p& UN Acd z* SF/97 f^% A '0- ' § Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/cattdairyfarming01unitrich IIOUSE EXECUTIVE DOCUMENT, No. 51. l'OETY-NINTH CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION. CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. IN TWO PARTS. UNITED STATES CONSULAR REPORTS. GATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING T I UlTIVERSITT] WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, .1888. 2> ; 282-285 Cattle products in the district of the Marne (Consul Frisbie, Rheims) 285 Cattle in the district of Nice (Vice-Consul Vial, Nice) 28G French live stock (Official Catalogue of Paris Exhibition) T 724-729 French cattle (from the Field newspaper) - 729-734 French sheep (H. Kains-Jackson) „ a 7"7 Germany : Breeds of cattle in Germany (Consnl-General Vogeler, Frankfort-on-the-Maln) 389-397 Cattle in Germany (Consul Schoenle, Barmen)- 397-403 Cattle breeds of Germany (Commercial Agent Warner, Dusseldorf) 404-408 Cattle in Prussia (Consnl-General Brewer, Berlin) •- 408-413 Cattle in Oldenburg, Jeverland, and East Friesland (Consul Wilson, of Bremen) 413-42 5 Cattle in Saxony (Consul Mason, Dresden) .,„ _ 426-431 Silesian cattlo (Consul Dithmar, Breslau) ^ ...... 431-438 CONTENTS. V Germany— Continued. Page. Cattle of Thuringia (Consul Mosher, Sonneberg) . 438-442 Voigtland cattle (Consul Bullock, Annaberg) .» 442,443 Cattle-breeding in Wurtemberg (Consul Catlin, Stuttgart) 444-464 Cattle broeds of Baden (Consul Ballow, Kehl) 464-472 Cattle products in Baden (Consul Smith, Mannheim) 473-475 Bavarian cattle (Consul Harper, Munich) 475-480 Cattle in the Duchy of Brunswick (Consul Fox, Brunswick) ^ . . 480-482 Ilarz cattle for the United States (Consul Fox, Brunswick) 482,483 Cattle in the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt (Commercial Agent Smith, Mayence) . 483-487 Cattle in the Rhine province (Consul Spackman, Cologne) 487-489 Live stock in Bavaria, census of (Consul Harper, Munich) . 709 Dairy association -laws of Wurtemberg (Consul Catlin, Stuttgatt) * 691-694 Wurtemburg cattle laws (Consul Catlin, Stuttgart) 743-752 Domestic animals of Bavaria (Consul Harper, Munich) 753,754 Holland : Dutch cattle (Consul Eckstein, Amsterdam) 502-514 Cattle of Holland (Consul Winter, Rotterdam) 615-518 Hungary : Meat and dairy cattle in (Consul Sterne, Budapesth) *......... 527-536 Italy : Cattle and dairying in Lombardy (Consul Crain, Milan) 324-329 Buffalo cattle of Terra di Lavoro (Consul Haughwout, Naples) 326-329 Cattle in Piedmont (Vice-Consul Dezeyk, Turin) 329,330 . Cattle in Tuscany (Consul Welsh, Florence) 330-334 White cattle of Tuscany (Consul Crosby, Florence) 334,335 .Cattle in Venetia (Consul Noyes, Venice) 335-358 Cheese and butter making in Italy (Consul Crain, Milan) 677-682 Malta: Cattle in (Consul Worthington) 323 Russia : Cattle-breeding in Russia (Consul-General Stanton, Saint Petersburg) 519-523 Cattle in the Baltic provinces (Consular Agent Bomboldt, Riga) 524 Cattle of Finland (Acting Consul Donner, Helsingfors) 525 Polish cattle (Consul Ra'wicz, Warsaw) 525,526 Spain : Cattle in Andalusia (Consul Oppenheim, Cadiz) 384-387 Cattle in Catalonia (Consul Scheuch, Barcelona) 387 Cattle in Galicia (Consul Carricarto, Corunna) 388 Switzerland : Swiss cattle (Consul Mason, Basle) 4 287-297 Statistics of brown Schwitzer cattle (Consul Byers, Zurich) 298-303 Swiss cattle and dairy products (Consul Beauchamp, St. Galle) 303-320 Cattle in the district of Geneva (Consul Adams, Geneva) 321-323 Manufacture of Swiss cheese (Consul Adams, Geneva) 682-685 United Kingdom : Cattle breeds of the United Kingdom (Consul-General Merritt, London) 57-78 Cattle breeds of the United Kingdom (James Long, Hetchin, England) 78-456 Select breeds of British cattle (Consul Packard, Liverpool) 156-172 Hereford cattle (Consul Lathrop, Bristol) 172-180 Herefordshire and Hereford cattle (John Kersley Fowler, Prebendal Farm, Aylesbury) .. . 811-188 British breeds of cattle (Joseph Lay Faulkner, veterinary surgeon, South Milford) 188-205 Jersey cattle (Consular Agent Renouf, Jersey) 205-207 Cattle in Cornwall (ConsulFox, Plymouth) 207 Cattle in Scotland (Consul Wells, Dundee) 208-217 Scotch breeding cattle for the United States (Consul Leonard, Leith) 217-224 Cattle in Ireland (Consul Piatt, Cork) 224-228 Butter industry of Ireland (Consul Piatt, Cork) 229-231 Butter trade of Cork (T.J. Clanchy, Cork) 231-235 Butter industry of Ireland (evidence of William J. Lane, of Cork, before committee of House of Commons) 235-239 A Wiltshire diary record (James Long, Hetchin, England) 691 Transport of cattle (James Long) 694 British cattle markets (Consul Ryder, Copenhagen) 696-699 Mixed food for cattle (James Long, Hetchin, England) 703,704 Sandringham, Prince of Wales's herd (Edmund Beck, agent) 710 VI CONTENTS. United Kingdom— Continued. . Page. Cattle in the Weald of Kent (W. Morland, Kent) 711 Cattle and sheep in Bucks (John Tread-well, Backs) 711 Prize breeders of British cattle (Sir B. T. Brandreth Gibbs) 712-715 Milk yield of sixty British cows (Consul-General Merritt, London) 715,716 Position of English dairy farming in 1883 (Gilbert Murray) 716-720 Milking trials at the London Dairy Show (Consul-General Merritt, London) 720-722 Central Chamber of Agriculture 722 Daily increase in weight of varions British breeds of cattle (Consul-General Merritt, I London) 723 British prize cattle (Consul-General Merritt, London) 735-742 Breeds of sheep in the United Kingdom (Consul-General Merritt, London) 755-760 Breeds of pigs in the United Kingdom (Consul-General Merritt, London) 760-762 Cotswold sheep (H. T. Elwes, Cheltenham, England) 762,763 Long- wool Lincolns (John W. Mackinder, Mere Hall, Lincoln) 763 Southdown sheep— history, breeding, and management (Henry "Wood, Merton, Thetford) . . . 763-772 Southdown sheep and Cambridgeshire farming (from the Field newspaper) 773-777 "Weights of sheep at Islington (Mark Lane Express) ." 778-782 Sheep and mutton in 1883 (Live-stock Journal) 782-788 Sheep portraits (Consul-General Merritt, London) « 788,789 Berkshire pigs (Joseph Saunders and Alfred Ash worth) 789 Yorkshire pigs (Sanders Spencer) 789,790 Black Suffolk pigs (J, A. Smith, Ipswich),, ,;,,,., 790 ILLUSTRATIONS. BItlTISII CATTLE. Description.* 1. DKV0X3. Cow, Pretty Face... Ball Cow Cow, Phlox Bull, Sweet William Cow, Temptress 8tu 2. HEREFORDS. Heifer, Leonora j head only j -olata 350 i3 a full portrait of this animal Ox „ Bull, Fisherman. Owned by thoEarlof Coventry Bull. Owned by Mr. J. II. Yeoiuans, Strotton Court, Hereford Cow. Owned by Mr. J. H. Yeoiuans, Stretton Court, .Hereford Bull, Romeo Ox. A celebrated prize animal : Cow, Golden Treasure Cow, Giantess Bull, Thoughtful Heifer, Leonora 3. 8HGRI3IORXS. Or. Owned by Mr. Bulfc. First in his class at Islington ..<«««.<« , Beifer, Lady Wildeyea loth. Owned by Lord Fitzhavuinge Cow, Lady wellesley 2nd. Owned by Mr. Hawstorne Cow, cross-breed, dairy Bull. Owned by Mrs. Hutchinson, Catterick, Yorkshire Cow. Owned by Mrs. Hutchinson, Catterick, Yorkshire. (This cow is erroneously designated " I Fevon " in portrait) Bull, Fnscoo, white. Gained first mizeat the Highland Society Show, and second prize at the Royal Agricultural Show, England. Owned by Lord btradiallan, Auchterardei, Perthshire, Scotland Cow, Rosa Bonheor, winner of first prizes at agricultural shows in Scotland and Eng- land. Owned by Lord Strathallnn, Perthshire, Scotland Bull. A prize animal, owned in Scotland Bull. Duke of Underley Cow, Ladv Violet IL-iiVr, Lady Violet Bull, Anchor . , Bull, Telemachus dyCarew3rd , , Cow, Victoria Cow, Maiden , Heifer, Gaiety 6th Stanwtok Rose Cow, April Rose Bull, D,iko of Howl John Cow, Baroness Oxford 3rd Bull, Dnkeof Leinster Cow, Matchless 5th Cow, Generous Bull, Acropolis Bull, Ninth Duke of Tregunter Cow, Duchess 119th , Cow, Honesty Cow, Beauty No. 22 Cow, Beauty No. 35 Cow, Red Cherry Cow, Innocence 2nd of Nasoby Cow, May Duchess 15th Bull, Sir Simeon * Particulars relating to each animal, when omitted from the text, are given under this head. "Whera no particulars are given (cither under this head or in the text) none were received from the consuls. Yii VIII ILLUSTEATIONS. Description. 4. LOAGRORNS. Bull, Darewell. Owned by Mr. B. Hall Cow, head of - Steers. First at Islington. Owned by Sir John Crewe Bull, Prince Victor Cow, Calke 5. RED POLLS. Group. Bull, Davyson 3d ; cow, Silent Lady ; cow, Dolly Bull. Owned by Hon. J. J. Colman, Carrow House, Norwich Cow. Owned by Hon. J. J. Colman, Carrow House, Norwich Cow. Owned by Hon. J.J. Colman, Carrow House; Norwich 6. SUSSEX. Cow. First prize at Tunbridge Wells. Owned by Messrs. J. & H. Hessman Heifer. Second prize at Tunbridge Wells. Owned by Mr. J. S. Hodson Bull. Owned by Mr. John Plumer, Horsham, Sussex Cow. Owned by Mr. Jobn Plumer, Horsbam, Sussex , Heifer. A representative animal Heifer. A representative animal 7. POLLED ANGUS. Bull, Englishman. Owned by Mr. S. Stephenson, Baliol College Farm, Long Benton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Cow, Pride of Aberdeen, at four years of ago. Owned by Mr. Stephenson, also Bull. Owned by Mr. Clement Stevens, Sandyford Villa, Newcastle-upon-Tyne Cow. Owned by Mr. Clement Stevens, Sandyford Villa, Newcastle-upon-Tyne , Bull, Prince of the Realm Yearling, Favonia Heifer, Favorite Bull, Prince of the Realm, at fourteen months , Group of heifers, Kinocbtry breed Bull, Young Hero ; bred by Mr. Hannay, of Gavenwood. "Won first prizes at Turriff and Banf Shows ; second prize at the Highland Society Show ; plate at Turriff, &c. Brought $1,340 at public sale in 1883. Heifer, Pride of Aberdeen (plate 19 shows the matured animal). "Winner of prizes as calf, yearling, and two-year old. Bred by Mr. Hannay, Gavenwood. Calf, Prospera Princess. Owned by Mr. Hannay Heifer, Benefit. Won first prize at Huntly, in 1883. Calf of the celebrated prize cow Blackbird, of Coratchy, which was sold for $2,100. Heifer calf, Vignette. First prize at Banf in 1883. Owned by Mr. Hannay, Gavenwood Bull calf, Allegro. Bred by Mr. Hannay. Owned by Mr. Geddes, Blaerinore, 1883. Sired by Young Hero. Heifer. Bred and owned by Mr. Ferguson, of Kinochtrv, Scotland Bull, The Shaw. First prizes at Highland Show and Royal Northern Show at Aber- deen. Bred and owned by Mr. Ferguson, of Kinochtry. Bull, Sir Maurice Cow, Juno Sybil 2d of Tillyfour , 8. POLLED GALLOWAYS. Bull. Prize winner at the Highland Society Shows. Cow. Prize winner at the Highland Society Shows. Bull, Harden Cow, Clara , Heifer, Lalla Rookh 9. HIGHLANDERS. West Highland Bull. First prize at the Highland Agricultural Society Show. Owned by the Earl of Seafield, Castle Grant, Grahtown. West Highland bull. Two-year old. Prize winner West Highland bull. Duke of Athole's herd West Highland cow. Duke of Athole's herd t . 10. AIRSHIRES. Bull. First prize winner. Owned by Mr. Bartlemore Cow. No. 91 at Islington. Owned by Mr. Drew Bull. First prize winner at the Highland Agricultural Society Show. Owned by Mr. Parker, Nether Broomlands, Ayrshire. Cows, Callyhill and Mate. Owned by the Dowager Duchess of Athole, Dunkeld. Con- sidered very fine specimens of the breed. Cow, Jane Cow. (Representative dairy cow) ILLUSTRATIONS. IX Description. 11. JERSEYS. Cow. (A representative animal) Bull. Owned by Mr. E. J. Arnold, Snmmerland Honse, Jersey Cow. Owned by Mr. E. J. Arnold, Snmmerland House, Jersey , Heifer and calves. Prize winners Cow, Velveteen Cow, Alice Cow, Longueville Beiio Cow, Coomassee , Cow, Luna Cow, Lady Emily Foley 2d 12. GlERNSETS. Cow, Valentine 3d Bull, Squire of Vauxbelets Cow. First in her class at Beading , Cow, Elegant© , 13. WELSH CATTLE. Ox. First in its class at Agricultural Hall. Owned by Major Piatt Yearlings. Owned by Mr. Bowden Ox. Owned by Major Piatt, of Bangor Cow. Owned by Major Piatt, of Bangor , Yearling bull and heifer , 14. KERRY CATTLE. Bull. From the Knight of Kerry "s herd 15. SUFFOLKS. Cow, Wild Kose JTRENCH CATTLE. 74 i. FLEMISH AND CROSSES. . Cow ,...j 240 75 240 76 Bull 240 77 Bull ..-•.. 240 78 Ox. 240 79 Cow 240 80 240 81 2. NORMANDY AND CR0SSE8. Cow. . . 243 82 Bull .. i 243 83 Ox 243 84 245 85 245 122 Cow 282 124 282 125 282 86 S. BRITTANY BREED. Tow 246 87 Bull 24f 88 Ox 246 89 4. PARTHENAISE BREED. Bull '. 247 90 Cow 247 91 5. CHAROLAISE BREED. Cow 24 S 92 Ball.... 248 93 Ox 248 94 248 95 248 96 0. LIMOUSINE BREED. Bull 248 97 24i 121 Beef cattlo 27$ ILLUSTRATIONS. Description. 7. MANCELLE BLEED. Cow Ox. Durham-Mancelle Ox. Prize, Durham-Mancelle. 8. COMTOISE BREED. Cow. A. prize ox. Bull 0. FEMELINE BREED. 11. SALERS BREED. Bull Cow and calf. 12, GARONNAISE BBEED. Bull Bull 13. BAZADAIS. Bull Bull. 14. LANDA15E BREED. Bull. Racing auimal. Bull Bull. Bull. Cow. Cow. 15. GASCON BREED. 10. BARETON BREED. 17. BEARNAISE BREED. IS, ALGERIAN BREED. 19. MISCELLANEOUS. Cow. Oevaudan breed. Cow. Bordelai3e breed Cow. Holland breed . . . 20. BREED NOT DESIGNATED. French bull , French cow French bull . French cow . French ox... French cow , French bull French cow French bull French cow French ox .. French cow French bull French cow French bull French bull . 728 728 728 728 728 SWISS CATTLE. 126 127 128 129 1. SPOTTED (SIMMENTHAL) BREED. Bernese bull Simmenthal cow Black (spotted) Freiburg bull Black (spotted) Freiburg cow 2^9 291 291 ILLUSTRATIONS. XI Tlate No. Description. Pago. 130 131 133 134 ]33 130 137 138 139 140 2. BROWN SCflWYTZER CREED. Ball Cow Trizo cow Prize cow, true typo l'iizf> heifer, trao type , Heifer, true type Heifer, true typo ~ BLei for, fair typo Cow, variation from true typo i- Bull, truo type - 202 292 292 292 292 292 292 292 292 292 ITALIAN CATTLE. 141 142 143 144 143 140 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 150 157 158 Cow of Swiss breed, ia Lombard?* Prize Bull, Jupiter. Piedm onto.se breed. Prize Bull, Pertinaco. Piedmonteae breed. Prizo Bull, Napoli. Pugliese breed. Prize Bull, Ghinassi. Prigliese breed. Prize Bull, Tigro. Freiburg-Fruilana breed. Prize Ball, Maestro. Mantua breed. Prizo Cow, Mantova. Swiss breed. Prize Heifer, Anversa. Dutch breed. Prizo Ox, Fausta. Pugliese breed. Prizo Cows, Minerva and Chloo. Brittany breed. Trizo. Buffalo d'Ifcilia A Piedmont bull A Piedmont cow A Piedmont cow A Piedmont mountain bull A Piedmont mountain heifor Bull, Adam 2d. Chianina breed 324 320 326 320 326 326 320 320 320 326 320 328 330 330 830 330 330 334 BELGIAN CATTLE. 159 100 102 103 Belgian cow. Dutch breed. Flemish cow Belgian cow A herd of Belgian cows 307 307 372 373 SPANISH CATTLE. [The pictures of these Galician oxen were taken at Corunnaaa the animals were being shipped to England.) 168 Galician ox; white; four years; price, $91 ... 369 Galician ox; yellow; live years; price, $S7. 50. 170 I Galician ox; yellow; tivo years; price, $80.70 171 Galician ox; brown; six years; price, $83.75. . 3P8 388 388 388 GEKMAN CATTLE. 1. KECKAR BREED. 172 Cow. Bed with white face and white lower legs 391 2. SI 31 MK.N THALER. 178 Cow. Cow . Cow. Bed, with white star on forehead 391 ldd 404 174 8. II3IB0URG BREED. Yellow 891 4. TRIESD0RF* BREED. •175 Cow. Spotted, red and white *» 892 * Erroneously printed Friesdorf on page 392. XII ILLUSTRATIONS. Description. 5. ALB BREED. Cow. Bed, with white belly and lower legs 6. SCHWAB HALL BREED. Cow. Dark red to brown ; white face 7. DUTCH BREED. Cow. Bla»k and white ; white forehead. Cow 8. MONTAFUNER BREED. Cow. Black -brown, white stripe along the back . Cow , 0. MIES iACHER BREED. Cow. White, with red yellow spots 10. PINZGAUER BREED. Cow. Bed, with white stripe from shoulder to rump 11. ALLGAUER BREED. Cow. Yellow-brown. Cow 12. SCHWITZER BREED. Cow. Dark brown; Black doe-Mouth 13. VOIGHTLAND BREED. Cow. Color, chestnut brown ; yellow tail tuft. Head of a Voightland bull Head of a Voightland cow 14. ANCELN BREED. Cow. Color, red-brown. Prize bull, Thomas Prize cow 15. PODOLISCHE BREED. Cow. Color yellow ; long horns ; originally from Southern Bussia ; moat cattle. 16. MilRZTHALER BREED. Cow . Color, gray ; link between the Steppe and Mountain breed 17. GLAN BREED. BuU 18. OLDENBURG AND EAST FRISIAN BREED. "Wiltermarsh prize bull . I"ep tuuo Wiltermarsh prize cow, Leanda Oldenburg prize bull, Budjadinger 3d Oldenburg prize cow, Alimuth Oldenburg-Budjadinger. prize bull -. Oldenburg prize better, Ivest von Oldenburg East Frisian prize bull, Amor; 3 years East Frisian cow ; a celebrated milker East Frisian cow ; Sieglinde, seven years old ; a good milker. East Frisian bull. Owned by the Crown Prince 19. MESSKIRCH (BADEN) BREED. Cow. Frontview '- Cow. Side view Cow. Side view Bull. Frontview .' Bull. Side view Yearling heifer. Side view 20. HARZ BREED. Bull. Five years old. Owned by Mr. Stahl, of Altenau, on the Harz Cow. Six years old. Owned by Mr. Cronfaeger, of Clausthal, on the Harz Cow. Seven to eight years old. Owned by Mr. Bohnhorst, of Clausthal, on the Harz ILLUSTRATIONS. XIII Description. 21. MISCELLANEOUS BREEDS. A yoke of Bavarian working cattle Bavarian prizo bull Bava an prize cow Po&eranian prize bull, Blnndiu Breiteuburg prize bull, Conrad German Shorthorn prizo cow, Alico ... Polled Angus bull, Admiral ; imported. DUTCH CATTLE. 224 510 1 RUSSIAN CATTLE. Cholmogovian cow. Black and white ; five years old. Habitat, government of Arch- angel, northern group Cholmogovian cow. Black ; six years old. Habitat, government of Archangel, north- ern group • - Cholmogovian cow. Iced and white ; six years old. Habitat, government of Archangel, northern group Bed and white ox ; five years old ; yiolds about 800 pounds of meat. Habitat, govern- ment of Archangel, northern group Dun cow. Calved six times. Habitat, government of Vologda, northern group Gray hornless cow. Nine years old ; yields about 324 pounds of meat. Habitat, govern- ment of Vologda, northern group Dark-gray hornless ox. Five years old ; yields from 048 to 084 pounds of meat. Habitat, government of Vologda, norUiern group Gray ox. Five years old ; yields about 1,2C0 pounds of meat when in good condition. Habitat, government of Vologda, northern group Black cow. Eleven years old. Habitat, government of Yavoslaff, central group Red cow. Four years old. Habitat, government of Yavoslaff, central group Native cow. Habitat, government orKostroma, central group Black and white cow. Five years old. Habitat, governmon of Kostroma, central group. Bed and white bull. Three years old ; yields about 720 pounds of meat. Habitat, gov- ernment of Kostroma, central group Black bull (white face and legs). Three years old; yields about 048 pounds of meat. Habitat, government of Kostroma, central group Black and white cow. Five years old. Habitat, government of Viatka, central group . . Black hornless cow. Five years old. Habitat, government of Viatka, central group .. Black and white hornless cow. Seven years old. Habitat, government of Perm, cen- tral group ". , Black hornless cow. Three years old. Habitat,government of Perm, central group White bull with red ears. Four years old. Habitat, government of Perm, central group • . , A Finnish bull A Finnish cow Skull, Bos primigenius Skull, Bob laiifrona ....„ Skull of Yaroslaff bull „ Skull of Yaroslaff bull „....< , Polish bull Polish cow Polish bull Polish bull Polish bull HUNGARIAN CATTLE. 255 Bull. Cow. "White native .' 528 250 White native 528 CANADIAN CATTLE. Jersey cow. Mary Anne of St. Lambert\ Jersey cow. Oaklands Cora xiv ILLUSTRATIONS MEXICAN CATTLE. Plato No. Description. Page. 269 270 271 288 579 579 Bull ' 579 579 URAZILIAN CATTLE. 2I?J Satire 03.cn and cart 274 Native cow , SINGHALESE CATTLE. 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 Half-breed bullocks and c:irt Draught bullocks in Colombo Family bandy Tanjore draught or Half-breed draught bullock. . Plowing with oxen in Ceylon Hauling timber in Ceylon . . . Ceylon^ buffalo cart SCIENTIFIC BAIBY IMPLEMENTS AND MACHINES. 261 262 263 264 265 283 284 285 286 287 290 291 292 293 294 297 Milk test : Specifi o gravity of milk from different breeds of cows. (Fig. 1) Cream test: Croam by volume, from different breeds of cows. (Fig. 2) Cream teat : Cream by weight, from different breeds of cows. ( Fig. 3) Milk test : Agreemont of specific gravity of milk with actual weight of cream. (Fisj. 4) . Cream and butter tests Agreement of cream by weight, with butter, by weight, from milk of different breeds of cows. (Fig. 5) Butter test: Butter from milk, by weight, from different breeds of cows. (Fi<;. 6) Batter test : Butter from cream, from milk of different breeds of cows. (Fig. 7) Milk-testing set : Lactometer, creamometer, and thermometer , Guevenne's original lactometer, or lactodensimeter , Creamometer on stand - German creamometer or cream-testing tube Lactobutryometor on stand, with stopper Feser's lactroseopo - :--: Copper bath, showing three pipettes and three lactrobutryometer tubes within Aerometer for extracting fats ; Professor Soxhlet's De Lavel's Swedish separator ; drum, liiilk chamber ; cream chamber H. C. Petersen's Banish separator Fjord'* regular, cream _ Fjord's regulator— by this machine any percentage of cream can bo skimmed by the Banish separator Scale showing the value of each system Vertical drum cream separator of Petersen, of Hamburg Aarhus cream separator Narskov centrifugal separator Lefeldt cream separator... • Lefeldt cream separator «■ BUTCHEBING AND KILLING CATTLE. 114 115 116 182 How the Pans butchers cut up a beef r.. How the Lisle butchers cut up a beef. . . How the London butchers cut up a beef Swiss method of killing cattle ILLUSTRATIONS. XV MODEL FAEM A30> CATTLE HOUSES. p^aote Description. Pago. £66 Plan of model stock building, experimental farm, Gnelph, Ontario 267 Farm buildings of the future ; plan Illustrating principles in arrangements as taught at the Guelph, Ontario experimental farm 193 Plan of farm house and surroundings on the declivity of the Seven Mountains, Ger- many 5C3 503 400 MILK AND MILKMAIDS. 161 Delivering milk in Belgium 164 A Flemish milkmaid 1 65 A Brabant milkmaid 166 An Antwerp milkmaid 167 A Dutch milkmaid 371 374 374 374 374 ENGLISH SHEEP. 367 Oxford Down ram 368 Oxford Down ram, Hermit 369 Oxford Down ram, Campsneld. 788 789 789 LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE, TRANSMITTING TO The Speaker of the Rouse of Representatives reports, in reply to a Depart- ment circular, from the consuls of the United States, on cattle and dairy farming and the markets for cattle, beef, and dairy products in their several districts. January 28, 1886.— -Referred to the Committee on Agriculture aud ordered to be printed. Department of State, Washington, January 26, 1886. Sir: At the request of some of our leading stockmen, a circular, dated July 18, 1883, covering the question of cattle and cattle products in foreign countries, was transmitted to our consuls, with the view of receiving therefrom such information as might be useful to the stock- breeders and dairy farmers of the United States in their efforts to im- prove our native stock, and to develop a foreign market for our surplus cattle and cattle products. I have now the honor to submit herewith the reports received in answer to this circular. The forms presented by the stockmen, and which were incorporated into the circular, were so contracted in scope and so technical in arrange- ment as to satisfy the Department that the consular responses thereto would not cover the many interests involved ; hence some memoranda, in the form of suggestions and directions, were added. The principal points covered by these memoranda were as follows : (1) The best methods of exporting cattle to the United States ; the best animals to export; the best routes of export and the estimated cost for freight ; the purchasing prices of the animals and the estimated expenses for attendance and food while en route. (2) The total number of cattle in each district or country and the percentage of the several breeds ; the percentage for the dairy and the butcher ; the increase or de- crease of stock, and the causes thereof. (3) Whether the stock of each country is sufficient for home demands ; if in excess of home demands, the countries to which the excess is exported ; if insufficient for home demands, the countries from which the needed supplies are drawn. (4) How much of these supplies, and their nature, is drawn from the United States; the best means for increasing the exports to each country from the United States. In regard to that part of the general subject under consideration which deals with the breeds of cattle, their feeding, housing, and hand- 3 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. ling, the best breeds for importation into the United States and the best manner of importation hither, and the various other points con- nected therewith, and which from their nature, beiug altogether mat- ters of detail, are incapable of being compressed into such statistical compactness as would render them available or useful in a short intro- ductory letter, those interested are referred to the several reports, which are both exhaustive and valuable, being prepared in many in- stances by recognized authors and experts, or from information directly supplied by such. That portion of the subject, however, which deals with foreign meat and dairy-produce markets, our present share in sup- plying the same, and the best means for the enlargement of our trade therein, being more susceptible of i>rofitable statistical analyses than cattle-breeding, the following figures are submitted, in the interest of our exporters of cattle and cattle products. LIVE-CATTLE TRADE. It would seem as if the cattle, meat, and dairy producers of the world — that portion, at least, which prosecutes advanced agriculture — look to the British markets for the consumption of their surplus products. Out- side of our oleomargarine trade with Holland, and a comparatively small export of salted beef, tallow, butter, and cheese to Canada, the West Indies, &c, our trade in cattle and cattle products is with the United Kingdom, as the following statement will show: Statement showing the exports of cattle and cattle products from the United States during the year 1884. Description. To the "United Kingdom. To all other countries. Total. Horned cattle .. Fresh beef Canned beef. . . . Salted beef Other beef Butter Cheese Beef tallow Oleomargarine . Condensed milk Total $17, 336, COG 11, 51G, 3G9 2, 542, 122 2, 058, 383 GO, 028 1,£76, 341 10.T08, 526 2, 941, 008 209, 020 203, 008 $518, 470, 031, 1, 143, 7, 1, 874, 1,155, 1, 852, 4, G33, 45, $17, Hi 3. 855, 495 987,331 173, 7G7 202, 275 67, 758 750, 771 663,713 793, 375 842, 362 248, 329 49, 251, 411 12, 333, 765 61, 585, 176 In the column of exports "to all other countries" are products ex- ported to Canada to the value of $2,635,418, a large portion of which was re-exported to England, and oleomargarine to Holland, which also found its way as "butter" to the British markets, as will appear further on, to the value of $4,127,827. This would reduce the exports to all other countries at least $5,000,000, and increase those to the United Kingdom by that amount. Our exports during the year may therefore be set down as follows : To the United Kingdom, $54,250,000 ; to all other countries in Europe, $3,200,000 ; to all countries outside of Europe, $4,108,176. It will thus be seen that statistics showing the conditions which pre- vail in the British markets, and the means which must be taken to hold and enlarge our interests therein, cover, for all practical purposes, our commercial relations with the outside world, as far as our exports of cattle and cattle products are concerned. The other countries of Europe essay to supply their own wants in this regard, and mainly succeed in so doing, having a small surplus for export besides. It should, how- ever, be borne, in mindtaat many of those countries are relatively no CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 5 richer in cattle and cattle products than the United Kingdom, but their consumption of meat food is very limited, while the British people are a meat-eating people ; indeed, they may be looked upon as the only meat-eating people in Europe, for the general populations of the other countries regard meat as a luxury, to be enjoyed sparingly on rare oc- casions. The same may be generally asserted, though in a more modified de- gree, in regard to the general consumption of butter and cheese. Hence, while the other countries of Europe offer limited fields for the consump- tion of our cattle products, fields which are, but which should not be, overlooked in our efforts to supply the imperial demands of the United Kingdom, we must continue to look upon the latter as our principal market, and direct our best efforts toward fulfilling all the conditions by which it is governed, and continue to give the British people supe- rior products, at prices which will leave as little cause for dissatisfac- tion and as little room for successful competition as possible. We have done much to control the supply of the British market, but we have, in our anxiety to reach voluminous results, neglected many details, to our loss and to the advantage of those countries which have established themselves in British esteem, and which command a successful trade in the British market, by extreme care and attention in the preparation of their products — in fine, by specially catering to the tastes of the con- sumers. Statement showing the number and value of cattle imported into the United Kingdom during the year 1884, the countries whence imported, and their value per head, as compiled from British official statistics. OXEN AND BULLS. Whence imported. Number. Value. Value per head. United States , British North America Denmark Portugal , Germany Spain Sweden Holland Norway Channel Islands West Africa Total cows. CALVES. Holland Denmark Sweden Channel Islands All other Total 139, 213 59, 054 42, 746 17, 903 17,310 17,482 12, 426 2,561 865 131 5 $W, 120, 600 6, 123, 600 4, 160, 160 1, 866, 240 1, 681, 560 1,580,220 1, 205, 280 247, 860 84,078 21, 578 170 33, 100, 346 $115 79 103 69 97 32 104 24 97 14 90 9L 97 00 96 74 97 08 164 72 34 00 106 88 44, 167 7,182 4,110 2,160 1,977 1,123 487 107 $4, 218, 480 628, 398 394, 632 256, 608 195. 858 8fi, 508 52, 002 10,084 • $95 51 87 49 96 02 118 53 99 07 Holland 77 03 United States .. .... 106 78 94 24 Total 61, 314 5, 842, 570 95 29 41,354 9,349 3,371 67 54,497 $057,134 186, 624 81, 793 25, 432 928 1, 251, 911 $23 14 19 96 24 26 71 44 13 85 22 97 6 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. From the foregoing statement showing the imports of oxen and bulls into the United Kingdom — that is, butcher stock — it will be seen that American cattle, if we except the Channel Islands cattle, which are im- ported for breeding purposes, command higher prices than the cattle imported from any other country, and we may assume that the best butcher stock of the world is represented in that market. The cattle im- ported from Canada, although analogous to American cattle, are valued at more than $12 per head less than our cattle, while those of European countries are valued at from $25 to $18 per head less than ours, with the exception of Portuguese cattle, which only fall short $11.55 per head. This, therefore, bears out some of our consuls in their assertions that •American cattle are the best general cattle in the world. Having the finest cattle ranges and most favorable climate for cattle-raising, the superiority of our cattle, as asserted in the British markets, is surprising only to those who have been in the habit — persons who assume rather than reason — of connecting high-grade cattle with the Olcl World only. The superiority of our cattle and cattle ranges is nowhere better under- stood than by the advanced and intelligent cattlemen of Ontario. This is verified in many ways, but in no way more emphatically than by the fact that Canadian cattle companies, in order to keep up to the demands of the British markets — Canadian cattle falling far below American cat- tle therein — have been forced to leave Canadian pastures for those of the United States, as a report upon the subject from the consul at Sherbrooke will substantiate. The intelligent and sensible efforts of those companies for the improvement of their vast herds are worthy of deep study on the part of our cattlemen. The Ontario Agricultural Commission, in the report of its proceedings published in 1881, refers in complimentary terms to the superiority of American cattle. Mr. A. J. Thompson, a large shipper of Canadian cattle to England, testified as follows before the commission : The animals that come from Kansas City are far superior to Canadian grain-fed cattle; there is no comparison between them. People have the idea that there is no breeding among the cattle in the Western States, but this is a great mistake, for these cattle are all pretty well bred. A statement, attached hereto, has been prepared which sjiows the im- portations of cattle (cows and calves omitted) into the United Kingdom during the eleven years ending with the year 1884. These details em- brace the beginning and development of our cattle and fresh-beef trade with that country, and are of special interest to our cattlemen and packers. This statement goes to show that our exportations of cattle to Europe really, began in the year 1877 — previous exportations being more or less in the nature of experiments — and reached their maximum in 1880 j the imports into the United Kingdom from the United States during that year amounting to $17,889,174, against $10,120,600 during the year 1884. The magnitude to which this trade would have grown were it not for adverse legislation — legislation the result of fear lest cattle disease might be introduced into the United Kingdom through the free import of American cattle — which hampered the landing, and the handling and killing after landing, of the animals, would only have been limited by our capacity to supply the demand. The changes which have taken place in the British foreign cattle trade during the decade ending with 1884, and the relative positions of CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 7 the countries from which the cattle were drawn at the beginning and end of the decade, are shown in the following statement : Statement showing the number of oxen imported into the United Kingdom during the years 1875 and 1884. [The countries from whence imported are given in the order of their importance in 1834, tho figures in parentheses showing their relative order in 1875.] Whence imported. United States (10) Canada (9) Denmark (2) Portugal (5) Spain (4) Germany (1) 1875. 1884. 299 139,213 1,212 59, 054 42, 746 21,632 17, 903 17,482 50, 141 17, 310 Whence imported. Sweden (8).. nolland (3). Norway (11) Belgium (7). France (6).. 1875. 3,637 27, 396 227 7, 139 8,986 1884. 12, 426 2, 561 , 865 It will here be seen that of all the European countries which contrib- uted in 1875 to the British cattle trade, Denmark and Sweden only- show an increase in 18S4. Germany, which held a good first place in 1875, has fallen to the sixth place in 1884, its exports in the latter year being not much over one-third what they were in 1875, while Belgium and France have fallen out of the trade altogether. It follows that were the United Kingdom dependent upon Europe to-day for its foreign meat supplies, the British people would have to eat less beef or pay far more for what they consume than they now pay. One principle seems to be established in the foregoing showing, viz, that tho United Kingdom can rely no longer upon Europe for its foreign-cattle wants, and that the United States must, for some years at least, be looked to for the greater portion of such supplies. THE FRESH-BEEF TRADE. As the trade in fresh beef is so closely connected with the trade in live cattle, and as the former has so much bearing upon the latter as to make it impossible to discuss understandingly the one without taking the other into consideration, the following statistics concerning the fresh-beef importations into the United Kingdom, are given : Statement shotting the quantities and valve of the fresh beef imported into the United King- dom from the several countries during the year 1884. Whence imported. Quantity. Valne. Value per pound. United States . . Russia Canada Germany Australasia France Other countries Total .... Pounds. 90, 904, 128 3,551,184 2, 643, 872 711,648 308, 448 104, 272 151, 648 $10, 724, 579 352, 107 320, 531 89, 409 32, 843 17, 593 16, 018 98, 375/200 11, 553, 080 Cents. 11.80 9.92 12.12 12.56 10.64 16.88 10.56 11.74 This statement shows that we virtually monopolize the trade of the United Kingdom in foreign fresh beef. The imports of fresh beef into the United Kingdom in 1874 amounted to about 3,773,464 pounds, of which 3,650,784 pounds were imported 8 CATTLE AND DAIKY FARMING. from Germany, and only 122,680 pounds from the United States. Our own official returns make no special mention of any exports of fresh beef before the year 1877, when 49,210,990 pounds— the whole export — were shipped to the United Kingdom. Our trade in fresh beef has sprunginto sudden magnitude, having steadily increased from 49,210,990 pounds, valued at $4,552,523, in 1877, to 120,784,004 pounds, valued at $11,987,331, in 1884. The British official returns place the following per-pound value upon the imports of fresh beef into the kingdom during the years 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883, and 1884: Whence imported. 1880. 1881. 1882. 1883. 1884. Cents. 11. 27 11.03 Cents. 11.48 12.51 Cents. 12. 00 11.30 Cents. 12.22 12.04 10. M 12.91 12. 06 13.19 Cents. 11.80 12. )2 U. 92 13.31 11. 5G 11.71 12.58 J 0. 84 France 10.88 It will be seen that American beef maintained the lead of all countries from which meat is drawn in any quantity. The slight price decrease in 1884 can have no significance when the immense quantity imported from the United States (90,904,128 pounds) is taken into consideration. Our consular reports a few years back repeatedly referred to the prejudice existing in Great Britain against American beef, while at the same time the British people were unknowingly proving the ground- lessness for such prejudice by eating large quantities thereof under the name of prime English beef — a trick of the butchers, who had helped to create and maintain the prejudice referred to. The consuls asserted that this prejudice, principally engendered and sustained by the butchers, whose interests it was feared would be injured by the American fresh-beef trade, required for its total dissipation only comprehensive and intelligent action on the part of our exporters in placing their meat properly before the British people, who wrou!d un- doubtedly consult and conserve their own interests in tbe premises. Central meat depots, with outlying shops in the principal cities of the kingdom, controlled and directed by British agents in the employ of the American shippers, or having an interest in the business, were sup*- gested as the radical remedy for the immediate development of an al- most unlimited trade in fresh beef. Recent reports make no reference to this phase of the trade, and it is to be assumed that the British public have become more or less convinced that American cattle and American meats are the very best in the world, outside of, perhaps, their own selected cattle and beef. It may even be doubted whether tlie best forced-fed English beef is any better than the beef raised on our rich and succulent ranges. The following extracts from a report written by the consul at Manches- ter in 1882 will illustrate this peculiar phase of our fresh-beef trade in England : The wide difference between the price English butchers pay our American export- ers for their meats, as compared with the price they charge for the same at retail, leads mo to again refer to the great need of the adoption of better methods for placing our meats on sale hero. At present the English dealer makes an unusual profit out of the American meat BnPPbr« This is often done by misrepresenting the kind of meat he sells, for it is a common practice, I am credibly informed, to claim that the beef, mutton, &c, on sale CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 9 is all English, when, in fact, most of the weight on hand has just come from the American supply at Liverpool. Not long ago a case in point came under my own ob- servation. I made inquiry of a retail butcher if he sold American meats, and he re- plied with some warmth, "No, sir, I could not sell it here." The same afternoon I was conversing with a gentleman, and incidentally mentioned what the butcher had told mo. He laughed and said, "Two days ago I was coming down street in Manchester, and saw this same butcher drop a paper. I picked it up, and it was a long bill of American meat, and when he assured you he sold no American beef he forgot that all his stock that day was American beef, and American only! " This plain statement of a fact illustrates how easy it has heretofore been for the English retail dealer to cheat and deceive consumers as to the beef sold. Tho prejudice against American beef is largely a thing of the past. And now that consumers are learning the tricks played upon them by butchers, it would be a wise plan, in my opinion, for American exporters of beef and mutton to take steps to compel fair dealing, to say the least, on the part of retail butchers here. Several years ago shops for tho sale of American meats were opened in various cen- ters, but owing to the hue and cry raised against them by the retail trade generally, and also on account of the prejudices with which consumers always regard a new source of supplies of food for this country, tho plan did not prove a success. Besides, the supply was, owing to tho uncertainty of the new enterprise, irregular — a state of things which no longer exists. I believe the present is a favorable time to repeat tho experiment under wise and judicious management. Our meats have won their way everywhere, and there is now no good reason why our exporters should not re- ceive at least 2 cents a pound more for their meat at Liverpool, leaving retail butchers here a round profit, and enabling the consumer to purchase tho same at a reduction from present prices of from 2 to 3 cents per pound. A cheaper supply of good beef would insure an enormous increase in the quantity consumed, so that cheaper meat would be a great boon to many of the laboring poor, who now rarely eat beef on account of its expense. American meat would be as readily bought under its right name as it is now under a false name, and with this difference— the pro- ducer and consumer would each be benefited, where now only the retail dealer reaps an undue profit. The statistics thus far given go to show that we monopolize, in the sense of supply, tho trade in foreign fresh beef in the United Kingdom ; and as it would seem to be more desirable for the United States to supply that market altogether with the product in this form, rather than in the form of live cattle, it is to be hoped that those most directly concerned will so perfect and enlarge their systems of preserving and handling as to do away altogether with what" under the very best condi- tions must be a crude and troublesome trade — the shipment of live cattle across the Atlantic. There can be no doubt that the fresh-beef form would also be more convenient and satisfactory to the British people', and save them all anxiety in regard to the introduction of cattle disease from the United States, of which they seem to stand in coustant dread — otherwise there would be no necessity for laws governing the import of live cattle, and regulations for the control of the stock before and after landing, which, as before remarked, greatly retard the trade. The fullest investigation into the conditions which surround this trade would seem to place the fault — if fault it be — for the shipment of live cattle to Great Britain, there to be converted into meat, instead of shipping from the United States in its meat form, at the doors of our cattlemen and beef exporters. The fact that we now ship 90,000,000 pounds of fresh beef annually to tho United Kingdom is evidence of our ability to ship three times that amount, and with comparatively less trouble and expense than would be entailed by the shipment of live cattle to produce that amount of meat in England, besides the profit which would accrue to the United States from the slaughtering of the animals, the preparation of the meat, the hides, horns, hoofs, bones, offal, &c, all of which represents so much gold to our manufacturers and agriculturists. 10 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. LIVE CATTLE IN THE SEVERAL COUNTRIES. The following statistics, mainly official, showing the number of cattle in the principal countries wherein cattle-rearing for meat and dairy- purposes, or for either, is prosecuted, will enable our stockmen to ap- preciate the present and prospective conditions which affect this great industry both at home and abroad : Cattle in the principal countries of Europe. Countries- Co wa. All other. Total. Number of cattle to each 1,000 inhabitants. Rusaia Norway , Sweden Denmark Germany Holland Belgium France Italy Austria Hungary* Spain Switzerland Portugal The United Kingdom Great Britain Ireland Total principal countries 741, 598 1, 394, 731 898, 790 8, 961, 221 997, 839 706, 178 7, 113, 242 2, 366, 556 4, 138, 625 1, 740, 399 552, 427 2, 124, 020 1, 417, 481 275, 019 790, 805 571, 2F8 6,815,481 456, 667 580, 6.37 2, 416, 676 4, 445, 452 2, 857, 144 547, 573 4, 473, 934 2, 811, 270 24, 088, 000 1,016,617 2, 191, 636 1,470,078 15, 776, 702 1,434,406 1,382,815 11, 416, 253 4, 783, 232 8, 584, 077 4, 597, 543 2, 904, 598 1, 100, 000 520/474 10, 826, 705 6, 597, 954 4, 228, 751 927093, 136 299.9 528. 0. 480.0 754.9 341.0 357.5 250.5 303.2 168.1 351.2 283.9 170.5 372.3 125.1 298.0 210.0 The statistical rules usually applicable for the deduction of results from almost any general industry are of very little practical use when applied to the cattle industry of Europe. The United Kingdom and Eussia may be cited in illustration. The former is the largest consumer of foreign cattle among the nations of the world, while the latter is a country upon which the former expects in the very near future to draw for a large portion of its foreign meat supply ; yet the United Kingdom has within a fraction of as many cattle as Russia to each 1,000 inhab- itants, and if we take the quality of the stock of both countries into consideration — the native breeds, which constitute the general stock of Eussia, yielding, according to Oonsul-General Stanton, " only from 252 to 288 pounds of coarse, unsavory meat " — the odds are largely in favor of the United Kingdom. Spain, which exports largely to the United Kingdom, has only 170.5 cattle to each 1,000 of its inhabitants; Portugal, with much less than one-half the cattle per capita of the United Kingdom, is another heavy exporter ; while France, with a fair average cattle supply — 303.2 to each 1,000 inhabitants — imports, over and above its exports, from 70,000 to 75,000 head Of cattle per annum for consumption. Consul Williams, of Eouen, says of the beef consumed in France one- tenth is imported. The same consul says that France imports beef cattle in large numbers from Italy; yet Italy has the lowest cattle census of the countries of Europe — that is, according to population — Portugal excepted, viz, 1G8.1 to each 1,000 of its inhabitants. Among the many conditions which prevail and which influence the interests of the several countries, in so far as those interests come into CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 11 conflict with the cattle and cattle products of the United States in for- eign markets, the following may be cited : (1) The purposes for which the cattle are bred and reared — whether for the dairy or the butcher. (2) The quality of the cattle. (3) The home consumption of meat and dairy products. Spain, Portugal, and Italy are light consumers of these products; hence, with their very low stock rate, their ability to export cattle. Switzerland, France, Holland, and Belgium are dairy countries; that is, the dairy is the principal interest and the butcher but an incident. Austria and Hungary have fair cattle supplies, but their export is very limited. This, however, is due principally to the stringent cattle laws of Germany — laws enacted for the protection of German cattle from the introduction of disease. The exporting cattle countries of Europe are Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Holland, Sweden, and Russia. From the arbitrary conditions which surround the industry in these countries, and in view of the unlimited fields for its development outside of Europe, it does not appear as if the future held out much promise for cattle-breeding, for export at least, in the Old World. The United Kingdom being the only country in Europe which imports cattle and fresh beef from countries outside of Europe, such imports may be regarded as those which Europe cannot supply. The interna- tional imports and exports between France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Austria-Hungary, and Russia are sufficient unto themselves, with a small surplus for export to England. This surplus was as fol- lows in 18S4 : Cattle.— From Germany, 24,492 head ; from Holland, 3,664 head. Fresh beef. — From Eussia, 3,551,184 pounds ; from Germany, 711,648 pounds ; from France, 104,272 pounds. This, it will be seen, is a very small surplus for so large a portion of the Continent, and a population of about 250,000,000. The other countries of Europe, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Spain, and Portugal, export about 140,000 head of cattle annually. It is to these that Great Britain looks, outside of Ireland, for any regular sup- ply of European cattle. The total annual wants of the United Kingdom, based upon the as- sumption that its importations cover its wants, may be estimated at 480,000 head of foreign cattle, or their equivalent in fresh beef. This estimate is based on the following calculations : In 1834 the importations were 61,314 cows, 309,696 oxen, 98,375,200 pounds of fresh beef, and 54,911 calves. The value of the fresh beef, as may be seen on reference to the sta- tistical table heretofore given, is a little over one-third the value of the oxen, and it is therefore assumed that the 98,375,200 pounds of fresh beef represented one- third the number of oxen imported. The greater number of the oxen and nearly all the beef being American, gives addi- tion^ assurance that this estimate is a very close approximation to the real figures. The value of five calves equaling the value of one ox, this import is equivalent to 5,000 oxen. The total number of horned cattle, or their equivalent as above, im- ported into the United Kingdom from European countries during the year 1884 amounted to about 1S0,00<^ head, leaving 300,000 head to be supplied by countries outside of Europe. These were drawn from the following countries, fresh beef being converted into cattle as before: From the United States, 234,700 head; from Canada, 64,031 head; from all other places, 1,269 head. 12 CATTLE AND DAIRY • FARMING. It thus appears that nearly one-half of all the foreign fresh beef con- sumed in the United Kingdom is drawn from the United States. The foregoing estimates do not include the imports of meat " preserved otherwise than by salting,'7 under which designation considerable quan- tities of "jerked" or dried beef from South America, and canned and smoked beef from the United States and Australasia, are imported, as witness the following statement : Imjport8into the United Kingdom during the year 1884 of meat preserved other than by salting. Whence imported. Quantity. Value. Value per pound. United States Australasia Founds. 