We extract from our book on “The Jersey, Guernsey, and Alderney Cow,”
some remarks on the escutcheon, by Charles L. Sharpless, of Philadelphia.
We consider him one of the best judges, a most intelligent breeder,
and he has paid the highest price ever given for a Jersey cow in this
country. The portraits of Duchess, Rosa, Black Bess, Tiberia, and the
bull, Comet of M., bear out our assertion.
“There is no point in judging a cow so little understood as
the escutcheon. The conclusion of almost every one is, that
her escutcheon is good, if there be a broad band of up-running
hair from the udder to the vulva, and around it—see Fig. 1.
These cows, with the broad vertical escutcheon, are nearly
always parallel cows; that is, with bodies long, but not large,
and with the under line parallel with the back. Their thighs
are thin, and the thigh escutcheon shows on the inside of the
thigh, rather than on its rear.
“Next comes the wedge-shaped cow, with the body shorter, but
very large, deep in the flank, and very capacious. This form
does not usually exhibit the broad vertical escutcheon, running
up to the vulva, but with a broader thigh may exhibit a thigh
escutcheon, which is preferable to the other, thus—see Fig. 2.
“In both vertical and thigh mirrors, where the hair runs down,
intruding on the udder, (as low as above the dotted lines,) as
in Figs. 3 and 4, it damages the escutcheon. If you find a cow
with the hair all running down, and between the thighs—that is,
with no up-running hair—stamp her as a cipher for milk-yielding.
“The artist has made the udders to Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4 the
same size, while in reality they will vary according to the
escutcheon.
“There are times when the udder of a cow, with an escutcheon
like Fig. 4, will be enlarged by non-milking, for the purpose
of deception. It is always safer to judge by the escutcheon,
rather than by the large size of the udder.
“The escutcheons of the best cows—those yielding the most and
continuing the longest—will be found to be those which conform
to Fig. 2. [Mr. S. alludes to the selvage: one of the best, and
common among the best cows. H.]
“The vertical escutcheon of Fig. 1, would not injure it; but if
that ornamental feature has to be at the expense of the thigh
escutcheon, Fig. 2 is best as it is.
“Whenever an escutcheon is accompanied by a curl on each
hind-quarter of the udder, it indicates a yield of the highest
order....
“So far we have noticed only the rear escutcheon, or that
which represents the two hind-quarters of the udder. The two
front-quarters are just as important, and should be capacious,
and run well forward under the body—see A. If the udder,
in front, be concave, or cut up as in B, indicating small
capacity, it represents reduced yield.
“This front or level escutcheon is distinctly marked in the
young heifer or bull, and can be seen by laying the animal on
its back. The udder hair under the body all runs backward,
commencing at the forward line of the escutcheon—see dotted
lines in Figs. 6, 7, 8. This dividing line is very perceptible,
from the fact that the hair in front of it all runs forward
towards the head of the animal, while the escutcheon, or udder
hair, all runs backward over the forward quarters of the udder,
around and beyond the teats, and ceases at the markings of the
rear escutcheon, on and between the thighs.
[Illustration: Fig. 1.]
[Illustration: Fig. 2.]
[Illustration: Fig. 3.]
[Illustration: Fig. 4.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Fig. 6. LOTTIE STARR.—10 mos. old.]
[Illustration: Fig. 7. SYLVA—10 mos. old.]
[Illustration: Fig. 8. COLUMBUS.—10 mos. old.]
“The breadth and extent forward of this front escutcheon,
indicates the capacity in the mature animal, of the front
quarters of her udder. In some cases this front escutcheon
will be found of twice the extent that it is in others, and is
evidence of that much more yield. The dimensions on Figs. 6, 7,
8, are actual measurements—the first two of heifers, and the
last of a bull. If Fig. 7 represents four quarts as the yield
per day of the front quarters, Fig. 6 will represent eight,
thus, if the rear yield is the same, say four quarts in each
cow, the total yield of Fig. 6 will be twelve quarts, while
that of Fig. 7 is but eight. This examination enables one to
see the size of the teats and their distance apart, and to test
the looseness and softness of the udder skin. It is marked
precisely the same in bulls, see Fig. 8, and can be easily
examined at any age between one and ten months.
“Udders of all shapes hold milk, and some homely ones hold
a large quantity. B, C, D, and E, at a glance explain their
deficiencies, both of shape, lack of capacity, and bad style of
teats. In udder A, we have the perfect shape....
“Many think that the escutcheon of the bull is of but little
moment, so that he is a good-looker. So far is this from being
the case, that a bull, with a mirror like Fig. 4. or worse,
will stamp his escutcheon on, and to that extent damage his
daughters, out of cows with escutcheons as choice as Fig. 2.
