls the escutcheon. The following
cuts show the marks of all of Guenon's eight classes, the first and the
last in each class. The intermediate ones are in regular gradation from
the first to the eighth order. Each class is divided into high, medium,
and low, yielding milk somewhat in proportion to their size. We give the
quantity of milk which the large cows will yield. This also supposes
cows to be well fed on suitable food. Smaller cows of the same class and
order, or those that are poorly cared for and fed, will, of course, give
less.
The names of all these eight classes are entirely arbitrary--they mean
nothing. M. Guenon adopted them on account of the shape of the
escutcheon, or from the name of the place from which the cows came. But
cows with these peculiar marks are found among all breeds, in all
countries, and of all colors, sizes, and ages. These marks are certain,
except the variations that are caused by extra care or neglect.
[Illustration: Fig. 1. FIRST CLASS. Fig. 2.
_Order_ 1. FLANDERS COW. _Order_ 8.]
This class of cows has a delicate bag, covered with fine downy hair,
growing upward from between the teats, and, above the bag behind, it
blends itself with a growth of hair pointing upward, and covering the
region marked in figure 1. This upward growth of hair begins on the legs
just above the gambrel-joint, covers the inside of the thighs, and
extends up to the tail, as in figure first. Above the hind teats they
generally have two oval spots, two inches wide by three long, formed by
hair growing downward, and of paler color than the hair that surrounds
them (E, E, in fig. 1). The skin covered by the whole of this escutcheon
is yellowish, with a few black spots, and a kind of bran, or dandruff,
detaches from it. Cows of this class and order, when well kept, give
about twenty-two quarts of milk per day, when in full flow, and before
getting with calf again; after this a little less, but still a large
quantity. They will continue to give milk till eight months gone with
calf, or till they calve again, if you continue to milk them. This,
however, should never be done; it exposes the health of cows at the time
of calving, and injures the young. From this there is a gradual
diminution in the quantity of milk through the orders, down to the
eighth.
Cows of this order (fig. 2), or with the marks you see in the drawing,
will never yield more than about five quarts per day in their best
state, and they will only continue to give milk until two months with
calf: hence, these are only fit for the butcher. The intervening six in
Gruenon's classification are gradually poorer than the first, and better
than the last, in our cuts. The marks are but very slightly different
from the above, except in size; the difference is so trifling, that any
one can at once see that they belong to this class;--and the comparative
size of this mark will show, infallibly, their value compared with the
above. In the intermediate grades, the spots (E, E, fig. 1) are smaller,
and as the orders descend, these spots are wanting, and some slight
changes in the form of the whole mark are observed, yet the general
outline remains the same. Now, as the decrease in the eight orders in
each class is about from two and a half to three or three and a half
quarts, no man with eyes need be deceived in buying a cow, or raising a
calf, in the quantity of milk she may be made to give. Any man can tell,
within one or two quarts, the yield of any cow or heifer. The only
chance for mistake is in the case of bastard-cows, which rapidly dry up
on getting with calf.
[Illustration: Fig. 3. SECOND CLASS. Fig. 4.
_Order_ 1. SELVAGE COW. _Order_ 8.]
In this class, the shape of the escutcheon is entirely distinct, so that
no one will confound it with the first. The gradations are the same as
in the preceding, only this class, all through, is inferior to the
other. The first (fig. 3) will give only twenty or twenty-one quarts,
and the poorest only four quarts. This escutcheon is formed by ascending
hair, but with a very different outline from the first class; it has the
same spots above the hind teats as the first, formed by descending
hair. In the lower orders these disappear--first one, then one small
one, and then none at all--and as they descend, similar spots appear,
formed in the same way, on one or both sides of the vulva (F, fig. 3).
The skin of the inside surface of the thigh is yellowish. The time of
giving milk--viz., eight months gone with calf, or as long as you
continue to milk them--is the same as in the first class. The last order
(fig. 4) of this class give very little milk after getting with calf.
[Illustration: Fig. 5. THIRD CLASS. Fig. 6.
_Order_ 1. CURVELINE COW. _Order_ 8.]
This escutcheon is easily distinguished from the others, by its outline
figure. The spots on the bag above the hind teats are formed as in the
preceding, and as gradually disappear in the lower orders. In those
orders there is a slight difference in the outline, but its general form
is the same. The first of this class (fig. 5) yields twenty or
twenty-one quarts a day, and gives milk till within a month of calving.
The last order of the class (fig. 6) gives only three and a half quarts,
and goes dry on getting with calf. The intermediate gradations between
the first and eighth orders are the same as in the preceding classes.
[Illustration: Fig. 7. FOURTH CLASS. Fig. 8.
_Order_ 1. BICORN COW. _Order_ 8.]
These escutcheons are unmistakably diverse from either of the others;
gradations, from first to eighth orders, the same. The first order in
this class (fig. 7) will give eighteen quarts a day, and give milk until
eight months with calf. The dandruff which detaches from the skin within
the escutcheon of the first order is yellowish or copperish color. The
two marks on the sides of the vulva are narrow streaks of ascending
hair, not in the general mark. The last order of the class (fig. 8)
gives three and a half quarts only a day, and goes dry when with calf.
[Illustration: Fig. 9. FIFTH CLASS. Fig. 10.
_Order_ 1. DEMIJOHN COW. _Order_ 8.]
Here is another general mark, easily distinguishable from all the others
by its outline. The first order (fig. 9) will give eighteen quarts a
day, and give milk eight months, or within a month of calving. Yellowish
skin; delicate bag, covered with fine downy hair, as in the higher
orders of all the preceding classes. The eighth order of this class
(fig. 10) will give only two and a half quarts per day, and none after
conceiving anew. The gradation from first to eighth order is regular, as
in the others.