29, 098, 536 14, 399, 728 1,416,128 2,614,976 1, 504, 304 459, 984 245, 392 153,104 158,592 101,300 117,600 169, 536 10,640 $3, 476, 642 1, 502, G97 958, 499 403, 385 175, 237 82, 275 61, 892 30, 166 20, 572 20, 363 20, 052 20. 652 1,640 Cents. 11.96 10.44 67.76 15.42 11.20 17.89 25. 26 19.71 12.93 20.06 Holland 17.07 Brazil 15.73 All other 15.41 Total '. „ 50, 509, 880 6, 780, 072 11.46 Here, as in cattle and fresh beef, the United States largely leads, followed in quantity by Australasia, Uruguay, Canada, Belgium, &c., respectively. Assuming that the future wants of Europe will increase proportionately with the increase of, say, the last fifteen years, and that the increase in its cattle, under the most favorable conditions, cannot be expected to keep pace with the expected increase of population and the constantly increasing use of meat foods among the people — an increase principally due to the fact that the exports from the United States and other non- European countries are bringing meat foods more and more within the purchasing power of the general classes — it may serve a practical pur- pose for our stockmen, packers, and exporters to study the statistics of the countries which in the near future will be likely to compete with American meats in the British markets — not only in the British markets, but in those of nearly every country in Europe, for it is only a matter of detail in the perfection of the methods fcr the preservation of fresh beef, and its quick and regular transportation from distant countries, when the breeding nnd rearing of cattle for meat purposes will be wholly unprofitable, if not practically impossible, in the greater portion of Europe. The latest official returns and estimates of the number of horned cat- tle in the principal cattle-rearing countries outside of Europe give the following results : Countries. Total number of cattle. Number to every 1,000 in- habitants. United States Brazil Argentine Republic Uruguay Canada Australasia Total........ 45, 170, 000 20, 000, 000 12,000,000 8, 000, 000 1. 925, 000 8, 153, 000 95, 248, GOO 821. 3 1,860.7 4, 724. 0 11,428.6 442.0 2, 777. 0 1, 288. 9 CATTLE A¥D DAIRY FARMING. 13 The figures in this statement show that there are over 3,000,000 more horned cattle in the six countries given, with a population of about 76,000,000, than there are in the principal countries of Europe — practi- cally the entire continent — heretofore given, with a population of 324,000,000. In regard to the vast herds of cattle in the Argentine Eepublic, Uru- guay, and Brazil, it may bo said, as a rule, that they are at present only valuable for their hides, horns, tallow, &c, very large numbers not being available even for these products, owing to their distance from the seaboard and the lack of transportation facilities. A striking illus- tration of these conditions is given by the consul-general at Rio de Janeiro, who reports that, notwithstanding the 20,000,000 head of cattle in the Empire, 54,000,000 pounds of dried beef were imported into that city (during the year in which his report was written) from Uruguay and the Argentine Eepublic. The conditions which prevail in the Ar- gentine Eepublic are not much better than those which prevail in Brazil, Consul Baker reporting that, with its 12,000,000 cattle, neither milk, butter, nor cheese is produced in the country, and that the beef is of execrable quality. Cattle in the Argentine Eepublic and in Uruguay are bred and slaughtered almost wholly for their hides, the exports of which num- bered 1,910,218 for the Argentine Eepublic alone in 1883. With the increasing demand for beef in Europe, it cannot be very long before the waste beef of South America will be more or less util- ized in that direction. The capitalists of Europe, it appears, are already contemplating the import of fresh meats from tho Argentine Republic, for our consul at Mayence, in a report dated September 1, 1885, trans- mits the following clipping from a leading German trade journal : FRESH-MEAT TRADE WITH ARGENTINE. The proposal to establish a company to carry on the importation of fresh meat from Argentine is being taken up in various quarters. Hamburg is to be the chief Euro- pean depot, and 3,000,000 marks (about $700,000) are proposed as the capital. It ia contended that there is a great opening in Germany for a concern which will provide cheap food, and especially flesh, for tho people. Tho La Plata states, and Argentine particularly, aro especially eligible for tho supply of stock on a large scale. A begin- ning is to bo made with mutton. In tho Argentine Republic alone the flocks of sheep number 80,000,000 head. Tho meat will bo brought iu cold apartments, the ma- chinery for the Argentine refrigerating establishment being obtained in Germany. German refrigerating machines have proved their efficiency. Recently Herr A. Neu- becker, engineer, of Offenbach, made experiments attaining 15° of cold, and aftor six weeks the object still showed-8°, while for the transport by ship 1° is sufficient. The consul, in transmitting this " news item," pertinently asks why our people cannot supply some of this " cheap food, especially flesh, for which there is said to be a great opening in Germany." During the year 1884 we exported over 120,000,000 pounds of fresh beef, of which 115,000,000 pounds went to the United Kingdom, and not a single pound to any other country in Europe. This would seem to imply either one or all of three points, viz, that our exporters have overlooked the German market, that our beef is too dear for that mar- ket, or that there is no " great opening " in that market for foreign fresh beef. The second would seem to be the true point, else why should a syndicate be formed for experimenting in Argentine beef, while Amer- ican beef, beyond the experimental phase, is within easy reach. In regard to Australasia, noted for its valuable breeds of cattle, as well as for its intelligent cattle-breeding, it maybe said to have passed the experimental stage in its exports of fresh beef to the United King- 14 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. dom, as the exports thereto of 308,000 pounds in 1884 would seem to imply. The imports of fresh beef into the United Kingdom from the United States during the year 1875 were only a little greater than those for Australasia in 1884. The first imports into the United Kingdom of fresh beef from Russia are recorded for the year 1883, viz, 2,462,432 pounds. For 1884 the im- ports amounted to 3,351,184 pounds, an increase of 889,752 pounds. The initiatory effort in this case is British — British capital and British direction — and great hopes are entertained of enlarging the trade. It will be noted, in the table showing the imports of fresh beef into the United Kingdom, that the Eussian product is valued at 9.92 cents and the American at 11.80 cents per pound. The superiority of the Ameri- can beef fully warrants this difference in price ; but it must not be for- gotten that a penny per pound is a matter of considerable moment to the working and trades classes of the United Kingdom, and will go far towards glossing over inferiority in quality. This question of cheapness exerts a controlling influence in every country in Europe, and the country which can supply the cheapest food products can always command an almost unlimited market therein. Our producers, while maintaining the high quality of their products, must never lose sight of this point. Assuming that in the near future our stockmen and slaughterers will have to contend more or less with Australasia, the Argentine Republic, Russia, &c. — Canada being already an important competitor— for the beef trade of Europe, the question naturally presents itself, how will such competition affect us ? With the present magnificent condition of our vast herds ; their supe- rior quality as beef-makers; the intelligence which governs and guides every movement from the plains to the seaboard ; our almost perfect railway system, which insures quick transport ; the nearness of Europe to our shores, and the unlimited steamship conveyance always available, it does not seem possible that any other country can overmatch us in the European markets. The only drawback to our export trade which can arise is the possibility of our home demands increasing faster than our supply, for the home market is the controlling influence. Whatever maybe the results to us and. to the other countries which are preparing to enter into this trade, the result to the United Kingdom must be an abundant and cheap supply of beef, for the surplus beef cattle of the world are ever on the move towards London. DAIRY PRODUCTS IN EUROPE. Those portions of the consular reports which treat of dairy farming in Europe seem to cover every point ^ntemplated in the Department cir- cular, and they must prove of great interest and value to our dairy farm- ers. It would be impossible, even were it necessary, to condense their various interesting descriptions of European dairy farming, from the care of the cattle to the manufacture of butter and cheese, and the con- ditions which surround and influence the industry, from its inception to the disposal of the products. The reports to be fully appreciated in this regard must be read in detail, for the different parts of the subject are dwelt on to minutia, leaving very little for assumptive speculation. The only phase of the interest which seems to demand any treatment here is, as in the case of cattle and beef, that which deals with the European butter and cheese markets, our share therein, and how to en- large that share. CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 15 What was said of the cattle surplus of the world finding a market in the United Kingdom is equally true of butter and cheese. The condi- tions which govern that market may therefore be said to govern all other markets; at least this holds good so far as our exports of dairy •products to Europe are concerned. The following statement shows the amount and value of butter and butterine — for, strange to say, the British customs returns do not distin- guish between butter and oleomargarine — imported into the United Kingdom during the year 1884 : Butter and butterine imports. Whence imported. Quantity. Value. Value per pound. Holland Prance Denmark Germany Sweden United States Canada Belgium Norway Russia Australasia Italy... Channel Islands British East Indies Other countries ... Total Pounds. 124,024,128 57, 121, 008 37, 527, 504 1C, 177, 280 11,404,064 11. 231, 472 C, 208, 944 6, 740, 272 3, 489, 472 1, 484, 560 508, 480 152, 432 100, 464 161, 168 17, 584 277, 248, 832 $24, 285, 575 14, 077, 539 9,761,052 4, 180, 251 2, 887, 384 2, 179, 982 1, 243, 028 1, 348, 848 610, 564 202, 536 93, 924 36, 562 25, 685 25, 146 3,115 60, 961, 191 Cents. 19.44 24.64 26.01 25.84 25.32 19.41 20.02 20.00 17.51 13.64 18.47 23.92 25.57 15.60 17.72 21.99 It will be noted that Danish butter leads all foreign butter in price per pound in the British market, being higher than even the celebrated Channel Islands butter. This is a fine tribute to what may be called a national effort in this leading industry of Denmark, for Government and people seem to be united in the determination to combine all the ad- vanced appliances for the manufacture of this product with the utmost care and selection of the stock, cleanliness, and care in handling the milk, cream, and butter, and putting the latter on the British market in the most acceptable condition. Next to Denmark, the products of Germany, Sweden, and France stand very high in the British market. . The comparatively low place occupied by the product of Holland should not detract from the noted dairy farmers of that country, it be- ing wholly due to the fact that a great portion of the imports therefrom into the United Kingdom is oleomargarine, or imitation butter. Consul Eyder, in his report on the butter export of Denmark, calls attention to this fact, and the Irish butter- makers, as will be seen on reference to the report from Consul Piatt, of Cork, protest that the Dutch manu- facture butterine, or oleomargarine, properly speaking, to imitate Irish butter, in counterfeit packages, and that it is largely sold as Irish but- ter in England, and even in Ireland. To properly estimate the amount of this so-called u Dutch butter n imported into the United Kingdom, we have only#to compare the im- ports from Holland in 1877, before oleomargarine had become an in- dustry in that country, and the imports during the year 1884. In the former year the imports were 41,679,085 pounds, against 100,128,032 pounds in 1884. In the former year the British imports of French but- ter amounted to 16,000,000 pounds more than the imports of Dutch but- ter, while in 1884 Dutch butter led the French by nearly 44,000,000 16 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. pounds. It is, therefore, safe to assume that fully 50,000,000 pounds of the butter imported into the United Kingdom from Holland in the year 1884 was oleomargarine or imitation butter. In view of the prejudice which exists in Europe against American products, and the belief which prevails, more or less, among the several peoples that adulteration and counterfeiting of food products are more rife in the United States than in the Old World, the open manufacture of oleomargarine into imitation butter, the counterfeiting of well-known brands, and the flooding the British markets therewith, without excit- ing any special wonder, is most significant. In some the United States we have laws regulating the manufacture of oleomargarine, which laws insist that the product must be plainly branded according to its nature, so that people who so desire can purchase and use it understandingly. That it is permitted to be imported into the United Kingdom under the name of butter, and sold as such, must have a very injurious effect on the legitimate butter trade. Turning to our exports of butter and oleomargarine (for the distinc- tion is clearly made by our customs), we find that during the year 1884 Holland took of our oleomargarine oil 33,173,849 pounds, valued at $4,127,827, an average of 12.44 cents per pound. Our total exports of oleomagarine for the year amounted to 39,321,000, valued at $4,842,000, or 18,693,626, pounds, and $1,091,229 in excess of our butter exports for the year. Of our exports of oleomargarine not taken by Holland, 2,865,783 pounds of the oil went to Belgium, 1,967,263 pounds of the oil and 421,316 pounds of the imitation butter (the oleomargarine ex- ports being subdesignated imitation butter and the oil by our customs) went to the United Kingdom, and 1,062,360 pounds of the imitation but- ter to Canada. There need be little doubt that the greater portion of the export to Holland was converted into "Irish" and u English n butter and consumed as such by the British people. In this connection it is worthy of note that the exports from Holland to the United Kingdom, of which at least one-half was composed of this imitation butter, are valued by the Brit- ish customs at a fraction per pound more than the real butter imported from the United States. The decrease in the consumption of American butter in the United Kingdom is noteworthy. The imports thereof in 1879 amounted to 33,231,472 pounds, valued at $6,041,466, against 11,231,472 pounds, val- ued at $2,179,982, in 1884. It is more than probable that this decrease was largely due to the increase in our home consumption, prices in the home market, especially for first quality butter, being more satisfac- tory than the prices prevailing in the United Kingdom. The decrease was certainly not due to any lessened demand for foreign butter in Great Britain, for the imports during the year 1884 were 15,000,000 pounds in excess of those of 1S80; and the fact that so much inferior butter or substitute for butter finds a growing market therein goes to prove that quality has no further bearing on the trade than value in the British market. Tho fact that American butter is valued at 6.60 cents per pound less than the Danish, 6.43 cents less than the German, 5.91 cents less than the Swedish, 5.23 eents less than the French, and even a fraction less than the DutcL, one-half of which is imitation butter, should appeal to the pride as well as the profit of our dairy farmers. The high position attained by the Danish, German, and French butter in the British mar- ket is the result of special preparation for that market, and the reports of the consuls from those countries show the great care taken in its CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 17 manufacture, so that all the requisite conditions maybe complied with. It may be said of the British market that it offers an almost un- limited field for high and low grades of butter. As the Dutch and Bel- gians, with their imitation butter — for the Belgians, it would also ap- pear, largely manufacture oleomargarine for export to England — will, it is more than likely, be able to supply the low-grade product, we can scarcely hope, even if wo so desired, to compete for this trade. The field for high-grade butter is, however, open to our dairy people, and there is no good reason why they, with more favorable primary condi- tions than can possibly exist in any of the European countries, should not prepare and place upon the British market butter which would stand on a par with tho. best Danish product. They should study the reports on Danish dairy forming concerning this great industry, and thus learn that the secret of Danish success lies altogether in comply- ing with the laws governing success. If our dairy farmers essay foreign markets at all, they should cater to the tastes of those markets, and it- will pay better, even at the expense of more labor and time, to export first-class than inferior butter carelessly made, carelessly packed, and carelessly placed on the markets. The 11,231,472 pounds of American butter imported into the United Kingdom from the United States dur- ing the year 1884 at the price received for Danish butter would have yielded our dairy farmers nearly $750,000 more than was realized there- from. This large sum can be legitimately charged to indifference on the part of our dairy farmers. This is not the real cost of our indiffer- ence, however, for had we catered for the British markets, after the manner of the Danish dairy farmers, our exports would have been four- fold what they were in 1834. Thus some idea may be formed of the consequential damages which have resulted from our remissness in this one industry, which, as said before, is surrounded by more favorable con- ditions in the United States than in any other country. In this connection, the attention of our dairy farmer is directed to a report on the Irish butter trade, transmitted by the consul at Cork. As Cork is the chief center of the dairy interest of Ireland — the butter being almost wholly manufactured for the London market — and as Irish butter holds a very high place in English esteem, this report, with its accompanying papers, is of special value. A table in this report gives the prices of the finest butter in the Cork market for forty years, viz, 1841 to 1881, from which it appears that during the decade ending with 1851 butter averaged 84 shillings per hundred- weight (18.2 cents per pound) ; during the decade ending with 18C1, 104 shillings per hundred-weight (22.6 cents per pound); during the decade ending with 1871, 116 shilling per hundred-weight (26 cents per pound) ; and during the decade ending with 1881, 131 shillings per hundred-weight (27.9 cents per pound) ; an increase in the forty years of 47 shillings per hundred-weight (10.2 cents per pound). In 1881 Danish butter was valued in the English customs at 26.25 cents per pound; in the same year, as the report under consideration shows, Irish butter sold in the Cork markets at 28.8 cents per pound. The costs and charges incident to export must be added hereto to ar- rive at an estimate of its value in the English market. These figures would go to prove that Irish butter brings the highest pri inasmuch as all dairy products can be produced so much cheaper with us than on this side of the Atlantic. For the large passenger steamships the finest butter is utilized, and also for export to countries where the consuming population require and can afford to pay for it, such as India, Japan, China, Australia, and South America, and countries bordering on the Mediterranean. For merchant shipping and for the poorer classes of the population in the above- named countries, a second and third quality of butter is good enough, and it is for the inferior qualities that the United States, as would appear from published market reports, require a greater outlet than for the products of the best dairies, inasmuch as the American markets are continually glutted with stock of this sort, chiefly owing to ;the inroads which the improved manufacture of butterine has made upon the markets hitherto available for the consumption of cheap genuine butter. Since merchant vessels use chiefly butter of the third quality, it will be seen that the markets for large quantities of this class of butter might be found if the canning sys- tem were adopted for the supply now furnished, for the most part, by European exporters. From a statement, herewith submitted, showing our butter exports for eleven years, 1874 to 1884, both inclusive, it appears that this ex- port has increased nearly fivefold in quantity during that period. The price per pound was, however, nearly 7 cents greater in 1874 than in 1884. On turning to the butter import into the United Kingdom for those two years it is found that the average price per pound in 1874 was 24.24 cents, and for 1884 (omitting the import from Holland wherein imitation butter predominated) the average price was 24.70 cents per pound. Thus the decline in value in American butter during the eleven years under consideration must have been wholly due to deteri- oration in quality. In this connection it should be remembered, how- ever, that our first-class butter finds as good a market at home as in any foreign country, and it may be assumed that this fact alone accounts for the decline in the price of American export butter in 1884, as com- pared with the year 1874. Our exports of butter to Europe during the eleven years increased nearly ninefold in quantity, this increase being wholly dominated by our exports to the United Kingdom and to Germany. The export in 1884 of American butter to Denmark and Sweden (421,377 and 370,371 pounds respectively) is worthy of attention, being our first recorded butter exports to these countries. It would be interesting to ascertain whether this product was im- ported into those butter-exporting countries for consumption or to be worked over for the English market. As the latter was more thah likely the real purpose of import, it becomes a question for our dairy farmers whether, if it pays the Danish and Swedish butter makers or assorters to import American butter, manipulate it over and re-export the same to England at profitable prices, it would not pay them to so CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 19 manipulate it in the first place as to leave nothing for foreign " butter doctors" to realize from any subsequent handling? If our butter can be so manipulated as to sell in London as Danish and Swedish butter, it must be, in its finished state, as good as Danish or Swedish butter, or the factors of those countries would not risk their good names by placing it before the British public with their brands thereon. It nec- essarily follows that our own dairy farmers can turn out our whole product for export of as good quality as either Danish or Swedish but- ter, if they only take the necessary time and care in all the details of manufacture. It will be seen that our butter export to Cauada (which is doubt- lessly largely re-exported to Great Britain), the British West Indies, the French possessions in America, the Spanish West Indies, the United States of Colombia, and Venezuela, is of considerable volume and value. The fact that we export about one-half as much butter to countries on this continent as wedo to Europe is significant, and as t^his field is capa- ble of being largely developed it is worthy of the special attention of our dairy farmers. In this connection it is to be assumed that canned butter, put up after the manner of Irish butter as reported by our consul at Cork, would be better suited for the West Indian and South American mar- kets than our butter packed and shipped in its present form. Our butter exports to Africa and Asia are, as might be expected, of little account. These continents do not consume butter in its American and general European form to any appreciable extent. To win any trade therein would require from our dairy farmers special preparation and special packing. The reports from these continents will enable those directly concerned to appreciate the conditions which are called for in this connection. THE FOREIGN OLEOMARGARINE MARKET. Exports of oleomargarine from the United States during the year 1884. Exported to — Imitation butter. The oil. Total. Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. Pounds. 30, 790 $2, 605 Pounds. 96, 551 33, 173, 819 2,864,263 1, 545, 947 60, 506 32, 614 11, 399 $11, 866 4, 127, 827 358, 798 161, 156 6, 159 4, 200 1,237 Pounds. 127, 341 33, 173, 819 2, 865, 783 1, 967, 263 1, 062, 309 32, 614 93, 652 $14, 471 4,127,827 358, 973 209, 020 113, 334 4,200 14, 537 1, 520 421, 310 1, 001, 803 175 47, 864 107, 175 82, 253 13, 300 Total 1, 537, 082 171,119 37 785 159 4,671,243 39, 322, 841 4, 842, 362 Value per pound of oleomargarine exported in 1884. Exported to- Imita- tion butter. The oil. Exported to — Imita- tion butter. The oil. Cents. Cents. 12.44 12. 53 10.42 Cents. 10.60 16.32 Cents. 10 17 iJSi 12.30 10 85 20 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. The foregoing figures show that our exports of oleomargarine in 1884 were 18,695,467 pounds in quantity and $1,091,591 in value greater than our exports of butter, and at prices only a little more than one-half the latter. THE FOREIGN CHEESE MARKET. Our annual cheese export amounts to over five and one-half times in quantity and three times in value our butter export, the export during the year 1884 amounting to 112,869,575 pounds, valued at $11,663,713. The imports of cheese into the United Kingdom, which cover the greater portion of the surplus cheese of the several countries, were as follows in 1884: Imports of cheese into the United Kingdom during the year 1884. Imported froni- Quantity. Value. Value per * pound. United States Canada Holland France— Iluasia Belgium Australia Sweden Denmark Germany Elsewhere ... Total... Pounds. 109, 333, 280 65, 994, 544 35, 777, 392 3, 03G, 006 394, 800 302, 880 315, 056 278, 880 189, 056 93, 856 63, 168 052,353 273, 301 342, 002 438, 600 40,218 44,717 38, 418 30, 340 21, 982 11, 255 8,728 215, 839, 508 24, 307, 944 Cents. 11. C24 11.021 12. 137 14. 443 11,714 12. 323 12. 194 10. 883 11.627 11. 992 15.400 11. 262 Considering the immense quantity of American cheese consumed in the United Kingdom — 8,000,000 pounds at least of the imports from Canada, above recorded, being American cheese exported by and credited in British returns to the Dominion — it maybe held that it stands as well in public estimation as the product from any other country, although the specially prepared cheese of some other countries bring higher prices in the market. These higher figures, however, except in the case of Holland, cover only small quantities, comparatively. It may well be questioned whether the cheese of any other country, in quality and flavor, is superior to American cheese, but the latter still suffers, in price at least, for it does not seem to suffer in consumption from Jhat lingering prejudice which regards all American products as in some mysterious manner inferior to the products of the older countries — a prejudice which has operated very unfavorably for our products, but which is being dissipated by the continuous good qualities of the products them selves. It will be seen that we supply the British markets with a little more than one-half their total imports of cheese. Our exports of cheese to the United Kingdom during the year 1884, 102,686,547 pounds, and to Canada, 8,803,296 pounds — the greater portion of the latter go- ing to England also— left only 1,879,632 pounds for export to all other countries. It will thus be seen that our foreign cheese trade may be said to be confined to the United Kingdom. Of our immense cheese ex- port during 1884, only a little over 3,000 pounds went to all Europe, out- side the United Kingdom. CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 21 This branch of our dairy industry calls for no further comment. Our dairy farmers have only to continue to supply the British markets, as heretofore, with good cheese, to maintain the trade at its present mag- nificient proportions. It may be time to consider, in addition to our manufacture of cheese for general consumption, whether it would not pay to cater to particular and peculiar taste. For instance, French cheese to the amount of over 3,000,000 pounds, valued at over 3 cents per pound more than American cheese, was consumed in the United King- dom in 1884. Even Putch cheese, imported to an amount equal to one- third of the total imports of the United States (35,777,392 pounds), is val- ued at more than 1 cent per pound higher than American cheese by the British customs. Our cheese manufacturers should study the modes of manufacture in the several countries, especially in France, Holland, Switzerland, and Italy, and learn therefrom, if there is anything to be learned, the secrets of special-cheese making. The reports from those countries will be found full and valuable aids to such study. Our cheese manufacturers should never lose sight of the fact that whenever, without any depreciation in the quality, they can export cheese to the United Kingdom at lower prices than are obtained at present, the result will be an increase in the consumption of this product. Indeed, it would be hard to estimate the increased consumption of American cheese which would result from a decrease of even a penny per pound in the United Kingdom. Of course this principle applies to all other food supplies equally as well as to cheese, and it should always be borne in mind and worked up to by our producers and ex- porters without waiting for competition to reduce the price. CANNED AND SALTED BEEF, BEEF TALLOW, ETC. The foregoing statistics, covering the foreign trade and our present and prospective share therein, in horned cattle, fresh beef, butter, cheese, and oleomargarine, still leave canned and salted beef, beef tallow, and condensed milk before the subject of cattle and cattle products, in this connection, is exhausted. The details of our trade herein will be found in the tabulated state- ments immediately following this letter, showing our total exports of cattle and cattle products, by countries and continents, for the year 1884. Our exports of canned beef for the year 1884 amounted to $3,173,767, of which the United Kingdom took to the value of $2,542,122, while less than $300,000 worth went to the remainder of Europe. Our exports of beef tallow during the year 1884 amounted to 63,091,103 pounds, valued at $4,793,375. In 1880 our exports of tallow amounted to $110,707,627 pounds, valued at $7,689,262. Of course this showing does not go to prove any decrease in this product during those five years, for it is too apparent that beef tallow in our market must keep pace with the slaughter of cattle, and the latter having increased very #largely during the years under review, it follows that the falling off in our export of the former is wholly due to an increased home consump- tion. This increased consumption is in the line of oleomargarine man- ufacture, and our exports of the latter, together with our home con- sumption thereof, will fully cover any decrease in the export of beef tallow. Of the total tallow export of 1884, 57,706,979 pounds, valued at $4,339,322, went to Europe, of which much more than one-half went to the United Kingdom, France (8,514,000 pounda)p Belgium, and Holland following in their respective order. 22 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Our total exports of salted beef in 1884 amounted to 42,379,911 pounds, valued at $3,202,275, of which 31,410,557 pounds, valued at $2,410,557, went to Europe ; 9,652,769 pounds, valued at $708,934, to countries in America; and 313,200 and, 227,390 pounds to Asia and Africa, respect- ively. The United Kingdom took the principal portion of this product, as of all the other cattle products reviewed, oleomargarine excepted, no less than 20,831,030 pounds, valued at $2,058,383, going thither. Our total exports of cattle and cattle products duriug the year 1S84 were as follows : Designation. Quantity. Value. Designation. Quantity. Value. Cattle Fresh beef . . . .. number. ...pounds. 190, 518 120, 784, 064 $17, 855, 495 11,987,331 3, 173, 707 3, 202, 275 G7, 758 3, 750, 771 Cheese pounds . Beef tallow do. . Oleomargarino do.. Condensed milk 112,869,575 0:5,091,103 39, 322, 894 $11, 063, 713 4, 793. 375 4, 842, 362 203, 008 Salted beef... ...pounds. do.. do.. 42, 379, 911 641, 103 •20,027,374 Total Butter 01, 544, 855 CATTLE-BREEDING IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. As remarked at the beginning oF this letter, those portions of the consular reports which, deal with the many-sided, and, it may be added, finely-shaded subject of cattle-breeding in the various countries, the cattle most suitable for export to the United States, the best modes and routes of imports hither, the various phases of dairy farming, &c, do not adapt themselves to statistical analyses in any more condensed forms than those given in the various reports themselves ; hence, these portions of the general subject are left untouched. As was to be expected from the nature of the interests involved and the conditions by which they are surrounded, many of the consular re- ports treat of the same breeds of cattle, and many seem to have the appearance of repetition. Care has been taken, however, to guard against such repetition, while, at the same time, giving due considera- tion to the efforts and labors of the consuls. Eegard for consular efforts is, however, herein conserved by regard for the general interests in- volved, for the various reports, treating of the same breeds of cattle and their relative merits, give a many-sided view of the same subject, and hence serve to modify and correct each other; for the admirers of special breeds, without intending to be partial, are sure to paint their favorites in colors too glowing. Hence the wisdom, as well as utility, of giving the reports in full, leaving the intelligent cattle-breeders of the United States to draw their own conclusions therefrom. One of the most interesting parts of the whole subject of cattle-breed- ing is that relating to cross-breeding and its results in the several coun- tries. In this connection, as well as in helping to show the modifications and shadings which change of countries, or districts within countries, has effected on what are called pure-bred cattle aud on the cattle bred , from intermixture of the native breeds therewith, the illustrations which accompany the reports will greatly aid the stock-breeders of the United States in arriving at correct conclusions and immediate results — results which, it should be remembered, have been attained in the Old World only by slow, patient, and costly effort; indeed, the whole experience of Europe is herein laid open to our cattlemen and dairy farmers. As there is no portion of this vast subject which has produced more heated discussion and honest difference of opinion among those directly CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 23 concerned than the wisdom or otherwise of getting what some of our consuls call u fancy-stock crazed,'7 and paying more for a single " blooded" animal than a well-stocked moderate farm is usually worth, and as many of these reports, principally those which treat of the fine and noted breeds in the United Kingdom, are undoubtedly calculated to incite the enthusiasm of American cattlemen, a paper from Consul Tanner, of Li6ge, Belgium, which is, in part, an argument, supported by valuable statistics, against such enthusiasm, and intended to prove that our farmers can, by selection and care, develop a race of American cattle equal to any so called "blooded stock," has been inserted as a prelude to the general reports. Such facts as that our cattle are now the best foreign cattle slaughtered for the British market, and the evidence given before the Ontario agricultural commission by a loading cattle exporter, that the Western cattle of the United States " are far superior to Canadian grain-fed cattle, there being no comparison between them," should be remembered in this connection. Without desiring to advocate or combat the views herein set forth, feeling well assured that the cattle-breeders of the United States are fully competent to read and digest the matter contained in these re- ports, I cannot help feeling that many of the latter are calculated to arouse a certain amount of enthusiasm where only the coolest calcula- tion is called for. hi this regard Consul Tanner's paper on "Cattle- breeding in Europe and in the United States," with its mass of valuable European opinion, methods of feeding, breeding for show and for sale, principally to American cattlemen, will at least serve to moderate those reports written, or incited, by breeders of "blooded stock," who, natur- ally enough, write lovingly of their favorites. Given that full consideration and calm deliberation which American cattle-breeders and dairy farmers are surely capable of giving to such a congenial subject as cattle-breeding and dairy-farming, these reports, together with the statistics attached thereto in a supplementary form, contain, it is confidently believed, a mass of information such as has never before been compiled and published in any country, and must prove of great value to the cattlemen and dairy farmers of the United States. I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, T. F. BAYARD. Hon. John G. Carlisle, Speaker of tJie House of Representatives. 24 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Tabulated statements accompanying the Secretary's letter. , Cattle statistics : (1) Statement showing the exports of cattle from the United States during the eleven years ending with the year 18:34, showing the numbers and total value and the value per head of the cattle exported to each country. (2) Statement showing the imports of cattle into the United Kingdom during the eleven years ending with the year 1884, showing the number and total value and the value per head of the cattle imported from each country. Fresh beef statistics : (3) Statement showing the exports of fresh beef from the United States from the year 1877 (the first officially recorded year of its export) to and including the year 1884, showing the quantity and total value and the value per pound of the exports to each country. (4) Statement showing the imports of fresh beef into the United Kingdom during the eleven years onding with the year 1884, showing the quantity and total value and the value per pound of the imports from each country. Butter statistics: (5) Statement showing the exports of butter from the United States during the eleven years ending with the year 1884, showing the quantity and value of the exports to each continent and country therein. (C) Statement showing the imports of butter and oleomargarine into the United Kingdom during the eleven years ending with the year 1884, showing the quantity and total value and value per pound of the imports from each country. Cheese statistics : (7) Statement showing the exports of cheese from the United States during the eleven years ending with the year 1884, showing the quantity and value of the exports to each continent and country therein. (8) Statement showing the imports of cheese into the United Kingdom during the eleven years ending with the year 1884, showing the quantity and total value and the value per pound of the imports from each country. General statistics: (9) Statement showing the exports from the United States of cattle and cattle products — horned cattlo, fresh beef, canned beef, salted beef, other beef, butter, cheese, beef tallow, and oleomargarine— during the year 1884, show- ing the number, quantity, and value of the several products exported to each country. CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 25 I i f I 1 ^ i 5 © I1 1 he; t~ m m co o co ni-MO-ci M"»rtOOCO cT C0~ r-T 00 00 ,-h m •* ci ■>* OS CM t- »f O) ©cci-hoo t~ ©"oif-iVC©" 00 i-l CS CI CO CO © ■ OONC-O r-l I © 00 in t> CO r-( : cocfi-T .-i t~ oo -# .-i r~ i-. ci co m i- >o -*> © © .-t CO©©CI©CICI© CI © © M t>. »*•-)<©© -* t-oO'S'oin wnn m -o© i ■*)•.-< 'CI© t- m m rH ci co i I C- -f -t< "M -« © i ©cori"©* ©CO C~ CO CO ci oo m co -v ieooo©co lO'i-Tcft-T' iWWiOV f-ss 2 1 sag* t3&&%00&» $17, 336, 606 90, 820 98, 968 128, 030 145, 024 30, 200 19,' 247 •n © in" m 00 ■* O •* CI CI i • -H t^-lOO < -CO ClO^-irCO • ;-* cfco iOI> co • • of © TT © ^< © • • 00 CDt-l CO ■ • fe 1 ! 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S \ \ Si'U id>9l I 5 i i j : 3 IS il ' 11111 ■ H 4 : i 2 i 3 3 s * 1 1 0 ° ?L°° 1 ' CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 39 ^ 2 s i O «5( ti I O IM 00 l» M CI »H ■>* oc ci -.« o m '/j — i oj © O r-i I- Ci -V ft' a n n ti 'MJt-IOOlO^t-M 45 t - « »- co ao — < co 55 < e?ocjcowot-CMi-t 15 •«# r - c; oj 9 I CO O O I- CO wefgwob" £o « 3 S3 1-V0i0t-0^>-H'»: t-lOOi-H CM CM tH on'JO i— 05 CO t— nnNt»aaooo- - - ■ oo co "* ia oo- >t-CM Ci i- - c» noci:i ooenof)ot>m«tnoHHrjM^ai 0'J^Ci--iKafH«3IOM030 00QU3 TrooMrtTfHHHoavcoioa^^M oc* i^'iff l^» 30*© CO* CO~^cT CM Co" IT* -H© •ft i-i N00»rCJCJHONC0 CM L- t- I- CO CO "*oofejt»oaiflo?i( " — " Ci CO t- O —i O !S IfS lO < * co* ko © ci" oo" 06" cf e r co" c r —- 1 i:iMowotoi»nn-rt I O 00 00 i-l Mr-IH rH "91 ! 40 CATTLE AND DAlEY FARMING. .2 c O 0 I t CJ^; O D +- 33 « O 2 ■> cj B W 00 ci «n «c N O >A U0 <« r-'oaoin e t- nS j rfoww C>l tl if) « ro in uj 5 35 3 1* s" CC s B to 13 § o © 1 1 w~ CO 00 3 C3 1 I 8 o o 1 to CO |*H ■*» go co § 1 n ! 1 1 CO 00 8 1 *2 CO s & I I 4 I oo 5 CO o a o CO* © 03 V O 1 ill! eoioeo a BE CI ••* CO t- co § r-l a § 3 9 , ci m ci i~ a£ O ■* CO CJ KWMW 1 3 9 CO Cpi-I Si U3 CO to 00 I o 1- m of to oo n © 1 »-i oS> in »nooi-irH £-'3- i-5 a CM 1 OfflOO Cl" a i- **> a* o s o* 8" eo 3 oocoto .00 O ^fOO "5 woo" eT^T 1 of a ^ i H ia i 1 c ' 1 © 1 c c i 1 c 1 < < i J c ■r a T .5 '5 <1 S | o EH fj ii li V < A a .~ ;- ..... .f E a. h c _c 'J ■/ C '/ 7 ! ft r 1 ^ e3 1 O 3 o I i a to "S 1 1 id i E CATTLE-BREEDING IN EUROPE AND IN THE UNITED STATES. REPORT BY CONSUL TANNER, OF LIEGE, BELGIUM. It is iny opiDion that if a fair test were made of the merits of cattlo but little known, including the Belgian breeds, it would be discovered that the "craze" for so-called blooded breeds is a great mistake, and that Americans pay enormous and absurd prices for foreign cattle. These things, it is to be hoped, will be rectified by the reports in answer to the cattle circular. I believe that if our people at home would use the money spent in the purchase of foreign breeding cattle in constructing quarters for our native cattle equal to the housing quarters of Europe; if they would give the native cattle the same care they give to their high-priced foreign cattle, that within four generations of careful breeding, always select- ing the best bulls and the best cows and keeping the others thinned out by the butchers, the United States would have a native breed that would rival any cattle in the world. If those who pay extravagant prices for foreign cattle will carefully note what it costs to feed and keep such cattle in good condition ; the risks and losses in transportation ; will keep a careful record of their milk-yield in comparison with rhe best of our native breeds, giving both the same care and attention, and add up their accounts at the end of the year, bearing in mind the interest on the money invested in the foreign stock, they will find the balance on the side of the native cattle. In cattle the rule of the " survival of the fittest" should be adopted. An inferior cow should be sent to the butcher as speedily as possible. If the assertion of the Dutch historian be true that William, Prince of Orange, found that the cattle of England were inferior to those of Holland, it shows that the improvement in British cattle is of recent date. I might offer a hundred illustrations from my own observations and experience, which would fortify the assertion that our native cattle can bo brought to a degree of perfection existing in the cattle of European countries if they will be surrounded by similar conditions. My brother took much interest in matters of this kind, and made many experiments. The results of twelve years of careful selection of the best native cows and bulls proved that there was only a slight dif- ference between these and the fancy imported cattle, and when the difference in price was taken into account the balance was in favor of the home breeds. The first Jockey Club that was ever inaugurated was gotten up by the father of Senator Wade Hampton, of South Carolina. What lias this Jockey Club not done for the American race and trotting horse ! It has not only elevated the standard of this breed of horses by offer- ing sufficient inducement to that end in the United States, but it has done the same in European countries which have followed the example of South Carolina. It has greatly increased the speed in running in 41 42 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. the one. and it lias made the trotting horse, which, is peculiar to the United States, almost equal to what the running horse was prior to the formation of this Jockey Club. This only applies as an illustration for the subject on hand thus far. The race horse, it is true, comes from a foreign breed, but the trotting horse has been developed therefrom by selection and careful breeding. This shows that where man bends his energies to the development of cattle for any particular quality he is sure to succeed. With similar rules applied in the breeding of even our scrub cattle, I know whereof I speak when I assert that they will develop qualities, as beef and milk yielders, equal to those possessed by the imported stock. CARE OP CATTLE IN EUROPE AND IN THE UNITED STATES. As a whole the European people take more interest in their stock than do the people of the United States, and there are more induce- ments in this regard offered in the former than in the latter. The English hold a dozen agricultural or cattle shows to our one, offering thousands of dollars to our half dollars in premiums, and it is no marvel that the cattle are far superior, that the farmer in England should draw closer to his cattle than does the American farmer to his, treat them kindlier, and give them better dispositions. Stock-raising, by common consent, seems to have fallen to the lot of the farmer, whereas it should bo a special calling ; for if it is not an in- terest of importance enough for the exercise of special talents, it certainly posseses so many phases that some of them suffer from the divided at- tention which the farmer is compelled to give his other interests. The size and betterment generally of a grain of corn might be much increased if the farmer would make corn a specialty, and thoroughly understood the subject of corn-growing in all its bearings. In having so many in- terests on his hands one or all of them must suffer. It is a well-recognized fact in Belgium, and in Europe generally, where interest of the keenest kind is taken in cattle, that there is nothing so injurious to a cow giving milk as to run her, or excite her in any manner, and yet how frequently are reckless boys, with their dogs and whips, sent to drive the cattle home in the United States. These things, and hundreds of others equally important, never trouble the brains of the American farmer, because his head is full of other mat- ters connected with his calling. How many farmers in the United States can tell how much hay, or other food, is given to each cow during the year and the cost of the same, and the return therefor in milk, butter, and cheese — in fine, does he know if each cow is paying for her outlay, and if so, how much ? Perhaps a small number could intelligently an- swer these questions. It is entirely different in England and on the Con- tinent. There and here a farmer knows his cows as well as if they were a portion of his family. He balances his accounts regularly and knows, at all times, how much he is losing or gaining by each cow. He can tell you the food best adapted to each cow's taste, and which will contribute most to her milk yield. He knows her exact age, knows when it is best for her to breed, and, above all, the care and attention she demands at his hands, and he gives it to her, knowing, as he does, that by so doing she will return all a hundred-fold to him in the shape of milk. Milk is the first and chief aim and end of a cow's subsistence, and beef the last. If she receives the best nourishing food, is not exercised too violently, and is properly cared for, she will yield a rich supply of milk for a half a dozen years or CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 43 a little more, and then leave a fine carcass for the butcher. She should give 000 gallons of milk per annum, and she will do it if we will do our part towards making her do it. For the GOO gallons of milk that she gives us, care and attention are all she asks from us. This is not only true of one race of cows, but it is. true of all, the scrub as well as the finest. This is what the English have long since realized, and this is the history of the fine breeds of cattle in Europe. They are fine because they have been bred up to it by care and kindness. The American who comes to Europe and pays $10,000 or $15,000 for a bull or cow may be truly considered, as he is in England, as hav- ing "the American craze for English cattle." The question of breed is a rational one, but why should he want to pay such extravagant prices to England for doing that which he cau do himself? The his- tory of all breeds of cattle, sheep, horses, mules, dogs, and cats show this. The breeding of stock not only pays well, but it is a business of absorbing interest. A farmer should have an eye single to these quali- ties in his cattle, the calf, the milk, and the beef, each of which has a high value of its own, and each can be developed in exact proportion to a man's efforts to develop them. Those who develop the greater num- ber of these requisites to the highest degree of perfection will be those who succeed best with breed, with milk, with beef, and in a pecuniary point of view. Care arid attention are the foundation of success, and thereupon is laid the superstructure of the requisites mentioned, a super- structure which is perennially repeating itself, improving or deteriorat- ing as the foundation is kept in repair, is strengthened and improved. Few farmers in America are there who have a genius or even taste for selection and classification of animals, but at the same time by draw- ing nearer their cattle, and observing them closely, and studying their wants, it would be strange indeed if a marked change for the better were not soon perceived in our own home breeds without dashing them with foreign stock. With the care and attention given to cattle in England and on the Continent, compared with the slip-shod manner of treating them in the United States, it is in no way strange that there should be the difference that is so palpable. With the personal atten- tion, feed, &c, in Belgium a cow will cost her owner at least $108 per year. If she gives six hundred gallons of milk in thac time she pays for her maintenance and attention many times, and most of the cows here do it. If you were to tell an American farmer that he must spend $108 per year on his cow he would want to consign you to a lunatic asy- lum at once. THE COST OF PRODUCING PINE CATTLE IN ENGLAND. The following vvill give an idea of what it costs in England to have fine cattle. I quote from the Farmers7 (London) Journal : The cows are kept under cover for about six months, and are tied up in pairs, 40 in one house and about ten in another. The urine runs into a large underground tank, from which, when full, it is carried on to the pasture by a water-cart. The food of the cows varies with their condition, and the more milk they are giving the higher they are fed ; but when dry, or nearly so, they have only roots and hay or straw, un- less it is decided not to keep them for the purposes of the dairy, in which case they are milked and fattened at the same time. When fat they sell for about $150. The following is the amount of food, in tons, consumed by the cows while in the stalls : Cotton cake . 