Conformation and Its Relation to Milk Producing Capacity in Jersey Cattle

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Abstract
During the years .in which observing, men have kept cattle for milk production there has grown up the opinion that certain points in the conformation of the cow are directly associated with milk production. Perhaps no clearer statement in exemplifica- tion of this view can be made than that given by Mr. R. S. Curtis in his book on Cattle Judging (3) : When judging direct fitness for the block or for dairy purposes all breeding and ancestral records may be disregarded as all practical evi- dences of utility and quality are largely visible on the exterior of the animal. Such opinions supported as they are by much of the literature of dairy cattle breeding and management are of especial interest to the biologist. The above quotation expresses as a conclusion one of the ultimate ends of biological investigation for many years, the resolving of the different life processes into terms of correlation between structure and function. The question arises, does this citation from Mr. Curtis express a truth, is it only measurably true or is it fallacious? Toward the solution of this question it is proposed to subject the scores for the conformation of a group of Jersey cows where the milk production of these cows is also known, to biometrical analysis in order to determine the amount of normal individual variation which exists and the relation this variation has to milk flow. This study was undertaken because experience has shown that a reasonably accurate knowledge of the normal fluctuating vari- ations of a character which is to be used as the basis of selection