In this way the daughters of some of the best cows come very
ordinary, while, if you use a bull marked like Fig. 2, he will
make poor escutcheons better, and will improve the best. His
injury or benefit will be doubled, according to the escutcheon
markings under his body in front of his scrotum. Hence the
importance of the dam of a bull being unexceptionable in her
udder and escutcheon. Her qualities, inherited by her son, will
be transmitted to his daughters.
[Mr. Sharpless’ bull Comet of M. is one of the finest Jersey bulls
we ever saw, and his escutcheon is unexceptionable, being a perfect
curveline, the one most commonly found on bulls.]
“While careful as to escutcheons, we must not neglect the
other essential features of a good cow—the buckskin hide, the
rich-colored skin, and the fine bone. Let the hair be soft and
thickly set, and let the skin be mellow. This latter quality is
easily determined by grasping between the thumb and forefinger
the skin at the rear of the ribs, or the double thickness at
the base of the flank that joins the stifle joint to the body,
or that on the inside of the rump-bone at the setting-on of
the tail. Let the teats be well apart; let them yield a full
and free stream, and be large enough to fill the hand without
the necessity in milking of pulling them between the thumb
and forefingers. And let us ever keep in mind that the large
yielder must be well fed.”
Those who condemn Jersey cows as small yielders of milk and butter,
should listen to the story of “Rosa” as told by her owner, C. L.
Sharpless. She is five years old, is solid creamy fawn, and, combined
with great volume and bone, she is neat in the head and neck, and with
fine legs. Her dam was a small mouse-colored cow, and her sire’s dam a
small fawn-colored, neither of which would give over twelve quarts.
“We found we were making a good deal of butter, and as ‘Rosa’
looked superbly, we determined to test her butter quality. We
fed her per day twenty pounds of hay, eight quarts of meal, and
four quarts of carrots. The meal was a mixture of good wheat
bran and cornmeal, in the proportion of four bushels of the
former to one bushel of the latter. Her yield the first day was
sixteen quarts, the second day fifteen and a half quarts, the
third day sixteen quarts, and the next morning eight quarts;
being in all seven milkings, or half the week. Her milk was
kept separate; was skimmed after standing thirty-six hours, and
made six and three fourths pounds of butter, or thirteen and a
half pounds for the week.
“As you place Rosa and Duchess side by side there are some
points of agreement and of difference that are of interest to
notice. They are both wedge-shaped, with large body—Duchess
the more bony, but Rosa with the greater rear volume, (broader
hips, &c.) They both have neat heads and necks, and fine bone.
Duchess is, in winter, smoke-color, with brilliant white, but
not with black points. She has yellow hoofs and skin, and
her udder is rich yellow. Rosa has yellow hoofs, and yellow
inside her ears, but a pale skin and udder, and would be
called a butter cow inferior to Duchess, and yet she has just
proved herself one half pound greater. The color of it is the
deepest—no coloring matter being used. This upsets the theory
that a yellow skin is essential for deep-colored butter.
Perhaps a safer way to put it is, that though a rich yellow
skin is evidence of butter quality, yet equally good quality
may come from a pale skin, provided the cow has yellow inside
her ears.
“Again, as to vertical or rear escutcheons both these cows
exhibit, the broad part diminishes as it rises, until, when
within six to nine inches of the vulva, it is reduced to the
breadth of not over an inch wide. Thus they agree in their rear
escutcheons, and they agree also in udders of great capacity,
these being deep and broad, and running well forward under the
body.
“There is a point on which they differ. The hair on Duchess
is soft and furry as a mole; that of Rosa is fairly fine, but
still hair.
“So that in a word one can say soft hair, a large escutcheon,
and a yellow skin are desirable, but there may be choice cows
not conspicuous, for either.
“To show how we sometimes let our best animals slip, I will add
that when Rosa was a heifer I was tempted to part with her for
what seemed a great price—$500. In about two weeks she had a
heifer calf, for which her owner was offered $150. When three
years old she had a second heifer, which he sold for $180;
and when four years old she had a third heifer calf, which
he sold for $100. He then sold his place and all his stock,
and I bought her at public sale for $375 for her beauty. Her
pale skin deceived me as to her butter quality, and her, as I
thought, deficient escutcheon misled me as to her large yield.
She now, as a five-year old, has her fourth calf, which is a
bull, and some two months old.
“In giving above her yield, I gave also her feed. Such is her
constitution and appetite that I think she would have eaten
half as much more, and in that way her yield might have been
very much increased. It was good enough as it was, particularly
as there have been choice cows so forced that, though the
premium was won, the cow was lost. The winter yield, on dry
feed, of sixteen quarts is considered equivalent to eighteen on
grass.”
[Illustration: ROSA.—Imported Jersey, belonging to C. L. Sharpless.]