13 Barley meal 11£ Bran 10* Chaff (i hay, § straw) 70 Mangels, pulped..--. - - 224 44 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. In addition to this, 13 tons of cotton cake are nsed during the summer. It is some- what difficult to estimate the number of acres of pasture used by this herd, as tb<*cows have the first run of the grass, and the coarser and rougher part of the pasture is fed by other stock. Possibly each cow may consume the produce of H acres. In the winter months the milk sells for about 22 cents per gallon, a price which is hardly more than sufficient to cover the cost of the food and attendance, so that the dairy does not often get back more than the manure free of cost. The annual expense of labor upon each cow amounts to about £2 15s. The following are the prices of some of the foods enumerated above : QUOTATIONS. £ 8. d. Phoenix pure linseed cake, per ton 9 10 0 Phoenix pure undecorticated cotton-cake (future delivery), per ton 6 5 0 Yellow rapo cake, per ton 6 10 0 Phoenix pure linseed meal (in bags), per ton 10 5 0 Phoenix pure cotton- seed meal, per ton 7 0 0 Yellow rape meal or nuts, per ton 7 5 0 Phoenix pure palm-nut meal, per ton 7 0 0 Decorticated cotton-cake, per ton 6 17 6 Decorticated cotton meal , per ton 7 10 0 Clean sieved linseed, suitable for feeding purposes, per 416 pounds in bags. 0 52 0 Per ton. Linseed cake : & a. d. £ a. d. Best quality, English 8 10 0 to 8 15 0 American thin 8 0 0 8 10 0 Other qualities English 8 5 0 8 10 0 American 7 15 0 8 0 0 Marseilles 7 12 6 7 15 0 Rape cake, East India seed 5 15 0 6 0 0 other descriptions 0 0 0 0 0 0 Cotton cake, best London undecorticated 5 12 6 6 0 0 Cotton cake, decorticated 0 0 0 0 0 0 Corn and mixed cake, English make 7 10 0 8 10 0 Palm-nutmeal 5 10 0 6 0 0 Locustbeans 5 5 0 6 0 0 Rice schudes, whole 2 10 0 3 0 0 ground 3 10 0 4 10 0 A little addition here on the part of the American farmer will open his eyes to many very startling things. It will show him that a cow in England gives a large and rich quantity of milk, but it shows also that she would not be a paying institution for the American. The example given abovo will have to be taken as an illustration, though in my opin- ion many breeders of line cattle feed much higher than those above mentioned. The following, taken from the same journal, will bear me out in this: Mr. E. E. Turnbull, of Twyer'sWood Farm, Hedon, Hull, who has gained the royal prize for having the best-managed daily farm in Yorkshire, although having good pastures, which produce a high quality herbage, invariably supplements it with artifi- cial food. Now, as the generality of dairy farmers on even comparatively poor pas- tures do nothing of the kind, the fact appears worth knowing that Mr. Turnbull con- siders himself amply repaid for his enterprise, although carried out to an extent of surprising liberality. From May 1 to October 21 the allowance of cake, half linseed and half decorticated cotton, is from 2$ to 7 pounds per animal per day, according to size and age, while in July they have green tares and in August and iSeptember cab- bages in addition. Of course during winter the allowance to cows and heifers yield- ing milk is still greater, comprising for cows 3 pounds of linseed cake and some 3£ to 7 pounds each of crushed oats per day ; and heifers 5 pounds each either of oil-cake — one-half linseed, the other half cotton — or equal proportions of liuseed cake and crushed oats. The other winter food consists of pulped roots and hay partly chaffed, or when oat straw is good it is used as a substitute for hay, 10 pounds of oat straw being considered an equivalent for 7 pounds of hay. Mr. Turnbull makes a good price for his milk partly by retail sale in Hull and partly by conversion to high-class butter, which sells for la. 7d. per pound, and he calculates that he realizes lOd. per gallon for CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 45 all his milk to whichever purpose applied. His summer average in quantity is Kty qoarts per cow and in winter 8 quarts per cow per day. Probably the publication of facts in relation to the management on this farm will lead to the conviction being entertained that dairy farmers in general do not feed high enough. This is especially true of thoso who convert their milk to butter. Their •prohts thoroughly depend on the high quality, not quantity, ofthemilk — tho large propor- tion and thickness of tho cream. Consequently the addition of some oil-cake or maize meal to the ordinary food would bo almost sure to pay, yet it is undeniable that on wretchedly poor pastures milch cows are seldom, in ordinary farming, allowed cotton cake, maize meal, or anything else supplementary, although tho milk they yield is appropriated to butter-making. A farmer of the advanced school said a little time since, "I cannot afford to let my cows which yield milk feed on grass alone," utter- ing these words because he saw that parsimony in their feeding would be the greatest possible extravagance. A similar rule applies almost throughout tho entire domain of farm husbandry, for not only tho most liberal feeding, but bountiful manuring and highest management, will be found in most cases to bo attended with the greatest economy. This feeding I have no doubt will astonish the American farmer, but it has made the English cattle " blooded cattle." Tho following, relat- ing to the same subject, will farther demonstrate the importance of this subject. It admits the Americans who are in search of English catttlo behind the scenes, as it were. A CAUTION TO GALLOWAY BREEDERS. Galloway breeders havo special reasons at the present time why they should be careful to leave uncastrated only such beasts as will do credit to the breed. While some American stockmen havo begun to purchase Galloways on the well-founded idea that they are especially adapted to their severe and variable climate, yet tho reputa- tion of the breed as a beef-producing race of cattle has yet to be fairly and widely es- tablished on tbo other side of iho Atlantic* In many instances owners of ranches are only making inquiries regarding them, and if inferior specimens, especially bulls, are exported, the ultimate success of tho breed will bo seriously inj nred thoreby. They will be judged by the samples that are sent out, and if theso compare unfavorably witli tho Shorthorns, Herefords, Polled Angns, and other varieties witb which they are al- ready acquainted to somo extent, the reputation of the Galloways will Buffer in a pro- portionate degree. Let owners of hords retain as bulls only those calves whose per- sonal merit is good. Apart from the question of personal merit, i f too many are kept the market will bo overstocked and prices will be affected thereby. When once the reputation of tho breed has been firmly established in tho Western Statos, it will bo impossible to produce too many, provided they are personally of sufiicient merit, for the plains to bo stocked are practically illimitable. But in the mean time this state of matters has not yet been reached. Moreover, breeders of pedigree Galloways must make up their minds to feed their young cattle much more liberally than most of them havo been in the habit of doing. And this remark applies to heifers as much as, if not even more so than, to bulla. In regard to the latter, it has long been known that if calves were not extra well kept they would not bo fit for service when yearlings, and hence, not being marketable at that age, a whole year's keep of them was lost. This fact insured bull calves being fed liberally in almost every instance. But, with comparatively few exceptions, heif- ers havo been very sparingly fed. It has not been customary to have Galloway heifers dropping their calves until they are three years of age, and this has afforded ainplo time to bring them to maturity by slow degrees. But the circumstances are now entirely different. Breeders of pedigree Galloways must look to the American market for purchasers. It is not probable that American stockmen will put Galloway heifers to breeding purposes at an earlier age than is done in this country, but ic must bo borne in mind that when our Blackskins are taken to the other side of the Atlantic they are put alongside of animals of other beef-producing breeds of tho same age, and if they are not as well grown and as forward generally as theso, their roputation can- not but suffer in a corresponding degree. The broods with which they are brought into comparison in this way are the short- horn, tho Hereford, and tho Polled Angus. Every one of these has-been liberally fed, and even pampered, and therefore it is a severe ordeal to which the Galloways havo to bo subjected in this respect. If, therefore, the breedors of the south coun- try Blackskins are to do justice to their favorites, and, indeed, if they are to be true to thoir own interests, they must adopt a much more liberal system of feeding, and that, too, from the very first, than has hitherto been customary among the rank and 46 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. file of them. We do not, indeed, advocate any measure of pampering, which might make the beasts more tender, and lessen that hardiness which has been ouo of their most valuable characteristics from time immemorial. But there is a moderate degree of steady good keeping which is quite compatible with the safe preservation of all the distinctive and valuable characteristics of the breed, and it is this systematic lib- eral feeding, even from calf hood, which we advocate. Quality, of course, is important and desirable, but the American purchasers put great stress upon size, and this can- not be attained without a steady liberal diet. — Dumfries (Scotland) Courier. As I consider this subject one of first importance to the American stock-raiser, I feel that it cannot be pursued too far. FEEDING-STUFFS. This was the subject of a very instructive lecture delivered in the Guild Hall, on Friday week, by Dr. Macadam, Edinburgh, under the auspices of the Strathearn Cen- tral Agricultural Societry. Dr. Macadam remarked that the food of the animal had three functions to fulfill. First, to supply combustible matter or fuel to be burned within the living organism, and thus keep up the animal warmth ; secondly, to replenish the wear and tear of flesh a:oms ; and, thirdly, to contribute extra fatty matter and flesh atoms to be stored up in the animal structure so as to increase the build and weight of the animal. Be- sides these, there are the elements of bono matter and other saline substances. The main natural feeding-stuff must always be ordinary pasture, and the experience of every agriculturist points to a decided difference in the nourishing properties of the pasture of ono field or district as compared with that of another. This difference is due to the varying proportion of water present. In natural grass the water present ranges from 70 to 90 per cent. The best grass in ordinary dry seams or dry soil con- tains about 70 per cent., whilst, in rainy seams or damp soils the water is increased to 80 per cent. ; and in the produce of irrigated field pastures the water runs as high as 90 per cent, of the weight of the succulent grass. Consequently, it follows that of every 10 pounds of grass from 7 to 9 pounds consist of water, and in the average only one-fifth of the total weight consists of dry feeding material. When the grass is air- dried and becomes hay, the proportion of moisture is reduced to about 16 per cent., so that only one-sixth of hay consists of water, and 1 ton of hay contains the solid, dry, nourishing elements of fully 4 tons of ordinary pasture grass. Turnips contain even a larger average proportion of water, for 90 per cent, of ordinary turnips consist of water ; so that in every 10 pounds of turnip there is only 1 pound of dry feeding- stuff. Potatoes contain 75 per cent, of water, being equal to three-fourths of their entire weight. The cereals contain much less water, the average proportion in wheat, oats, &c, being 15 per cent., or less than one-sixth of their whole weight; so that five-sixths consist of dry feeding material. In linsoed-cako and other cakes the moist- ure averages 12 per cent., so that one-eighth of the weight only consists of water, and seven-eighths of dry feeding-stuff. Considering, therefore, the question of food thereby in the light of the relative amount of dry solid matter in a given weight of the respective articles consumed by the animal, it follows that to obtain sufficient dry solid food the animal may partake of 1 pound 2 ounces of feeding-cake; 1 pound 3 ounces of cereals or air-dried hay; 4 pounds of potatoes; 5 pounds of ordinary dry pasture ; 10 pounds of succulent grass from irrigated fields, and 10 pounds of turnips. When the respective qualities of dry feeding materials are considered, the nourishing properties of the natural and artificial feeding-stuffs vary even in a greater ratio than the percentage of moisture. Thus the proportion of flesh-forming or albuminous mat- ters present in ordinary grass and clover averaged 2£ to 3 per cent. ; in hay, 10 to 12 per cent.; in oats, 16 per cent. ; in beans, 20 per cent. ; in potatoes, 2£ per cent. ; in turnips, three-fourths per cent. ; and in linseed and rape cakes, 25 per cent. It fol- lowed, therefore, that in 1 ton of cake there was as much flesh-forming matter as in li tons of oats, or 2£ tons of hay, or 8 tons of ordinary pasture, or 11 tons of potatoes, or 33 tons of turnips; and an ox or sheep would require to consume these respective quantities of the feeding-stuffs in order to obtain a similar amount of flesh-forming or albuminous matter. At the same time, however, it might be remembered that the amylaceous or starch group of compounds, which formed a very large proportion of natural and artificial vegetable food, played also an important part in the sustenance of the animal. It was very questionable" how far the richer and flesh-forming foods, such as feeding-cakes, could be employed with safety in the rearing and fattening of stock without large admixture with the less nutritious kiuds of food. An excessive quantity of cake not only led to injurious results in the health of cattle and stock, but determined much waste of nutritious matter, which passed through the animal system with the sole result of enriching the manure. CATTLE AND DMRY FARMING. 47 I have considered this subject of sufficient importance to make inquir- ies concerning it in England. A friend in that country sends me the following newspaper extract, which I hope may prove of some value at home: EXPERIMENTS IN FATTENING STEERS. Professor Brown, experimental superintendent of the Ontario Agricultural College, writes in bis official report on the above subject: In speaking of the weight of a fattened steer, and the daily increase it makes, we have to consider breed, weight of calf when dropped, food, management, and ago. The nearer birth the greater tho daily rato until the calf weight is lost among tho tens-of-hundreds. Thus, a calf woighing 7u0 pounds is due about 10 per cent, to its birth weight ; tho yearling that weighs 1,000, 7£ per cent. ; tho two-year-old scaling 1,500, 5 per cent. ; and tho iinished, or rather tho over-fed, show beast of 2,000 pounds can only record about threo and three-fourths of its weight as obtained from tho average birth-weight of 75 pounds. Until the animal, thoroforo, is ovor 1,000 pounds, .wo should always remember the effect of this birth-weight ; thereafter it maybe left out of calculation. Tho example I wish to submit to our breeders and feeders now, is that of a pure white, thoroughbred shorthorn steer, calved 6th May, 1881, bred by Mr. Hudson, of Myrtle, and bought by us from Mr. Hope, of Bow Park. On the 9th of April, when 703 days old, it weighed 1,710 pounds, which, of course, gives a daily rato of '2.43 pounds; the calf- weight from this would reduce tho actual daily increase to 2.33 pounds; something, no doubt, but not enough to interfere when understood in practice. A yearling steer over 1,700 pound* is unquestionably a fine example of what breed, food, and management cau do, and if wo do not spoil him ho should scale 2,000 pounds when two years and four months old, at tho Provincial Exhibition at Guelph, on 25th September. Some interesting experiments wero also made for beef and milk with Hereford and Aberdeen poll grade steer calves. On this phase of the Canadian experiments Pro- fessor Brown says : Having now got over tho initiatory work of establishing herds, and acclimatizing breeds, we aro diverting considerable attention to the making of grades for milk and beef respectively. Our progress in milk experiments is in advance of the other, as evidenced in previous reports, as also is this advance issue. We make no excuse for this. Our past beefing experiments have been with high-graded shorthorns, and the facts, to dato, are sufficient to baso upon in any comparison with other grades, as we will have to do when time calls ; and what I wish to do is to place on record what our farm has on hand for such a purpose The same cows, well-graded shorthorns, averaging six years, that have been used to produce the steers, with a thorough-bred shorthorn bulf, were selected to mate with tho Hereford and Aberdeen poll bulls. Necessarily, one of the difficulties is to arrange about equal birth-dates, and another is to get bull-calves. Wo havo been more fortunate with the latter than the former, as showu by the following list : Hereford grade steers : 9th April, 1882, Huntingdon, No. 184 (ear label) ; 0th Octo- ber, 1882, Heathfield, No. 193 (ear label); 28th October, 1882, Hartford, No. 191 (ear label). Aberdeen poll grade steers : 24th June, 1882, Aberdeen, No. 183 ; 27th June, 1882, Aboyne, 179: 2d August, 1882, Abemethy, No. 182. Tho average Hereiord steer is, thereforo, thirty-four days younger than tho Aber- deen .poll average, and this must be most carefully noted in all future reporting. Od 9 th April, 1883, the earliest birth of tho lot, when a Horeford was one year old, weights, ages in days, and daily rates were as follows : Description. Weight, 9th April, 1883. Age ha day s. Daily rate of increase. Hereford : Pounds. 790 552 492 740 750 670 365 185 163 289 286 243 Pounds. 2.16 Ilcat 3.00 JJn rtford 3.02 Aber>' vii poll: 2.56 2.60 2.75 A moan of 2.73 for the Hereford and 2.64 for the Aberdeen poll. 48 CATTLE -AND DAIRY FARMING. FEEDING CATTLE ON TURNIPS. The following are the results of an interesting experiment made by Mr. Robert Logan, Birkenside, Earlston, with the view of testing the comparative merits of sliced and pulped turnips as a feed for cattle : On the 11th of October, 1882, three Canadian bullocks, live weight 32 cwt., 3 quarters, were bought for £64 5 s., or 39s. 2\d. per cwt., live weight. On February 6, 1863, the same animals were sold at Haymarket, Edin- burgh, live weight 43 cwt., 14 pounds, for £105, or 48s. 8d. per cwt., live weight. The gain in weight was lOcwt., 1 quarter, 14 pounds ; in money, £40 15s. These bull- ocks were fed on sliced turnips, of which they consumed 218 pounds per 24 hours. On October 11, 1882, a second lot of three Canadian bullocks, live weight, 31 cwt., 2 quarters, were bought for £61 15s., or 39s. 2id. per cwt., live weight. On February 6, 1883, these were sold at Haymarket, live weight, 39 cwt., 2 quarters, 11 pounds, for £101, or 51s., per cwt., live weight, the gain in weight having been 8 cwt., 11 pounds; in money, £35 5s. These bullocks were fed on pulped turnips, of which they con- sumed 162 pounds per twenty-four hours. Lot 1 when slaughtered yielded CO per cent, on gross live weight ; lot 2 when slaughtered yielded 61 per cent, on gross live weight. Both lots were valued at the same price per cwt., according to their live weight on October 11. When sold according to live weight those fed on pulp mado 2s. Ad. per cwt. more, and yielded one per cent, more beef. In addition to the weight of turnips given, as above stated, each lot were fed with the samo proportion of hay ; those fed on sliced turnips feeding it, in the ordinary way, from hecks ; those fed on pulped turnips having it cut amongst the turnips. In addition each animal had 9 pounds of mixed cakes and bruised barley. The whole were fed in single boxes. Lot No. 1 made 10s. per head more than No. 2. The former, however, consumed 56 pounds more turnips per day than No. 2. The expenso of pulping is slightly higher than 6lice feeding, but the value, per live weight and yield of beef, according to the same, favors pulp. FOOD OF PREGNANT ANIMALS. The food of pregnant animals is an important'consideration. Creatures in this con- dition should be well fed, and especially if they have to acccomplish a certain amount of labor or yield milk. The appetite is generally increased, and there is a tendency to fatten. This tendency should be somewhat guarded against, as it may prove troublesome, particularly if allowed to proceed to an extreme degree, when it may retard the development of the foetus, induce abortion, cause difficult parturition, or. give rise to serious after consequences. This precaution is more to be observed in the second than the first half of pregnacy, when the food should bo plentiful, but not in excess, and flesh more abundant in the animal than fat. The food should also bo of good quality, very nutritive, easy of digestion, and not likely to induce constipation. Indigestion should be carefully guarded against, and unaccustomed, hard, damp, bulky, fermentable, moldy, or otherwise hurtfully altered food, should be avoided, as it is likely to prove indigestible, occasion tympanitis, and produce other injurious results.— Fleming's Veterinary Obstetrics. FEEDING OF DAIRY COWS. The honorable secretary of the Munster Dairy School, Cork, writing to a contem- porary, says : There are sixteen cows in milk, calved three and. four months. They were getting each daily from 5 to 7 pounds, according to yield, of following mixture: Decorticated cake, bran, and Indian corn meal, with four stono of mangels and hay. The return not proving satisfactory, I proposed the dietary should be as follows: 2 pounds bean meal, 2 pounds crushed oats, 3 pounds decorticated cake, 3£ stone man- gels. This feeding was commenced on March 10. On March 23 the cows had to get fan-saved hay (musty). Note the result : Date. Total yield per week. Set for cream. Buttor. Date. Total yield per week. Set for cream. Butter. Quarts. 1,005 1,043 1,135 Quarts. 948 977 976 Pounds. 67 72" March 24 March 31 Quarts. 1,078 1,107 Quarts. 1,056 1,036 Pounds. 71 March 10 March 17 CD Percentage of fat by lactobutyrometer : March 9, 2.56 ; March 29, 2.7. These returns were carefully and accurately kept by Mr. Smith, ^superintendent,. CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 49 FATTENING AMERICAN CATTLE IN ENGLAND. We see from these extracts what importance is attached to the sub- ject of feeding in the country that is supposed to possess the best breeds of cattle in the world, and how thoroughly this subject is under- stood there. I submit these extracts because example is worth more than precept in matters of this kind. When I speak of England, how- ever, in this connection, the same remarks apply equally to Europe en- tire. Perhaps nothing would go further to convince the American of his folly in the parsimony of his feeding, and the want of attention he gives his cattle, than to tell him that it frequently happens that the eattle he ships to England and to the Continent are taken in hand by Euro- pean stock raisers after arrival and the European system of care and food applied to them and double profits are realized on them, when the American might have pocketed this by the same attention on his part, and at less expense, as his food is cheaper. If I had the space I might offer a hundred illustrations of this that have come within my own ob- servation. This, however is the most satisfactory one : AN AMERICAN OX. In the first importation of live stock from America into Cardiff was a white Short- horn ox, in the month of July. Ho was transferred by his purchaser to the pastures of Grange Farm, Mumbles, near Swansea, at £45. Here with an English cow for his companion he made good progress, won a prizo in 1878, and at Christmas weighed 80 score 18 pounds, realizing for his feeder £67 8s. Ad. — The London Standard. Persuasion, scolding, and argument are unnecessary to show our peo- ple their folly in their neglect of cattlo when we have such examples as this. At a recent exhibition in Paris a Canadian cow was universally admired, and when I inquired to what breed she belonged, the French- man only shrugged his shoulders and said she came from America as common cattle, and that ho had polished her up. "What did you dp for her?" 1 inquired. "Well," says he, "I curried and brushed her every morn- ing because she was dirty and rough ; I fed her on the best cotton-seed cake, bran and hay, and kept her in the stall all the time. She has borne one calf since I have had her. As a milker she is not a success, but the calf will be on exhibition at the fair two years hence, and I am sure will take a premium; it is tho first calf in France." The food enumerated here (indeed, all food) is two to one cheaper in the United States than it is in Europe. This must be, since we supply Europe with the articles that they value most as cattlo food. With such facts placed before our peo- ple, it seems to me they can see wherein they fail, and that they have untold treasures in their home breeds of cattle if they will go to work properly to develop them. To what purpose is it that they should come to Europe and pay exorbitant prices for cattle if they allow them to deteriorate, as the above report shows they do I EXERCISE FOR COWS. Mr. L. B. Arnold says that the amount of exercise which an adult cow requiros is but very little, and ail she gets beyond what is necessary for her health occasions a draft upon her system which must be made up by extra feed or a loss in her milk product, or porhaps both effects may be apparent. Every expenditure of force, whether in locomotion or labor, is mado at the expeDseof the food consumed by tho animal exerting tho force' There is no ovasion of tbis rule, and he who causes his animals, whether milch cows or beasts of burden, to make oxortions that could be avoided is wasting his means of profit. Tho man who, having a given load to move twenty miles, takes a path that will require twenty-five miles to reach his destination, is not more unwise than the dairyman who causes his cows to do 25 per cent, more traveling and H. Ex. 51 4 50 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. exertion than is necessary to supply themselves with food. This may seem like spin- ning a fine thread, but it is the sum of such threads that determine the question of profit with tho dairyman. The loss in milk production by more travel in grazing than is necessary for maintaining the health and vigor of a herd of cows is often very con- siderable Very few herds are free from some loss in this direction. In woodland pastures, and rough and hilly ones, and in ranges necessarily large because the laud is poor and feed scanty, the yield of milk is always inferior, being cut short by the long distances necessary to travel for gathering a supply of food. Tho loss in milk from feeding in pastures of such a character as to require cows to be all day in filling themselves may be plainly seen by any observant farmer. A difference of 25 or 30 per cent., and even of 50 per cent., will be easily made between such fare and a full sup- ply of feed easy of access, either by grazing or by soiling. Largo ranges of pastures are not advisable for cows in milk. It is better to supply only pasture enough to furnish grazing till grass begins to fail from dry weather, and. to supply tho herd with soiling crops through tho middle of the summer at least. The saving in land where land has much value is enough by this course to pay for all the extra labor it occasions, and the increase of milk which will be gained becomes a source of iucreased profit. One would hardly imagine, until he tries it, how much, the yield of milk for the season will be augmented by such a course. In the first place, it saves the cows an immense deal of travel if they can have their feed pre- sented to them in the stable or other convenient place, instead of their having to run after it. Then, it often saves them a great deal of depressing exposure to sun and storms and flies. They are enabled also to make better use of the food they consume, by reason of having more leisure for ruminating than they can have if they have to pick their living by constant travel. The sum of all these advantages has a telling effect upon the resources of the farmer, and he cannot afford to ignore them. If he has rough places, woodland, or thin pastures, which will afford only scanty feed, it ia better to put young stock upon it to pick, the scanty feed. They can use it without loss. They require considerable exercise to work oif their surplus energies, and to promote growth of frame and assimilation, and they won't mind the travel necessary to gather the grass from such, places. But the milch cow which has her energies taxed to the utmost to elaborate a bountiful flow of milk has no vital force to spare. She needs to husband to tho best advantage all she has to enable her to do her full work, and the farmer who intelligently plans his operations will spare her all the ex- ertions ho possibly can. CATTLE SHOWS IN ENGLAND. If I enter on such particulars it is because I sympathize keenly withi the Department in its efforts in behalf of American cattle, and because it seems to me that nothing would be more valuable to our breeders than the experience of countries that surpass us and have brought their cattle to such a high standard of perfection. There are other consider- ations tfiat must not be ignored that have contributed to the advance- ment of the standard of European cattle, and to leave this consideration unmentioned would be to make my dispatch imperfect, viz, cattle shows or exhibitions. Apart from the interest and benefit that accrue to En- gland from having fine cattle, the system observed in that country, and to a less extent on the Continent, of having what is called shows, offers additional stimulus and incentive to have fine cattle, that has caused the cattle of Europe to be pushed, as it were, to the high point which they have attained, and keeps them there. It has caused common stock to disappear entirely from Europe. In England for every distinctive breed of cattle there is a society to look to the interest and its advancement This is done by shows and exhibitions. There is a Shorthorn society, a Jersey society, a Devon, a Southdown, and a Cart-horse society. Where such keen rivalry is excited as is done by these numerous societies, all having for their spe- cial aim the advancement of the different breeds, it is in no way curious that scrubby cattle of every kind have disappeared and that they have been converted into blooded cattle. This is a truth that it seems to me shows Americans that they have but to offer the same inducements to accomplish like results. CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 51 HOW CATTLE DEGENERATE. Should the careful nursing, constant and minute attention, bestowed npon the English breeds of cattle be relaxed ; should they become care- less and indifferent, herd them together in vast numbers, and place care-takers over them that are reckless and vicious, within twenty years almost every traCe of what is known as fino blooded cattle would be eradicated. As proof of this no better illustration could be offered than wo find in the wild mongrel Texas herd. These cattle are unques- tionably descendants of the Spanish stock introduced into Mexico by the early Spanish settlers towards the year 1500. We know from his- tory that Mexico possessed no cattle or horses, because those ridden by Cortez and his band inspired superstitious reverence that was one of the chief factors in the easy conquest of Mexico. We know from his- tory that both cattle and horses were imported by the Spaniards into Mexico. With a mild climate, forage in abundance, the absence of beasts of prey, and the negligence of man these cattle increased to a marvelous extent, but relapsed into their natural state and lost every trace of breeding that their ancestors had so highly possessed. It would not have been worth while for the Spaniards to import cattle to Mexico if they had been as inferior in quality as those of Texas; therefore we know with almost exactness that the cattle from which this mongrel race has sprung was the splendid stock of Spain, that now holds equal rank with the best breeds in Europe. What lesson does this teach Americans'? It shows them on the one hand what care and attention will do and on the other what negligence will undo. It shows them that the question of blood is a question of care and attention, and that we have untold treasures in the races of cattle that we now regard as scrubs. IMPORTS OF BLOODED CATTLE INTO THE UNITED STATES. Mr. Wade Hampton, sr., of South Carolina, was one of the first to im- port blooded cattle into the United States. These were cows and bulls of the Durham race. I think this was about the year 1782 or 1783. By careful attention this stock flourished and did exceedingly well. The common cattle of the neighborhood of Columbia, S. C, were dasned con- siderably by what was soon known as the "Hampton stock." I do not know the exact subsequent history of this stock, or whether there exists a trace of it now. It would be interesting and valuable to the Depart- ment to get a statement from Senator Hampton relating to this subject, as well as to others in the United States who are interested in the sub- ject of breed. From such data one could form an opinion perhaps of how short a time is required for a breed of cattle to lose their distinctive qualities, and from that to judge of how long it requires for a breed to become pure. That which I have said here of cattle may be equally applied to our horses. THE AMERICAN FARMERS AT FAULT. With a virgin soil, a large area under cultivation, good seasons, and an abundant yield, life has gone so easy with the American farmer, that economic questions have not, up to this time, forced him to a study of these things, as it has in Europe, where density of population is so evenly balanced with the means of subsistence. There is a sad want of enterprise on his part; his progress has not kept equal pace with that 52 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. of the mechanic, the artisan, and others in their productive achieve- ments, when less mental and laborious efforts are required from him than any other calling to arrive at equally successful results. I am glad to see the Department taking time by the forelock, and doing for the farmer in its efforts to elevate the standard of our cattle, that which density of population will force succeeding generations to do. Nearly all of our States have agricultural departments connected with their State governments. If each State would hold a series of fairs or exhibitions of all agricultural products, with liberal inducement in the shape of premiums for the best native breeds, requiring the ex- hibitor to give a full account of the father and mother of the cattle they exhibit, the mean temperature of the country from which the cattle came, the nature of the subsoil, food, and other things that would re- quire a higher and more thorough knowledge on the part of the farmer concerning his cattle, it would go far to elevate the standard of home breeds. This is not speculative, it is a certainty, since the same system works so well in Europe. I would recommend also to each of our State agricultural departments to purchase, say one hundred of the best of our common mongrel cattle, breed and care for them by the most approved methods, and try to solve the problem of how long it requires, with care, to make a breed of cattle pure. My reason for mentioning so great a number to experiment with is this : Out of one hundred cattle experiments could be made to develop certain qualities, such as those that would give the highest quantity of milk, like the Holsteins or Shorthorn ; and others that would give the best quality of milk, like the Jersey ; those that would give milk for a certain quality of cheese, like the Fletchet, &c. The results of these tests might be shown at a national or a permanent international exhibi- tion, to be held in some central point, where all those who take an in- terest could see the result and benefit by it. From this number of cattle worthless cattle could be thinned outand the best retained to breed from. I inclose list of "Agricultural shows"* held in England the present year. This does not include the different society shows, such as the Shorthorn Society, the Jersey, the Carthorse, and hundreds of other societies. We have two cattle to one in England, our population is nearly double that of England, and in intelligence and polish the Amer- ican fafmer is superior to the European, but in practical results he lags far behind. THE AMERICAN CRAZE FOR ENGLISH CATTLE. The English farmer finds another inducement in having fine cattle over those of our own country, and this is in "the American craze for English cattle," as this extract from the Times will show : The American demand has given Hereford cattle at heightened position and better prices, but the impetus has been nothing equal to that accorded to the Aberdeen Black Polls. The extraordinary advanced prices realized for the moro fashionable strains of these last season are well known, and may appear likely enough to be fully sus- tained for some time to come. The dispersion of the Bridgend Polled herd on the 13th of September affords sufficient evidence of this, when some of the Pride strains were disposed of at marvelous figures. The Prides hold pretty much the same position among the Black Polls as Duchesses do to Shorthorns, and at the Tillyfour sale in 1880 Mr. R. C. Auld, the owner of the Bridgend herd, was tempted to give 270 guineas for a female of the tribe. At that time his investment was looked upon as almost as great a piece of folly as Mr. Piatt's purchase of the Hereford bull Horace in 1876 at 500 guineas, or Lord Fitzhardinge's splendid bid of 4,500 guineas for Duke of Con- V 1 1 — ' * List published immediately following this report. CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 53 naught in 1875; and as to Mr. Auld's Pride of Aberdeen 9th, the animal having en- riched the herd with three daughters since coming into his possession, all four were brought to the auction ring on the 13th of last month, and realized the magnificent sum of 1,3G5 guineas. Pride of Aberdeen 9th was bred by the late Mr. M'Combie, and formed ono of his famous Parisian group at the Grand International Exhibition. She was purchased by Mr. Wilken for 385 guineas, but her yearling daughter realized 510 guineas, the highest price, it is said, yet given for a Polled animal. The purchaser of the latter was Mr. Walker, who was understood to have bought her for America. While the demand for Herefords appears to be all-in-all for bulls, but nothing very extraordinary for cows and heifers, that for Aberdeen Black Polls gives a similar pre- eminence to females, as is to be found in sales of Shorthorns. Thus at the Bridgend auction now being referred to, 12 cows averaged £114 19s. 6d. each; 11 two-year-old heifers, £85 10s. 6rf.; 8 yearling heifers, £156 3s. Vd., and 7 heifer calves, £90 7s. each, but the average for 2 two-year-old bulls was only £53 lis., and that for 11 bull- calves £29 4s. 2d., causiug the general average for 51 animals, tho total number sold, to be £90 16s., tho sum realized being £4,631 lis. The North British Agriculturist gives tho averages and highest individual prices of the principal tribes sold at this sale, which aro as follows: Tribes. Average. ^icc°.8t 3 Vines 5 Prides 3 Jennets • 19 descendants of the Queen foundation This is how Americans make high feeding and good atteution pay in England. With such prices an Englishman can well afford to feed and otherwise spend nearly $200 per annum on a cow or bull. In Europe apple and pear exhibitions are held, as well as egg and chicken exhibi- tions; in fine, there is as great a variety of exhibitions as there are articles to be devoured by man, all having for their bent the elevation of the stand ard of the article exhibited. Will it not occur on the same line of rea- soning that Americans will one day go to England for their cats, dogs, fish, pears, apples, as for their cattle? Dogs havo already been im- ported into America at extravagantly high prices paid in England. There is no telling where il a craze" will stop, once it begins. We havo also committed the same folly in importing "blooded hogs." Think of " a blooded hog," so called because it was large, in fine order, and had the marks of care and attention, and easily palmed off on the American as " a blooded Berkshire." If Congress would enact now that there would be opened in the year 1900 a grand international exhibition, and that a premium of $100,000 would be given for the finest exhibit of native breeds of all kinds, and the same lor all breeds of cattle from every quarter of the world, I be- lieve firmly that some enterprising American could take each premium ; that is to say, he could take the premium not only offered for the Ameri- can breed, but that the American cattle that had won the premium could compete with all foreign cattle and gain the second also. At any rate this is worth a trial, and $1,000,000 offered in premiums alone could not bo better spent, as it would stimulate tho American- stock-breeder to the necessary effort to elevate the standard of native breeds. GOVERNMENT ENCOURAGEMENT TO EUROPEAN STOCK. All the exhibitions held in Europe are encouraged in every way by the King, Queen, Emperor, or what not, of the country in which the exhibition is held. The Queen of England exhibits cattle at every show in England, as does the Prince of Wales. A cow, the property of tho 54 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Queen, took second premium at a recent exhibition, and a bull third. No exhibition is too insignificant and unimportant in Belgium for the King and Queen of the Belgians to open in person and inspect personally each article and to encourage it by being an exhibitor of the product. This, it seems to me, is setting an excellent example to our governors and others at home who hold as high positions in public esteem and are looked to as much for examples. But, alas, politics is the all-engrossing topic with most of our governors and legislators, and anything that is outside of this is insipid to them; and, therefore, it is for the people, after all, to correct by politics the evils of politics, and to elect, and re- tain as long as possible when elected, men who will look to their inter- ests and try, by wise legislation, to advance them. I have abstained as much as possible, in this dispatch, from theorizing. I have advanced in its stead such methods as have accomplished the results we are in search of abroad. Example is worth more than pre- cept; we have the example, and all that remains for us to do is to follow it, to achieve like results. By adopting these simple methods, within twenty years it would appear as absurd to us that we ever sent abroad for a bull, cow, sheep, dog, or hog as it does now that we imported the English sparrow. GEORGE 0. TANNER, Consul Agricultural shows held in England during the year 1883, exclusive of special society shows such as Shorthorn, Jersey, Cart-horse, 4c , shows. Date of show. Name of society. Where held. Nature of meeting. May 26 to June 1 May 28 to June 1 May 30 May 31 June 8 Jnne 8 Junel2,14 June 26-29 June 13, 14,15 Junel3, 14 Junel3, 14 June 19, 20 June 19, 20, 21 June 20 Jnne 20, 21 June20,21 , Jane 21, 22 June27,28 July 27.28 June27,28 July — July 5, G, 7 July 16-20 , July 6 July 31 July 17 JulvlO.11,12 July 13 July 19 July 24 , July24.25.2fl Agricultural Hall Com- pany, Limited. Bath and West of England and Southern Counties. Royal Jersey Eastern District of Stir- lingshire. Stirling Ripon Herefordshire Royal Countios (Hants and Berks). Wirral and Birkenhead. . Essex Peterborough „ Marlborough and Pewsey Vale. Worcestershire Thorno Royal Cornwall Norfolk Northeast of Ireland. Doncaster Suffolk Edinburgh United East Lothian Notts Royal Agricultural So- ciety of England. United Banffshire. Malton Stranraer and Rbins of Galloways. Lincolnshire Bedfordshire Royal North era Huntingdonshire Gloucestershire. . Agricultural Hall Islington. Bridgwater Jersey Falkirk Stirling Ripon Hereford Winchester Birkenhead Colchester Peterborough Newbury Worcester Thorno (Torks) . . Trnro Eukenham Belfast Doucaster Becclea Edinburgh Haddington Nottingham York Banff Malton Stranraer Gainsborough.. . Bedford Aberdeen St. Ives Berkeley Horses, implements, and miscella- neous articles. Horses, cattle, sheep, pigi, cheese, butter, poultry, and implement*. Stock, implements, &.c. Stock, implements, dairy produce, and poultry. Stock, poultry, pigeons, dogs, «fec Stock, implements, &c. Do. Stock, poultry, pigeons, dogs, 4-27 July 25, 26 Julv26 July 26 July2G July 27 July 28 July— July 25,26,27... Aug. 1 Aug. 1 Aug. 2 Aug. 3 Aug. 6 Aug. 29 Aug. 8 Aug. 7,8 Aug. 2 Aug. 15... Aug.— Aug.— Aug. 6,7 Aug.— Aug.— Aug. 20 Aug. 6 Aug. 18 Aug. 20 Aug. 25 Aug. 28, 29, 30, 31 Sept. 12 Sept.- Sept. 4 Sept. 4,5 Sept. 5, 6 Sept. 5-7 Sept. 12 Sept. 12 Sept. 13 Sept, 14 Sept. 14 Sept. 11 Sept. 14,15 Sept, 20 Sept.— Sept. 26 Sept 26 Sept. 28 Sept. — Name of society. Ormskirk, Southport, and Bootlo. Leicestershire Glamorganshire Highland and Agricult- ural of Scotland. Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely. Barnsley Cleveland Tynesido Darlington Western District of Fife. East Surrey Driffield and East Hiding Shropshire and West Mid- land. Yorkshire Crook. Norton Farmers' Club. Coquetdalo Shropshire Border Union Whitby Badminton Staffordshire Northumberland Beamish, Pontop, and Consett. Inverness Farmers' So- ciety. Lauderdale , Lismore Farming Society. Herefordshire . . . Durham County , Pvichmondshiro ., Ecclestield Kcighley .... Royal jersey Halifax and Calderdale Royal Dublin Wigton District. Vale of Conway. Leominster , Warwickshire Derbyshire (agricultural and horticultural). Royal Manchester, Liver- pool, and North Lan- cashire. Northeast Somerset Farmers' Club. Wayland Water ford Farming Society. Stanhope Border Union Cartmel Cheshire Royal and Central Bucks . Banbury Royal South Bucks . Frome District Oswestry District Northwest Bucks and ad- joining portion of Oxon and Nort Hants. Where held. Southport Melton Mowbray Pontypridd Inverness Ely Barnsley Saltburn-by-the Sea. Hexham Darlington Dunfermline Croydon No mooting for 1883. Whitchurch (Sa- lop). No meeting for 1883. Crook Chesterfield.... Rothbury Shifnal (Salop). Kelso Whitby Badminton Lichfield Berwick-on-Tweed Gateshead No meeting for Lauderdale Lismore, County Waterford. Richraond( York) . Hillsboro' Park, Sheffield. Keighley Jersey Halifax Ball's Bridge, Dublin. Wigton Llanrwst Leominster Coventry . . Derby Liverpool. Newton Park, near Bath. Watton Waterford Stanhope Kelso Cartmel Crewe Great Mario w White Lion Hotel, Banbury. Frome Oswestry .... Buckingham. Nature of meeting. Stock, implements, &o. Do. Stock, implements, and poultry. Stock, implements, poultry, and dairy produce. Stock, poultry, implements, &o. Stock, poultry, dogs, &c. Stock, &c. Do. Horse and dog. Stock, implements, and poultry. Stock. Stock, poultry, pigeons, &c. Stock and implements. Stock, implements, &c. Stock, poultry, dogs, dairy prod* uce, &c. Stock, &c. Stock, implements, and poultry. Stock, implements, proximated to this weight, being 17 cwt., 2 qrs., and 24 lbs. THE SUSSEX CATTLE. The Sussex breed was formerly used in place of horses for plowing and heavy work. They were very active and well suited to such pur- poses; however, of late the working of oxen has decreased in a marked degree, and the breeders of Sussex cattle have turned their attention to the improvement of the animals with great success. They resemble the Devons in many respects, but are larger. Formerly they were not, 62 CATTLE AN© DAIRY FABMING. as a rule, grazed till after they were done with for working, but now they are got to early maturity and produce good beef. In fact, they are so much refined that they are considered by many to approach very closely to the Hereford in wealth for grazing purposes. At present the breed is restricted very much to the country that gives it name and the two adjoining ones of Kent and Hants. The cows are not good milkers. They are very hardy, however, and do well on poor pastures. Like the Devons, they are all red, but have larger horns, heads, and bones. There was an admirable class of Sussex steers under two years at the late Smithfield show. Mr. Dunnett's one year ten months and two weeks second prize one weighed 13 cwt., 2 qrs., and 25 lbs., and one3 about a fortnight older, belonging to Mr. H. Pago, of Walmer, Kent, weighed 13 cwt. and 3 qrs. The heaviest Sussex ox was that of Mr. S. Clarke, not quite three years and ten months old, which scaled 20 cwt. and 1 qr. The third prize cow, however, belonging to Mr. W. Wood, of Crawley, Sussex, weighed 5 pounds over a ton. THE SCOTCH POLLED ANGUS OK ABERDEEN. This breed of cattle is supposed to be descended from what were formerly termed l 'Angus Doddies," or Aberdeen Hnmmlies. It is largely represented in Aberdeenshire, Forfarshire, and Kincardineshire, and their leading characteristics may be described as follows: Their coat is short, smooth, silky, and glossy, and almost always black, though, occasionally some animals have small dull white spots, aud still more rarely some are red or brindled. The head is tufted with hair, thenars are rather thick and hairy, the muzzle is somewhat coarse, the legs are well boned, and of moderate length. Great improvement has been made of late years in this breed by care- ful selection, and very beautiful animals have been exhibited at both breeding and fat- stock shows. They are poor milkers, but are very hardy, docile, large, coming early to maturity, and good breeders, and the meat is of excellent quality. In respect of wealth and high quality combined, for grazing purposes they can scarcely be surpassed by any variety whatever, the Scotch graziers appear to think, the only notable preference on their part being for a cross between them and the Shorthorn. Mr. C. Stevenson's first prize three years eight months old steer at the last Smithfield show scaled 21 cwt. and 23 lbs. This was by far the heaviest exhibited. There was, however, a great uniformity of weight between 16 cwt. and 19 cwt. THE GALLOWAY BREED. The Galloway breed is much older and quite as highly prized as the Angus in the county of Galloway and many parts of Scotland. They were formerly partly horned and partly polled, but by selection the.t have now become polled, though occasionally some have small "slugs" or stumps which are not affixed to the skull. This breed is more hardy than the Angus, and better for dairying purposes, while its claims are also admissible for wealth as a grazer. It is in fact a serviceable all-around tenant farmer's animal. The vet- eran McCombie, who stood first and foremost among Scotch graziers, wrote as follows in his book on the feeding of cattle : I have grazed the pure Aberdeen and Angus, the Aberdeen and North Country crosses, the Highland, the Galloways, and what are termed in Angus the South Coun- try cattle, the Dutch, and the Jutland. Ifstorecattloofthe Aberdeen and Angus breeds out of our best herds can be secured, I believe no other breed will pay the grazier more money in the north for the same value of keep. