How to Select Cows / or, The Guenon system simplified, explained, and practically applied

Examination of Colonel James Young’s Herd, at Middletown.

The Commission visited the large farms of Colonel James Young, near Middletown, and examined thirty-seven head of cows and heifers, among which were some of the finest Jersey cows in the State. His whole stock is well-fed and cared for, and are in fine condition. He supplies Middletown with the best of milk. Colonel Young does not keep a record of the performances of his cows, and the commission were therefore obliged to examine the cows, and after making their record, to compare it, item by item of each cow separately, with the knowledge of them had by his very intelligent dairy-woman, who has charge of the cows and the milk, and knows their characters as milk and butter producers well; also has a record of the times of calving of all the cows. The estimates of the commission agreed with hers, on all the hundred and eleven points, except nine points, and where they differed, that difference was in two cases on the quality, and in the other cases on the time. The commission attribute their unanimity on this herd, to the careful selection and breeding of Colonel Young, to his good feeding, and the excellent care that the animals have. These points constantly looked after, maintain the excellence of the herd, and as a consequence the escutcheons correspond, for, as the colonel says, “he never saw a good escutcheon without being on a good animal, and never saw a good animal without a good escutcheon.”

Examination of the Herd of William Calder, Esq., Harrisburg.

The commission visited one of the farms of William Calder, near Harrisburg. This gentleman has seven farms, containing nine hundred acres, and keeps a variety of stock. On the farm visited, near the reservoir, the commission examined eight head of grade stock, in very good order, on good September pasturage. The dairyman, a very intelligent man, had no record of the exact quantity and quality of the stock, but, as he milked them himself, a knowledge of their general qualities; and upon hearing the decision of the commission upon each cow, assented to the character given of all of them, except on two points: on one as to yield, and on another as to time. It was pleasing to notice the surprise and delight expressed by him at the exhibition, of entire strangers to the herd, of such accurate knowledge of them as the system showed it could give. And he determined to acquire it forthwith.

The commission saw a very fine black grade cow, with the calf by her side a perfect specimen of the Belted stock, though sired by a thorough-bred Jersey bull—to be accounted for only by the fact that the cow had been served by a Belted bull the third time before this one.

Examination of Several Herds near West Grove, Blanketed and Unblanketed, under the Supervision of a Committee of the Experimental Farm Club.

It had been stated by some that the commission used the ordinary means of judging of the value of cows, in addition to the Guenon tests. This was, of course, entirely denied by the commission; and as it was repeated in the public print, the commission, to settle the matter in the minds of candid men, offered to have any number of cows blanketed, so that only their posteriors could be seen, and then judge of their escutcheons, provided a committee should be present at the examination, view it closely, and give a report. Thus pressed, the challenge was accepted, and there was appointed a committee of five of some of the best farmers and dairymen residing near the Experimental farm. It was also understood that any could attend who wished to, and on the day of the examination three of the committee were present, as well as a number of other farmers. The commission examined the first five in the stable, blanketed, then two unblanketed, then two blanketed, and the remaining four unblanketed. The report of this committee is appended herewith. The cows were examined on a farm of Thomas Gawthrop, near West Grove. Afterward a number of cows were examined on several farms in the neighborhood, in the presence of the committee. No longer time was required to form an opinion on the blanketed cows than on the others, and the comparative results can be judged from the accompanying tables.

The commission met them on the day appointed, at the farm of Thomas Gawthrop, and in the presence of the committee (three being present,) and of others, examined seven cows blanketed, and would have examined more, but the committee said it was useless, as they could see, and had full faith that only the escutcheon was considered by the commission. On this farm thirteen head were examined, and the results are herewith given. All then adjourned to the farms of Mark Hughes, Howard Preston, and Everard Conard, and examined other stock in the presence of the committee. The committee’s report will be found annexed, thus setting to rest the charge that the commission were examining by any other than the Guenon test.

* These five cows were so blanketed, as to show only the escutcheon.

† These cows were also blanketed.

‡ The last four animals were not blanketed, but were driven up and examined by the commission without any apparent reference to any marks, except the escutcheon. T. G.

This cow had been previously examined, May 11, at Thos. M. Harvey’s farm. Mr. Harvey had since sold her to Mr. Pyle. The following are the two statements at that time:

Commission’s Account of Milton E. Conard’s Cows:

Examination of J. & J. Darlington’s Cows, October 2d.

The commission visited the herds of Messrs. J. & J. Darlington, October 2, at Darlington station, on Westchester road, Delaware county. These gentlemen make the finest butter and get the largest price in the market. Their dairy is admirably arranged. They have farms of four hundred and eighty acres, and have a herd of one hundred and sixty-seven cows. They had selected about a fair sample of the herd in two lots of cows. The first lot, from No. 9 to 33, was on one farm, and those numbered from 1 to 14 on the other farm. These gentlemen kept no test of the quality of any cow’s milk, and have no exact record of the quantity given by any cow; but as they are experienced dairymen, and thoroughly practical men, they knew about what each cow was giving in milk, and about its general quality, and sufficient to pronounce the grade of each cow, whether first, second, or third class. Therefore, in their record they do not give the exact record, as the committee would have desired, so as to compare with their own estimates, but they give the general qualities of the cow, and the two records must be compared from that stand point. Another matter must be taken into consideration. The Messrs. Darlington are liberal feeders, which accounts partly for their rich, tasty butter, and tends to make their cows do full work. A standard of quarts for first, second, and third class, upon which to estimate the qualities of the cows, was agreed upon between the commission and Messrs. Darlington.

Having given the results of their work, the commission would now leave the further solution of the problem to the practical dairymen of the State. They, of course, expect that not only their report, but also the correctness of the system, will be criticised; but if this criticism is conducted with a spirit of fairness, and with a view to obtain the truth, they fully believe the result will be favorable.

By direction of the commission.

WILLIS P. HAZARD,
Secretary.