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 63 Mr. McCombie considered that the Galloways u on poor land are un- rivaled except perhaps by the small Highlanders," but he did not deem- thein so easily finished as pure Aberdeens or cross-bred cattle. The puro Galloway is usually black ; the eye is rather dull and sleepy j the ear is thick and very hairy; the hack is straight; the head is covered with a semi-spheri- cal knob, tufted with hair; the legs are short and strong." HIGHLAND CATTLE. As the name denotes, this breed is native to the West Highlands of Scotland ; they were formerly known as North Argyleshire cattle. The characteristics may be described as follows : Their stature is usu ally somewhat small. They are clothed with a thick skin,hav ing abundance of long, glossy, and shaggy hair, indicating hardness of constitution in the highest degree. This thick coat is a protection against the atmosphere of winter and from flies in summer. The color varies, some animals being black, others red, dun, yellow, and brindled (red and black). The head is short, and has a profusion of long shaggy and curly hair coming down below the eyes. The muzzle is line, and the nose slightly turned up. The eyes are prominent, and have a quick, piercing glance. The horns are wide apart, long, curved, and pointed ; the body is straight, thick, very deep, compact, and well formed. The legs aro short and extremely muscular. They are celebrated for their grazing properties, the meat being of the finest quality, and comes down to the very heels. It commands the highest prices in the principal English markets. For dairy purposes they do not rank so highly, because the milk, though good in quality, is deficient in quantity. They are extremely hardy, vigorous, quick, and active, and capable of enduring both the damp and cold boisterous climate of the Highlands. They thrive admirably on low lands, where they are generally fattened, and are in great demand in England for grazing. Their hardy nature does not require that they should be housed, and they will consume and thrive on coarse pasture, which sheep and many other kinds of cattle would leave untouched. It is best to graze them for a time before putting them to fat, as they require being gradually accustomed to yards or boxes. Of late years much care and attention has been paid to improving the breed, and fre- quently handsomeanimals are exhibited at fat-stock exhibitions ; whilst both on their native hills, where their appearance is somewhat wild, and afterwards when being grazed in pastures, their picturesque beauty is always highly appreciated. The attributes of this breed may be summed up as a combination of great hardiness with splendid quality of meat. AYRSHIRE CATTLE. This breed takes its name from the county of Ayr, and possesses the following characteristics : Their color is usually rod or brown and white, in large patches ; or all red or brown, and sometimes black and white. The horns are true, curve upwards, and are placed on wkle apart at their base. The neck is straight from the head towards the top of the shoulders, which are very thin on the top ; the back is straight. The body becomes larger, both in width and depth, as it approaches the hind quar- ters. The tail is long, tine, and bushy at tho end. Tho legs are short and small in the bone. The eye is mild and the udder very large. Its origin is not thoroughly known, but for a considerable time breeders have taken pains, by selection and judicious breeding, to in- C4 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. crease the properties for which Ayrshire cattle are famous, and which are in a degree indigenous. These animals are so hardy that they bear almost any variation of climate, thriving well on high-lying districts without losing their milk- ing properties, whilst a milder atmosphere and rich pasturage suit them perfectly. Their great attribute is their excellent milk, which is good in quality and extraordinarily large in quantity. It is claimed that a cow of this breed will yield as much milk for food consumed as any member of tho bovine species. Ayrshire cows are very popular in their native county and through out the dairying districts of Scotland, partly because they suit the sys- tems of farming adopted much better than heavier cows, such as Short- horns, would do, for the feeding is very much restricted to tho arable portion of the farm, the land being kept down to artificial grasses two years that dairy cows may be kept. The chief objection agaiust Ayr- shires in England is that when the cow has ceased milking it is worth very little for grazing purposes. JERSEYS AND GUERNSEYS. The same objection as the foregoing applies in a still greater degree to the Jersey. Still there are pastures with short bites in the south of England for which Jersey herds are adopted even by tenant farmers. As a fancy animal for noblemen's parks, and to adorn the grounds of our country gentry, Jerseys are very much extending themselves every- where. They are not only affluent milkers, but the proportion of cream to milk is large, and the yields of butter realized from some are remark- able. A great many good herds are to be found in Hants, and indeed all along the southwestern coast, also in Essex and the home counties. Tho Jersey cow is too well known for its neatness of form, slender fome, its deer-like head, and its gentleness to reqniro further description. Tho cows of the sister isle, Guernsey, are celebrated for yielding more butter than even Jerseys. They are also larger in size and more hardy, still they seldom yield carcasses to the satisfaction of English renting farmers after their milking season is over. The same parts of the King- dom where Jerseys are found most numerous patronize the yellow Chan- nel Islands breed. The best English show-yard herds of Guernseys are probably from Hants and Devon. In propagation the Guernsey in England seems naturally to develop into more grazing character, and detract somewhat from fine quality, or at least what would be considered so in the eyes of an island judge. Jerseys and Guernseys were for a long time accepted in England under the general title of u Alderneys," the probability being that they were first introduced from the island of that name. It is only lately that the difference existing between them has become generally known. In both islands the entry of foreign stock for breeding purposes is prohibited. The law enforcing this has been long in existence, and most rigidly observed j this accounts for the purity of the breeds in these islands. The animals are narrow between the shoulders, have short smooth coats, and the eyes have a mild, docile expression. They are healthy, breed well, and last long. The principal malady to which they are sub- ject is milk fever, which, if prompt measures are not taken, proves a sure destroyer. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 65 WELSH CATTLE. The Welsh Eunts, as they are sometimes called, may be considered as an aboriginal breed, but they Lave been found to vary very much in quality. This arose from sufficient care not having been taken formerly in selecting them for breeding. They are apt to be somewhat ragged in outline, though fairly good specimens are occasionally found, especially of late, as more attention has been given to form and quality. They may be denominated a middle-horned breed, rather inclined to long. The horns are wide-spreading, white, tipped with black, and curl- ing upwards. The color of the animal is usually black, and some have a little white. They are good for dairy purposes, but are usually too strong in bone and hide for grazing profitably. Still, in the hands of a few leading breeders, they have become so much refined of their coarseness that they begin to make an impression at the Smithfield Club show, and last De- cember Mr. Owen Thomas, of Anglesey, could claim to have the heavi- est animal in the show with his nearly four years old ox, which weighed 22 cwt,, 1 qr., G lbs. The Welsh Cattle-Book, published in 1874, gives the characteristics of this breed most fully. KERRY CATTLE. The Kerry is the only native Irish breed worthy of mention. The cows are good milkers for their size ; from the ease with which they are kept in a limited space they are often called the poor man's cow. They are umall, handsome, and very docile; the head is line and small, the eye quick and animated. Frequently the animals do not exceed 40 inches in height. The foregoing succinct and detailed references to the various breeds of cattle furnish general descriptions that may be unreservedly accepted, the printed notes being those made by the current president of the Eoyal Agricultural Society of England, Sir Brandreth Gibbs, who has had forty years' official connection with the Eoyal Society and the Smith- Seld Club, whilst the written account has been specially compiled for me by Mr. Joseph Darby, an author of works on cattle, sheep, and dairy subjects, well known and esteemed in this country. Herewith I inclose the various items of information which I have ob- tained in response to letters addressed to several of the leading stock- owners of the British Islands, and from personal visits made by myself, especially in Essex and jSorfolk. I shall, however, wish to make the following preliminary remarks on the whole subject : SELECTION OF FOREIGN CATTLE FOR THE UNITED STATES. In reference to the assertion that there are only ten or eleven breeds of cattle in the United States, where there is room for at least thirty, and that England possesses twenty breeds and Franco fifteen breeds and other European countries in like proportion, I would observe that whilst doubtless some additional breeds to those at present in the United States may be advantageously introduced, yet the cattle now in the United States are selections from the best breeds of Europe, where stock- breeders are reducing the number of their breeds, so that those best suited for the production of meat and milk are crowding out the inferior H. Ex. 51 5 66 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. breeds very rapidly. Thus the restriction of breeds to small numbers infers the « survival of the fittest," and is indicative rather of agricult- ural progress than the reverse. For the future it may be forecast that the European breeds of cattle, sheep, and pigs will notably diminish in numbers and correspondingly improve in value. The paragraph referring to imported breeds producing in their new homes, when suitably located and managed, offspring superior to that produced in their original homes can only be accepted with reserve, as although numerous instances of great breeding successes are established in the records of th e United States, that result maybe attributed to the fact of the imported cattle and pigs being generally picked specimens, selected for their excellence, whereby their progeny are put out of com- parison with the more ordinary stock from which specimens are common- ly seen at the shows of the United Kingdom. I am advised by eminent authorities that however grand may be the American results attained in the case of Jersey cattle &c, yet it is thought to be advisable to replenish stock by returning to the original homes of the breeds, whilst I note also in a report relative to Shorthorns from our consul at Leeds, that buyers are recommended to revisit the Teeswater districts, where the grand old Durham stock, renowned for its size, good constitution, and splendid milk-bag, exists in large numbers, and from which the refined, improved Shorthorn has been carefully bred. So also in respect to French breeds I feel assured there is a wide scope for importation of superior cattle from their native districts, from which, the best specimens being selected, it may be expected the American con- tinent will soon produce a higher general level of excellence in such new breeds than could be found in France. Besides the Norman, Brit- tany, Flemish, and Charolaise breeds, there are quite half a dozen French breeds of cattle which probably might be advantageously intro- duced into the United States. Your attention is called to inclosure " Notes on French Live Stock," from the official French catalogues of the Paris Exhibition of 1873, with illustrations added which do not appear in the original catalogues ; also to the critical report of the last Paris cattle-show (February, 1883), written by Mr. Kains- Jackson and published in the London Times and the Field (inclosure 2),* which gives the most complete description ever published here. PUBLICATIONS CONCERNING BRITISH CATTLE. The detailed information sought as to the costs and methods of ex- portation, the critical descriptions of the several breeds, their relative numbers and relative production for m*eat or milk would require, Even in a most condensed form, a volume of several hundred pages. Such a work would not be difficult to compile from existing materials and from the special supplementary details now obtained, especially as in recent years great activity has been shown in Great Britain and Ireland in supplying authentic matter for the compilation of stud and herd books. The Suffolk Stud-Book, the Carthorse Stud-Book, and the Jersey Herd-Book have lately appeared, and now the Devon Herd-Book, the Cleveland Bay Stud-Book, the Hackney Stud-Book, the Pig-Breeders Stud-Book, and other similar works are in course of preparation. The Shorthorn, Hereford, Scotch, Polled, Bed Polled Ayrshire, and Welsh Black Cattle Herd-Books have been established for several years, *See Supplement. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 67 and each of these may he readily obtained, and should be consulted as affording the most valuable information extant on the various subjects. Careful illustrations of the various breeds, critical notes on their stand- ard points in these works convey a correct knowledge of the animals, and nearly all the written information that individual reports may contain will have been in most cases drawn from the sources above indicated. Herewith I forward (inclosure 3) a useful small dictionary volume, by tha Rev. Holt Beever of the several tribes of Shorthorns. I also for- ward as a most successful work (inclosure 4) a large folio volume on the Cattle of Great Britain, containing several illustrations and with de- scriptions written by authors selected for their knowledge of the sub- jects; and also a volume (inclosure 5) entitled "The History of Polled Aderdeen or Angus Cattle," by Messrs. James Macdonald and James Sinclair, which is a valuable and most complete work, exhaustive of the subject. In the volumes of the Eoyal Agricultural Society of England, since 1840, are found the Prize County Histories of the country, in which are given an account of the geological subsoil, the surface soil, rotation of crops, pastures, elevation and aspect of the land, of breeds of stock and methods of feeding and rearing them. Such histories were written in response to prizes offered by the Eoyal Society. The Farmers' Hand-Book (inclosure G) herewith forwarded contains notes on the Eoyal Society, the Smithfield Club, and various other leading societies. Here may be observed that the several prize lists of the great agricultural shows give the names and addresses of the chief stock-breeders in the country, although exceptionally some of the most renowned breeders do not exhibit, as their stock enjoys celebrity for its excellence that commands the highest prices at home and abroad. PRIZE VS. ORDINARY STOCK. In the matter of prize cattle, whether for size, weight, quality of flesh, milk, wool, smallness of offal, &c, it is well to remember they are always exceptionally chosen animals, reared and fed under favorable cir- cumstances, and are not representatives of the total number of farmers' stock which is not usually of a pedigree character. For this reason the weight of meat, or the quantity given of milk, have to be regarded sim- ply as instances of special rather than of general excellence. Still, I may make comment that the differences between prize results and ordi- nary results are not enough to induce the ordinary farmer or dairyman to purchase stock at fancy prices ; and the same argument applies to purchases from abroad. However, when the object is to establish herds or flocks of repute, only pedigree stock should be bought. GEOLOGICAL CHARACTER OF THE BRITISH ISLES. The geological character of the British islands, their insular climate, and the small altitude of the land are best described in special works on the subjects, and agriculturists afford but little information. The up- land pastures and what are called mountain districts are inconsiderable in comparison with the lowland grazing districts, valleys, and marsh lands of only 50 to 500 feet above sea-level ; and of Great Britain gen- erally it may be said that the various breeds, of stock may be changed from district to district without losing their character. Shorthorns thrive everywhere, yet the north of England well holds its character as the homo of the race. Devons fattened in Norfolk often surpass those 68 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. fed in their native county, and Cotswold sheep also thrive in various counties. Southdowns, Oxfordshire downs, and in fact nearly all the breeds of stock in the British Islands allow of interchange, district with district, without losing their character; from which the fact may be inferred that the diversities of altitude and climate are insufficient to affect stock materially in Great Britain. THE SANDRINGHAM HERDS. The inclosure 7 is a return with which Mr. Samuel Beck, agent to the Prince of Wales, favored me. It will be observed that all the stock are managed, pedigree Shorthorns, Alderneys, Black Polls, and other cattle, in a manner that a tenant farmer might profitably follow. Of this I had the opportunity of assuring myself by a visit of inspection which I made in the middle of the present month, devoting several hours to a survey of the farms, their buildings, stock and general char- acter, and being favored with personal explanations from Mr. Beck, and from his son, Mr. Frank Beck, whose minute acquaintance with every agricultural detail was of the greatest advantage to me. The parade of the pedigree stock in the several exercise-yards, and the groups grazing in the open pastures formed a "•'royal show" in private of the most interesting character, being free from the turmoil and crowded surroundings under which stock are commonly seen at agricultural shows. The herds of Shorthorns, at Sandringham, are located upon two dis- tinct farms at Babingley and at Wolierton, 2 miles apart. Tho one herd of the a Bates and Knightly" blood is kept separate from the herd of the "Booth" blood, and admirers of either have thus an easy oppor- tunity of noting the respective points. Some years ago the following words were written by a competent critic of Norfolk farming : It is nothing "but a plain truth to say that Norfolk farmers needed a sound lead to follow in the matter of live-stock management, and there is one to he found at Sand- ringham, thanks to tho management of the Prince of Wales. Th« bulls of the Wolferton herd include the Admiral, Baron Wolfer- ton, Beauchamp, Denmark, Dereham, Downham, Dunkirk, Fortis, Fra- ternas, Gamester, Marias, Ponsapo, Pluto, Royston, Samson, and Vis- count. Their ages are from twelve months to six years. Amongst the cows are fifteen Diadems, the offspring of Mr. Fisher's bull (Fawsley Prince, 31,150, and Diamond, by the Chieftain, 20,042). Amougst the Babingley herd is the bull Babingley Duke, 42,GS0, with the best of Mr. Bates's blood. Through all the mazes of the Wild Eyes familv,dam Blytbesome Eyes, sire Marquis of Oxford 2d, 37,055, the bull Duke of Norfolk, calved June 13, 1880, and bred at Sandringham, is by the Earl of Bective's Duke of Underly 3d, 38,196, and Fuchsia of Hilhurst, Considering the size of the farms, their carrying a pedigree herd of about 30 bulls and 80 cows, besides numerous store-stock of Devons, Black Polls, Highlanders, and dairy cows, they bear witnesses to econ- omy of management and productive capabilities which are astonishing in an estate that was " nowhere v twenty-five years ago, and which has since 1863 been made into a most picturesque domain and fertile land. Even the miles of evergreen trees, mostly Scotch firs, giving Sandring- ham a moorish appearauce, were planted by Mr. Beck, and in the very hot season of 1868. The farm buildings were mostly the old farm structures, merely kept in good repair, and here and there improved by economical additions. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 69 I saw no costly outlay anywhere, neither in barns, sheds, stables, or fences at Sandringham. Many of the animals of the Prince of Wales's herd are obtainable at fixed prices that are so moderate that any farmer may invest in them, and, compared with the prices asked in similar first-class herds, it is evi- dent that Sandringham, as a source of good Shorthorn blood, is meant to be a fertilizing stream for farmers at home and abroad. The " Diadem " strain is a valuable one for its milking qualities, some of the cows giv- ing two gallons when out on grass. The herd of cows out in the open Wblferton marshes were looking, on the 17th of January, all in healthy condition, noticeably so considering the slight attack from foot and mouth disease from which all had suifered. The Babingleyherd, only 2 miles distant, had entirely escaped. The hardihood and general con- dition of both herds witnessed to the good stamina of the stock, and whilst the Babingley farm is in soil, situation, and general character only a good average one, the Wolferton low levels, wind-swept and marsh- musty, are as exposed and cold as can be any quarters to which the stock are likely to be moved. The Sandringham Shorthorn herds represent the best of the blood in the kingdom. Its stock is drawn from the herds of the Duke of Man- chester, the Earls of Dunmore, Feversham, Bective, of Lord Fitzhard- inge, of Colonel Kingscote, and of Messrs. Bowly, Darling, Hamer, Sa- in ud a, Sartoris and Tracey, as representing the Bates blood; whilst the Booth blood is represented by the herds of Her Majesty the Queen, the Rev. J. 1NT. Micklethians, and Messrs. Hugh Aylmer, H. D. Barclay, A. H.Browne and J. Gamble. The pastures are often of that good grazing character called " bullock- pastures" of the old mixed grasses and adapted to fattening stock. In this direction the Prince of Wales has often been successful, and there are now in the yards some Devon, cross-bred Black Polls, and two High- land cattle that may be expected, in 18S4, to be in the front rank at fat stock shows. From the responses to my circulars requesting information I extract the following : THE DUFFRYN HERD OF SHORTHORNS. Mr. E. Stratton writes relative to his uDuffrynHerd of Shorthorns" (inclosure 8) : History of the Stratton herd. — My herd was founded by my father in 1837, by the purchase of Phoenix (6,290), which had been bred by Mr. Bellamy from the stock of C. Colling, and was the sire of Moss Rose, calved in 1838, whose progeny may be said to have made the reputation the Stratton Shorthorns may claim. It has been com- puted that they have won not less than £10,000 in prizes. The dam of Moss Rose was a cow of good Shorthorn character and an excellent milker. She was purchased in the market and her pedigree was unknown. The herd has always been managed with a view to produce stock combining good milking and feeding qualities; with what success the records of the Smithfield Club, the London Dairy Show, the Dairy Classes of the Royal Agricultural Shows attest. At the Smithfield shows they have won more champion prizes than all other Shorthorn tribes put together. In my father's time the herd was kept for many yoars on the Wiltshire Hills; my brother's herd at Alton Priors was also kept at a very considerable elevation, some 700 feet above the sea, and proved remarkably hardy. They have always been bred with a view to hardihood, aud many of the heifers and late calving cows have in- variably been kept in the open fields all through the winter with only straw or rough hay besides the grass of the pasture to eat. These Shorthorns are as hardy as any domestic breed, and when Shorthorns have been objected to,on the ground of delicacy, they have become so from the system of "in-aud-in breeding" largely practiced by breeders in this country. 70 CATTLE ANX> DAIRY FARMING. My herd is now, for the most part, kept at the Duffryn, Newport, Monmouthshire, where the soil varies from gravel to old red sandstone. The cattle do well on either. Heifers are generally brought to calve at about thirty-three months; bull calves are generally allowed to suck their dams, whilst heifer calves are taken from the cows and reared with only a little milk, as it is considered that too generous feediug is injuri- ous to the milking qualities. Milking qualities. — I can give no details as to the annual yield in milk per cow per annum, having never kept any record, but Sir H. H. Hassey Vivian, Bart., M. P., has two cows of "Stratton" blood that have given over 1,000 gallons of milk within the year. Size and weight. — As tosize, two of ray biggest cows, in good, fair condition, I find to measure as follows: Chloe, girth, 7 feet 4 inches; length, 7 feet 5. inches ; Heather, girth, 7 feet 5 inches ; length, 7 feet 7 inches. I have had a heifer increase as much as 672 pounds in twelve months. As to relative live and dead weight, two of my champion Smithiield heifers have been as follows: Icicle, alive, 19 cwt., 9 pounds ; dead, 1,674 pounds. Wild Flower, alive, 17 cwt., 2 quarters, 9 pounds ; dead, 1,420 pounds. I do not consider the cows fully matured until six years old. Shorthorn crosses. — Shorthorns are far superior to all other breeds for crossing pui ■ poses, and it is a notable fact that two or three crosses of good, pure blood upon any inferior nondescript stock will often stamp the progeny as pure-bred Shorthorns, and, for all intents and purposes, they are in no way inferior. The champion shorthorns of Smithfield for many years past have none of them been eligible to the Herd-Book, though all by pure-bred bulls ; thus illustrating their efficiency in crossing purposes. RESPONSES FROM VARIOUS QUARTERS. A note from Sir John B. Lawes, Bart., from Rothamsted, Herts, re- fers to the district as one chiefly devoted to corn growing, amd having no special breed of cattle or sheep. (Inclosure 9.) I may here observe that in recent years Sir John has laid down many acres of his estate in grass, and that in the neighborhood a considerable herd of stock, cattle and sheep, of diverse breeds, is kept, maintaining the special characteristics of the districts from which they have been changed. Somerset Devons. — Mr. T. H. Risdon, of Somerset (inclosure 10), for- wards a valuable condensation of information as to Somerset Devon cattle : At "Washford the mean temperature is 50°. It is as high as 66° in the summer and the winter mean is not below 34°. The girth of Mr. Risdon's Devon cows is 7 feet 6 inches ; of bulls, 7 feet 6 to 8 inches, thus competing with Shorthorns, except that the latter have greater length. The average yield of milk is 1,800 quarts including time of suckling. The breed ig regarded as native to the soil and pure blood has been recorded for over one hundred years. By interchange of sires in-and-in breeding is avoided as much as possible. Store- stock are housed, January to April, inclusive. The cattle are fattened in watered meadows on grass grown after hay-making until the end of October, when they are housed in covered pens. The breed are bred and reared on much higher altitudes, with corresponding lower temperature, than at Mr. Risdon's homestead. The average live weight is from 13 cwt. for cow to 17 cwt. for bull. Shorthorn Gwynns.—The report from Bedford (inclosure 11) from Messrs. J. and F. Howard, quotes Shorthorns (Gwynn tribe) as mature at 3 years. Their live weight averages from 14 to 16 cwt. The live weight of fat stock is, for the cow, 18 cwt. ; bull, 23 to 26 cwt. ; ox, 16 to 18 cwt. From the milk,l6 quarts daily ; the week's butter is 8 pounds. Norfolk Bed Polls.— From Stanton, near Harleston, Norfolk, I was favored with a report from Mr. Alfred Taylor (inclosure 12), whose herd of Red-Polled cattle is typical and of high excellence. The farm in South Norfolk is 114 feet above sea level, upon a clay and gravel subsoil, and the pasturage is of permanent grass, or of clover and rye grass sown with arable rotation. Accessible shelter is provided in winter adjoining the meadows on which the cows are pastured. Mr. Taylor considers he THE -UNITED -KINGDOM. 71 can keep three Ked-Pollecl cattle where only two Shorthorns would find sufficient food, and having kept both breeds at the same time and on the same farm he bases his opinion on experience. The constitution of the Red Polls is very hardy. Fat steers from two and one-half to three years old weigh 60 stone, and upwards (840 pounds), when fed in the ordinary way on roots, hay, and cake. This is the dead weight of ordinary fat stock; and such as are "ripened" for the Christ- mas shows have weighed 1,164 pounds (see page 7 of inclosed pam- phlet). The meat of the Eed-Polled cattle is excellent, and has a larger pro- portion of lean when compared with some other breeds. Mr. Taylor, in referring to the several particulars given in the above pamphlet, accepts them as correct statements, and I may add that the writer is well recognized as a competent critic of the Red-Polled cattle, and is the editor of its Herd-Book. The popularity of this breed has rapidly increased in its own district and abroad, so much so that breeders are restricting their sales in order to obtain sufficient numbers at home. The Lofft-Suffolk Bed Polls.— The herd of Red Polls belonging to Mr. Lofft of Troston, near Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, is of great repute, and gave its owner the confidence to challenge the breeders of Scotch Black Polls to show a group of five animals in competition with five Red Polls. However, the comparison has not yet been publicly made, and the five « Doddies" shown by Mr. McCombie at Paris, in 1878, are still recognized as the best group ever exhibited. The farm of Mr. Lofft is 40 to 70 feet above sea level, and the range of temperature in 1883 was 48.6 degrees, the rainfall 26.19 inches. The soil is a mixed drift, very unequally distributed on a chalky subsoil, or drift clay, sand, and gravel. Old meadows, varying greatly in different seasons from the natural pasturage, and artificial pasturage of clover, sainfoin, and rye grass is made, principally for horse and cattle keep. Mr. Lofft has also used largely gorse for horses and cattle, and gives his stock in small quantities chicory, Jerusalem artichokes, prickly comfrey, &c. The cow stock are taken in at night as soon as white frosts begin to appear in autumn, and are tied up in a large and lofty barn, but during the day are turned out to graze, or for air and exercise only, in a large yard, according to circumstances. In summer, from May to October, they are fed on the pastures continuously, sometimes helped with cheap or abundant food like cabbage, turnips, swedes, or two to three pounds of cake. The winter feeding is swedes, turnips, cabbages, cake, barley, or other meal, malt grains, and hay or straw chaff. Mr. Lofft is breed- ing three sorts of Red Polls ; first, large growthy beef-makers ; second, middle-sized general-purpose animals, milk and beef; third, a small size for milk only. Heifers commence to breed from fourteen months, and line-breeding is approved by Mr. Lofft, except when special objection exists. The difference in weights are as follows : Large size : Bull, 1 ton to 1 ton 7 cwt. ; cow, 15 cwt. to 17 cwt. ; steer, 12 cwt. to 13 cwt., 2 years old. Middle size: Bull, 18 cwt. to 1 ton; cow, 13 cwt. to l£cwt.; steer, 10 cwt. to 12 cwt., 2 years old. Mr. Lofft looks to form a small dairy Red-Poll tribe of less size than either the Kerry or Breton stock, but has only bred with these aims for a couple of years. The remarks of Mr. Lofft on milking qualities in cows deserve attention. The origin of the Red Polls is a debatable point, and therefore it is important that Mr. Lofft distinctly states " the root of the race is the 72 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. old Suffolk cow." About the time of the first French revolution High Suffolk was noted for its herds of dun cows, pale yellow, or slightly gin- ger color. This cow, Mr. Lofft believes, is a variety of the old White- Polled cow indigenous to the country, and kept, in bygone times, either tame by the monks or semi-domesticated in noblemen's parks. He in- tends to get up two small herd of these old and very scarce stock, fa- mous for their milking qualities. TheHerefords. — In reply to my inquiries, Mr. T. Duckham, M. P., who, as first editor of the Hereford Herd-Book and representative and resi- dent in the county, is generally associated with its celebrated cattle, gives his authority to the belief that they are " indigenous" (inclosure 13). He also refers to the records of Smithfield for comparison of the Hereford breed with other sorts. I may here note that whilst staying at King's Lynn, Norfolk, after my visit to the farms of the Prince of Wales, I found the picture of a Here- ford ox on the walls of the hotel. This animal was exhibited in 1844, and was bred in Norfolk by Mr. Hudson, of Castle-Acre. The weight was 1,948 pounds, the carcass weighing 1,740 pounds, and the fat 208 pounds. The dead weight of the world-renowned Durham ox was 2,322 pounds. The Morland Sussex. — Mr. W. 0. Morland, of Lamberhurst Court Lodge, Kent, in reference to the Sussex breed of cattle (inclosure 14), gives their weight at three years — cow, 80 to 85 stone ; bull, 100 to 190 stone, the stone being 14 pounds. In this, as in other cases, the recorded weights at Smithfield furnish the best comparison between the various breeds. The Sussex stock are notably a heavy, beef-making breed. It is a point to be remembered that the cattle are housed in winter, not on ac- count of delicacy of constitution, but because of the wetness and cold- ness of Wealden soil, a geological special clay. The Sussex breed are believed by many sf ock exhibitors to have been derived from the Devon breed, but for a long date they have been na- tive to Sussex, where they are favorites. The opinion of Mr. John Treadwell, Upper Winchenden, Aylesbury, Bucks, is regarded as second to none in the matter of stock. Mr. Tread- well's leisure is entirely taken up by j udgin g at the Eoy al Society and other shows. This farm of 270 arable and 330 of pasture acres is visited by agriculturists from all parts. In his report (inclosure 15) he states that his herd of Shorthorn grade milch-cows average 16 pints of milk each per day. The North Devons. — An unsigned return (inclosure 16) from North Devon speaks in favor of the North Devon breed of cattle for local breeding and feeding, and gives a very moderate estimate of weight at maturity— cow, 6 to 8 cwt. ; bull, 10 to 12 cwt. ; ox, 8 to 10 cwt.— which seems to fit with the appellation given to North Devons, u the little noblemen of the hills." The inclosure herewith sent (No. 17), relating to Smithfield, gives the names of prize breeders for several years, and these names form a directory of great value to buyers. THE ABBEY FARMS HERD OF SHORTHORNS. Among the noted herds I was fortunate in being able to pay a visit to the stock farms of Mr. Hugh Aylmer, West Dereham. I arrived at the well-known "Abbey Farm" unexpectedly, and found Mr. Aylmer was " amongst his stock in the fields." I soon had the pleasure of THE UNITED KINGDOM. 73 making the acquaintance of one of the most successful breeders o£ Short- horns now living-, and whose name with that of Mr. Booth is connected wherever the celebrated blood is found. The iuclosure (No. 18) is the current catalogue of Mr. Aylnier's stock, to which reference will show the unrivaled character of the stock. The homestead, near the remains of the old abbey, is situated in a rich, level country, some of the pastures carrying one and a half bullock to the acre. On two out of the three farms occupied by Mr. Aylmer there had been a slight attack of foot-and-mouth disease (a terrible scourge, where ani- mals worth 500 guineas each are exposed), which had been successfully treated and routed. At Dereham we were on classic rural ground, for Tusser, the agricult- ural-axiom author, occupied the moated farm where the abbey remains. Having visited the plain, useful farm buildings, all fairly ventilated, and seen the lirst group of a dozen pedigree cows all out for day graz- ing, during the present very open season, we went to the manor-house farm, passing the flock of Cotswold. shearling ewes, fenced in with inex- pensive string-netting tied to sticks. In the cattle stables each manger had three divisions, one for sliced roots, one for broken cake, and one for a lump of rock-salt. The latter was everywhere, in buildings and fields, always accessible. On this farm, amongst the stock that I especially noted were young Sir Anthony, a red-and-white bull, calved last March; Stopford, just twelve months old, son of the Sir Simeon which has just been sold at a large price to go to Ireland. Stopford promises to become as grand as his sire. There were also a couple of heifers — Castanet 10 and Cas- tanet 11 — bred from that capital bull Sir Benedict, 42388, a splendid white roan. These two Castanets, half sisters and about a year old, are considered worth 1,000 guineas the pair. The bull Felix, rather over two years, was a very handsome and com- plete roan, and goes back to Comet, an illustrious descent. King Kod- erick and, indeed, most of Mr. Ayliner's stock, have noticeably flat oval- shaped horns. Some of the grand old cows we were looking at had produced ten to a dozen calves, selling at from 350 to 400 guineas each. One young bull-calf we saw, under twelve months old, is priced at 350 guineas. The repute of Mr. Aylmer's stock is such that for twenty-five years there has been no occasion to exhibit at shows. Some of the cows, I noted, had twice calved in the twelvemonths — a good evidence of their prolific nature. In Mr. Aylmer's " workshop," or study, was the framed certificate awarded him at the Centennial Exhibition held at Philadelphia in 1870, where he exhibited a pen of his sheep. DENCHFIELD STOCK. From the celebrated vale of Aylesbury Mr. Edw. Denchfield gives some useful details of Buckinghamshire as to its famous regions (iu- closure 19). Plaster clay is the geological strata southeast, between the Thames and river Colne. Then there m the chalk formation of the Chiltern Hills, and the Tesworth clay fills up the vale of Aylesbury, noted for its pro- ductions both animal and vegetable. Limestone and oolite occupy the north of the county, and the natural grasses of Buckinghamshire favor the finishing off as well as the rearing of stock. Dairy herds of Short- 74 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. horns flourish here, whilst the summer meadows are good enough to graze and fatten bullocks. Yards and stalls are afforded to house the cattle in winter, but some of the stock remain out all the year round. The stock thrive on the grasses in summer and get hay, straw, roots, and artificial (bod in winter when needed. The cattle are bred in the dairy herds and weaned at first on milk or artificial substitutes. The heifer calves are brought on to re- plenish the herds, and the young bull calves are either sold as stock bulls, or as oxen are drafted into other counties of tillage land, to be fed out. Mr. Denchfield adds that he finds Shorthorn cattle best for dairying purposes, since they coine to heavy weight for the butchers when fed out. The yield of milk and butter varies much with the seasons, so that the last decade of wet years has lowered the average before established. I may here observe that some of the very best stock of all kinds, horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs, come out of the county of Bucks, and with such good stock the name of Denchfield has been associated for many years. COTSWOLD CATTLE. From Colonel Nigel Kingscote, M. P., I may conclude the special ref- erences. In the Shorthorn Herd-Book Colonel Kingscote, at the present time as in the past, will be seen to own some highly celebrated stock. His estate, Wotten-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, is 800 feet above sea- level, on the west of the Cotswold hills. The geological stratum is oolite, and here, on a brash loamy surface soil, the pure-bred Shorthorn cat- tle, the purebred Sussex Southdown sheep, the pure-bred Suffolk cart- horses, and the pure-bred Berkshire pigs form a higher class stock that I note in evidence of the adaptability of diverse English breeds to a "habitat,57 thus is, in each instance, a change to their original districts, but where they all flourish and attain a high degree of excellence. The cattle are housed in winter, in covered yards and open sheds, and fed on hay, straw, and roots. They reach the weight of 18 cwt. and up- wards, and are disposed of by private and public sale. WEIGHTS OF THE VARIOUS BREEDS. The comparison of cattle breeds, in the report made by Mr. Faulkner, whose figures are valuable, brings together the following points, as averages in pounds (embraced in Consul Doctery's report) : Live weights, under four years old. Breed. Steer. Heifer. Cow. Welsh 2,498 2,486 2,375 2,241 2,212 2,092 2,012 1,9G6 896 2,214 2, 127 1,883 1,890 2,049 1,486 1, 9S4 1,600 2,214 Herefords 2,320 Polled Aberdeen 1,883 Sussex ..» 2,245 Shorthorns 2, 352 Highlander 1,486 Norfolk Polled 1,984 Devons 1,934 Jersey Dead weight, average in pounds. Shorthorns Sussex , Lon^horns Polled Aberdeen Polled Norfolk... Ayrshire 920 840 800 720 700 800 720 920 THE - UNITED KINGDOM. '75 Offal reckoned 8 pounds to the score, except in regard to Welsh, of which the offal is estimated 9 pounds to the score. Amongst records of extraordinary weight arc three instances, these being of a Durham ox, a Hereford animal, and a Norman, the latter be- ing exhibited as the " bcenf gras " in Paris. The dead weight of the Durham ox that was exhibited throughout England, in a former generation, was 2,322 pounds ; of the Hereford ox, 1884, bred in Norfolk, 1,038 pounds; and the Norman bullock, alive, weighed over 30 cwt. i MILK AND BUTTER YIELD OF THE VARIOUS BREEDS. The average weight of milk thus compares yearly : £o £o S| S'3 K 0 <% 2 V« 3 Ereed. Pounds. °2^ 05 rna »3 ■<-> r3 o a-'-g c- « 3 o _§ 3 oJ Ph Ph Shorthorns 8, 000 21 10 3,000 ::, 500 3,500 3,000 Devons 21 22 9 Polled Aberdeons to Gal!ow;i \ 9 Polled If. (see printed notes forwarded) Highlander 2,750 4, 000 3,000 3,000 o, ooo 22 24 24 22 h 9 n Welsh 10 Lon^hor ns 9 Ayrshire 9 Jerseys 4,880 17 to 20 In a recent instance the Devon cow Myrtle gave 26 pounds of milk in a day at the London Dairy Show, and the solids of her milk were found superior to that from the Jersey competitors. The Polled Norfolk cows have also given some large milk records, and extending over a long period. Mr. Faulkner's opinion is in agreement with that of most other ex- perts when he indicates the best beef-producing animal as the cross bred from the Scotch Polled cow and Shorthorn bull. Still, of late, this superiority has been challenged by breeders of Hereford and other crosses. PRICES OF THE VARIOUS BREEDS. The general prices of pedigree animals are closely appraised for cows and heifers: Br* Price. |0 Breed. Price. Shorthorns £35 to £50 :;o 45 .'!<> 45 30 1 i 20 30 £35 to £50 25 40 ens 20 35 Norfolk 80 40 Jersey "Welsh ". 20 30 76 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. The prices at which stock was sold daring the year 1883 at the Bir- mingham Show sale were as follws : Shorthorns.— One bull 200 guiueas and one for 50 guineas; one heifer brought 37 guineas, and one of " Factory Girl strain" 82 guineas. The prices of others sold ranged between the last two prices named. Sir Hugh Aylmer's sales of Shorthorns took place at the Manor House, West Durham, on the 3d of May. It was well attended, but prices were not so high as many anticipated. Fifty-live cows brought £3,798 18s. Gd., averaging £09 1,9. 5d. each. Eighteen bulls sold for £] ,038 6s., or an average of £72 13s. Sd. The highest price paid was for Eastthorp Lady 2d, calved May 14, 1881, 200 guineas. The celebrated bull Sir Simeon was passed, the reserve of 500 guineas not having been bid. On July 11, at T. Halford's sale of Shorthorns at Castle Hill, Sher- bone, four cows and three bulls brought on an average £745 10s. each. The highest figure, paid by Lord Bective for the Duchess of Leicester, was 1,505 guineas. Thirty-two cows averaged £185 Id. each, and six bulls averaged £281 18s. Gd. each. At Henry Lovatt's sale, July 3, at Low Hill, Wolverhampton, the average obtained was £53 2s. 2d. The great Halker sale of Shorthorns took place on September 6, and showed a large falling off from previous years. Thirty-one cows and heifers averaged £182 each; the bulls averaged £112 each. Twelve Oxford cows and heifers averaged £312 17s. Gd. each, and seven bulls of the same family £142 Is. each. Hereford prices. — At Mr. F. Piatt's sales at Barnby Manor, Newark, July 21, one bull calf, four months old, sold to Mr. O. M. Oulbertson, of the United States, for 100 guineas. Another sold for 150 guineas. One cow and calf sold to Mr. Burleigh, of the United States, for 175 guineas; also a heifer to the same purchaser for 90 guineas. One bull, Grove III, was sold to Mr. Oulbertson for 810 guineas. The average price of cows and cattle was £68 17s. each, while that of bulls was £107 each. At the sales of Mr. George Pitt, on his farm of Ohadnor Court, twenty-one head were sold at an average price of £77 Is. 9d. each. The highest price paid was for the cow Kosebloom, which was purchased by the Hon. M. H. Cochrane, of Canada, for 260 guineas. He also took her heifer calf at 47 guineas. Sussex prices. — At Mr. Thomas Knight's sale in October last the prices obtained were, perhaps, the highest on record for the breed ; twelve cows brought on an average £42 Gs. each; four two-year old heifers £49 4s. Gd. each; six yearling steers £23 10s. each; six weanyer heifers £29 4s. Gd. each; and five weanyer steers £17 12s. Gd. each. Jersey prices. — For Jersey cattle some very high prices have been, paid. One bull calf, six weeks old, sold ibr £2,500. The average prices of those shipped to the United States during the year (over 800 in number) will exceed £45 each. Prices of Aberdeen bulls. — At B. C. Auld's sale, on the 13th of De- cember last, twelve cows averaged £114 9s. Gd. each ; eleven two-year- old heifers £156 3s. 9d. each ; seven heifer calves £90 7s. each, and two five-year-old Jmlls £53 lis. each. The general average for fifty-one animals was £90 16s. Prices of West Highlanders. — The Earl of Dunmore sold drafts from his superior herd of West Highlanders, in the island of Harris, at In- verness, nine bulls (six being calves) at an average of £21 each ; also eighty-four cows and hei fers at an average of £19 9s. each. The highest ;>rices paid were 50 guineas for a three-year-old heifer, and two heifers ti the same age sold at 48 guineas each. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 77 COST OF TRANSPORTATION TO THE UNITED STATES. I note the cost of transit and attendance on stock as estimated from the consular reports of Dundee and Liverpool, and confirm them as approximations that may bo taken as a guide to fluctuating circum- stances. Upon inquiry I learn that the ordinary rates for the transportation of cattle from London to New York are as follows : Bulls and cows alike, £5 to £8, according to demand j calves under 12 months, £3 to £4. Above 12 months the charges are the same as for bulls and cows. Under the British passenger act steamships cannot carry more than ten head of cattle if more than fifty steerage passengers are on board. CATTLE CENSUS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. The proportions of the different breeds of cattle, and between the numbers of stock that are being reared and fattened for meat and for the production of milk, are partly given in the official reports, but any estimate thereon must be accepted only with great reserve. • The total number of cattle in Great Britain and Ireland in 1883 was 5,962,771. EXPORTS OF BRITISH CATTLE. The export of cattle from Great Britain and Ireland to other coun- tries is confined to selections of breeding animals, which, relatively small in numbers, is yet so important from the wide area of demand, that many English and Scotch breeders are restricting their offers of stock, feeling the necessity of reserving their animals for home use. This is especially the case in respect to Scotch Polled, Norfolk and Suffolk Polled, and the Hereford breeds. The proportion of pedigree stock kept by farmers is still very small compared with the general purpose stock, often pure bred but unregis- tered, and the various cross-breeds that are commonly preferred both for meat production and milk. In the table of weights (inclosure 17) it will be seen that the cross- breeds head the list for their daily increase. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. In these concluding remarks, I refer with pleasure to the assistance I have received from Mr. Kains-Jackson in making my inquiries, and 1 desire to put on record my sincere acknowldgemonts to my several correspondents for their -frank and courteous kindness in giving mo full information which, from their great resources and experience, was especially valuable. E. A. MERRITT, Consul- General. United States Consulate-General, London, January 31, 1884. 78 CATTLE AND DAIRY TiRffiNG. Inclosures in Consul- General MerriWs report. 1. Notes on French Stock. 2. Report of last French Show, by K. Jackson. 3. Holt Beeber on Shorthorns. 4. The Cattle of Great Britain. (Illus- trated.) 5. History of Argus Cattle. 6. Farmer's Hand-Book. 7. Return from Samuel Beck. 8. Return from Mr. R. Stratton. 9. Return from J. B. Lawes. 10. Return from T. H. Risdon. 11. Return from J. and F. Howard. 12. Return from Alfred Taylor. 13. Return from T. Duckham. 14. Return from W. C. Morland. 15. Return from J. Trcadwell. 16. Return from North Devon. 17. Giviug names of prize breeders. 18. Catalogue of Mr. Ay liner's stock. 19. Notes from Buckinghamshire. 20! Return from Colouel Kiugscote. 21. Table of milk record. 22. Report on dairy trials. 23. Table of weights. 24. Number of selected portraits. [Such portions of the above-mentioned inclosures as are not incorporated iu the consul-general's report, and are otherwise of practical value to American agricultur- ists, will be found in the supplement.] CATTLE BREEDS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM.* The great importance of the information called for to a vast number of people and of interests in the United States led me to seek out an authority of undoubted experience and ability in England, to furnish the desired data in behalf of American agriculturists and others. I adopted this plan for the reason that, in order to make it specially use- ful, the report should be full and reliable in every respect. As a matter of course I could, not be able to equal an adept in this particular line of investigation, for the reason that the subject is one covering such a wide field and one beset with so many difficulties that only one having an extensive acquaintance with English breeders and breeds of cattle could do the subject justice. I was most fortunate in securing the services of Mr. James Long, of Hetchin, England, a well-known authority on agricultural subjects both in England and on the continent, who has prepared the accompany- ing clear, strong, and exhaustive report. It will be found, that great care and attention have been given to this report, and that its impartiality and fairness are beyond question. Where so many interested dealers in and breeders of cattle have to be consulted, it is important that the facts about such breeds should be stated by one who is perfectly free from bias in any respect. This has been done in this report, and I submit the same with full confidence that Mr. Long's acquaintance with our agricultural interests, through this valuable mass of information, will lead to a desire on the part of our agriculturists to follow up the results of his future investigations as they mav hereafter be given to the public. ALBERT D. SHAW, Consul. United States Consulate, Manchester, February 19, 1884. * This report was prepared for Consul Shaw, of Manchester, by Mr. James Long, of Hetchin, England. THE * UNITED . KINGDOM. 7 9 &.— INTKODUCTORY—BKITISH CATTLE AND CATTLE IM- PORTS. The annexed particulars, referring to the only pure races of cattle known in the United Kingdom which are essentially British, will bo found in almost every case very complete and answer every question • put in the circular. The exceptions are the Shetland, the Galloway, and the Sussex, about which it is most difficult to obtain technical infor- mation. Some twenty Sussex breeders have been addressed, but their answers are. not entirely satisfactory, but the information given will bo found reliable in everyway. The Shetland is an almost entirely unknown race, and the Galloway, to which I desired to give a fuller place, I hope to supplement ; the editor of the Herd-Book, who is collecting informa- tion, promising to send it to me shortly. In all, the fifteen British breeds are treated, and the information given is based upon that furnished by nearly a hundred of the leading breeders in the country, and which has been arranged by the writer, who has added much which an ex- tended experience has enabled him to rely upon. It will be noticed that almost every breeder speaks of his own race as the best ; this is natural enthusiasm, and I have in some cases been compelled to slightly tone the rather exaggerated praise bestowed upon one breed in opposition to another. Particulars are added with reference to breeding, feeding, soiling, shipment, and scientific dairy instruments, and centrifugal cream separators,* which will be found very complete, the two last named subjects being especially familiar to the writer, who has invfaiti- gated them in each European dairy country. Drawings or wood cuts are annexed as well of these machines and instruments as of the chief races of cattle. Foreign cattle are little kept in England, and almost all the small herds which had been formed have been dispersed or have degenerated on account of the Government action entirely preventing importation. Dutch cows were at one time very largely used for milk production while French, Spanish, and German beasts were imported in immense numbers for beef. Now the only countries sending live animals in any numbers are Denmark and Sweden and Norway; the first named doing an immense trade last year, leading the United States during the first five months, since when she has started a large company and is build- ing a new fleet of ships for further extending the trade. The Danish cattle come from Aalborg,in Jutland (which port I visited last year), to Newcastle and Hull, and are chiefly Jydsk or Jutland, a medium-sized race of moderate quality. A few Swiss cattle are kept in England, the writer having a few years ago formed the largest herd; the beasts are large, silver-grey in color, slightly too heavy in bone and skin, but very large milkers, good feeders for the butcher, and extremely hardy, living where the majority of other beasts would starve. These beasts are ex tremely profitable and the handsomest of any knowu race in color. French cattle are not bred in England, but the Shorthorn is largely bred in France for crossing upon the Charolaise, Cotentin, and Nivernais beast, which it much improves, the Government keeping up one pure Shorthorn breeding establishment for the purpose. In my numerous visits among the French breeders I have found their opinion of the Shorthorn to be that it is better than any race they have, and consid- ered to be the best in the world for-crossing. This, however, is not bred to such perfection as in England. * These special papers will be found in the supplement. 80 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Best importing cattle. — The best beasts to import are: For meat. — The Shorthorn, the Hereford, the Aberdeen Poll, the Gallo- way, the Devon, the Sussex, and the Longhorn. For beef and milk combined. — The Shorthorn, the Ked Poll, and the Devon. For milk alone.— The Ayrshire, the Shorthorn (not pedigree), the Red Poll, and the Kerry. For butter.— The Jersey, the Guernsey, and the Red Poll. For bleak, cold, or wet districts: For beef.— TheWcst Highland and the Welsh. For milk. — The Kerry. For beef and draught. — The Sussex, the Devon, the Welsh, the Highland, and the Longhorn. Cost of British cattle. — The cost of animals of these races depends solely upon whether pedigree is desired or merely good, useful specimens sueluis the best farmers select for their own use. The following figures, however, may be entirely relied upon for useful non-pedigree beasts well selected : Creeds. Shorthorn Hereford Devon Lonsliom Susses Rod Poll Aberdeen Gall array West Highland Welsh. Kerry , Shetland Ayrshire Jersey Guernsey Bull, 1 to 3 years. £20 to £50 Cow. £30 to 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 15 20 30 25 25 £35 35 35 35 40 40 40 40 40 40 25 35 40 35 35 Heifer. £22 to 22 22 25 25 25 25 25 25 25 12 17 23 20 20 £30 30 30 35 ^5 35 35 35 35 35 20 30 30 For pedigree beasts fancy prices are paid, often most unwisely, for unless a particular animal is wanted the best of blood can be obtained if the purchaser can meet with any person to guide him, and who will take the trouble to go with him, at considerably less money than is paid by Americans in the ordinary way. I frequently see buyers (English) who purchase for fashion, giving high figures for animals, while better animals in the same herd are overlooked, although they could be bought at market price. Number of cattle in the United Kingdom. — The cattle in the United Kingdom are as follows : In England, 4,250,000 ; in Wales, 051,000; in Scotland, 1,00.5,000 j in Ireland, 4,090,000 ; total, 10,097,000. Of these there are cows in milk or in calf: In England, 1,650,000; in Wales, 200,000; in Scotland, 395,000; in Ireland, 1,401,000: total, 3,724,000— a decided increase, but considerably less than ten years ago. Imports of cattle and cattle products into the United Kingdom. — The imports have considerably decreased, owing chiefly to the cattle-disease restrictions, and the same cause has prevented animals being more largely bred. The imports were: In 1865,283,000; in 1871,248,600; in 1876, 271,000 ; rising in 1880 to 389,000, and falling in 1882 to 343,000. In the year 1882, 314,000 cattle were brought into the metropolitan cattle markets, of which 50,129 were foreign. The average price of beasts in 1882 was, for inferior, 4s.3f d. per stone ; second class, 4s. 9£ 1 © 1 0 V p g 9 ft 0 u a 2 'u Pi < s i Wild Rose Cousin August 28 (4th calf) September? (2d calf) December 17 (3d calf) 40 42 38$ 41 38 40 •30 39i 34 34* 37 32* 38 34 36* 32 36 32 35 31 * 34* 26 32 30i 33* 16 26 Gentle Rose 28 Pansie 32 In England systematic tests for milk and cream are not carried out by the farmers. It is only natural to suppose that a cow whose average yield is 25 to 30 pints of milk per diem during two-thirds of the year, is more profitable than one which gives a good pail for half that period. Nancy 2nd (K 19) dropped her fourth calf on August 9, 1881. In the week ending February 5, 1882, she gave 210 pints of milk; percentage of cream, as indicated in a graduated test-tube after the milk had been at rest twenty-four hours, 16.5. Each of the cows in the herd had, in February, a daily feed of 4 pounds mixed linseed and decorticated cot- 90 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. ton-seed cake, 4 pounds bran, 1 bushel carrots, and 1J bushels barley- straw and hay chaff. This cow, Nancy 2nd, when in full profit, August 31, was giving 36 pints of milk per day. Davy 24th (H 1), shown three years in succession, dropped her second calf on January 27, 1882, and gave a daily average yield of milk from that date to August 31 of 42 pints; percentage of cream, 18. Cherry Leaf (V 3) dropped her third calf on May 16, and gave, to August 31, an average daily yield of 42 pints of milk. Flirt 3d ( V 1), a cow of similar breeding to Cherry Leaf, gave, six weeks after producing her first calf, a yield of 249 pints of milk in the week ; percentage of cream, 15. Wax- work 6th (U 9) (the tribe in which the bull Slasher is included) produced her first calf on January 8, and on August 31 was giving milk which yielded 21 per cent, of cream. The following returns are from the Kecton Hall herd (Mr. R. H. Ma- son's) : In the third week of February the cows were on pasture (very light land) most of the day, with a few roots ; at night they each received 7 pounds cotton cake and spiced cake, 7 pounds bran, 14 pounds hay and cut straw. Nancy 3d (N 3), aged sis years, dropped her calf in December, 1881 ; on February 18 yielded 28 pints of milk at two successive milkings ; percentage of cream, 16. Pet (N 1), age 6 years, dropped her calf January 22 ; on 18th February yielded 23 pints of milk ; percentage of cream, 35. Tulip (N 4), with similar conditions, yielded 25 pints of milk ; percentage of cream, 34. And Tulip (N 7), aged 9 years, which dropped her calf in October, 1881, was yielding 26 pints of milk per day in February. Tests were also taken at the end of August, when the cows were all at grass, with the following results : Empress (N 4), which dropped her third calf on April 10, yielded 22 pints of milk per day; percentage of cream, 29. Sultana (N 5), which dropped her fourth calf on March 22, gave 30 pints ; percentage of cream, 26. The butter being produced by eleven cows in August was 80 pounds, and 120 pints of new milk were sold per week. In the year 1881, from the herd of 13 Red Polled cows, 8 heifers, and 1 Alderney, the produce of marketable butter was 3,120$ pounds; new milk sold, 725 gallons ; cream sold, 101 pints ; money value, independent of skim milk, £260. Jn the year 1882, from 14 cows, 6 heifers, and 1 Alderney, the produce of marketable butter was 3,434 pounds ; new milk, 686 gallons ; cream, 13£ gallons. The money realized was £281 4s. 2d. Primrose (K 6), an eleven-year old cow in. Lord Kimberley's herd, gave on winter feed (hay, chaff, bran, and cake), six weeks after calving, 32 pints of milk per clay, and the marketable butter produced was 9 pounds per week. Mr. LofTt, Troston Hall, reported the testing of two of his cows of the Handsome (U 3) tribe, each of which consumed per day 4 pounds cotton cake, 2 pounds Simpson's meal, 0 stone of beet root, and 1J bushels of chaff. Handsome 5th, four months after calving, yielded 28 pints of milk- per day and 7 pounds of marketable butter per week. Handsome 6th yielded 32 pints of milk per day and 10 pounds of butter per week. Mr. G. Gooderham^ Monewden, uniformly causes his cows to breed very early, and the secretion of milk is thus fostered. One of his cows, Wild Eose of Kilburn, which was first prize-winner as a yearling at the Koyal meeting of 1879, produced her first calf when wanting two days of being two years old. Before she was three years old she produced a second calf, and again within twelve months a third. Eight weeks after this last calf was dropped she gave 30 pints of milk per day on winter feed, and her average of butter was 9 pounds per week, taking all the year, since she never goes dry. In June 1882, six mouthy after calving, she won first prize at the Essex show as a milker ; her dam won a like honor at the Suffolk show in June, 1881. The herd of Mr. J. J. Colman, M. P., which has seven times in eight years won the cup offered at the Norfolk show for the best collec- tion, includes the seven-year old cow, Silent Lass, the yearling heifer THE UNITED KINGDOM. 91 shown in the illustration.* This cow, on winter feed, gave 37 pints of milk per day, eight weeks after calving. In May, when the cows were at grass—very poor herbage, growing on a marsh — I tested the quality of the milk, using for the purpose Heeren's milk tester, the "pioskop" of the Hanover Vulcanite Company. The milk was drawn on to the pioskop direct from the udder, •when milking had been half done. Si- lent juass, five months after calving, yielded milk which contained more fatty particles than are found in rich milk as marked on the tester. Even the first milk drawn from the udder of Dolly, six months after calving, was "normal" according to the tester, and her average yield was very rich, as was also the yield of the other cows tested, Rosa (P 3), seven months after calving, and Eosebud 2d (K 17), nine months after calving. Mr. Garrett Taylor's large herd at Whitlingham, near Norwich, is kept exclusively for the supply of milk to customers in the city. The cafe's, which have a largo demand for the article, have familiarized the public with the fact that the milk of the Red-Polled cattle is exceptionally rich. One of the Whitlingham cows, on winter feed, five weeks after calving, gave 32 pints of milk per day ; another, 27 pints. Mr. B. Stimpson, of Morton, reported two of his cows, on winter feed, as yielding daily, Cheerful, ten weeks after calving, 30 pints of iniik, and Silky, six weeks after calving, 26 pints. The butter made from their milk amounted to 14J pounds per week. A four-year old cow of the Eaton strain, in Mr. J. F. Rogers* herd, at Swanington, yielded, five weeks after calving, on very poor food — hay, pulped swedes, and cut straw, with 3 pounds of decorticated cotton cake— 28 pints of milk per day. His herd of seven cows (six Red-Polled and one Shorthorn) produced in the year ending September 30, 1882, 1,435 pounds of butter, which, with milk sold amounting to £11 18d.l0s., made the total return £118 15$. 3*. A return of the test of two cows of theGlemham strain (Mr.Moseley's), already mentioned (in Mr. J. M. Spink's herd, Harpley), gave 53 pints of milk as ihe yield per day on winter feed, and 23 pounds 2 ounces 01 butter per week. Red-Polled cattle are found to lay on flesh rapidly on pasture of the poorest character, where other breeds need to have an additional sup- ply of richer food. The dry temperature of Norfolk and the poor pas- ture seem more particularly to have had their effect on the size of the stock. The first cross-stock sired by a Red-Polled bull, no matter of what horned breed is the dam, is usually red in color and polled in char- acter. Such animals when fat are eagerly bought by the butcher. I have recently seen a number of such cross-breeds, the produce of a Red- Polled bull and a pure-bred Jersey cow, and am told the cross is an ex- cellent one. Some of the animals have a few silver hairs mixed with the red coat ; all were polled and all had black noses. The chief hindrance to the extension of the breed exists in the scarcity of the stock which has in great measure arisen from the fact of rinder- pest having a few years ago been fatal to a large proportion of the cattle then in the more noteworthy herds. Fashion also had a marked effect* Shorthorns and Devons were at one time in such favor that polled cat. *Tho yearling in the illustration is the "Silent Lady," not tho "Silent Lass," and, according to Mr. Long, was calved on the 18th of December, 1830, and was conse- quently only abont four years old at the date on which his report was written. 11 would therefore appear as if tho "Silent Lass" hero referred to is another than the cow " SiVnt Lady" shown as a yearly in the illustration, or that an error has been committed in the age as well as in the name. (Note by the Department.) 92 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. tie were despised and their merits ignored. With registration, how- ever, and marked progress made in Red-Polls within the last ten years, the shortness of numbers is being in some measure compensated for, noblemen and gentlemen now sparing no pains to make the breed a suc- cess. Weight and measure of Red Polls.—^lr. Tyssen- Amherst, M. P., of Did- lington Hall, has, at my request, weighed and measured several cattle in the Didlington herd with the following results, the stock living en- tirely on the grass of very poor land : Name. DULL. Davyson 3d cows, Dary 24th (HI) Dolly (P9) Wild Briar (B 9) Pretty Flovrer (B 18) Pansie (B 20) Bertha (A 20) Cheerful (K 19) Naney2d (K19) Countess (Lll) Dolly (N 6) Nancy (N" 15) Satin (T7) Norfolk Witch (W 1-1) Poppy (U 3) Age. Tears 9 Weight. Length from point of shoulder. Pounds. Ft. In. 2,093 I 5 2 4 9 4 0 4 11 5 00 5 00 5 2 4 8 4 7 4 11 Total length. Ft. In. 7 10 6 7 6 10 Girth. Ft. In. 7 10 6 9 6 4 G 8 6 7 6 9 6 7 7 1 Slasher, 577, bred by Mr. Lofft, combining Norfolk and Suffolk blood, had alive weight of 27 cwt. (3,024 pounds) at the age of four years seven months ; girth, 8 feet 2 inches. His son. Rollick, 558, of the same tribe as Dolly, No. 2 (see illustration), weighed at the age of two years eight months eighteen weeks, 10 cwt., 3 qrs., 14 lbs. (2,226 pounds), and itsdead weight was 100 stone of 14 pounds. The bull Cortes, G45, weighed when one year eight months old, 12 cwt., 20 lbs. (1,363 pounds); eight weeks after, his live weight was 12 cwt., 3 grs., 9 lbs. (1,437 pounds) ; girth 6 feet 10 inches. King Egbert, 688, at fifteen months three weeks, weighed 10 cwt., 3 qrs., 2 lbs. (1,206 pounds); girth 6 feet 6 inches. Three bull calves at Didlington, under live months old, all the get of Davyson 3rd., had a live weight of 3 cwt., 1 qr. (364 pounds) ; 3 cwt., 14 lbs. (350 pounds), and 3 cwt., 12 lbs. (348 pounds), respectively. A Davy heifer at Didlington, sired by Davyson 7th,, and calved January 27, 1882, had on May 31, 1883, a live weight of 8 cwt,, 1 qr., 14 lbs. (938 pounds) ; girth 6 feet 1 inch. A Primula heifer, calved January 3, 1883, weighed on the following May 31, 3 cwt., 1 qr., 20 lbs. (380 pounds). A Red-Polled calf at birth has been found to weigh 3 qrs., 10 lbs. (94 pounds). Practical experimental breeding of Bed Polls. — Mr. R. E. Loflft, of Bury St. Edmunds, a famous breeder of the Red-Polled variety, gives some very unusual information. He says: My farm is composed of drift clay and sand, or both intermixed, and rests on a sub- stratum of chalk. The mean temperature of 1883 -was 48.6; rainfall 26.19. I have never tested my dairy, but only a few cows, on request. Good cows give from 4" to 6 gallons of milk per diem, and make 7 to 10 pounds of butter per week. I set more store upon cows milking through than on giving a large quantity after calviug. Wo have had cows that have not been dry for four years, but this is of course exceptional. I am breeding cattle of three different sizes : First, a large size more exclusively for beef. Of this sort a bull might weigh 1 ton to 1 ton 7 cwt.; a cow from 15 to 17 cwt., and a THE UNITED KINGDOM. 93 steer at two years old, 12 to 13 cwt. Second, a middlo-sized animal for general pur- poses, milk and beef combined. A cow of this sort might weigh 11 to 13 cwt., a bull about 15 to 18 cwt., and steers at two years old in proportion. Third, a small-sized animal exclusively for milk. This at iirst I am trying to breed as small as I possibly can, with an abnormal development of milk. I havo now been broeding this sort for some two years, and I fancy I shall be able to breed animals smaller than either Kerry or Breton cows. I have now been breeding Red Polls for about thirteen years ; my present herd con- sists of about 70 head of cows. Up to this time, I have not been able to weed out as freely as I could wish, as Ked Polls are scarce. Now, I shall be able to draft a num- ber for fattening purposes every year. As a rule I only sell calves, or young bulls of about two years old. I prefer to fattening off cows to selling them for breeding or milk- ing purposes. My fat steers are generally sold rather under than over two years of age ; heifers that are rejected for some reason or other, generally havo a calf and are fattened off at three years. I consider the Red Polls to be a color variation of the old Suffolk cow, which is of a light yellow or pale ginger color, and I fancy it too is a color variation of the old original White Polled cow kept by the monks, and now in a few instances kept tame in noblemen's parks. I havo the mind to 6et up two small dairies of these two varie- ties; I havo already secured some and got the promise of others. My present herd is comprised of about equal parts of blood from Norfolk and Suffolk stocks. I am in favor of lino breeding, unless, of courso, it shows bad results. My idea of breeding three different sizes is quite contrary to the usual ideas upon the subject, but for the present I seo no reason to regret the course I havo taken. As far as I can see, judi- cious selection is more prepotent than either food or climate. The fact that I hope, starting with the Fame blood and food and other conditions of existence, to produce animals that weigh over I ton, down to animals that only weigh 3 cwt., as I feel quite certain I can, points to the same conclusion. When I first began to breed Red Polls, they had short wire coats, but now they have long silky coats, with soft mel- low skins. As far as I can see, a first-class milking habit is more difficult to fix in a breed than any other characteristic ; tho material may bo present, but one cow stores it up and another yields it up to the milkman. Cows that are good milkers often breed heifers that are only the common run, although put to good bulls oufc of good milking strains. As regards tho proportion of lean to fat, Red Polls have on the market a good repu- tation, and fetch advanced rates ; some price as much as a shilling per stone more than Shorthorns. My cows are fed on a great variety of food, according to the crops of tho year. In summer they are out at grass from May to October ; at times they have a ba*it of cab- bages or turnips on the pastures, with 2 to 3 pounds of cotton cako or linseed ; some- times luccin in the barn, or they may be turned out to clover. In winter they are fed with cake, hay, cabbages, swedes or turnips, or gorse, with a few bushels of meal, just as it may happen. Grains as well as malt dust io good food, but all depends on circumstances — such as home crop or cheapness of artificial food. As for tho working powers of tho Red Polls, I have never worked them myself, as I am a large horse breeder, but they can bo worked with a collar. I havo seen some working in America, but never in England. Since the above was written I have received the following informa- tion from Mr. Gooderham, the well-known breeder of this race, whose cattle are so famous for their milking qualities. He states that the annual average yield of milk per cow is about 1,000 gallons, and that 20 pints is the usual quantity required to produce a pound of butter. He does not manufacture cheese and is, therefore, unable to give tho quantity necessary to make the like quantity of that article. The live weight of tho Red Polls, he informs us, is from 1,400 pounds to 2,000 pounds, at maturity, and that the proportion of meat of a fattened steer, also at maturity, is nearly equal to that of a Scot. His land is com- posed mostly of heavy clay, and his grasses consist chiefly of old past- ure. The summer food of his Red Polls is 4 pounds of best linseed cake daily, with grass. In winter he feeds them upon cut hay, turnips, swedes, mangolds, and carrots, or cabbages. In the early part of the winter he prefers feeding them with two bushels of swedes and carrots, and with the like quantity of mangolds in the spring.* * For much of the special information given in the foregoing report on Red Polls, Mr. Long expresses his obligation to Mr. Euren, editor of the Herd-Book, and to Mr. Lofft, tho famous Suffolk breeder. 94 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. (2) Longhorn Cattle. The Longhorn cattle, as a distinct breed, became famous first of all in the district of Craven, in Yorkshire, on whose phosphatie soils they attained a degree of inherent vigor and hardiness which their descend- ants have faithfully transmitted through many generations, in various kinds of climates, and on widely-differing soils. Long before the Short- horns became famous outside the Teeswater district, the Longhorns had attained a proud position and a widely-extended popularity. During the greater part of the last century, and in the early years of the pres- ent one, they were at once the pride of wealthy breeders, and, in vary- ing degrees of purity, the practical stock of dairy farmers in the mid- land counties of England. In Ireland they were and still are known, in contradistinction to the modern breeds reared there, as u the old Irish cow." Though the Longhorns, less, as well as more, than a hundred years ago were the prevailing cattle of the midland counties, Derbyshire appears to have been then, as it is now, the stronghold of the more famous herds. Sir Thomas Gresley, of Drakelow House, Burton-on- Trent, appears to have been the first prominent improver of Longhorns, and he took u delight in keeping a dairy of cows similar in color and shape w before the renowned Robert Bakewell was born. Three-quar- ters of a century ago, Mr. Princep, of Croscall, is said by Parkinson to have had, perhaps, the first dairy of cows in the county where 4hat pre- eminence is defined to mean symmetry, size, and aptness to fat. The same authority tells us that Mr. Princep had 500 guineas offered for a two-year-old bull, and 30 (another account says 50) guineas a cow for the use of his bull to 30 gows; and he was also offered £2,000 for 20 dairy cows. A four-year-old steer of his weighed,when killed, 248 stone of 14 pounds to the stone ; and, in addition, there were 350 pounds of fat, while the hide weighed 177 pounds. The breed, however, had previously become supremely famous under the hands of the greatest of all breeders, Mr. Bakewell, of Dishley, in Leicestershire, whose efforts, eminently success- ful as they were, lay in the direction of combining in the same animal the four great qualities of beauty and utility of form, quality of flesh, and aptitude to fatten,which, he rightly judged, were not incompatible with each other. But, in attaining these points, he wholly neglected the no less important one of milk, and we cannot but regard this omission as a national misfortune, for numberless other breeders have been taught to sin in the same way. Mr. Lythall, editor of the recently established Longhorn Herd-Book, makes the startling assertion that to this line of breeding u must be traced the decline of the Longhorns in public favor at the early part of the present century." This is quoted as a warning to the Shorthorn breeders of the present day. Yet the old Longhorns, even many of the highly improved ones, were celebrated for their milkiness, less though for quantity than for qual- ity of milk j but it was BakewelPs one fatal misfortune to destroy this reputation. Youatt says of him : Many years did not pass before his stock was unrivaled for the roundness of its form, the smallness of its bone, and its aptitude to acquire extern al fat, while they were small consumers of food in proportion to their size ; but at the same time their qualities as milkers were very considerably lessened. The grazier could not too highly value the Dishley or new Leicester Longhorn, but the dairyman and the little farmer clung to the old breed as most useful for their purpose. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 95 It would thus appear that the "unimproved" Lon^horns were good milkers, or the dairymen and little farmers would not have thought so much of them. Whilst Bakewell was alive there were many famed herds of Longhorus within an hour of him in the saddle, but in less than forty years after his death there was not an animal of the breed left on the old farm at Dishley, and not a dozen within a circuit of 12 miles from it, so completely did the loss of milkiness disestablish the old breed from the district in which Bakewell had made it immortal. Three-quarters of a century ago Mr. Mundy, of Markeaton, was a well- known breeder of Longhorns, and it is related that one of his cows, named Thistle, made 17 pounds of butter a week. Mr. Cleaver, of Leam- ington, tells of a brindled cow he knew almost as long a time ago which filled a 4 gallon milk-pail up to the brim, and afterwards gave another quart to the milkmaid; and of a two-year-old heifer which was so pro- lific that in ten years she brought thirteen calves, and was such a milker that all the dairymaids set a world of store by her. Mr. Shaw, of Frad- ley, Old Hall, near Lichfield, says: A Longhorn cow some years ago, on Lord Bagot's estate, near Rugeley, bad such an immen.se udder that the man when he sat down to milk her could not reach across it, and had either to milk one side first and then the other, or two men would be milking the same cow at once ; and he records his opinion that very few, if any, breeds of cattle excel the old-fashioned Longhorn for milk. And als to its quality he says : Whenever we have had occasion to change our dairymaids the now ones have in- variably been struck with the superior quality of the milk and cream obtained from our Longhorns. One of them remarked, " Dear me ! what a thickness your cream is ; and the skimmed milk looks as good as the unskimmed did where I last lived ; it does not look at all blue, and the other did." The maid had been previously living where a large herd of Short- horns was kept. Mr. E. H. Chapman, of St. Asaph, remarks that the Longhorns were numerous in some parts of Wiltshire forty or fifty years ago, and they were called the " Spreads," the " Bradles," the " Crumbles,'" or the " Broads," as the forms of the horns indicated. It is true there is no sort of uniformity either in the length or form of the horns of Long- horn cattle. It was said of them — They were distinguished from the home breeds of other counties by a dispropor- tionate and frequently unbecoming length of horn. In the old breed this horn fre- quently projected nearly horizontally on either side, but as the cattle wore improved the horn assumed other directions. It hung down so that the animal oould scarcely graze, or it curved so as to threaten to meet before the muzzle and so also to prevent the beast from grazing ; or immediately under the jaw, and so lock the lower jaw ; or the points presented themselves against the bones of the nose and face, threaten- ing to perforate them. The color of the Longhorns is sometimes the opposite of ornamental, and a white irregular streak commonly runs up the back from the tail to the shoulders. But, as a rule, they are picturesque and pleasing cattle, the color being most commonly brindle. It cannot be denied that as a breed they possess valuable points. They have, under proper management, early maturity, fatten well on a moderate quantity of food, and their flesh is of good quality; and while some of them are very deep milkers, they are all favorably known for the quality of the milk they give. It is not likely, however, that they will ever reattain the position they formerly held, but it may be confidently anticipated that their reputation will revive. Indeed," in some localities and with many breeders their reputation can only be said to have declined, if at 96 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. all, in part and temporarily, and it is equally true to say that there are many signs of an extended revival of the ancient reputation of this quaint old breed of cattle. Many splendid specimens have been and still are exhibited at the Birmingham fat-stock shows, and it is hoped this will always be the case, for to Birmingham is due the credit of having stuck to the old breed during a good part of the period when it was left out in the cold by most other agricultural shows. The number of Longhorn herds is increasing in the midland counties, and the names of many gentlemen mentioned in the Herd-Book index are an ample guarantee that the old breed will not only not be let die, but that it will again be helped on into popularity. Characteristics of the Longhoms. — The characteristics of the breed are noteworthy, for it possesses a character of its own, resembling, however, the Herefords more than any other breed. The head is finely cut, but long, and tapers well towards the muzzle, being moreover well set on- to a thin, shortish neck. The horns are, except in the bulls, long, fine, and tapering, hanging well down by the cheeks and then point forward by the muzzle ; the usual length in the cows and oxen is from 2 J feet to 3 feet, but those of the bulls rarely exceed 18 inches. The shoulders are comparatively fine, but well set on, and the legs show good bone. The girth is for such cattle, in comparison with the Shorthorns, small j but the loin is broad and the hips wide and outstanding. The chine is rarely full except when the animal is fattening, and then it will put on a rare amount of flesh in this part. The thighs are long and fleshy, with small, clean-cut legs. The hide is of fair thickness, mellow, and soft to the touch. The flesh is of fine quality, the bone plenteous, but not coarse, and the offal small. -Begarded as graziers' stock, they possess sterling qualities and must take high rank, their carcasses carrying very heavy loads of beef. They fatten rapidly and easily, and "although scarcely coming to maturity so quickly as the Shorthorns ■' they never- theless approach these, their supplanters, very closely, leaving very lit- tle to be desired in this respect. As milkers, one admirer of the breed says : We know them to be excellent cattle, as witness the fact that the majority of the pure breed Longhorn herds are kept as dairy cattle. They are free and long milkers, the milk being, as a rule, superior in quality to that of Shorthorns. Their uso for crossing purposes is not very extensive, because there are few instances in which their place can advantageously be taken by the Durham, and it seems as if we must bo content to use them as a pure breed. No doubt there is room for them, and we are inclined to the opinion that the judicious intermixture of a little of the Longhorn among one or two breeds would tend to reduce that fineness of character which is becoming dangerously general in some of our best kinds of cattle. With regard, however, to the milking value of the Longhorns as a breed, a great deal cannot, we think, be said, for justly esteemed as it formerly was it has of late been comparatively little bred for this pur- pose, the Shorthorn having taken its position in the dairy in almost the whole Of the Longhorn district $ but there are numerous, instances of great milking capacity in the breed, and we believe that by a little atten- tion in a judicious crossing and in cultivating the milking power, it could be raised to a very high standard, certainly equal and possibly superior to the Shorthorn. As with some of the other less cultivated breeds, the Longhorn is not now bred for the dairy. There are a few isolated cases in which they are used, but we very much question their absolute purity, and even in these cases the dairies are so small that statistics would be of little value. It may be generally stated, however, that it is a better cheese- THE UNITED KINGDOM. 97 making than a butter-making breed, and does extremely well upon the rich old pastures of the midland counties of England, which are not greatly exposed to the weather, and which are usually of a stiif loam, with a substratum of clay. The Longhorn, which lives to an exceedingly old age, is, moreover, a decidedly large breed, and in the year 1882, at Birmingham, the winning steer, aged 3 years 7 months, weighed 15f cwt. ; the second prize, 3j£ years, weighing 15£ cwt. At the same time the first-prize cow, 5£ years, weighed over 16 cwt. ; the second prize, a heifer, aged 4J years, being 15£ cwt. The following year, at the same exhibition, the lirst-prize steer, 3 years 8 months, scaled 17 cwt, the sec- ond and third being almost as large ; while in the cow class the first prize, 4 years and 10 months old, weighed 13£ cwt., the others being all larger. The prevailing color of the best exhibition beast is brindle and white or red and white, the former being preferred. As may be expected from the extraordinary length of the horns of these beasts they are seldom used upon the farm for draft purposes, although their docility and great strength otherwise fit them for such, a purpose; but the farmers in the district in which they are chiefly bred almost to a man prefer horses. Productiveness of the Longhorns. — The system of feeding is generally that adopted with the Shorthorn, cake and roots being the principal part of their diet, and both suiting them admirably. At the same time there are differences of opinion a* to the quantity of turnips given, some bleeders preferring a minimum quantity with a maximum quantity of cake : others again, and it must be confessed without much reason, giving an enormous quantity of roots and a similar quantity of cake or corn. It was the custom in some districts not very many years ago to compose the dairy herds of Shorthorns and Half horns, the latter of which were, for the most part, a combination of Shorthorn and Long- horn ; bat of late years very little of the Longhorn element lias been in- troduced among them. . Of a herd of 25 to 35 of these, a cow would give from 3 cwt. to 4 cwt. (the long hundred of 120 pounds) of cheese during the season of about seven months, the price being sometimes as low as 50 and as high as 95 shillings per cwt. Of an experiment with. G Shorthorns and 6 Longhorns in the June season, it was shown that whilst the majority of pounds of milk was 152 pounds to 135 in favor of the Shorthorn, the cheese curd from the larger quantity was only 14J pounds, as against 19J pounds. Another experiment with 36 Shorthorns against 32 Longhorns showed that the 605 pounds of milk from the former made 60J pounds of curd and that the 553 pounds from the latter made 60 pounds. The plainest cows are often the best milkers, and the milk from a seven or eight year old is thought to be the richest. ' In winter they are most frequently kept on barley straw and pulped turnips, with hay in addition near calving time. The calves, which generally are somewhat difficult to rear, are usually dropped in March and April, and some of them never suck their mother. They have new milk from the first, which is lessened when the cheese season begins, and gradually they come to oil-cake and linseed boiled in whey or the overnight's milk. As they get older they become heavy-lleshed and prove themselves well fitted for the butcher. For the food which the Longhorn consumes it will certainly give as good a return, and generally a better, than other beasts, and as an animal for the adornment of the park or the home pasture of the hall or grange it will be found most suitable. H. Ex. 51 7 98 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. (3) The Shorthorn Cattle. The Durham, or Shorthorn, isnot an ancient breed. It cannotlay claim to such antiquity as theLonghorn ; for while the Longhorn seems tohave been the aboriginal cow of Ireland, the Shorthorn is a cow of modern days. " Diversities in appearance, shape, habits, and produce," says a well- known writer on cattle breeds, u have arisen, partly from modern artifi- cial breeding, but chiefly from the prolonged and combined influences of soil, climate, pasturage, and general treatment." The centuries that have elapsed since the dispersion of the ancient breed of cattle, and their long-continued location in different districts, under such varied condi- tions of climate and pasturage, have produced great changes in the ap- pearance of members of the same race. Especially is this so in the case of the cattle whose home has always been in the more civilized and more highly cultivated parts of England. Originally of a shy and nervous disposition, spirited and active, of hardy constitution, and with a tend- ency to roam at will, they have, during the course of so many years of intercourse with their owners, lost much of their hardiness and activity, and also much of their nervousness and fear. Eich pasturage, mildness of climate, protection from the winter storms, the increasing use of grain and artificial foods, and the general improvement in cultivation, has had a most marked effect on the appearance and general characteristics of the cattle brought within such influences. This is shown in the devel- opment of a surprising bulk of flesh on a much larger frame. The suc- cessive conquerors of Britain — the Eomans, Saxons, Danes, and Nor- mans— it must be remembered, all brought with them cattle from their own countries," and these, becoming domesticated, were mixed and crossed with the above, and were finally lost in the resulting race. The con- quered area provided an improved breed of cattle, While the more re- mote and inaccessible parts of the Kingdom, remaining free, bred the same animal as existed in the early days of British history. About the year 1640 a bull and some cows were brought into Holder- ness (East Yorkshire) from Holland. They had large shoulders, flat sides, coarse necks, thick heads ; their valuable points were small and their coarser points large ; yet these cattle were of larger bulk and the cows better milkers than were then known, and on this aecount they were greatly esteemed and used for crossing with the native cattle. The cross soon showed great and lasting improvement. Holderness is a rich grazing district, and the native cattle found there at that period were of the best in the land. The new breed thus formed by the admix- ture and crossing of these imported animals soon asserted their superi- ority over all other races. Such was the origin of the Shorthorn. Another source of the Shorthorn, and in some degree passing the prior claim to being the original, was a race of cattle which from time imme- morial had existed in Durham, in the basin of the Tees, whence they were named the Teeswater. In color and appearance they resemble the breed of the present day; they had a good, mellow touch, and in butcher's parlance "killed well;" were light of offal, had wide carcasses and deep forequarters, and were greatly esteemed by all who were ac- quainted with them. About the same period, or a few years later than their introduction into Holderness,' the Dutch cattle were also imported into the valley of the Tees and were crossed there with the native breed, giving rise to the Teeswater Shorthorn, or Durham. At a still later date numerous bulls were imported from the Continent, principally from Hol- land. The native cattle in Yorkshire and Durham were crossed with THE UNITED KINGDOM. 99 fcheni, and the new breed so produced received the name of the Short- horn. It is not necessary to follow the history of the breed further. As it became known it came into popularity and quickly spread and multi- plied. About the year 1754 the brothers Collings, of Darlington, entered upon a new departure in the history of this new breed, applying Bake- well's principle of selection in the breeding of the Shorthorn; a step which produced the happiest consequences and the most important re- sults, improving the frame and proportion of the cattle, and, largely developing and increasing their milk and fattening properties. For many years they followed this course, and when the herd was dispersed in 1810 the prices realized at its sale were altogether unprecedented. Since then much has been done by many persons to improve the breed. It would bo impossible to particularize those who have done such great service, but we may mention the names of Bates (whose great success must be largely be attributed to his purchases at Collings's sale), and of Booth, the founders of two great families of Shorthorns whose fame is without compare. The points of the Shorthorn. — The color may be entirely red or entirely white, or a mixture, either color predominating, but not in spots. The fashionable color has varied at different times. Once a creamy white was all the rage; so was all the red, and the flecked roan, but a good Shorthorn cannot be a bad color so long as it is not spotted. The skin around the eye and the bald of the nose should be of a rich cream color, the head rather small in proportion to size, and tapering in shape, with a fine muzzle ; a clean, calm, and prominent eye; horns rising near the crown, short, smooth, and white, but moderately sharp, and of fine quality; the head should be well set on a deep form and broad neck. As to the frame, it should approach as exactly as possible to the shape of a parallelogram, from whatever direction viewed; the back per- fectly straight and level from the neck, just below the horns, to the top of the tail ; the shoulders well back in the body, and the brisket pro- jecting in short rectangular form. The top of the shoulders should be perfectly level and the loins wide and level across the hock bones ; the hind quarters long and straight, as should the shoulders, forming perpen- dicular and well-marked lines ; the buttocks to the hocks, and the shoulders to the knees full and well developed, but below the bones should be fine and clean and clearly formed; the twist full and wide; the flank full and thick, and the tail moderately fine, and not too much covered with hair. The ribs should be inclined to the shape of a barrel, but when the animal is seen along the side, it should appear as if per- fectly straight and level from the shoulder to the buttock. When seen endwise, it should be equally straight and level from the top of the neck to the root of the tail, and also underneath from the brisket along the belly towards the twist. The hair fine and abundant, soft and glossy ; the skin mellow and soft to the touch ; the flesh is accumu- lated on the valuable parts, the fat in due proportion to the lean, and the flesh of the slaughered animal is fine in quality, well marbled, and the meat most juicy and tender. In the bull the head is broader and thicker, and the neck is arched and coarser. In the cow the belly is more pendulous ; the thighs slighter, and the loins sometimes hollow. The appearance of the Shorthorn is exceedingly attractive and sym- metrical; its skin is of the richest hue, from the blood red to the pure white or cream or the beautiful delicate roan. Its small clean limbs and handsome apperancie have stamped it as the moat magnificent breed of cattle we possess. 100 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Valuable properties of the Shorthorn. — The valuable properties of the Shorthorn as a meat-producing animal are said to be without rival. It produces the greatest quantity of beef, and that of the best quality, and scales the heaviest of any of our herds. It also comes to maturity at a very early age and shows the most kindly disposition to' fattening. As a milk producer, the Shorthorn can claim to be in the front rank, though the general opinion is that it must yield the palm to the Jersey and the Ayrshire. For many years past, it must be borne in mind, the breeding of Shorthorns has been conducted solely with a view to the production of beef, but formerly this animal was the deepest and heaviest of any of the milk-producing breeds, and if for a few years it was again bred for the pail, as it is now for the butcher, its superiority as a milker might be regained. As a cheese producer the Shorthorn is ad- mittedly the best. The Shorthorn is to be found everywhere, but its home is in its native place in Yorkshire, and in the eastern counties of England. It is to be found all over England, Scotland, and Ireland, all over America, in Australia and New Zealand. Of all the different breeds of cattle we possess, the Shorthorn has the greatest power of adaptation to varying conditions of life, to changes of soil, of climate, and of pasturage. It thrives nearly as well in the cold, dry northeast of Scotland as in the moist and genial south of Ireland, and is equally at home in the nobleman's park and upon the prairies of Texas. Shorthorn cross-breeds. — But while it is esteemed of great value on account of adaptability to all climates and soils, it has achieved won- derful results through crossing with other varieties. Crossing with the Shorthorn improves nearly all other breeds by imparting the properties that give value to cattle, viz., size, form, quality, rapidity of growth, early maturity, and aptitude to fatten at an early age. Most es- pecially marked is the improved quality and consequently greater value of the cross between the English Shorthorn and the old Irish cow. The marvelous result is presented in an increase of ten imperial stones' weight of flesh in the animal, in greater size, and in the quality of fattening at least a year earlier than other stock. The enormous im- provement that has been effected and that is still -being carried on in the breeding of Irish cattle is within the knowledge of every farmer. This improvement has added no less than twenty-five per cent, to their value at a year old, and is the result of crossing with the Shorthorn during the last and present generations. The Shorthorn is used in Scotland for crossing with the Ayrshire, and it is said that the produce are better milkers than their mothers. It also crosses with the Guernsey with great milking results. It is, however, for the size, the early maturity of growth, and the aptitude to fatten early and quickly that the Shorthorn imparts to other breeds of cattle that is chiefly valuable. Shorthorn steers, or steers of some other breed with a very large admixture of Shorthorn blood, are the favorite cattle for winter and summer feeding in the northern and mid- land counties of England. In some quarters the Shorthorn may not find so much favor as it once did, and in certain districts other breeds may be more successfully reared and fed ; but, for general purposes, upon moderately good land, and in an average climate, the Shorthorn, as a race of cattle, is equal to any, while it is surpassed by none. Dis- tributed throughout almost every county of Great Britain and Ireland, pedigree Shorthorns are now to be met with ; there are probably some OUO breeders, possessing about 20,000 cows, and distributing good bulls amongst the breeding herds. But breeders of first-class Shorthorns, THE UNITED KINGDOM. , 101 says Mr. Dun, have of late years been very generally looking to beef rather than to milk. How to form Shorthorn dairy herds. — Some sensible and far sighted breeders have seriously demurred to the neglect of the milking proper- ties of the Shorthorns. Mr. Bates was opposed to overfeeding, kept his stock in a very healthy natural state, and some of his best cows were deep milkers. Mr. Whittaker for nearly forty years maintained the dairy superiority of his Shorthorns, which not only reared their calves, but supplied the people of his extensive factory with milk. He never used bulls excepting from cows which reached a high standard of dairy excellence. Although his famous bull, Fairfax, was the most shapely he ever breo, he was hired to go to Warwickshire, became the sire of many good steers and of a Smithfield gold medallist, but Mr. Whitaker would not use him at home, as he did not consider his dam a sufficient milker. The late Lord Ducie was equally anxious to preserve the milk- ing qualifications of his herd, and was a staunch opponent to over- feeding. The forty-nine cattle at his great sale in 1853 were in very ordinary condition and many were exceedingly good milkers. From these, and other such tribes, where reasonable pains have been system- atically taken to maintain milk, pedigree Shorthorn cows can bo ob- tained which will compare with any dairy stock. From such herds young bulls can be selected which may be trusted to produce vigorous, good, thriving animals, with early maturity, good all round, and which will not detract from the dairy profits of the herd with which they are mated. By the use of such sires good thriving young stock are pro- duced, which make the best of their food and time, which, whilst they milk as well as their dams, probably acquire, when dry, greater capa- bility rapidly to lay on beef. I need not here enlarge on the enormous boon it is to the dairyman to have his cows maintain their condition while milking, readily to lay on beef as they are dried, and if required shortly to go to the butcher at about the price they were valued for calving. This combination of good qualities — this milking liberally for eight or nine months, and making, if needful, three or four months later, a good carcass of beef — is pre-eminently secured more rapidly and ef- fectually by Shorthorns than by any other breed. A very valuable herd of pure-bred dairy Shorthorns could be inex- pensively founded in a few years by attending Shorthorn sales, se- lecting animals merely for their dairy qualities and without regard to fashion or tribe, and mating them with a bull carefully chosen from a heavy milking cow of a well-known dairy sort, such, for example, as the Knightleys. My herd contains animals that have milked twenty-four quarts per day each without any special forcing and milked only twice a day. With more stimulating food and an extra milking even larger results might be obtained. I am inclined to the opinion that pure-bred Shorthorns give richer milk than common-bred cows of no particular type, but no doubt the proportion of cream is affected by the kind of food and quality of land. Bean meal is a favorite "licking" for milk cows with the Yorkshire men; cotton-cake stands next j grains, distill- ers' wash, and other like articles, whilst increasing the flow, diminish the quality of the milk. Twenty years' experience in milk-selling and Shorthorn breeding brings me to the conclusion that £500 invested in pure-bred Shorthorns, selected solely as dairy animals, and kept to yield milk for sale, weaning and rearing the calves, and selling off the dams as fat when no longer serviceable in the dairy, would in ten years leave bet- ter profit than the same amount laid out on any other breed for similar purposes. 102 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. In selecting young bulls for dairy herds it is not only essential that they are descended from dams and tribes which have the desired milk- ing capabilities ; they ought, also, to carry in their own persons some recognized characters indicative of dairy usefulness. Size, substance, and masculine character, are essential for health and vigor. Close- made, compact sizes, although sometimes captivating on account of shapely, even form, are rarely good getters, either of steers or dairy cows. There is a happy medium between smart heifer-like or steery- bulls, and rough, coarse leggy brutes. The head should be kindly ,free from coarseness, but withal of a masculine character, without which a bull is unlikely to leave his mark. I do not object to tolerable growth of horn, which shows constitution. The neck should bo rather long to secure carriage and length of carcass, merging in those curved lines of beauty into a well- developed prominent bosom. The chest, necessarily capacious to give ample room for heart and lungs, should approach the oval of the well-bred horse, rather than the round or square propor- tions of the cart-horse. This will bring the dewlap somewhat near the ground. The shoulder blades will be well laid back ; there will be no roughness or overdue prominence of the shoulder points. In a young, growing animal in moderate condition this conformation will entail a somewhat light appearance of the fore quarters and the fore chine may not be so abundantly clothed with beef as the butcher would desider- ate. The back and loin ca,nnot be too wide, the back ribs should be well sprung ; the narrow weak-backed bull is certain to have the worst of all faults, a delicate constitution. The quarters should be long, well- clothed with lean meat, but alike in bulls and cows of milking proclivi- ties, they will not be so thick and massive as in animals selected more exclusively for beef making. The body will be invested with a skin of moderate thickness, soft and pliant, not papery, and covered with rather long line hair. The soft undergrowth ofmossy hair, so pleasant to handle, augurs fattening rather than milking capabilities. It is not absolutely necessary for ordinary dairy herds that the bull should have a long, fashionable, or even perfectly consistent pedigree, free of the so-called alloy, and satisfying the taste of the critical purist. But a good sound pedigree secures uniform, certain results. A bull whose pedigree is made up of a number of dissimilar strains is unlikely to get his calves with that uniformity of good type which is so desirable. The fashion of the present day is to use young bulls, beginning with them when they are about 15 months, and discarding them often when they are 3 years old ; frequently they are slaughtered before their stock becomes appreciated. In olden times bulls were wont to be used charily at first, their progeny were carefully noticed, and a successful sire was used so long as he continued serviceable. I recently visited the Berkely herd of Lord Fitzhardinge, which is somewhat famous from the fact of his having given £4,500 for the cele- brated bull, Duke of Oonnaught, which I judged to weigh as I saw him well on for 2J tons. The herd is bred for sale and beef, but in the dis- trict, a famous dairy one, were numbers of grand Dairy Shorthorns. Here, as at Lord Ducie's, near at hand, the Shorthorns are all pedigree beasts, and extremely hardy, and certainly not highly fed. To prevent quarter evil, setons are let in below the brisket. The Vale of Berkely is near the Severn, and exposed to southwest gales, which are here very severe. Dairy Shorthorns. — The following will give some idea of the value of what is known in the midland counties of England as the Dairy Short- horn, for its milking properties. There are some families of this old THE t UNITED -KINGDOM. 103 race which are famous for their symmetry and meat-producing quali- ties ; others are equally famous for their milk, and in some cases, where the owner of a herd has made it his study for a number of years to breed from milkers only and to produce as large a yield as he possibly can, the herd has become marvelously prominent in this qualification, as in the case of the one to which reference is made below. A year or two ago a member of the British Farmers' Association offered a chal- lenge cup for the best dairy-farm record, and although records have been sent in by farmers and land-owners in different parts of the coun- try, and with regard to different breeds, so far none have equaled that which was sent in by the Earl of Warwick during the past year (1883), although, unfortunately, from a technical error it was not able to com- pete for the prize. Wonderful Shorthorn dairy record.— The steward, Mr. Tough, com- mences his record with a statement as to the analytical value of his milk. On June 2 it was tested by Mr. Bostock Hill, the county analyst, and was as follows: solids, 9.09; fat, 4.37; total, 13.46. It was again tested June 29, showing an increase of .21 per cent., while the fats re- mained in statu quo: solids, 9.31; fat, 4.36; total, 13.67. On August 4 the solids showed a considerable falling off, while the fats were propor- tionately increased : solids, 9.12 ; fat, 5.21 ; total, 14.33. The Society of Analysts have adopted 9 per cent, as the limit for solids not fat, while Professor Wanklyn suggested 9.5, the limit for total solids being 11.5. The record refers to the Shorthorn cows, four of which were four years old, four five years old, and two six years : • «-5 1 a o I o °* bo Si li Sa li I| 3 3 Ui ■ O ft § i* a o If •3 > 2 © or- s! •So B © «3 v L u •4 ( I B .g 2 3 1 1 1 Stone. 73 88 81 88 80 80 86 80 78 90 Stone. 92 01 94 92 96 80 96 92 94 100 Stone. 14 6 10 4 16 ""io" 12 16 10 Qts. 157i 154 173 126 143J 146* 133* 130 136 138 118 143 *136 110 •160 110 104 120 114 Qts. 22* 22 24| 18 20* 21" 19 181 19* 19J Qts. 2,312 2, 328 , 2, 838 2,426* 2,137 2,737 2, 227* 2, 048* 2, 262* 2,211* QU. 19* 19* 23| 20* 18 23 19 17 19 18* Qt9. 11 10 10 14* 12 11 13 12 10 10 536 508 649 571 470 040 509 469 524 494 78* 79* 93 99* 75 88* 83 76* 77 74* 39| 44* 2 3 55| 4 5 401 6 5l£ 7 44f 8 39l g 42 10 404, * Only on© cow maintained her position. t The highest yield was of a five-year old cow.calved April 2, which gave in twelve weeks 173, 157, 177?,, 198, 185**184, 183, 170, 178, 177, 162, 158, or 25 quarts a day for 84 days. | The average is below 11* for the lot, which is a distinct refutation of the value of the Shorthorn as a butter cow. § An average of 768, a decidedly disappointing quantity. ft A total of 45.'}} pounds from 13,701 pounds of milk, or about 1,030 gallons of cream and showing an .• of butter to milk of about 3.29, and cream 43.98. The quantities of skim milk are also shown, and bear a fair proportion to tho quantities of now milk used. It appears that the milk was in part sold and partly set for cream and churned. The quantity sold was so large that the cows yielded, per cow, from this source alone for the seventeen weeks of the trial from £13 to £18 5s., No. 3, the big milker, claiming the latter high figure, which is marvelous even without the sum to her credit for butter ann 104 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. skim milk 5 aiid if it were possible to collect dairies of suck cows, either one of two things would happen—the compilation of fortunes the general reduction of foreign dairy imports — perhaps, both. As- suming from the yield shown by No. 3 and the return she made that the milk produced 8d. a gallon, this would be a decidedly good summer price. A new feature in this record is the manure, which appears to have been well looked after, and very properly so, especially since, as is seen below, the cows had a considerable quantity of cake. The feedin g was — Food. Pounds. Value. 19G 250 250 10,180 39 748 &. g. d. 16 4 33 2 14 0 4 19 8 Hay 1 7 Straw 19 10 Labor is charged 28s. 3d. per cow, and haulage 9s. lld„ making a total of £10 2s. 9d. per cow ; or, when considering the valuation of each animal — for they were valued both at the beginning and end of the trial — an average of £10 14s. Id., the real figures running from £9 4J$. in one case to £14 15s. 2d. in another. Since writing the above we have felt it necessary to again examine Mr. Tough's record, the yield of milk being so surprising. It will be remembered that Lord Braybrooke's cows gave an average of about 2,100 quarts for the year, and yet, as shown abtove, Lord Warwick's in every case gave more than this for the seventeen weeks. Lord Bray- brooke's, again, averaged 5 quarts to 10 quarts a day for the period in milk (not the year), while Lord Warwick's gave, as shown above, from 17 to 23| quarts for the seventeen weeks. With all respect, and we are bound to take Mr. Tough's figures, we consider his record, if not so elaborate as a matter of figures, yet one infinitely more worthy of a challenge cup than any other, for his herd is a truly marvelous one, and will take our American friends all their time to rival. There are 10 cows averaging 19.77 quarts per day for seventeen en- tire weeks, one actually reaching 23.84 quarts. This cow returned : For milk sold (2,189 quarts) £18 4 10 Butter (56f pounds) 3 9 3 Skim-milk (081 quarts) 2 8 5 Manure 0 15 5 Total return for seventeen weeks 24 17 11 Let us see what has been done in the milking competitions as a guide to the value of this return. At the 1880 trials the highest Jersey or Guernsey yield was 38 pounds 5 J ounces ; the highest Shorthorn, 50 pounds 5 ounces; the highest Dutch and cross-bred, 43 pounds 12 ounces, and we think we are right in believing that neither at the 1881 nor the 1882 trials were the highest of these figures exceeded. At all events here are cows winning in milking trials which give less in their flush for a single day than Lord Warwick's best average for 119 days. Facts speak for themselves, and it appears to us that Lord Warwick's can not only beat any herd of which the public has lately been informed, but that he would stand the greatest posible chance of carrying off the chief milking trials. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 105 A remarkable herd of dairy Shorthorns. — The following particulars refer to Mr. Hutchinson's herd, well known as a famous one in York- shire, and it will be the more valuable, inasmuch as he was the winner of the royal prize for the best farm in 1883. The farm comprises about 250 acres, of which over 100 are grass. The soil is partly on gravel, and the rest on strong clay loam, with bowlder stones. This latter is only moderate, and without liberal treatment would not be very productive. The present tenant on succeeding to the farm inherited a small herd of unregistered Shorthorns, which, with one or two purchases and the use of Warlaby and Killerby bulls, has resulted in a collection of cattle that have won more prizes since they have been shown than any other herd of similar dimensions. The most fortunate investment was Gerty, by Vainhope, bought for 42 guineas when in calf to Knight of the Shire. Gerty had 8 heifer calves, twins twice running, and from her descended Gertrude, Gratitude, Grateful, Gratification, Gratulations, Gratuitous, Gratia, and Glad Tidings. Another equally remarkable family are the Lady tribe, which we be- lieve were bred by Mr. Hutchinson's father. Of this sort were Lady Playful and Lady Alicia, winners at Taunton and Birmingham, and Lady Pamela, the champion female at the York meeting in July, 1883, a wonderfully true-grown and heavy-fleshed two-year-old, which was first shown as a yearling at Reading in 1883 in a big class. At the last five Royal meetings Mr. Hutchinson has secured five first and three second prizes as well as three champion prizes. This is a record which it would be hard to beat. Lady Pamela is wonderfully thick-fleshed and true-grown, with great ribs and thighs, both upper and under lines per- fect. She has won 21 first prizes and has only twice been beaten. Lady Pamela 2d, own sister, a rich roan calf with great length, is also very promising and likely to make a prize-winner, whilst Lady Gratia de- serves high commendation. Glad Tidings, another of Gerty's descend- ants, a handsome three-year-old, was put second at York to Mr. St. John Acker's Lady Carcn 9th, both being very good ones. In the pastures are to be found a lot of lusty cattle of generally uni- form type, the best being a fine old cow, Lady Playful (the winner ot fifty prizes) ; a long level white cow, Gratification ; Lady Gracious, by British Lion out of Lady Grace, by K. C. B., a handsome red cow with quality and substance; and a fine old wreck, Lady Laura, which had won for her owner £800 in prizes. The bull in service was a two-year- old, bred by Mr. Talbot Orosbie, out of Riby Marchioness, which was quite a useful animal, with great length and substance. On the farm, in ad- dition to many other animals, were 29 cows, 13 heifers, 10 bull calves, 10 heifer calves, and 1 bull, the whole showing that it was heavily stocked, and indicating also the high condition and large produce ob- tained from the land. Treatment of dairy Shorthorns on a model farm. — Mr. Turnbull, of Hull, is another winner of a first prize at the Royal, and, as a very large dairy farmer, occupying as he does more than one farm, and keeping and breeding Shorthorns, we give the following particulars respecting his system. In 18Sl-'82 no less than 120 acres of Mr. Turnbull's Twyer's Wood Farm had been drained at 2 feet deep, the landlord finding 3-inch pipes, and the tenant leading and putting in the same. Deep draining does not answer on the Holderness clay, though a depth of from 30 to 30 inches might have been preferred. Over 90 acres have been limed with 5 tons of magnesian lime per acre, which has proved of the greatest advantage in securing healthy roots and improving the quality and yield of grain, whereas as compost with road -scrapings the 106 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. effectyn improving the herbage, and especially in developing the clover plants, has been very marked. The land is generally a strong loam, of a fertile character. The stock on the farm comprised 40 cows and heifers, principally Short- horns, of excellent type and grand milking properties, some cross-bred Ayrshire and Shorthorns, 10 capital two-year-old steers, and a very use- ful two-year-old bull, selected with due regard to the milking properties of the dam. Although the grass is of excellent quality, it is supple- mented with cake. Thus, from May 1 to October 21, the cattle, accord- to age, have from 2 J pounds to 7 pounds of cake daily (two-thirds cotton and one-third linseed cake). They live out day and night, except at milking time (4 a.m. to 6 a. m., and from 2 p. m. to 3.30 p. m.). From July the dairy cattle have a daily allowance of green tares, and in September and October they have cab- bages in addition to cake and grass. The heifers in calf run out on grass both summer and winter, but are housed in a straw yard at night in winter, when they are supplied with from 14 pounds to 21 pounds of hay, according to age and size. Heifers due to calve in the spring are allowed about 2J pounds of linseed cake daily for two months before calving. From October 21 to April 30 the cows are allowed from 21 pounds to 28 pounds of hay (one-third long and two-thirds chaffed), with pulped roots, the quantity of the latter ranging, according to the size and condition of the animals, from 36 pounds to 84 pounds, the artifi- cial food for cows in full milk comprising 3 pounds of linseed cake and 3J pounds to 7 pounds of crushed oats. Heifers in full milk are fed with about 21 pounds of hay (two-thirds as chaff), with 56 pounds of pulped roots, and 5 pounds of linseed and cotton cake, in equal propor- tions, or a similar weight of linseed cake and crushed oats. Oat straw when well got is substituted for a portion of the hay. Mr. Turnbull considers that 10 pounds of oat straw are equal to 7 pounds of hay. The grass farm of 140 acres at East Park, which Mr. Turnbull holds, is occupied on a lease for five years from AprM, 1880, and has received very liberal treatment for go short a term, as it includes boning a con- siderable part of the pasture, the liberal application of fold yard manure, both to grazing and mowing lands — 71 acres being devoted to meadow on which was an excellent crop of hay — and the erection of a consider- able length of strong posts and rails, which cost about 1*. 6d. a yard fixed. The buildings comprise the larger portion of the hall-stables and outhouses, and by judicious alterations have been rendered very convenient for breeding and rearing stock, which is the main business here. The management of young stock is admirable, some details of which we will gWe. As to the treatment of the calf : It is removed at birth ; new milk is supplied for a month, during which period it is kept warm in pen; next, for three or four weeks, boiled skim-milk is given ; and, to prevent the milk being burnt, the copper vessel is suspended in a copper of water ; then one-third boiled linseed and two-thirds oatmeal, commencing with 1 pound of the mixture daily, are mixed hot with skimmed milk. All this time the calf is taught to eat sweet hay and a little linseed cak?, and with each change of food the calves are re- moved to more airy quarters, which also allow of more exercise. In the spring, and summer of the first year the calves do not go out ; the winter calves are run on grass, and have a capital shed to shelter in at night. The great secret of success is the judicious change of food and quarters, according to the age and strength of the animal, by which steady progress is insured, the cake being continued. The heifers run THE- UNITED KINGDOM. 107 out in sumraer and winter, coming into a well- sheltered yard at night in winter. They calve down at two years of age, and remain at the farm till they reach their 'prime, i. e.a coming down with third calf, when they are sent to the belore- mentioned farm. The stock in August, 1883, consisted of 31 cows and heifers, in milk or about to calve ; 18 yearling heifers, fifteen to twenty-one months old, for calving the fol- lowing spring ; 19 winter calves, mixed, eight to ten months old ; 10 Shorthorn calves, three to six months old ; 13 Shorthorn calves, under three months ; and 1 yearling bull. . The winter's average yield of milk was, at the first-mentioned farm, where the animals in most profit are kept, about 9 quarts, and at the latter about 7 quarts, giving an average of 8 quarts. In summer the result was higher, viz, 11 quarts and 10 quarts respectively, giving an average of 10£ quarts. Assuming that the average is 9 quarts a day for nine months in the year, we have, at 10 pence a gallon, a gross re- turn per cow of over £25, which for the liberal mode of feeding pays well. East Park is well sheltered by plantations, clumps of trees, and fine spreading timber. Letting out cows to laborers. — One other branch of Mr. TurnbulPs en- terprise must be noted, which has been pursued since 187G, and this is the letting out of cows to laborers. The experiment was commenced with Kerry cows, of whose valuable dairy properties Mr. TurnbulT had satisfied himself during a visit to Killarney. These were succeeded by Ayrshires. The rate of hire is regulated by the cost of the cow, one- fourth of the cost being the average rate obtained. The cows are sup- plied when near calving. The contract is for a year, and the money is paid in advance, a plan which insures due care of the cow, as, although the loss of the animal is borne by the owner, the loss of produce falls on the hirer. As an evidence of the care that is taken of the animals, Mr. Turnbull states that, having let out 150 cows in the seven years of this business, only one cow was lost in calving, and the first animal let is still in service. The opportunity of getting the calf and the produce on such terms has been largely appreciated. Mr. Turnbull estimates the annual cost of keeping an Ayrshire cow on these conditions as follows : Hire, £5 ; summer keep, £5 ; winter keep, £8 10s ; total £18 10s. A fairly good cow is considered to yield 2,200 quarts. Taking this at 3d. per quart, and the calf at 20s., though the present value if by a Short- horn bull would be more than double that sum, the value of produce is £28 10s., leaving a profit of £10, besides the great advantage of skim- milk for the children. After having been continued for three years the experiment was found to give a return of 5 per cent, interest on the capital invested, after paying all expenses of agency, and allowing for depreciation, fall of price, &c. The hiring commences with heifers about calving time, these being let at from 10s. to 20s. under the ordi- nary price, and frequently retained by the same hirer for some years. (4) The Devon Cattle. The Devon cattle, as we find them now, are very different no doubt to what they were many years ago, but there is very little question that, even in their latter-day aspect, they exhibit many of the particular feat- ures, and, to a very large extent, much of the form which characterized the members of the aboriginal breed from which they sprung. They have been called into existence to fulfill a particular and in some re- spects peculiar purpose, and, as far as it is given to us to judge, they are not to be found wanting.' The localities in which the breed is most 108 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. common, the climate to which it is exposed, and the requirements of the men who profit by it always combine toward a certain end, and in the Devon cattle these influences have worked together with a most satis- factory result. Points of Devons. — Devon cattle possess a distinctive type, but several varieties are placed under the title, and there is probably no breed in which individuals of almost precisely similar general aspect will, when scrutinized and analyzed carefully in their several features, exhibit more marked variations. In size they are medium, although it is much the custom to speak of "the little Devons." True, they do not possess the bulkiness of the Shorthorn or the Hereford ; but, for all that, they are far from being a diminutive breed like the Ayrshires, the Kerries, or the Channel Isles cattle. The general aspect of the Devons is graceful, and their appearance seems to betoken a gentleness of mien which their looks do not belie. The head is small but the forehead comparatively broad, tapering off to a neat, clean-cut muzzle. The ears are thin and soft in texture, the eyes bright, and do not exemplify that dreamy look which many breeds have. They should be encircled by a ring of light coloring, almost approaching an orange hue. The nose should be white. The horns are of medium length, graceful, and spread in an outward and upward direction, tapering easily off. In the male this feature is scarcely exemplified to the extent that it is in the female. The outline of the Devon should not exhibit any very marked diver- gence from the shape of the proverbial parallelogram which should be realized in fat beasts. The neck is fall but lengthy, and should show a good wedge-like form when regarded end on. The chest is deep and prominent ; wide, fat loins, and a well-filled rump, where plenty of beef may be piled up, constitute one of its best points as a butcher's beast. The legs are fine, but well set on. The bone of the Devon is small, but the frame is, notwithstanding, comparatively speaking, large. Eed is the color of the Devon, although a large number of the cattle in Devon- shire display some white about them. The skin is fine and mottled. Varieties of Devons. — Devon cattle may be grouped under three vari- eties, the North Devons, the South Hams, and the Devon proper, as exemplified in the accompanying illustration. The North Devons are the smaller and finer variety. Their coat is softer and more curly, and their general appearance more nearly warrants them being termed " the little Devons" than does either of the other two more distinctive vari- eties. The South Hams cattle — that is the cattle bred upon the fine uplands which lie between Dorset on the southeast, the sea on the south, and Cornwall on the southwest of Dartmoor, which forms the center highland of the county — are fine beasts, coarser in appearance and of bigger bulk than the North Devons. The Devons proper may be said to combine the most notable features of these two varieties. They are found mostly in the district around Taunton, and in Somersetshire and in Dorset, and are well represented, as a rule, at the Smithfield Club's show, where they are apparently the embodiment of the standard of excellence for Devons. Besides these, both Exmoor and Dartmoor, the latter particularly, can show a rougher type, smaller in size, and rather Coarser in bone and llesh than can the other less exposed parts of the country. Special characteristics. — The merits of the Devon are many. They are as profitable a meat-producing breed as any we have. Given so much food, the percentage of beef returned is as large as can be shown by any other breed. The beef is of prime quality, the offal proportionate, and. the bone small. As fatteners they are not to be surpassed in their own THE UNITED KINGDOM. 109 i country, and will go from store to fat beasts quickly on good pasture and a little artificial food. They require no severely expensive nor exten- sive course of fattening. As dairy cows they are more noted for the qual- ity than the quantity of their produce, but it must not be supposed that the latter is small. As a rule, seeing the cream that is got from their milk, the quantity is comparatively large. One hears of great Jersey and Ayrshire records, but there is little doubt that were Devon records as persistently and carefully put before the public, they would take a high place in the ranks of our dairy breeds. The illustration represents Mr. Farthing's cow Pretty Face, and gives a very good idea of the Devon in its proper form. The head is not quite what it should be. The horns project in too straightforward a direc- tion and appear too parallel. But the neck is well shown, and the fine- ness of the frame, with, at the same time, medium, heavy build of but- tock, is also evident. Mr. Perry, of Alder, Lewdowu, North Devon, says: I will not confine my remarks to strict data, but rest them rather on general nat- ural laws and principles and broad results, because from the various and varying conditions which must bo brought into play to produce tho developed animal arising from different treatments and situations, strict or narrow data are often misleading rather than otherwise. In the first place, I hold that small as well as large sized ani- mals are needed to turn our various cattle foods to the best account for tho produc- tion of the best supply of animal food for tho people. All producers cannot raiso the foods required for the proper development of large-sized animals, nor are large-sized joints of meat suitable to all households. Again, small animals can bo brought to perfection on pastures which will only keep large animals in storo condition, and when fodder is scarce the small animals will pick their food in sufficient quantities, while the largo animals will starve, and, if wanted for tho market, tho former cau, in a few weeks, be fattened on concentrated foods before one's eyes, whereas a largo animal must have its time. There is this, however, to bo said of large-class animals: if their owners can keep them fattening from birth, they must, to have heavy weights at an early age, have growth. My conclusion is that an animal which is right in form, quality, and constitution is a first-class one, whether it be of a large or small size, and it therefore remains for those who have them to place them in suitable situations for foods and markets. I have often found my small-framed animals make me the most money, and my motto is to have an animal that will swell rather than grow into value. From fifty to sixty years ago Shorthorn cattle were introduced into Cornwall by a Mr. Peter, aud they spread over a large part of tho country, fixing themselves more particularly in tho best districts. They also found their way into Devonshire and Somersetshire, whoro they havo had rather an extensive hold, but of late, however, tho Devons have been hedging them rather closely into the most fertile spots of the country, and mauy who were zealous advocates for them have either partially or wholly given them up. Herefords also found their way into Cornwall about the same time and wore ex- tensively kept in the eastern part of that county by a few other breeders farther west, but they have nearly disappeared from tho east and are in few hands in tho west of the county. They are no favorites with the butcher, having too much rank spine or fat, and killing hollow and deceptive in weights. The North Devons are now enter- ing into the strongholds of the above breeds, and becoming tho most general breed in the west of England. Their flesh is more marbly and mixed than the before-men- tioned breeds, and their meat, as a rule, is of finer texture, more firm, and of superior flavor. They may bo divided, into two classes, the North Devon and the Somerset Devon. The former is a smaller animal than the latter, more handsome, and moro easily fattened. They aro particularly adapted for hilly districts, where they will frisk' about with pleasure, and do well on short pastures, and, with a little indulgence for a few weeks, will bo fit for tho butcher, nothing in the way of beef selling at a higher price per pound. Animals of this breed that are fit for slaughtering at 5 cwt. maybe made 8 cwt. or 9 cwt. with extra feeding. The Somerset Devon is a larger animal than tho genuine North Devon, and from having been crossed with the latter sometimes graud animals aro produced. As a spec- imen; for example, I may naroeKidner's Islington champion prize ox. It is certainly important that the North Devon should bo preserved, for then crosses may bo taken as people wish, but if the pure race is lost it cannot be recalled and a cross-bred ani- mal cannot bo depended on to stamp its character on its offspring. Tho woll-bred. Devon is not, as a rule, a great milker, but tho quality of the milk is rich and a pound of butter per day may be considered a good average. Well-bred animals are often 110 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. kept in the dairy, though they fail as milkers, simply on account of their value as breeders, but this is not the case with mongrels, for if they fail as milkers they are at once fattened. On this account mongrels are often stated to bo better for the dairy than they really are. The Devon breed occupies, with but little exception, the whole of the district north of the forest of Dartmoor to the Bristol Channel, including tho forest of Exmoor, and from West Somersetshire through Devonshire and Cornwall it- holds the principal sway. I consider the fact of the Devon cattle again taking pos- session of the strongholds of the other breeds to be a broader and much more trust- worthy fact as to merit than any test made (as I have before hinted) on a small scale. The Devons were first bred on the Government prison farm at Dartmoor, then the Ayrshires, then the Polled Scots, and now the Devons have again taken up the posi- tion they at first held. Mr. Richard Bickle, of Bradstone, says: My undo has been a breeder of Devons for upwards of forty years and I still retain the same herd. I have always found them more profitable than any other breed, both for milk and aptitude to fatten. I can keep three Devons to two Shorthorns, and I find they will stand the winter and our wet climate far better than any cross or other pure-bred animals, and that without any housing or extra care. I have 125 bullocks, chiefly Devons, but I find the best bred ones are preferable to be kept, as they are always fit for anyone to look at. During the summer months I graze upwards of 100 besides my regular stock, and consequently I sometimes get a Shorthorn, Hereford, or cross- bred animal, but I invariably find it does me no good. I have never tested the milking properties of the Devons, but they are not heavy milkers as a rule, although the cream is of the richest quality and will make more but- ter than that from almost any other breed. We never make cheese in our county, as it is not one for cheese making. The average weight of my cows with ordinary feeding would be about 7 cwt. of marketable beef, steers being about the same at 3 years of age. I have had some of the latter which weighed as much as 13 cwt. at 4 years old. Bulls in proportion weigh just the same. The chief part of my farm is a light soil, with grey freestone, and the temperature is very changeable both in summer and winter. We have plenty of rain. As the dis- trict I live in is a grazing district the grasses used are of an ordinary character just for three years ley. The Devons in my immediate neighborhood are not used for draught purposes, but in the neighboring county of Cornwall I have heard of sevoral being so used. My uncle had oxen in constant work many years ago, and they were consid- ered better workers than any other breed. My young stock as a rule are housed about the beginning of November, but it depends partly on the mildness of the season. Store ones have an open shed all the winter. Mr. Surridge, another breeder of the Devons, observes : In speaking of the Devons it must be remembered that there are the Somerset De- von and North Devon breed. I have been breeding principally Somerset Devons. I have never kept an account of the average yield of milk, but some of the Devon cows give from 16 to 18 quarts per day and make from 1 pound to 1£ pounds of butter daily, and others give not more than half that quantity. The live weight of a Somerset Devon at four years of age reaches from 18 cwt. to 22 cwt., and my own bred bull Robin at 4 years old weighed 1 ton 56 pounds, and the dead weight was considered 80 score. The cows weigh from 12 cwt. to 17 cwt., live weight ; oxen, from 15 cwt. to 20 cwt.; steers under two years old, 8 cwt. to 10 cwt. ; steer under three years old, from 12 to 15 cwt., and steer under four years, from 13 to 17 cwt. The grasses cultivated are Dutch, Alsyke, Trefoil, Italian, rye and clover. I my- self cut some for hay ; others cut some green for feeding in summer. If tho animals are intended for exhibiting the system of housing pursued is to keep them in in sum- mer and winter, giving them every day moderate exercise, and feeding them on dif- ferent kinds of meal-cake root and green food. I commence handling and leading when my beasts are about three months old, but sometimes before. The dead weight of one of my animals (Norah 3d) was 144 stone 5 pounds, or 57 score 17 pounds, and her livo weight 14 cwt. 1 quarter. The temperature on my farm is about 60° to 65° in sum- mer and 45° to 50° in winter, and the soil in my neighborhood is chiefly ray and sand, some of which is very good and some very inferior. (£) The Hereford Cattle. Characteristics. — The chief points to be looked for in a good Hereford are, first, that the color should be a distinct red, not too dark or too light, white face, mane, breast, and belly, white end to tail, and white legs as far as the knee and hock, sometimes running up the flank. THE UNITED KINGDOM. Ill The bull should have a good masculine head, not too long, broad be- tween the eyes, w.hich latter should be large and prominent, but with a mild look about them, denoting docility and equability of temper; the horns should be of moderate length, springing straight from the head. The cow's head should be much the same, but finer, should have a mane, and her horns turn upward slightly ; they should be in both cases of a foxy white, although occasionally they are found tipped with black. The nose should be a pure white or flesh-color. The bull should have a good rise of crest, deep-sloping shoulders, well-developed brisket, straight back and belly line, wide loin, good springing ribs, moderately broad hips; tail well set on and falling in a plumb line to the hocks ; the hind quarters should be long from the hip back ; the thighs, which are a very important point, should be large and full, showing plenty of width across when you stand behind, and should be well meated to the hocks. The whole carcass should be set square on good short legs standing well apart, and be covered with firm flesh of good quality, and a mellow hide of soft but not too fine hair, giviug the impression, when you touch it, that it will stretch to any extent ; but the test of " touch " is extremely difficult to explain in words, and it can only be learned by practice. History of the Hereford. — There can be no two opinions on the ques- tion of what Hereford cattle are ; they are most undoubtedly a distinct and pure breed of great antiquity. Their early history is like that of many others, rather shrouded in mystery, but it is generally allowed that there has been a breed of cattie, red and mostly with white face and markings, for at least two hundred years in the county of Hereford and the neighboring counties. When crossed with other breeds the potency of the Hereford blood (pure for centuries) is distinctly proved, as it is an exception for any calves to come any other color than the red with white face. This has come true from Hereford bulls on black Welch cattle, Ayrshire, and Shorthorns ; again, if a Shorthorn bull is put to a Hereford cow the produce usually follows the dam in color, and cases have been seen where the produce of the Hereford bull with the black cattle come black, but still they have had the correct Here- ford marking as regards the white face and legs. Valuable qualities of the Herefords. — Their milking properties have been so long neglected in the interest of beef, that they are usually not deep milkers, but give very rich milk. In all cases a cow should be milked regularly and stripped quite clean. No doubt this has much to do in forming good milking tribes of cattle, by encouraging the milk- giving organs as far as possible. Where calves are allowed to suck in the open field this cannot be attained, and is one great cause of the Herefords not giving so much milk as they would under other circum- stances. As beef makers they are quite at the top of the market, as market quotations record best Scot and Herefords as being usually quoted together. The calves are usually allowed to run with their dams during the summer, and this gives them a good start, but it is too often lost sight of that they should be kept growing on when weaned,instead of stunted during the winter and following months. The Hereford fairs have long been noted for bringing together the best collection of bullocks in England, and are attended by dealers and grazers from far and wide, as they are highly valued in our great graz- ing districts. Breeders of Herefords claim for their favorites that they are among the most hardy of all breeds of cattle, can be fed on less meat, and thrive on coarse rough food, and thus are particularly adapted for countries 112 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. where it is impossible to take special care of the cattle through bad sea- sons and winter months. Herefords, except in a few instances, have been bred entirely for beef. One great object of breeders is to have their animals as wide on their chine as possible, so as to carry good full crops when fat, and no cow will milk deeply unless it is made like a wedge — the lighter neck and forepart the better. If attention were paid to the Hereford as it has been to the Shorthorn, they could be trained to milk well and deeply, and the richness of the milk is not gainsaid ; but whether they would excel the Shorthorns or become equal to the best of them it is difficult to say, nor do I think it worth while for breeders to try ; at all events so thinks another Hereford man. They stand first and foremost as a beef-producing race, and perhaps it is as well they should for the pres- ent take their stand on that, but if any breeders fancy taking up the milk line, they will probably in a great measure succeed. Herefords for crossing. — A celebrated breeder of Herefords in England recently addressed the following queries to a gentleman who had tried the cross of a Hereford bull on Shorthorn dairy cows for several years: 1. Of calves got by a Shorthorn bull or by a Hereford bull, -which fatten the quickest and which are the most valuable if sold fat to butcher ? 2. Of heifers got by a Short- horn or Hereford bull, which do you consider the best for raijk, having regard both to quantity and quality, and in quality both as regards cheese and butter ? 3. As to the produce generally got by a Shorthorn or Hereford bull, do you find any differ- ence as to their gain of flesh or ability to thrive both at grass and in yards ; and, if so, state fully your views thereon ? 4. Do you find any difference of size in the prod- uce ; and, if so, whick are the largest animals — the Shorthorns or those the result of the cross with the Hereford bulls 1 5. Do you think there is any difference as to hard- ness or as to liability to disease between the Shorthorns and the animals resulting from the cross with the Hereford bull; and, if so, to which do you give the prefer- ence ? 6. Does the offspring of the cross with a Hereford bull generally follow the marking of the sire or of the Shorthorn dam ? The following were the replies received: 1. I consider those got by a Hereford bull. 2. Heifers got by a Hereford bull are, I consider, equal to the pure-bred Shorthorn for the production of milk, both as ro- gards quantity and quality. 3. My experience tells me that produce got by a Here- ford bull out of a Shorthorn cow feeds quicker both on grass and when put up to feed. 4. Produce obtained by the cross> as mentioned in No. 3 (viz, by a Hereford bull), is the larger of the two. 5. Undoubtedly the produce obtained by using the Hereford bull is the hardier and has my preference. (5. I find that the offspring obtained by the cross with the Hereford bull follows the sire in color in five cases out of seven. The writer adds as follows: Having some three years ago bought some Hereford cattle from you, I think you might like to know that they have done remarkably well, though I find it takes a long time to make a name as a Hereford breeder. At the same time that I bought the Herefords from you I purchased ten Yorkshire dairy cows — Shorthorns — from Mr. Gothorp, near Bedale, in Yorkshire, and after these cows had calved I determined to try a cross of the two breeds, which I did by using the Hereford bull I bought from you on the Shorthorn cows. The result was beyond ray expectation. I reared the calves on skim-milk, &c. ; they had a little cake till they were six months old, when they took their luck. At eighteen months old I gave them 4 pounds each per day when grazing (this would bo in September). On the 12th October I put them up to feed, giving them 8 pounds of cotton-cake and linseed-cake mixed, and 6 pounds of meal with pulp each per day. The week before Christmas I sold two of them, aver- aging £21 10s. each, and also some Shorthorn bullocks (which I had also bought fiom Mr. Gothorp). These latter were three months older, and only realized £19 15«. per head, though similarly fed. In the second week of January I sold some more of the cross-bred bullocks (they were then twenty-three months old), and they averaged £24 5s. 6d. per head, and the remaining Shorthorn bullocks averaged £22 17s. per head, being, as the others, three months older. I certainly am of opinion that the bullock obtained by this cross is better than the pure-bred Shorthorn for the quick production of beef. I have also some heifers of this cross about to calve, and they carry plenty of flesh, and promise to make equally as good milkers as their dams. I consider the result of the cross satisfactory, especially.on this poor, cold day seal, the grass of which (as you know) will not feed a mouse. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 113 As to their milking qualities, says a tenant farmer, no doubt breeders have neglected them almost entirely, as it is the usual custom to rear the calves on the cows, and beef, not dairy produce, is, as a rule, the end aimed at. This is, however, true in a great degree of other breeds when the best tribes are kept for breeding purposes, and it is a question whether a Hereford does not give as much milk, and perhaps even of a richer quality, than the crack tribes of other breeds, exceptin'g thoss bred especially for milking purposes. There are few Hereford dairies kept, but from my own experience I believe, by selection, that a grand milking herd could soon be established. ]So one will, who has tried the experiment, agree to the statement that the Hereford's do not cross well with other breeds. The Americans have found it out, and now as- sert that they can sell their Hereford grade steers for more money than those of other crosses. It may be true that they have not been very ex- tensively tried, but the experiments that have been tried will soon u get wind"; in fact they have already, and the demand is entirely increasing in consequence. One great proof of the Hereford being a pure and distinct race is that, although crossed with whatever breed may be desired, the true Here- ford marking is sure to show itself; and if an animal has only a quarter strain of blood, the Hereford marking is still there. The great object in America now is to improve the cattle as beef producers, and to put the good roasting pieces on the narrow-chined, bad-backed cattle of the plains; this they believe, and rightly too, the cross with the Hereford will do. Another great point in favor of the cross is the power of the Hereford to endure knocking about and rough usage better than more delicate cattle, and this is of the very greatest importance when consid- ering the vast distances the cattle have to travel through America, and by sea, before they reach this country as beef. A recent purchaser of a large herd of Herefords in this country writes that they had a very rough passage out, and the hatches had to be all battened down, but he had no losses, and all arrived in capital condi- tion, none the worse for their knocking about. He could only account for this from the fact that this breed of cattle could stand such usage better than others or he should have had serious loss. As to their not feeding so well in stalls or attaining such great weights there is proof from many trials, and from Smithfield statistics, that they are little be- hind, if not equal to any other known breed of cattle. Says another authority : The Sborthorn Las no quality superior to that which the Hereford possesses ; if it has, let it be fairly shown. Take each point in order: Both breeds have been well tried, both as graziers and feeders. It is acknowledged that the Hereford is the best grazer, and it is asserted in this country and America that four Herefords can be fed on the same meat as three Shorthorns. There is evidence to show that the milking quality of the Hereford is as good as the high-class Shorthorn, and their milk is much richer. The London market bears testimony to the superiority of the Hereford meat by always quoting it in advance of the Shorthorn. Their early maturity and weight for age has been tested again and again, and there is little difference in either breed. The merit of the Hereford for crossing purposes has been disputed, but now it is an indisputable fact that they are fast gaining ground in the good opinion of grazers. A great many bulls are now sold to dairy farmers to cross with their Short- horn cows, as they say they can got their calves ready so much more quickly for the butcher, and if kept on for bullocks they beat the ordinary run of Shorthorns in apti- tude to fatten and in quality. To mention a few instances: Eight Hereford grade steers were put up to feed, and sixty Shorthorn grades were picked out of a six hun- dred lot, and then the best of the eight and the best of the sixty were killed as a beef test. A large cattle-breeder used nothing but Shorthorn bulls to three hundred cows, and could only make some £3 or £4 of his grade yearling bulls. The same man now, by using Hereford bulls to the same cows, has sold his yearling bulls at £15 each. H. Ex. 51 8 114 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Again, another farmer, who used to make £6 each of his grade Shorthorn heifers, makes £16 each off his grade Herefords at the same age. The fact that these men are no breeding enthusiasts, but practical American beef-producing farmers, goes along way to show the turn things are taking in that country. Weight and value of Hereford cattle. — At the last Smithfield show, Hereford steers in the class under two weighed, first prize, 13J cwt., twenty-two months ; second prize, 14 cwt., twenty-three and one-half months ; and third prize nearly as high. The weights were tolerably even in all the classes. In steers under three, first prize was 17 cwt, at two years seven and one-half months ; second prize, 16J cwt., at two years eight months. In the class under four, first prize weighed 17f cwt, at three years eight months; second prize, 18 J cwt., at three years four months. In heifers, first prize weighed 14J cwt, at three and one- half years; second prize weighed 17 cwt, at three years two months. The winning cow was 20 J cwt., at eleven and one-third years. No particulars of value can be obtained as to the performances of pure Herefords in milk, butter, or cheese. It is not used for draft of any kind, and it is chiefly bred in the west of England, Herefordshire, and Wor- cestershire, although many successful breeders are scattered through- out the country upon all soils. Herefords are driven to all the great midland fairs for farmers, who purchase them largely for fattening. The chief grasses grown are clovers, vetches, and the best perennials. That the Herefords will do well on heavy as well as light land is now admitted. We can point to cases within our own knowledge where at the Christmas markets Herefords brought in to fatten have beaten everything else in realizing top prizes, although in a county where they are comparatively little known. Millcing qualities of the Herefords. — The milking qualities of the Here- fords have no doubt been seriously neglected in the past, and are simi- larly treated by breeders generally at present; but there is no reason for doubting that as milkers the existing herds show a very considerable improvement. As a rule the Hereford cows, when contrasted with ex- tremely large bulls and oxen, are somewhat small, but is, of course, in no way small as we apply this term to Kerries, Ayrshires, or Channel Islands cattle. The cause of the undevelopment of good milking qualities in all Hereford herds is not far to seek. The soil of the locality which saw the breed originate is admittedly not suited to dairy cattle, conse- quently there is not that attention given to the improvement of the herds as milkers as would be the case were they in a district better suited to further their dairy properties. In its original habitat the custom which prevails is to regard the steers as the source of pecuniary profit, and whereas in most other parts it is the general practice to give the females the preference in rearing, it is much more usual for both male and female Hereford calves to be similarly treated, the pref erence being given to the males. This practice largely obtaining is obviously calculated to prove detrimental to milking properties. The outcome of all this is that, as a rule, the Hereford is wantiag in dairy qualifications. But, on the other hand, the exception does not strengthen the rule, even if it proves it, for where pure bred Hereford stock is kept purposely for dairy requirements, where the good milkers are kept, and the bad and indifferent are weeded out, it is soon very obvious to the most prejudiced that high milking qualities are resident in the Hereford. (6) Sussex Cattle. Mr. Forster, of Otham, Kent, a well-known breeder, says : The Sussex, as a rule, are very poor milkers, giving scarcely, if ever, sufficient to rear their own calves, and are worse butter-makers. Their weight, of course, differs THE UNITED KINGDOM.- 115 / according to the system of feeding. A Sussex heifer last Christmas, which I exhibited, under the age of four years, showed a weight of 148 stono of 8 pounds to the stone, and a steer exhibited fast year, aged two years and eleven months, weighed 196 stone. These were specially fattened for exhibiting, but, as a rule, steers killed under three years and fattened in the usual way would scale from 90 to 112 stone. They requiro good loamy soil, and the better the grass the earlier they can bo made to reach the butcher. It is a great thing to keep all young stock well from birth, housing warmly and feeding them liberally With a little linseed-cake and cracked corn from weaning time. The steers are used very little for draft pnrp With regard to the housing of the Sussex, one must bo guided by the accommoda- tion which his farm buildings afford, but at all events young beasts should be kept warmly housed. I use for feeding, in addition to what I have referred to above, a mixture of oil-cake and corn, and a few roots are advisable. As to breeding, this is a great secret. Ascertain the weak points of a cow, and, if possible, counteract them by selecting a bull perfect in the deficiencies of the other. I think more depends on the selection of a good bull than anything else, and I do not consider any price too exorbitant for a perfect, good colored and constituted animal. Mr. Page, another large breeder, says : The Sussex cattle, as a rule, are bad milkers, but capital flesh-makers, and if well- bred, make it up quickly. I seldom keep them for milking, but bring up calves with them. The following are the measurements and weights of a few Christmas beasts which wore shown at Islington and took prizes : Sussex heifer, three years old, 7 feet 8 inches by 4 feet 9 inches = 55 score. Live weight 15 cwt., 1 quarter. Sussex heifer, 1 year 11 months, 7 feet 7 inches by 4 feet 8 inches=52 score. Live weight 14 cwt., 3 quarters. Sussex steer, 1 year 11 months, 7 feet 4 inches by 4 feet 4 inohes = 46 score. Live weight 12 cwt., 3 quarters. At the above show, in December, 1883, the first prize steer, twenty-one months, weighed 11£ cwt. ; the second prize, twenty-two and a half months, 13£ cwt. The first-prize steer, two years eleven and three-quarter months, weighed 19 cwt. ; the second prize, two years seven and a half months, 14 cwt. The first prize steer, three years eight and oiie-quarter months, was 18$ cwt. ; the second prize, three years nine and three-quarters months, 20J cwt. The first prize heifer, three years and ono- qnarter month, sealed lG£cwt. ; the second prize, throe years twomonths, 14} cwt. The first prize cow, live years eight months, weighed 14 cwt. : the second prize, six and three-quarter j ears, 15$ cwt. The Sussex beast is a very large-framed red beast, en- tirely whole-colored, and rather higher on the legs than the Devon. Although it is so largely grazed anon the Sussex Downs, the breeders prefer the hair to be long and silky, these generally having a mellower skin and feed better. In the majority of it is tho custom to work the steers from three years old until they are six or seveu, when they are generally put up to fatten, which they do rapidly. The heifers are seldom bred from until they are two and a quarter years, producing their first calf at three years. In working, all the oxen are kept in good condition, for if too low it is most difficult to bring them back to a fleshy state afterwards. The points of the Sussex are as follows : Eye rather prominent ; wide across the forehead ; neck medium iu length and cleanly made under, with a small dewlap, the top part of which is straight to tho head. The nose is rather wide and thin between the nostril and the eye, tho tops of the plate bones are notoverwide, tho sides straight and without any projection at the shoulder point ; the breast is wide and projecting forward | none rather fine, medium in length; back straight be- hind the shoulder-blades and with the hollowness which is generally seen when the blades are wide ; body very round, with a straight chine; broad ribs, decidedly nar- row between tho first rib and the hip bone; loin flat and nearly as wide at the fore as at the hind end, each side lying on a level with the chine, and almost parallel— if tho ribs are well sprung this will generally be the case ; hip bones broad, with a wide spare between, and lying nearly as high as the chine; tho rump should be long and ml wide at the set ting on of the tail; the tail should drop exactly between the tip of the rump and what is generally known as the first touch ; the outside of the thigh is flat, without fullness behind. In breeding, tho calf is seldom allowed to take all the milk of the cow, which is 1 aken from it all day. It is allowed to suck two of the teats after the milkmaid has drawn the other two, getting iu addition to this a small quantity of bran or ground which is left for it iu a small trough. At a month old it is usually allowed to run with her throughout the day, but is taken from her for the night. A portion of tho morning's milk is then taken and the calf allowed the remainder. This is the general practice until tho calf is weaned. It is then fed upon cut grass, clover, hay, and bran until it is turned out upon the pasture, when the meal feeding is increased 115 CATTLE AND DAIRY- TAEMING. until the following winter, whon it takes its place among other yearlings in the yard and is allowed to browse upon the various products of the farm, getting a certain allowance of roots, meal, and cake each day. In Sussex the oxen are generally worked with a double yoke until they attain their full growth, at 6 years. As the ox is a slow mover, it is injurious to drive him too fast, and this is the case with the Sussex. When first yoked, steers should be kindly treated and worked an hour or two only in the day with steady older beast, that they may be gradually broken into the work. Thoso working together should be of equal strength and height, otherwise the weaker animal will do more than his share, and, perhaps, tax his strength too far. The weaker beast may have an advantage given it, if such is required, by slightly altering the chain of the yoke. In hot weather Sus- sex cattle must not be driven too hard or the constitution will be affected. The following is an old system in Sussex for working cattle in succession : To bring 8 steers into work each year, it is necessary to save 16 calves, 10 males and 6 females. Eight of the best steer calves should be brought into work when three years old, and the remaining 2 may be turned off to fatten. The 6 heifers may each produce a calf at three years oid, when the breeder should select 4 of his best heifers to put into his dairy, and the other 2 be sold or turned off to fatten when they have reared their calves. By this means a team of 24 working oxen and a dairy of 20 cows may be kept up. Thus, 8 three years old, 8 four years old, 8 five years old. Asthese arrive in suc- cession at six years old 8 will be turned off the team, either for sale or grazing on the farm ; when 8 three-year-old steers will bo brought into the team to supply their places. Experiments have been made to test the advantages of yokes or collars, and it has been pretty conclusively shown that the Sussex yoke is the best system known. In one trial between 6 beasts yoked and 4 in collars there were but three minutes' differ- ence in an acre, which was well ploughed in 4 hours and 10 minutes. Stall-feeding is practised in some cases in Sussex, when a manger, water-trough, and fodder-rack are provided. One gentleman gives his working oxen 2 bushels of chaffed oats straw daily, with 3 gallons of barley or beans and bran mixed. Sometimes barley or pollard is used instead of the beans or bran, and when potatoes are given, which is sometimes the case, a portion of the corn is knocked off. Hay is seldom given except the beasts are at work, and then only as a bait. In fattening these beasts this gentleman gave the same quantity of chaff and just double the quantity of the other foods. His beasts are fed twice a day and the chaff is steamed. The cows in the winter time are also largely fed on oat-straw, with bran and potatoes, but in summer dairy cows get no corn at all. (7) Jersey Cattle. The following are the points of Jersey cattle as established by the Jersey Agricultural Society : The cow and purity of breed. — On both parents' side reputed for pro- ducing rich, yellow butter — four points ; head small, line, and tapering ; eye full and lively ; face lean and of a smoky color ; muzzle fine and en- circled with white ; horns polished, a little crumpled, tipped with black ; ears small and of an orange color within ; back straight from the withers to the setting of the tail ; chest deep, and nearly on a line with the belly — four points ; hide thin, movable, but not too loose, well covered with soft hair of good color, two points; barrel-hooped and deep well-ribbed home, having but little space been the ribs and hips ; tail fine, hanging 2 inches below the hock — four points ; fore legs straight and fine ; thighs full and long, close together when viewed from behind; hind legs short, the bones rather fine; hocks small, not to cross in walking — two points ; udder full, well up behind ; teats large and equally placed, being wide apart, with veins large and swelling — four points; growth, one point; general appearance two points ; perfection for cows and heifers, thirty- one points. The bull. — The points desirable in the female are generally so with the male, but must, of course, be attended by that masculine character which is inseparable from a strong and vigorous constitution. Even a certain degree of coarseness is admissible, but then it must bo so ex- clusively ot a masculine description as never to be discovered in the females of his get. In contradistinction to the cow, the head of the bull may be shorter, the frontal bone broader, and the occipital fiat and THE -UNITED- KINGDOM. 117 stronger, that it may receive and sustain the horn, and this latter may be excused if a little heavy at the base, provided its upward form, its quality and color, be right. Neither is the looseness of the skin attached to" and depending from the under jaw to be deemed other than a feature of the sex, provided it is not extended beyond the bone, but leaves the gullet and throat dean and free from dewlap. The upper portion of the neck should be full and muscular, for it is an indication of strength, power, and constitution. The spine should be strong, the bones of the loin long and broad, and the whole muscular system wide and thoroughly developed over the entire frame. Origin and improvement of the Jerseys. — Mr. Jonathan Smith, Jersey, says: Our breed of cattle was originally the same as that of Normandy, of which Jersey forms a part, and with which it was once physically connected. Tradition says it was severed from the mainland about the same time (possibly by the very same tre- mendous irruption) when the sea swexit over the pleasant fields of Eastern Kent and buried them forever under " the Downs," leaving no trace of what once had been, save the shifting Goodwin Sands. The effects of this disruption, so far as Jersey is concerned, are in every way most interesting. The mainland of Normandy has lost everything but the name ; her too-powerful neighbor, Franco, has robbed her of her independence, her laws, and even her language ; and the ancient home of our kings has for centuries been a province of France. But for the strip of silver sea, such must have been the fate of Jersey. As it is, she has successfully repelled all attempts to conquer her, and has remained faithful to her ancient rulers. She is still governed by the very laws which her Duke William introduced into England at the Conquest, and her mother tongue is that which the Conqueror spake himself. The "Romance do Ron," written by our Jersey poet Waco, for Henry II, in the twelfth century, is still the language of our farmers, though unintelligible to the Pa- risian of to-day. Jersey has the same forms of self-government, the same land tenure, the same laws and language, the same manners, customs, and habits that she had 800 years ago. And so with her cattle. The silver streak separating Jersey from the continent converted it into ono great farm, with the sea for its ring fence ; and the same conservative spirit has been effectual in keeping tho breed pure irom any foreign taint. Jersey has thus enjoyed for centuries the very happiest conditions for produc- ing a distinct and excellent breed of cattle, to which must be added tho advantages of her climate, equally free from arctic cold and burning heat, which permits her cat- tle to bo outpasturcd almost every day in the year and keeps her fields perennially green. These favorable conditions have been put to advantage. Tho original stock, the Normandy breed, has long been (and still is) famous for its butter qualities. These have been steadily and perseveringly developed by our farmers, who have per- sistently bred for that single object ; and the Jersey has been brought to its present perfection by simply following out this one idea — butter ! Hence it has been tho in- variable custom for ages never to use a bull before seeing his dam and being satisfied as to her yield of butter. Unless this proved satisfactory, no other point in the bull himself or his dam availed anything ; nobody would use him. This idea still governs the vast majority of our island breeders and those of America, and doubtless still greater triumphs await them in the udders of tho future. It is much to be regretted that of late years some English breeders have taken upon themselves to set up a new standard — solid color ; that is, the absence of white mark- ings in the coat— which has absolutely no foundation at all but the oddest caprice. It is neither a peculiarity of the breed nor a sign of purity of race, nor of any other quality whatever, bad or good ; it is simply a blind alley leading nowhere. The sin- gle aim and end of our efforts has hitherto been butter, and it is this concentration of tho energies of all our breeders in one direction for so long a period which has doubtless been the chief agent in improving tho breed and making it what it now is — the best of butter cows. Let us hand down the breed tor our children at the least not worse than we found it. Besides the steady pursuit of one object for so many generations, and the careful selection of sires to that end, there are two other peculiarities of management in Jer- sey— tethering the cows and feeding tho calves by hand. Tethering cattle in Jersey. — This doubtless originated as a matter of necessity, and has since been continued for its economy. Owing to the small size of Jersey farms, which are constantly divided at the death of the owner among his children, and the necessity each farmer felt, in the olden time, to raise as far as possible all the necessaries of life for himself, each farm had its patches of wheat, turnips, grass, cabbages, &c., growing side by side, often all in tho same field. Hence the necessity of confining 118 ' CATTLE AND D Alii Y 1'AKMING, the cow in some way to keep her from damaging the allotment — like crops. The Bel- gians, whotso farms are of the same small allotment type, have met the same difficulty in a different way ; they keep their cows sl^at up, and carry them all their fodder. Tho Jersey method is more natural and wholesome, less laborious, and has produced hotter results. It has originated a new type, the best butter cow in tho world, unique also in gentleness and beauty. The advantages we claim for tethering are: (a) Economy of food. — Some good judges have put this as high as50percent. They assert that three tethered cows may be kept where otherwise two could only be kept. But no one in Jersey is willing to put it lower than one-third; where three only could find pasture loose, one may increase his stock one-third and keep four cows if he teth- ers them. The grass is eaten up clean, fine and coarse alike ; none is left and none spoiled. (&) The feed is regular and equal. The cow is not pampered one day and starved the next ; its appetite is not spoiled, nor its digestion deranged. (c) It gives perfect command of the food supply. A cow can have much or little, a long tether or a short one; it can be confined to a poor corner or favored with the fat of the land, as may be necessary or desirable. (d) It saves fences and economizes food that would otherwise bo wasted, from the impossibility of letting in a loose cow to graze it. (e) The cow is more gentle. Its keeper is its good genius, on whom it is constantly dependent for all it wants. Its docility (and affection even) follows as a matter of course. (/) It is doubtless to the tether that our Jersey cows are indebted for their exquisite fineness of limb, their airy grace, and general elegance of proportions and appearance. (g) More butter is obtained. Nothing is so destructive to animal fat, whether on the flesh or in the udder? as motion and exercise. This is so well known as to be pro- verbial, yet how often is it overlooked. The same farmer who fats his bullocks quietly in a stall will give his cowsthe run of a large pasture, as if they were in training for a race. Bearing calves by hand in Jersey. — Much importance is attached to this practice in Jersey. The calf is never allowed to suck at all, and has, therefore, never to be weaned. The rearer has perfect command of the" calf's food and can vary it as needed. Like tethering, it increases the animal's docility and its attachment to its attendant, on whom it has to depend from the very first. The effect on the cow is equally good. Having never suckled her calf, she does not fret when it is taken from her. More im- portant still, having never yielded her milk in any way but to the gentle persuasion of the milkmaid's hand, she is not tempted to withhold it. Millc vs. butter yield. — Mr. Walker says : While cows giving exceptionally large quantities of milk will sometimes make large butter tests, as a rule the two things do not go together ; they are inconsistent with each other. Breeding for quantity of milk is sure to depreciate the quality and re- duce the butter yield. It is the opinion of many of the most skilful breeders of Jer- sey, and those of longest experience, that by judicious selection of individuals from particular families it would be far easier to carry the milk yield of a family of Jerseys from an annual average yield of 6 quarts of milk per day up to 12 quarts per day than it would be to carry an annual daily average yield of butter from 12 ounces up to 18 ounces per day. That is to say, it would take a less number of generations from the cows with which the breeder started to double the flow of milk of a family than to increase their butter yield by one-half. In other words, it is a problem of far more difficulty to increase the butter yield of cows than to increase their milk yield. Every careful observer knows that the number of quarts a cow is giving will fall off very considerably without materially reducing the pounds of butter she will make. It has taken centuries to produce the richness of milk of the Jersey cows. It has been done and is being done against the ordinary workings of the laws of nature. It is against natural laws that the milk from a cow should be so rich as to kill her calf, and the struggle of nature is to reduce the richness by increasing the quantity ; there- fore the breeder must never attempt to increase his butter yield by coupling an ani- mal from a family yielding a large quantity of milk of poor quality with those giving rich milk in less quantity. The result, as a rule, must, in the nature of things, be tho opposite of that which the breeder seeks. The only way to maintain, to say nothing of increasing, the butter product of any family that is making exceptionally large yields of butter, is to couple those animals that spring from the very best specimens in the same family, when not already in-bred too far, and of the very best proved out- cross, when out-crossing is desirable. The thing to be done with the Jerseys giving large quantities of milk of inferior quality is to abandon them to milkmen, whose only object is quantity of milk, not quality. They have a keen eye for large milkers among Jerseys, as every one knowa who owns Jerseys, or who buys Jersey milk in any city or large town. Breed from THE UNITED KINGDOM. 119 the best butter families under all circumstances. Never fight against accomplished fact!. He who fails to avail himself of all which his neighbors have accomplished in bjeeding, by neglect to use the blood that has been thoroughly developed, on the ground that he "probably now has as good," will disastrously tail in his undertakings. It is simply blind egotism that must inevitably meet its fate. Treatment of Jersey calves. — Under this head each breeder would write a different treatise. No two probably agree, and while I claim no special fitness to discourse upon this topic, and there tore have no right to speak authoritatively, still, as I have some distinct notions upon tho subject, I herewith submit them, hoping that by an interchange of views those methods that are the best may be made certain by a com- parison of the experience of different breeders. The milk of a very rich Jersey cow is far too rich for her calf. If she has a large flow immediately after calving, the calf will only take a portion, and that the poorest in quality, and be comparatively safe if left with its dam for two or threo days. If tho cow is slow in "coming to her milk," and what the calf gets is above the average richness, it will, in many instances, be as fatal to the calf as a dose of poison. Every year scores of Jersey calves have "died very mysteriously," when the truth was, the milk of their respective dams was too rich for them. When a Jersey cow drops her calf, remove it immediately, if the cow is in health. If the cow is nervous, and frets badly, fence the calf off in one corner of the box, so that tho cow can reach it and comfort herself with it. Feeding the calf. — Give a pint of the milk first taken from its dam every few hours a few times, milking every drop of the remainder from the udder at each time. After- wards feed about two quarts of the milk first taken from its dam (as that is much the poorer in quality) night and morning. In four or five days add a quart of hot (have all at 100°) skimmed milk to each feed, increasing the skimmed milk and lessening the whole milk as the calf thrives until all the whole milk is withdrawn by the twentieth day, if the calf is in vigorous health. Always have the milk fed to tho calf at blood heat. Keep good, bright, clear, sweet rowen, and also good hay, by tho calf from nearly the first. Put a fresh cnt sod by the calf every few days. If the calf is costive, give the milk cooler; if too loose, give tho milk at as high a tempera- ture as tho calf will take it, and in much smaller quantities. Give one-third the quantity of hot milk, and give two raw eggs, broken into its milk, night and morn- ing, or the eggs alone. If the diarrhoea does not readily yield, give a tablespoonful of castor oil and the same of olive oil, with a teaspoonful of paregoric, mixed in a pint of hot milk. Sometimes, in desperate cases, a light feed of pure beef tea two or three times, or even longer, in place of the milk food, will act favorably. Less food and hot, with little or no medicine, is the general rule. Do not resort to medicine too hastily. The eggs rarely fail. Never give any medicine if it can be avoided. Al- ways keep on hand the oils and paregoric, and also pulverized chalk and pulverized charcoal. Follow the oils with a teaspoonful of pulverized chalk in each feed of milk until the symptoms disappear, substituting the charcoal occasionally. Calf-fatting.— H calves aro wanted to be always fat and sleek, in a fit condition to soil to the butcher or to persons of no practical experience, who want to see things looking tine, and the breeder cares nothing for the value at the churn of the de- veloped animals, feed oil-meal boiled for hours in a largo quantity of water until the liquid is of about the consistency of thin mucilage; or feed fine corn-meal, or any- thing else that will produce fat." If the object of the breeder is to have his young things " fill the eye " of the inexperienced, and to sell them to such persons for long prices when young, always keep them fat and sleek. If the object of the breeder is the honorable one of producing an animal the superior of its progenitors, or at least their equal, to sacrifice any prospect of immediate gain to the production of the best practical cow possible at tho churn, he will pursue a far different course. FeediDg young things for present effect on the eye of the inexperienced is necessarily fatal to their largest future usefulness. To feed any substance especially calculated to pro- duce fat to a bull, or at any time before she comes in milk, to a heifer, will induce tho habit of laying on fat, which will continue through all its subsequent career. The younger the animal is when this bad habit of making flesh and fat begins, the more controlling it will be, and tho more likely tho animal will be to transmit that habit to its offspring. Food, tfc. — Nothing should be feed to bulls more stimulating than good hay, and at times a lew oats, shorts, or both, with coarser food. Plenty of coarse hay, straw, and grass even should bo given at times. The digestive organs of a butter bull, especially when young, should bo taxed and distended precisely as should those of a female do- signed to pioduco butter. Heifers should be fed on nothing but skimmed milk, grass, rowen, hay, straw, in fact, everything to distend and tax their digestive organs, and with nothing more stimlating before they drop their first calf than oats or snorts or similar food. The rule for keeping young heifers to make good coats is rather ex- travagantly expressed by saying, " A heifer should have a paunch large enough to 1*20 CATTLE AND DAIRY FAEMING. turn itself round in." Unsightly as they are in such a condition, such heifers make the best cows. Oat-meal, corn-meal, or anything else necessary, should he fed as an alternative to keep a young animal in a thrifty growing condition which is, from any cause, getting out of condition, or to restore one that is off. But an animal that maintains its vigor and thrift with none, other things being equal, gives far more promise of future use- fulness than one that must be pampered. The rule is to feed j ust enough of such things as are found necessary to keep the animal in a thrifty growing condition and no more —the les3 the better— and never allow a milk or butter animal to lay on fat. Ex- perienced dairymen never go into herds that are fat and sleek for their cows. They know that the feeding necessary to produce such conditions in milk and butter ani- mals impairs their power to accomplish the thing for which they are to be kept, namely, the making of milk or butter. Meat, not milk or butter, is what they will ever after make. They will ' ' take better care of themselves than of their owners." Yield of Jerseys. — The following instances have been recorded among others sent in to the newspapers by Jersey breeders : Quayle, in his "General View of the Agriculture of the Islands on the Coast of Normandy," says that instances are named of 14 pounds of butter in a week, and that instances of 12 pounds are well attested. Mr. H. D. Ingles, in a work on the Channel Islands cattle, published after a two- years' residence on the island, says the general average produce may be stated as 10 quarts of milk per day and 7 pounds of butter per week. Gerard, in his description of the different varieties of cattle, says of the Jerseys in their island home : In one year the produce of a good cow in butter may be from 220 to 300 pounds (236 to 322 pounds English weight) ; some cows, in the season, may give 14 pounds per week. Mr. Danncey gave the average produce of his entire herd during the year 1867 as within a fraction of 7 pounds per head per week, dry or milking. From Mr. Thornton's essay on Jersey cattle and their management, contributed to the journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, wo learn that Mr. Fisk (Isle of Wight) gives his greatest return from fifteen cows as 10 pounds each weekly for several weeks. In the same essay we find Mr. Dumbrell's herd produced in 1875, from January to September, 7£ pounds per week but ; as Mr. Dumbrell explains, we may assume the calculation is based on the period the cows were in milk, not on the en- tire nine months, dry or milking. Writing of the cows on the island, Mr. Thornton says 7 to 10 pounds of butter weekly is a fair standard, but 5 to 6 pounds per week throughout the year is a good average cow. Mr. George Curzon, Eastcott, Watford, writes in the supplement to the English Herd-Book ©f Jersey cattle, that the produce of his cows in butter from the 1st October, 1881, to 30th September, 1882, averaged per cow 321 pounds 2J- ounces. This is an average of a little over 6 pounds per week throughout the year. Lieutenant-Colonel Partal gives his average yield of butter per cow per week in 1881 as 4 pounds 14 ounces, and in 1882 as 5 pounds 13 ounces, but we append further particulars from him : Home farm statement as to dairy produce, 1881. Total yield of milk from 21 cows gallons.. 12,385 Butter made pounds.. 4,972 Cream used pints.. 324 Milk used do... 3,494 Average yield of milk per cow per annum gallons.. 589 3,494 pints of milk = 218 pounds of butter ) 323 pints of cream = 162 pounds of hutter pounds.. >5,352 218 + 162 + 4,972 = total butter yield .. ) 5, 352 -f- 21 cows gives per cow per annum pounds.. 254^ Average yield of butter per cow per week do 4\$ Home farm— statement as to dairy produce 1882. Total yield of milk from 22 cows gallons.. 13,825 Butter made pounds.. 6,307 Cream used pint8._ 381 Milk used do.... 3,174 Average yield of milk per cow per annran gallons . . 628 'oof PPtsofmilk= 198 pounds of but.ter ) VS ^ ~ of croam = 190 pounds of butter pounds . . > 6, 695 _ 198+190 + 6,307 = total butter yield _ I. ) 6, 69o -f- 22 gives per cow per annum pounds.. 304,^ Average yield of butter per cow per week , _ ...do.... &B THE UNITED KINGDOM. 121 He adds : Although I do not helieve for one moment that the butter alone pays, yet with the flkim milk the addition of calves and pigs makes the balance at the end of the year on "the right side. Wo rear a good many calves of both sexes, and havo no difficulty in disposing of them ; keeping also 13 or 14 sows, and selling their progeny at thirteen or fourteen weeks old, as stores, pays well. The pigs are kept out in a three-acre pasture field in open weather and require at nights, when they como in, little but skim milk and wash, which is not expensive. I do not think that keeping pigs on grass land is half enough adopted ; it keeps them healthy, clean, and growing. A post and rail fence with strong sheep wire netting, keeps them from breaking out, and rings in their noses prevent their injuring the pasture. This last year I havo no record worth E reserving of my dairy results, as I lost some of my best cows in the summer, which as thrown mo out terribly. My system is of the simplest kind. I have the quantity of milk measured every day as brought in, and a record kept of the quantity of butter mado weekly. The reason why 1882 is better than 1881 in results, is from the fact that I had one moro cow in the dairy, and I gave all my cows 4 pounds of decorticated cotton-cake with chaff and mangel in the winter months when they were kept in, and 1 pound each through the summer months at each milking, or, in other words, 2 pounds a day. They had 2 pounds in the winter months, and more in the summer months. I shall hope this year (if I lose no more cows) to do better than last, as I have a very nice lot coming in from my young stock. As I seldom or never buy, a loss of a few cows affects mo much. I have bought, but have never found any that please me as well as those I breed myself from either imported bulls (every one of which has taken a prizo when in my possession) or from perfect bulls of my own rearing. I have no difficulty in selling either bulls or cows. By this means I know what I have got and what I am doing to improve my stock. By buying I should not know this in nine cases out often. Among the detailed records sent into the British Dairy Farmers' As- sociation for the challenge cup, the only one relating to Jerseys was Lord Braybrooke's, which is interesting and sufficiently good to be an- nexed, although the yield is certainly not so good as could be found upon many farms where Jerseys are kept by dairy farmers. Dairy record of Lord Braybrooke's herd of Jerseys for 1882. "3 i a a m Milk. Cream. Butter. Quantity. Average per week. Percentage. CO Pi M © * 8 p- < •3 o © •6 § a o 9 9 i i •** 1 t-1 pa pi o Oh S M a 9 a No. 1882. Qts. Lb. Qts. Lb. Oz. QUt. Qts. *1 1870 Aug. 10 47 2,138 5,571 *45 118 10. 5 to 21. 5 = 15. 8 299 CI 81 7 1,796 t2 1873 Aug. 9 27 1,476 3,837 54 142 12 to 21. 5 = 16. 8 227 8i n 2i 1,227 J3 1873 Apr. 8 32 1,401 3,751 43 117 10. 5 to 23 = 15. 2 193 6 n 7| 1,188 4 '1874 Nov. 8 50 3,609 9, IF 8 72 183 9 to 20 = 11. 1 364 7i 91 3, 207 5 1875 Nov. 6 42 2,260 5,880 53 140 10 to 23 = 15. 1 312 l\ 81 7 1,918 6 1875 Apr. 5 43 2,550 6,667 59 155 11 to 23 = 14. 8 352 8 81 H 2, 204 7 1876 Aug. 5 50 2,858 7,428 50 148 10 to 18 = 13. 4 348 6J 71 8 2,473 8 1877 Sept 5 49 2, 295 5,991 46 122 15 to 20 = 19. 5 407 «i 11 i 5J 1,847 9 1877 Feb. 4 1881. Apr. 3 1882. July 4 38 2,363 6,150 62 161 11. 5 to 21 = 14. 7 317 8i Si »l 2,015 10 1877 20 759 1,978 29 98 11. 5 to 19. 5 = 15. 1 105 4 81 7 644 11 1877 45 1,923 5,111 42 113 13 to 31 = 20. 3 352 n 111 5i 1,542 12 1878 Feb. 3 45 1,615 4,199 35 93 14. 5 to 33 = 20. 6 301 n HI g£ 1,282 13 1878 Dec. 4 30 1,193 3,104 39 103 13. 5 to 20 = 15. 6 167 n 81 7 1,030 14 1878 Oct. 4 33 1,176 3,071 35 93 16. 5 to 24. 5 = 17. 5 183 01 6i 970 13 1879 Oct. 2 50 1,768 4,770 35 95 15. 5 to 23. 5 = 18. 2 280 5i 10-1 6 1,443 lfi 1879 Jan. 1 49 2,932 7,438 59 151 10 to 25 =14.3 380 71 *i 71 2,512 17 1880 Nov. 2 47 1, 294 3,367 27 71 11 to 24. 5 = 15. 3 178 31 81 7i 1,096 18 1880 Nov. 2 43 1,356 3, 524 31 81 10 to 19 =13.4 162 n 7* 84 1,173 19 1880 Feb. 1 31 1,124 2,924 36 94 12 to 18. 5 = 14. 5 142 1 8 71 961 20 1880 Dec. 2 44 2,214 5,708 50 131 11 to 24 =14.0 206 8J n 1,883 38, 310 99, 748 5,371 32,411 •Killed October, 1882. t Killed September, 1882. tDied (milk fever) November, 18S2. $ A bad year with her. Her yield in = 2,631 quarts, 1881 = 2,432. 122 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Analysis. Description. Milk. Butter. Skim milk. Under 4 years of age : Average per cow for the year * - Average per cow per week for the entiro year * Average per cow per week while in milk 4 years and under G years: Average per cow for the year * Averago per cow per week for the entire year* Average per cow per week while in milk 6 years and over : Average per cow for the year * Average per cow per week for the entire year * Average per cow per week while in milk Entire herd, all ages : Average per cow for the yei«r * Average per cow per week for the entire year* Average per cow per week while in milk Quarts. 1,781 34 40 46 2.750 53 54 2,017 38 4G Pounds. 4,636 88 105 4, 855 93 121 7,124 137 142 5,262 101 121 Pounds, 240 5§ 281 ? 353 8f 7 283 55 6i Quarts. 1,513 29 34 1, 555 29 38 2,363 45 47 1,710 * In these calculations consideration is given to the period from the death of Nos. 2, 3, and 5, to the end of the year. Average weight of milk per gallon - pounds.. 16y Average cream percentage do 15J Proportion of butter to milk (ounces to a gallon) 8.972 Proportion of butter to cream (ounces to a quart)..... 1. li Proportion of milk to butter (quarts to a pound) 7.13? Comparative richness of milk at different stages of the same milking, showing the great im- portance of thoroughly draining a oow's udder. {In each case the result given is the mean of six days' testing. ] Percentage of cream. Comparison. Cow No.— First i pint. LastJ pint. Pail, i. e., the entire yard. First i pint. Last* pint. Pail, i. c, the entire yard. 1 5.8 4.7 4.5 5.4 10.0 8.2 7.1 5.3 3.7 6.1 5.9 33.5 26.2 28.6 36.0 34.8 40.1 36.0 32.8 40.0 25.3 26.5 15.5 14.4 12.0 18.7 18.4 15.8 15.2 15.3 15.1 13.8 12.5 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 5.77 5.57 5.24 6. 66 3.48 4.89 3.66 6.18 10.81 4.14 4.49 2 67 2 3 00 8 2 66 4 , 3.46 5 1.84 6 1.92 7 2.14 8 2.88 9 4.08 10 * 2.26 11 2.11 Food of cows during the year 1883, with one or two trifling exceptions in individual caaes. Jan. 1 to Feb. 19.— J peck bean-meal, 3 pecks grains, £ peck malt dust, 2 pecks chaff, 8 pounds hay, 10 pounds carrots per day; two to four hours each day on grass. Feb. 20 to Apr. 2.— The same, with 10 pounds of mangold instead of carrots ; three to six hours on grass. Apr. 3 to May 7. — Hay reduced to 4 pounds, other food same; four to ten hours on grass. May 8 to May 21.— J peck bean-meal, 3 pecks grains, £ peck malt dust, 2 pecks chaff, 4 pounds hay, 10 pounds mangold ; ten to twenty hours on grass. May 22 to July 9.— J peck bean-meal, J peck crushed oats, 1 J peck grains, 1 peck chaff, 10 pounds man- gold; twenty hours on grass. July 10 to 20. — J peck bean-meal, \ peck crushed oats, 1 peck chaff, \\ peck grains ; twenty hours on grass. Aug. 21 to Oct. 26.— J peck bean-meal, J peck crushed oats, 3 pecks grains, 2 pecks chaff; twenty hours on grass. Oct. 27 to Nov. 20.— J peck bean-meal, J peck crushed oats, 3 pecks grains, 2 pecks chaff, and 4 pounds hay; eight hours a day on grass. Nov. 21 to Dec. 31.— £ peck bean-meal, £ peck crushed oats, 1 peck grains, 10 pounds carrots, 7 pounds naJi 2 peck malt dust; two to four hours a day on grass. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 1^3 Percentage of cream from the milk of tlic entire herd, for each week in the year 1882. Wcek^jndiug— Percent i "Week ending— Per cent. "Week ending- Percent Week ending— Percent. Jan. 8 17.73 16.75 16. 17. 12 16. 13 15. D6 J 4. 29 14.53 11. 23 10.10 17.17 10. 79 ' Apr. 9 Apr. 10 Apr. 23 Apr. 30 May 7. May 14 May 21 3 . Juno 4 Juno H Juno 18 Juno 25 July 2 14.70 16.18 15.98 15.09 14.03 10.33 11. 90 13. 80 11. 01 13. 83 14.97 15.86 13.77 July 9 July 16 July 23 July 30 Aug. 6 Aug. 13 Aug. 20 Aug. 27 Sept.3 Sept. 10 > Sept. 17 Sept. 21 Oct 1 12.8 12.59 12.00 14.4 13.04 14.37 15.4 13.8 15.1 11. 15.5 15.9 10.5 Oct8 Oct 15 Oct. 22 15.7 Jan. 15 Jan 2 'J 16.1 17.2 • fan. 29 Fob.5 Fob. 12 ! Oct. 29 Nov.n i Nov. 12 j Nov. 19 ! Nov. 26 Dec. 3 1G.4 10.6 17.3 Feb. IB 17. 10.9 17.5 Mar. 12 Mar. 19 Mar. 20 Apr. 2 Deo.10 Doc. 17 Dec. 24 Dec. 31 18. 17.3 17.8 17.2 Butter to a gallon of milk, and milk to a pound of butter, in comparison with its cream percentage as shown by the year's testing. Butter to a Milk to a Butter to a Milk to a Butter to a Milk to a Cream. gallon of pound of Cream. gallon of pound of Cream gallon of pound of milk.. butter. milk. butter. milk. butter. Per ct. Ounces. Quarts. Per ct. Ounces. Quarts. Per ct. Ounces. Quarts. 8 4* to 4J 13| to 14 13 .... 7* to 8 8 to 82 17.5... . 92 to 10J 52to6| 52 61 8.5 4J 5 122 13 J 13.5.... 74 84 7| 84 72 84 18 ... . 10 11 9 5 54 114 121 14 .... 74 8* 18.5... . loi m 54 6 9.5 51 52 11 12 14.5.... 8 81 7J 8 19 ... . 104 114 54 6 10 5* 6 4 6J 104 114 10i 11 15 .... n oi 02 7 19.5... . 102 11* 51 5| 10.5 15.5.... 84 04 64 7 20 ... . 11 12 51 52 1L 6 ti M 104 9 10* 16 .... 82 02 64 7 20.5... . 114 124 . 112 122 5 54 11.5 6i 7 16.5.... 9 10 0i 7 21 ... 5 51 12 04 n 82 Oi 17 .... 94 10* 6 64 21.5... . 12 131 42 54 12.5 62 74 «4 Oi The proportion of butter to cream has varied during 1882 from 16J to 18J ounces to a quart. Lord Braybrooke's figures are given as an example of an ordinary- English herd, which, although about the oldest in the Kingdom, is cer- tainly not above mediocrity, although the yield is such as to make it decidedly profitable. The best butter-making cows in England are un- doubtedly those which have about three-fourths Jersey blood and one- fourth Red Poll, Devon, or Shorthorn. Statistics of an Isle of Wight Jersey herd. — Mr. J. R. Fisk, of Bright- stone, Isle of Wight, who has kept Jerseys for a number of years, de- clares his belief that they will produce a larger quantity and better quality of butter than any other breed on the same amount of food. Lf e says : I have compared them with other breeds in the island and I am quite satisfied that they are the best butter cows I know of, and not only as to butter, but they will compare favorably with other cows in quantity of milk, and that of a richer quality. Their constitution is not so delicate as is generally supposed. With fair manage- ment the home-bred Jerseys are comparatively hardy, and this can be seen by the general treatment of my herd. The colors of the animals are mostly whole color — silver grey and fawn, somo being broken. The breed which was originally im- ported into the island was broken, and a wholo-colored cow was seldom to bo seen. The cows are not housed in winter, but have a yard with an open shed, good straw or rough hay, and a run on the pasture in the day-time if the weather should be fine. As soon as they calve I house them and feed them on hay and bran mash for several days until they are quite safe over calving, and then they are fed with G pounds of corn meal or cotton cake, 1 bushel of mangel-wurzel and hay, and a run on a fresh pasture for on hour or two in the day if the weather should permit, until April or May, when they lie out at night. I continue the meal or cake as long as the cow is milked, and vary the quantity according to the feed they obtain on the pasture. 124 CATTLE AND - DAIRY FARMING. The young stock have a yard with a shed, and feed on hay, with a few roots or 3 pounds of cake per day through the- winter, and a run on the rough pasture through the summer. Tho heifers are allowed to go to the bull at fifteeu months old. The calves which are weaned are taken from the cows from three days to a week old, and as soon as they will drink well and are strong they are kept on skim-milk, good hay, and a little corn-meal until three or four months old. If it should be summer they are turned out on the pasture in tho day and housed at night uotil they are old enough to lie out. I bleed the calves dropped in the spring, in the fall of the year, as a pre- ventative for quarter-evil. I reckon that my whole herd in summer, including heifers, five 12 quarts of milk per day, but I have several cows which would give 20 quarts, have a record of 20 cows giving in the month of June, 1883, 256 quarts of milk, 29£ pounds of butter, per day, and 1 cow 112 quarts of milk, 11 quarts of cream, and 12 pounds of butter per week three months after calving. The average yield of butter throughout tho year for 17 cows and 6 heifers is 6£ pounds per head. In the height of summer 13 cows averaged 12 pounds each per week. The weight of a bull or cow when fatted is from 28 to 35 score. Tho Jerseys are seldom steered. If the bull calves are not required for stock they are allowed to suck the dams, and fattened as calves, weighing from GO to lOOpounds at one to two months old. The mean temperature on the average for 16 years worked out as 49°.38'. In the winter it was 39°.99' ; spring, 46°.92' ; summer, 59°.63', and in autumn, 50°.78;. During one year there were 242 days on which a southwest wind was prevalent ; 72 days with a northeast, and 40 with a northwest wind. Southeast winds aro very rare. The island rests on the Wealden, and the surface comprises clay, gravel, sand, chalk, freestone, and loam. Tho downs are chalk, rising from 400 to 800 feet above the level of the sea. The grasses which are chiefly cultivated are the several sorts of rye grass, including the Italian. Clovers are broad, Dutch, al- sike, trefoil, cow clover, and trifolium. (8) Guernsey Cattle. This really first-rate breed is anative of one of the Channel Islands, off the coast of France, and is largely bred by a class of farmers who hold small quantities of land which they cultivate very highly, and, like the Jersey people, breed a much larger number per acre than is done in any part of England. They are a most docile race, well cared for in sheds in the winter, and almost invariably tethered in summer on the grass. There is no difference of opinion in England as to the merits ot the Jersey and the Guernsey among those who understand both races, but it must be admitted that the Jersey is a very much greater favorite, although why it is so would be very difficult to say if we did not think that color and a more deer-like form has something to do with this. The Guernsey is a much larger beast than the Jersey, and, although coarser, is still extremely delicate in texture of skin, while she is much more fleshy, is far more easily fatted, and is salable to the butcher at almost any time, provided she is well kept, which the Jersey certainly is not. Indeed, it may be fairly estimated that when an old Jersey cow past breeding is only worth £7 to J&8, a Guernsey is usually worth £15. This race is now bred with extreme care, although it has some faults from a butcher's point of view, being bred for milk almost alone, and by a comparatively small number of breeders. The color is, plainly speaking, an irregular yellow and white, or, according to the shade, as it is generally called, orange or lemon and white. It is a grand butter- making cow, and will equal the best Jerseys, while it is certainly a deeper milker. We may here mention that the Guernsey breed is strictly confined to the island of Guernsey, as the Jersey is to the island of Jersey, and although the last named was for many years known as the Alderney, it is so no longer, for the Alderney people have at last started a herd book for their own race, which they are determined to perfect in the same way as the other breeds have been perfected. Guernsey, small as it is, exports between one and two thousand cows annually, the majority of which come to England, and at the present THE UNITED KINGDOM. 1 25 time the demand for really good cows is considerably greater than the supply, the only breeders who breed carefully finding it at all times dif- ficult to obtain what they want. This breed is one which it will pay any butter-maker to take up and perfect, for it certainly has, as will be seen from whatwehave said and what Ave shall show, a far wider scope of usefulness than the Jersey can possibly have while it is bred in its present form. For crossing the Guernsey imparts quality of milk without that loss of quality of flesh which is generally found in beasts crossed by the Jersey. The butter, like the cream, is always wonderfully rich in color, and extremely deli- cate in flavor, and many cases can be quoted in which 700 pounds have been reached in the twelve months, although these, of course, are ex- ceptional, while, with regard to the quantity of the milk, it is generally found that 8 quarts is within the mark, good herds often yielding an average of 16 quarts per day during the best months, although, as with other cattle, individal animals frequently exceed 20 quarts. Another good feature in the Guernsey is the fact that it is not only a good milker after calving, but continues to milk well during the whole season. In form it is generally fine and narrow in front, widening until it reaches the hips, which are broad. The udder is large and flat, the teats long and wide apart, and the escutcheon perhaps more prominently pronounced than in any other race. It is generally believed that one or two Guernsey cows in a herd in which the milk is less rich imparts quality and color to the whole of the butter made. Cheese is not made from this race, except in isolated instances, and then only for private use. It does well upon all soils, and we know instances in which its returns are enormous, although the situation is as bleak and exposed as the Welsh hills. At the same time a chalky or a gravelly soil is pre- ferred. In its native island and in the south of England it does better work than in the north, but some of the northern breeders are much pleased with the results they obtain from it, and do not seem to consider it at all inappropriate to their districts. It is never used for draft purposes. Experience of Guernsey breeders. — Mr. J. de Garis, Eouvets, says: My herd in 1882 consisted of 1 cow, fourteen years of age, calved February, 1882; 1 cow, ten years old, calved December, 1881; 1 cow, four years old, calved March, 1882; 1 cow, same age, calved July, 1882; 1 heifer (first calf), calved May, 1882. I used not less than 4 quarts of milk daily in my family. The following are the amounts of marketable butter made each month: January, 69 pounds; February, 70 pounds; March, 90 pounds; April, 134 pounds; May, 96 pounds; June, 109 pounds; July, 136 pounds; August, 132 pounds; September, 151 pounds ; October, 112 pounds ; Novem- 3 7 pounds ; December (partly estimated), 80 pounds ; total, 1,262 pounds ; average per cow, 252 pounds. Mr. \V. Carrington, of King's Mills, says that his cow Le Cheminant produced an average of 16 pounds per week for months after calving. Messrs. C. Smith & Son state that three cows owned by them gave the following records : Vesta, born March 1, 1873, calved May 7, 1882, served June 11> 1882, in five days — December 4 to December 8, inclusive— gave 60i quarts, an average per day of 12.1 quarts; Vesta Second, born April 25, 1877, calved October 12, 1882, served November 32, gavo in five days, of same date, 74 quarts, an average of 14$ quarts per day ; Vesta Third, born May 1, 1878, calved November 27, 1882, gave in five days, same date, 85 quarts, an average of 17 quarts a day. Mrs. White, Koussailierie Farm, states that two cows owned by her have given the following quantities of milk during the year in five months: Red cow, 6ix year3 of age, 2,482 quarts, record commencing July 1 and closing November 30; number of days' record, 153: average per day, IGfifc quarts. Brown cow, eight years of age, 1,944£ quarts; record during the same time, 153 days; aver- age per day, 12.6. 126 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Milk record o'f a Guernsey cow. — An English breeder of the Guernsey gives the following particulars with regard to the cow No. 630, in the Royal Guernsey Agricultural Society's Herd-Book. She calved on 15th May last, and the record is from July 9 to 15. The cow was fed on clover only. The amount of butter made from the weel^s yield was 15 pounds G ounces : Date. Morning Noon. Night. Total. July 9 July 10 July 11 July 12 July 13 July 14 . July 15 , Total Lbs. oz. 15 8 16 0 14 8 1G 0 U 8 15 0 15 8 Lbs. oz. 10 8 9 8 Hi 0 11 0 11 8 10 8 9 8 Lbs. oz. 14 12 15 8 12 8 13 0 12 12 12 8 13 0 Lbs. oz. 40 12 41 0 39 0 40 0 38 12 38 0 38 0 275 8 Guernseys in the Isle of Wight — The Eev. W. A. Glynn, of the Isle of Wight, the well-known English breeder, says : My Guernseys are quite pure, and I generally carry about 30 to 40 head. I com- menced with the breed twenty years ago. I register daily at each milking the quan- tity of milk each cow gives, the annual average yield being 650 gallons, or, taking a gal- lon as weighing 10£ pounds, 6,825 pounds ; but some of the cows yield 800 to 900 gallons a year. Two gallons, or 21 pounds, of milk make 1 pound of butter. I never make cheese, nOr have I weighed a live carcass, but the average weight without head, skin, and offal, is about 740 pounds. The color of the Guernsey is lemon and white, and they arrive at maturity in about three years. The produce of my cows is all sold as milk in the yard to a dairyman at a shilling per gallon. The annual average return is about £32 10s, while the cost is £15. They have 4 pounds of decorticated cake daily through the year ; from about May 1, to Christmas they run in the fields, and the rest of the year sleep in the open shed at night, and have 28 pounds of mangel and 12 pounds of hay if fresh, the milk- ers in winter receiving an additional 6 pounds of bran. During June, July, or Au- gust if the pastures are short they get vetches; from October to Christmas cabbage, and mangels from Christmas to May. I have bred with a view to useful and good dairy stock, but last year exhibited with wonderful success the cow " Vesta," which was shown four times. I won the 1st twice ; the 3d, once, and the reserve, besides being once very highly commended. With another, which was also shown four times, I won the 2d three times, and was very highly commended once ; also the champion milking against 23 others once, and the first milking once. With my bulls I have also been very successful in obtaining honors. I started with the best blood I could get in Guernsey, and I carefully breed for produce in quality and quantity. The quality on analysis at the dairy show gave the specifio gravity as 1.0316; total solids 14.25; fat, 5.54; solids not fat, 8.71; percentage of cream by volume, 7.5, and drew special remark from the analyst as be- ing the richest specimen of milk. I find that the stock raised here are far more hardy and do far better than when im- ported from Guernsey. I infinitely prefer them, and only resort* as seldom as I can to fresh blood from Guernsey. I carefully select my breeding stock, and do not force them, but keep them in good order. I find no difficulty in finding purchasers, and as I receive many applications, I place them in a book to be entertained in rotation. Many gentlemen who have acted as judges of Channel Island stock at various shows come to my herd to purchase. Our soil is a medium loam, partly on gravel and partly on clay, much of which was recently laid down to pasture, but is not good for the pro- duction of milk. The climate is good, I may say more temperate than in most parts of England, the altitude being from 50 to 150 feet above the sea, near to which we are. Record of a Guernsey herd in Sussex, — Mr. Nevill Wyatt, of Cnckfi eld, Sussex, who has taken such trouble with the Guernsey Herd-Book, says: I farm 123 acres of poor soil, called the Weald of Sussex, and it is the queerest mix- ture of clay, sand, and gravel, as sometimes in the same field where pure sand is quar- ried for building purposes there is found some 40 or 50 yards of stiff clay. The natural soak is bad, as the beds of clay bank back the water. The farm, however, now is all THE UNITED KINGDOM. 127 tile-drained 3$ feet in depth, out the distances between the drains vary. The cow- house is situated on the north side of a hill, but so high that the sun shines on it all day? from the time it rises till it sets. The ridge upon which the farm is is supposed to be tho prettiest but coldest spot between London and Brighton. As the crow flies, I am about 12 miles from the sea, and, with a southwest gale, salt is often driven with it, and the windows thereby are streaked with the 6alt. I look on tho Guernsey as a better animal all round than the Jersey. It is hardier, and I have only lost one, and that through cancer, which it had in the heart. The Guernsey gives more milk, and it is equally rich, and when done with sells for more to the butcher. I sold at open market, where Sussex and Shorthorns are tho usual run of beast, a five-year-old Guern- sey, which slipped her calf a fortnight before, for £18.5*. Jerseys, in that case fetch from £5 to £9. I have sold others at £15 to £18. They do not fatten easily, but they always cut up far better than they look; in fact, where a Shoithorn looks fat outside, a Guernsey is fat inside. My cattle are all housed in a largo, well-ventilated cow-shed from October or No- vember, according to weather, till there is a good bite of grass in the spring. On grass they get per day each about 1 pound of decorticated cotton cake. The year- lings run out all winter, but have a shed where they can go to, and in winter-time they get for food oat straw, and from 1% to 2 pounds of linseed cake and locust beans in equal proportions. The cows are fed 3 times a day. In the morning and evening they receive each hay and straw (oat) chaffed with pulped roots, all steamed, with 1 pound of mid- dlings and 1 pound of maize meal mixed with it, and in the middle of the day they get hay and straw chaff with pulned roots, not steamed. In addition I give them, according to tho milk they are giving, from 1 to 4 pounds of cake a day, f- of decorti- cated cako and £ linseed, heifers with their first calf only having linseed. I test tho milk from time to time, and the average of cream is about 15 per cent. ; the lowest, and which only one cow gave, being 13 per cent., whilst the highest was 18 percent.; but 15 per cent. I calculate is a fair average. I calve my heifers down at any time from 21 months. The fault I find with Guernseys is in their bony and angular rump and shortness from hip bones to tail. I am trying to improve this, but find it difficult to get bulls to please mo. In addition, a great many have the tail sticking up too high. These things are what make a Guernsey look so thin, and it is hard to cover these angulari- ties with flesh. I am in hopes, however, that I shall speedily improve these points, as I have a very good bull of my own breeding, and I shall put him to his own daugh- ters and with their progeny breed out again. I only once tried a test with regard to butter, and that with not nearly my best cow. Shehadcalved6 weeks before, and had just returned from a show and was not milking well, but I wanted to make a rough guess at what a Guernsey could do. She made 9f pounds of butter, in 7 days from 83 quarts of milk. I have only known of one steer being fattened, but he made a nice beast, and was sold when 3£ years old, in the beginning of December, 1883. He real- ized £23, and as butchers around here are very prejudiced, and will only look at Sus- sex and Shorthorns, I did not consider it a bad price. Tho following arc particulars of my herd as submitted : | Production by quarts. 1 Name. Rosebud, 1^81 (aged) Rosebud, 1882 Beckio, heifer Topsy, aged Sunbeam, 2d calf Sunbeam, 3d culf Goldbud, 2d calf Jean, 3d calf Valentine, 1st calf Golden Leaf, 1st cal f Channeling, 1st calf Gift heifer, 1st calf Bailiffs tlanghter, heifer , • iter tfono, heifer. , Qncensbnry, heifer Cherne Pie, heifer 229 191 181 259 224 123 *417 143 144 8 §350 164 183 250 271 288 288 tM 117 148 279 65 ||300 200 260 250 261 345 t2»2 128 248 287 30' 411 208 17 (dry) 52 138 199 140 81 (it 171 148 128 180 1«0 218 237 o4 277 124 139 ill 186 217 Quarts. 1,484 2,620 1,376 2,525 2,064 2,600 2,012 2, 765 1, 526 1,210 1,220 1, 44 1 27* *15 quarts. tl3 quarts a day. J9J quarts a day. §11 J quarts a day. H 10 quarts a day. 128 CATTLE AND DAIRY FAEMING. Notes on Guernsey cattle by a Guernsey farmer. — Mr. James James, of Guernsey, another breeder of considerable notoriety, sends the follow- ing remarks upon them : There can be no more practical question connected with land than that which haa reference to the value of the different breeds of cattle peculiar to the British isles. They may be classified under two heads : the beef producers, and those more especi- ally adapted for the production of milk. To this latter class my remarks have special reference. Probably in no one breed shall we find these two qualifications more fully combined than we do in that which is peculiar to the island of Guernsey. This and the sister island of Jersey form two of the group known as the Channel Islands. They have each a breed peculiar to themselves, which differ widely in many essential points. The Guernsey is the larger of the two and very similar to that bred in Al- derney, another of the islands composing the Channel Islands group. The Jerseys for a long time have been designated as Alderneys, but for what rea- son I am unable to explain. This latter island is under the same government as Guernsey, has similar laws, and enjoys the same privileges. It is not so, however, with Jersey, for in this island the government differs. No admixture of the Guernsey and Jersey breeds is permitted. From almost time immemorial the Guernsey cattle have been jealously guarded ; stringent laws have been passed, prohibiting the im- portation of any foreign cattle for breeding purposes, and notwithstanding the various attempts made to repeal them, the royal court of the island has always confirmed and strengthened its former prohibitions. Thus under no circumstances whatever can there be any admixture of foreign blood, and the farmer can consequently boast of a breed of cattle eminently pure and distinct, beautiful in appearance, and surpassed by no other in its distinguishing characteristic. As regards its original habitat, opinions differ very widely ; we may, however, reasonably infer that it had its origin in some part of the French continent. It is a matter of history that the islands of Jersey and Guernsey, as far back as the sixth century, were united to the mainland by a single plank. This breed of cattle has long been famed for its cream and butter producing quali- ties, and it is also eminently adapted for the shambles when, from age or other causes these valuable properties fail to bo profitable. They are exquisitely delicate in form, in color varying from light-red to lemon and orange-fawn, occasionally black, almost all having a considerable admixture of white. In individual cases it is black, encir- cled with light-colored hair. The most approved points of a Guernsey may be considered to be as follows: Head small but long ; eye bright, lively, but placid ; horns small and well turned upwards, being fine, yellow, and waxy at the bases ; ears small and thin, with fine thin hair and a deep golden color inside ; nostrils open ; neck long and slender, tapering towards the head ; shoulders thin ; forequarters light ; limbs delicate ; back straight and broad behind ; tail fine and thin, set on at right-angles with the back ; hide thin and mellow to touch ; carcass deep and well let down ; hindquarters full and largo ; udder cap'acious, broad, and square, well in line with belly and stretching well forward, not fleshy, silky with fine down or hair ; milk veins very large and prominent ; teats large and strutting outwards and well apart ; the general figure compact, wedge- shaped ; skin tinged with a deep orange-yellow throughout, especially marked inside the pastern joint. . To these essential points may be added thoso tests as shown by the Guenon theory, and which when properly understood and applied are most valuable as indicative of milk-producing properties. The opinion of the Guernsey farmer is much divided as to what may bo considered the most approved points of the male animal. Some prefer the bull which possesses many of the points as approved in the female ; others, those of the more masculine type. Since the superiority of the Guernsey cow for dairy purposes is so generally admitted, we must not, I think, be guided so much in our selection by what may be the approved points of excellence in the individual animal as by a knowledge of his parentage, and this knowledge becomes of still more importance when we consider that the male undoubtedly acts the principal part in impressing his character upon the offspring. Of late years there lias been a very marked improvement in the cattle throughout the island. The breeder has become more alive to the value of his cattle, and, stimu- lated by a very large and increasing demand both from England and abroad, he has devoted increased care and attention to the breeding and rearing of his stock. Where careful and intelligent breeding has been pursued, selecting fitting sires and dams, a very marked and increasing excellency has been stamped upon the progeny. Earlier maturity, increase of size, a more fully developed lacteal system, and a stronger con- stitution have been the result, and with perseverance in such a course these essen- tials will become intensified. Two herd-books have been established, one on the principle of selection and the other in the form of a register, admitting within its pages all cattle in the island THE UNITED KINGDOM. 129 Great difficulties must be experienced by breeders and purchasers whilst these two registers are at variance with one another; instead of affording information and assistance, confusion and perplexity must be encountered. As a guide to selecting sires and dams a general register will meet every requirement; the breeder will bo enabled to trace the parentage of any animal ho may require, and to form his own judgment as to its individual merits. The Guernsey being essentially a dairy breed of cattle, it behooves the island farmer to devote still more attention to the actual yield of milk and butter by the individual members of his herd. Experiments and trials tending to elucidate this matter have been meager in the extreme, and it is only in a very few cases that I have been able to obtain reliable information upon the subject. On some of the best laud in the island a number of animals are still reared which are a discredit to those concerned. At our annual fairs or markets the number of animals exhibited for salo are propor- tionately small. The cause why good and desirable stock is scarco is partly to be attributed to this and partly to the lack of knowledge of good breeding. Too little attention has hitherto been given to the use of good bulls ; animals born from indifferent parents, and not possessing a single desirable quality, have been coupled, very much to the detriment of the offspring. A good bull may bo used, but the farmer makes the mistake of employing inferior females. The bull being capable of transmitting to his progeny his own peculiar properties, and whatever excellencies he may have inherited from his ancestors becoming marked in it, it will become nec- essary for the breeder who seeks to improve his stock to be careful to make a choice of such animals whose parents have been endowed with those characteristic quali- ties, and which he seeks to intensify in tho offspring. The form, character, and de- velopment of tho lacteal system of the females is no less important, and if it is hoped to arrive at success in breeding ono must follow out in practice theso essential prin- ciples of breeding. By thus selecting our breeding stock, and by a careful and gen- erous system of rearing tho offspring^ a very great and marked improvement in this valuable breed of dairy cattle will be tho result. (9) Kerry Cattle. The animal represented in the accompanying engraving was, with seven picked heifers, selected from the celebrated herd of the Knight of Kerry last spring. Like his companions, he is jet black, the color of the purest strain. Ilis height at shoulder is 3 feet 6J inches ; his girth at same point, 5 feet 7 inches. He carries bulk for his size, with shape and symmetry, and stands a perfect picture, a model bull in miniature, showing all the recognized bovine points in strong development, with some that are peculiar to himself. The qualities of the Kerry are as follows: (1) head rather small, balanced, and tapering; (2) cheeks clean; (3) throat full and well set ; (4) muzzle fine; (5) nostrils high, well placed, and rather open; (6) horns well sprung, smooth, rather thick at base, but gently tapering, and tipped with black; (7) ears small, fine, and of a pink-orange color within; (8) eyes mild and full ; (9) neck straight and fine; (10) chest deep and broad; (11) barrel deep and well hooped; (12) ribs well home; (13) back even and straight from withers to top of hip; (14) back straight from top of hips to setting of tail ; (15) tail long and fine; (1G) hide of good color, slight, loose, and covered with soft hair; (17) fore leg short and straight, full above the knee, fine below ; (18) hind- quarters well filled up; (19) hind legs not too close together and squarely placed ; (20) hoofs small ; (21) udder well rounded, full and capacious, in line with belly and well up behind ; (22) teats well placed, large, and rather far apart ; (23) milk veins very prominent ; (24) color, rich black preferable, although there are some very good animals of other colors. Although of very small size, the cows yield a large quantity of milk, rich in cream ; they fatten fairly easily upon even poor pasture, and are certainly superior to all other breeds for hardiness and the power of subsisting upon the scantiest herbage. Mr. Pierce Mahony says : I have now a good number, but most of them are heifers with their first calf. Notwithstanding this, many of them are giving from eight to ten quarts of milk a day H. Ex. 51 9 130 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. each, but it is in the quality of the milk that they specially excel. I have not as yet tested the milk of all, but among those tried I have found many to give 10 per cent., 11 per cent., 12 per cent'., and 13 per cent, of cream, while one has gone as high .a 15 per cent. This, -with an average live weight of from six to seven cwt., is,I think, a satisfactory result. An imported Alderney, after her fourth or fifth calf, on the same pasture, is only giving seven quarts of milk, containing 12 per cent, of cream. The pure Kerry is a graceful animal, with finely formed limbs and a grand constitution, capable, I believe, of great development on good land. Mr. Richard Barter, an extensive farmer, breeder, and dairy-owner, Having a large dairy, with a few pure Jerseys, and always 7 or 8 Kerries through the stock, I can bear testimony to the great value of the Kerry as a cow, in propor- tion to her size, and the amount and quality of food she consumes. Her points are the following : She yields a large quantity of rich milk, is extremely hardy, is easily kept, is, moreover, docile, easily fatted when done milking, and is moderate in price. I know of no cow which is so suited to families where only two or three are kept, or for light, upland pastures. I have a large upland farm entirely stocked with them. Mr. A. J. Knight, in the following fact, supplies, in all likelihood, the reason which led him to from his herd : Last year I had a Kerry cow given me, sent over from Kerry, where she had been much admired as a perfect specimen. This cow beat two valuable and lately im- ported Guernseys here, giving a larger quantity of equally rich milk ; and, whereas the Guernseys looked poor and miserable during the winter, the Kerry was always in good condition and happy. All had a mixture, In equal quantities, of best oil and cotton cake, at the rate of 5 pounds of the mixture to each cow per day. Professor Baldwin, the well-known Irish agriculturist, bears this tes- timony : The Kerry is small in size, exceedingly hardy, and can subsist on poor and exposed pasture. It often bears a close resemblance in size, shape, and color to the native cattle of Wales and Brittany. The color preferred is black, with a ridge of white along the spine, and a white streak along the belly. Cattle of true Kerry descent are met with of other colors. Thus, I have seen them brown, black, and white, and black and brown. The horns are fine, somewhat long, and turned upwards at the points. The skin is soft, unctuous, and of a fine orange tone, which is visible about the eyes, the ears, and the muzzle. The beef is tender, well marbled, and commands the high- est price in the market. The milk is peculiarly rich and well flavored, and the quan- tity of it yielded, oven on hard fare, is so great that the Kerry has been styled the poor man's cow. Professor Low observes, that in milking properties, the Kerry cow, taking size into account, is equal or superior to any in the British Islands. Mr. James Eobertson observes : As Youatt says, the Kerry may be truly described as the poor man's cow, living every- where, and the description is thoroughly accurate. The Kerry will live and thrive in almost any climate and temperature, on the site or summit of a Kerry Mountain or in the poor undrained lands of the lowlands. I have made no extended experiments and am unaware of any having been made, but my experience of an average Kerry cow is that she will yield on an average 12 quarts of milk per day, and 10 to 11 quarts of milk will produce 1 pound of butter. Cheese-making is almost unknown in Ireland. The weight of the animals when fat is from 30 to 36 stone, of 8 pounds, and they frequently run up to 40 stone. My herd is kept on prime old pasture, which has been most judiciously ''laid down," but the part the Kerry plays prominently in the agri- culture of the country, is that they are bred by small farmers in the Kerry Mountains, where they have a temperature and climate much resembling that of the Welsh Mount- ains, and are kept in and about that district until they are from two and a half to three years old, when they are bought up in the local fairs in Kerry, and elsewhere, for the richer lands of surrounding districts ; in fact, the popular idea is that if land is not good enough to fatten Shorthorn cattle, it will be occupied by Kerries. Considering the utter neglect with which the Kerry have been treated, no method whatever being followed by their breeding, it is a wonder they are not extinct long ago. They are very easily kept. Two will consume very little more food than one large Shorthorn, and when crossed with it make both good dairy cows and butcher's beasts. My champion bull, Busaco, who has never been beaten in a show-yard and who obtained ten royal prizes (the one at Kilburn included), measured 68 inches in- girth, 36 inches in height, and 34 inches from tail to top of shoulder. The Kerry cat- tle are extremely hardy, not liable to disease, are handsome, docile, pretty in the park THE UNITED *• KINGDOM. 131 or paddock, and excellent butter-makers. My cattle are never housed, cows in milk excepted, and they seldom get anything but grass and straw hi wiuter. The points of the Kerry are, a small, neat, lively auiinal, light round frame, narrow rumps, line bone, limbs rather long, line small head, keen eye, white upstanding horns, with black tips. The popular color is jet black, but a few red and brindled ones sometimes ap- pear. We are indebted to Mr. B. O. Pringle, late editor of the Irish Farmers' Gazette, for the following: The Kerry cow is a neat, light-made animal, with fine and rather long limbs, fine small head, lively eye, line white horn, which in many cases after projecting forward is turned or cocked backward. The rump is narrow, and the thigh light. The fash- ionable color is pure black throughout, but some are black and white, and others red. The skin should have a mellow touch, and be well coated with hair. The Dexter va- riety is distinguished from the pure or true Kerry in having a round plump body, short and rather thick legs ; the head is heavier, and wanting in that fineness which marks the true Kerry, aud the horns are longer, straigkter, and coarser. The real origin of the Dexter variety is not well understood, but it is supposed to be the result of special selection. In Ireland the Kerry is much esteemed as suitable for small villa farms, as the cows, although naturally active, are very gentle, and do well when tethered on confined bits of grass. They also thrive when kept constantly -fed. We have known a Kerry cow to be kept for five years in a dark stable in Dublin without iijury to her health. About 12 quarts of milk daily is an aver- age .yield for a Kerry cow when she is fairly kept [this is too much. — T. L.], and we have known some oowsto give as much as 16 quarts daily for a considerable time af- ter calviug. The yield of butt er is 1 pound from 11 quarts of milk, but we have known a higher percentage of butter obtained. Kerry can fatten rapidly when required. This is truo when they have been kept as cows or otherwise, for a time on fair pasture, but poor Kernes, especially bullocks, Avhen obtained direct from their native mountain grazings, take sometime before they begin to show improvement. When once they do begin to improve, their progress is rapid , and when slaughtered their flesh is ol the best quality, fine in the grain and richly flavored. Their weight, when fat, is from 28 to 36 imperial stone. Extra-fed beasts will make 40 6tono. With a few exceptions, the breeders of Kerry cattle have not until recently devoted much attention to the proper maintenance of the breed, and the fact that Kerry cattle have survived tho neglect With which they have been treated, without material deterioration, is strongly in their favor. The Knight of Kerry has a herd of Kerry cattle which has been t>red with great care for a long period, and other gentlemen in that part of Ireland have also devoted attention to the subject, but the reputation of tho breed has been considerably enhanced by the in- i which has been taken in it by various gentlemen residing in other parts of Ire- land, v.ho have taken op the breeding of Kerry cattle, not merely as a fancy, but from the intrinsic merits of tho breed as dairy stock. Mr. P. Chesney, in giving the results of very careful observation dur- ing his experience of the Kerry, says: My cows were kept on the same farm and fed on the same pastures as a number of Ayrshires, Shorthorns, and common cows, the only difference in their treatment being that the large animals used to receive supplementary allowances of bean-meal, cake, and other dainties which were found at times to be necessary for them. I do not speak from memory as to the facts I am giving, having before me a register of the quantity of milk given by each of my cows, at that time 38 in number, during the months of one spring and summer, as also of the percentage of cream as tested by the tactometer. I should observe, however, that the milk was only measured and tested once a week. The farm on which tho cows were kept, situated in county Cork, consisted of some 300 ;i no means exceptionally good land, part of it indeed mountain, and aimed bog, laid down in artificial grasses. Of course some fields were devoted to meadowing, and wo had considerable facilities for investigation, while others produced grain and root crops, more of the latter, however, than the former. One kimiof forage found especially useful, particularly for young stock, was French which turned a piece of rough, stony ground into quite a profitable place. to the time of my going to the farm it had not been tho custom to keep much cattle there, and the cows, although good ones, were of no particular breed. But as butter fetched a good price, especially when carefully made, and dairying was more profitable in that locality than other kinds of husbandry, tho stock was soon largely increased and Ayrshires and Shorthorns introduced. At one time we in fact had as many as GO milkers besides a considerable number of calves and heifers. Havin^ a 132 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING strong suspicion, however, contrary to the views of our neighbors, that the little black cows of the adjoining county would prove quite as serviceable and much more economical in our circumstances than the larger breeds, it was resolved to give thorn a fair trial, and as we decided to start with good ones we made an expedition to Va- lentia and after inspecting the herd of the Knight of Kerry, became the owners of several good specimens of his prize-taking stock. But as these of course fetched somewhat higher prices, we also made some purchases from the farmers about, in par- ticular that of one little heifer which became quite a celebrity. It was in autumn that we made our venture, and our little favorites having been carefully driven home and well housed and attended to during the winter, duly calved the ensuing year, with the exception of one of those bought from the Knight, which turned out a stripper, almost all of them being three or four year old heifers, and this their first time of calving. Besides these pure Kerries we also bought 3 half-breds, the result of the cross be- tween the Kerry and the Shorthorn which Mr. Mahony so strongly condemns, aud I am bound to say that better milkers for their size it would be difficult to find. Oue of them, moreover, was quite a beauty and chosen on this account by an excellent judge who had some difficulty in persuading her owner to part with her, and I believe that a " first cross " between Kerry and Shorthorn parents, possessing the requisite qualifications, produces a very useful animal for a dairy farm, especially if it bo one where the yield of grass is not very heavy, or whero there is mountain grazing ; for these cows not only give plenty of milk up to au advanced age, but fatten more read- ily and produce a larger amount of meat than the pure Kerry whenever it may be necessary to get them ready for the butcher. The young Kerries, three or four year olds, with thoir first calf, did not (any of them) milk more than ?-£ quarts in the day the first year, but those which were two years older gave 12 and 13 quarts, and even as much as 18 quarts soon after calving. A four-year-old half-bred, however, gave 10£ quarts. Now, as our best Ayrshires, large, heavy cows, which consumed a great deal more fodder thau the Kerries, never gave a greater yield than 15 quarts and our heaviest milker among the Shorthorns never quite reached 20 quarts, even when receiving bean-meal mashes, &c, iu addi- tion to vetches and grass, I consider that the Kerries are decidedly the most profit- able, particularly as thoy are industrious little creatures, wandering off to find food for themselves, and always contriving, if they meet with any fair treatment, to keep themselves in proper condition. A purebred Kerry, too, with her sleek ebon coat and gracefully-shaped waxy horns, is a very pretty creature, and may almost challenge competition with her beautiful dove-colored sisters of the Pyrenees, though I doubc whether she would willingly suf- fer herself, as they do, to be trained to servile employments, and made either to plow and furrow or draw a cart of hay. Nor would it, in point of fact, be at all profitable to employ cows in this manner if we wanted them to give plenty of milk. Whether in years to come, peasant farmers may find it economical to use cows in that way is an- other matter. For my part, I believe that jennets, especially in Ireland, are better substitutes for the more expensive equine animal. As to the cream-producing qualities of my cows, I found Shorthorns to give the lowest and common cows the highest percentage, Kerries and half-bred Kerries beiug second best, and Ayrshires next to them in this respect. It is needless to allude to a fact which every observant person who has to deal with cows will have noticed, that the yield of cream often varies considerably with the same animal from one week to another, and that from no appreciable cause, when no difference has been made in tho feeding, and there has been nothing, so far as one could see, in the stato of tho cow herself to account for it. Of course, too, the creamometer is only a test of tho quantity and not of the quality of the cream, and I had no other way of judging of the latter, save byits apparent richness or otherwise, which I used to "note down.' Taking, then, these notes for what they may be worth, I find that with one excep- tion, that of a seven-year-old cow, the cream from my Ayrshires was remarkably poor, that of the Shorthorns little better, that of the Kerries took the next place, and that the common cows gave the richest milk of all ; but I am bound to say that tho latter were almost all aged, and none of them less than 5 years old, and I have always found the milk of old cows much richer than that of young ones, although the con- trary opinion is, I believe, more generally held. It would bo interesting to know what is the value of the milk of the Kerry cow as compared with that of the Alder- ney or the Jersey. I imagine that on very good pasture the Channel Islands' cattle would bear off the palm, but that on poorer or on mountain land the Kerry would win the day. .As to Dexters I can pronounce no opinion. I had, indeed, a pair of these tiny crea- tures moro as curiosities than for anything else. They are comical, but have no pre- tension to beauty. The Kerry heifer before mentioned beqamo quite renowned in a certain northern locality, to which, much to her own surprise probably, she found herself transplanted. She was one of those purchased at Valentia, and owed her THE UNITED - KINGDOM. 133 selection entirely to her remarkable appearance. Looking out of the window at my hgtel one morning I saw a collection of animals which had been brought together for the inspection of the gentleman, who, it was to be hoped, would be soft enough to buy up anything that was presented to him as a "rale Kerry," and singled out from the group, and as it seemed in tho act of being purchased, was so queer a specimen, that, running down stairs in alarm, and appearing on the scene of action, I began to re- monstrate against the transaction. My proiest, however, availed not. Cockle, as she was soon appropriately named from having been bought by the sea-shore, was selected for her oddity, and seut home with the rest, being not much to speak of as to body, but the owner of a long pair of wide-spreading horns that might almost have graced the head of a Spanish cow. Needless to remark, she was received by the cowherd with little favor, and barely tolerated about the place as "master's fancy." By-and-by heavy trouble coming down upon the occupier of that farm, a change of residence was resolved upon and most of the live stock sold; but a mere nothing being offered for Cocklb when she came to the hammer, she was bought in and removed, as I before said, to the north, where, after producing her second calf, the despised Kerry proved so excellent a milker, giving 20 quarts at first, and never, I believe, going below 13 or 14 until just running dry — her butter also being very- rich and plentiful — that her reputation became so great as to cause her progeny to be in great request. This of course was all mere chance. With Kerries, as with all other live stock, the great thing is to choose well and continue to breed from tho best subjects. The breed is capable of great development upon good land, for we have seen at Irish cat- tlo shows, Kerry cows very little, if at all, smaller than good-sized Ayrshires; such, for example, as some of those bred by Mr. Brady near to Dublin, and as the meat of the Kerry is considered by connoiseurs to be particularly good, it may not be unde- sirable to take size into consideration, although this is a point that I personally should care little about. A really good herd of Kerries would be found, if I mistake not, in more ways than one, a profitable investment. The first cross, however, between a Kerry and Shorthorn is not suit- able for a severe mountain climate and poor pasture. The more Short- horn blood that is introduced the better the cattle mus.t be cared for, whereas, if the better care be bestowed on the Kerry breed the results will be more satisfactory for dairy purposes, and ultimately quite as good as regards increased size. The following are the results of some experiments carried out on the British Government's model farm at Kingwiiliamstown, and will be read with interest. The elevation of the farm is about 800 feet, the pasture fine, the situation exposed, and the climate moist. The experiments were conducted for the purpose of ascertaining the relative value of Galloway, Ayrshire, and Kerry cattle for dairy purposes. The conditions, however, were not quite equal, inasmuch as the Kerry and Galloway cattle were heifers with their first calf, whereas the Ayrshire were with their fourth calf. The cows were all wintered on the farm, and from the published report it would appear they had nothing but hay. The quantity consumed by each breed was carefully noted. Each Galloway consumed 21J pounds a day, each Ayrshire 24| pounds a day, and each Kerry, 16J pounds a day. From this it would seem that the Kerry is easier fed than most breeds of cat- tle, and this assumption is supported by the opinion of those most con- versant with the breed. As regards the relative size of the breeds tho report states that the Galloway cattle when fat would make about (5 cwt., the Ayrshire 5cwt. to 5£ cwt., and the Kerry 4 cwt. The milk was measured and manipu- lated separately from the time of calving to the 17th of June, and as regards quantity, with the following result: Each Galloway cow gave average of GJ quarts a day ; each Ayrshire gave an average of 9 quarts a day ; and each Kerry gave an average of 7£ quarts a day; the Kerry and Galloway giving these quantities after their first calf, and the Ayrshire after their fourth calf. The same Ayrshire cows, three years earlier, after having had their first calf, gave only 7J quart a day each ; that is, only half pint more than the Kerry cows under the same conditions ; so 134 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. that if we take the winter feeding as a fair test of the relative propor- tion of food required by each breed, the Kerry cattle gave a larger yield of milk for the food consumed than either of the other breeds. It was, how- ever, in the quality of the milk that the Kerry cattle especially excelled. It took 9i quarts of milk from Galloway cows to make 1 pound of butter, 10£ quarts of milk from Ayrshire cows to produce 1 pound of butter, and 8} quarts of milk from the Kerry to make the like quantity. It would be most interesting to obtain an accurate record of the prod- uce of Jersey and Kerry cows under similar circumstances, but ad- mirers of Kerry cattle could hardly expect their favorites to make more than a decent stand against the Jersey cattle, seeing that the latter have been car ''M: £ • • ,;i^ ■ ' ;j 3 ' 1 $ 1 1 ) 1 i ■ f, p W ^ ^^Ih ' t &&P ' Wim» -adjfc ■Fa- k^Jli^MiE^i***. \ : |V| . H B^ 5 ^H ¥ ; K ' -<;. -^-S «Z ■Kwi^ .>;-^v> ■. ;" ".'"''■' %;;-:- « - I fl L^J| » \ Fl ^^^^ J ^m^^^Ws HP1^ --^^H^^Bi^l !«' | |^H'-'il '^tsnB' .' ^B ••• g -«r; i \ Pi' K^k ^^ii^ W.-a'Jbl ^ISbi i lw K • ^MmM'm i .'ii', > ■ ■'. : 11 L^ -- "^bV 1 1 1 1 1 '^^K^^^J^ v*-« \ k'^H Hplff5J~ " " ~~~^ S-fBSE? THE UNITED KINGDOM. 161 The soil generally compares with the underlying rocks, and varies from sterile sand to very stiff loam. The substratum is lower greeusand rocks, chalk, and lower Eocene rocks. The temperature is G3° in summer, 38° in winter, and the mean tem- perature 50°. HEREFORD CATTLE. This breed takes its name from the county where they were first bred, but they are to be found also in the adjoining counties. They are also grazed in most of the great grazing farms of the midland counties, and there are also breeding herds in Scotland and Ireland. The Queen's celebrated herd is kept near Windsor, Berkshire. This breed adapts itself easily to the severe climate of the north, as well as the milder climate of the south. In America some are to be found in ranches 0,047 feet above the level of the sea, and no better proof can be given of the hardiness of the Hereford s. i Of this breed the Earl of Coventry says : I have observed Hereford cattle for twenty years, but I only commenced forming a herd nine years ago. During that period I have tried them alongside pedigree Short- horns and other breeds of cattle, and I am so satisfied of the superiority of tho Here- lord breed for feeding purposes that I have disposed of other sorts. They are a hardy breed, doing well out of doors all the year round. Their quality of meat is very su- perior ; they have less " rough " meat about them than tho Short-horn, hence first-class butchers prefer them to other sorts. (21st October, 1683.) They are a perfectly pure race of cattle and have been brought to their present excellence by the judicious selection of both male and female animals, and not by the introduction of crosses of other breeds. This strictly pure blood gives them the great value they have for im- proving other breeds. Color. — The distinguishing color is red with a white face, chest, and belly, white Hank and white tip to the tail ; white on tho legs, white maue, and often white line along the back The red with white face is invariable, and the white predominates, more or less, on different ani- mals. There are also gray Herefords, but these are now confined to one or two breeds. The date of the first herd-book is 1845. Increase. — Tho demand for exportation principally for the United States and Canada has increased the stock of the district, owing to more fanners breeding. Animals. Average weight at maturity 12 to 14 y>n\[ do.. 10 to 2o Qx do 20 to 22 Apt at maturity : Three years. Row long bred pure : From a verv remote period. Annual average pound's o/milk: "Kine thousand fivo hundred pounds. Zlilk to pounds of butter: Thirty pounds to 1 pound of butter. H. Ex. 51 11 162 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. A good cow has been known to yield 14 pounds of butter per week at grass ; and also one gave 55 pounds of milk, yielding 2 J pounds of but- ter per day, but this" is of rare occurrence. Product. Quantity. Meat 1,770 9,500 Milk do Labor: Liftlo or none. Method of housing : Open yards during winter, with a run out by day ; summer out in rough pasture. Feeding: Hay, straw, and roots in winter; rough, pasture in summer. Breeding : Heifera have calves at two and a halt* years, and continue to breed till thoy are old. Grasses': Clover, rye-grass, meadow, fox-tail, and English natural grasses. The following is a record of the live weights of the fatted cattle of this breed : Oxen (over 8$ ami not over 4 years old). Steers (over 2h and not over 3£ years old). Heifers (not over 4 years old). No. 1 pounds . . No. 2 do No. 3 do.... No. 4 do 2, 394 2,135 3, 024 2,500 1,724 1,862 1,884 1,778 1, 621 1,7G4 1,855 1,823 No. 1 ox (represented in the sketch) is the property of Mr. J. Price and was the winner of theElkington challenge cup, which has never been done except by this Hereford. He is the true type with the markings for the Hereford. Price— At the recent total dispersion by auction of two old estab- lished herds the average price was just $375, including cows, bulls, and suckling calves. At one sale the leading bull sold tor $4,139 ; at the other sale 12 two-year-old heifers averaged $652 each; the highest priced cow was $1,329. There were 117 animals in one sale and 91 in the other. The soil of Herefordshire is various, from clay to light sandy soil, much of which is of inferior quality. The substratum is principally limestone, clay, and gravel. The temperature at the altitude of 100 to 300 feet above sea-level is in summer 60°; in winter, 39°; the mean during the year, 49°. RED-POLLED CATTLE. This breed of cattle is found principally in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk*, and its history can be carried far back into the last cent- ury. Formerly there were two varieties, and it is only since the year 1846 that the amalgamation of the two varieties, previously known as the Norfolk Polled and Suffolk Polled, has taken place, and the breed is at present known as the Suffolk and Norfolk Polled. Many of the old Suffolk Polled cattle were much more massive than the Norfolk, and this characteristic is yet in evidence. They could easily be picked out from a collection by the comparative coarseness at the head, a difference which is now but seldom manifest. In other points there were few di- vergencies in character between the two varieties. ■^Ka^'J ^^^ lip Al - ■ w* ■ ; ' - •••■^^fl^H 1 ^H ■ if ^ , jd^HI^B $*iX r, ' Jag «? *r^[ f s 1 1 . i ' Kjfc - THE .UNITED KINGDOM. 1G3 Red-Polled cattle are found to lay on flesh rapidty on pasture of the poorest quality where other breeds would require an additional supply of richer food. The dry temperature of their native home and the poor pasture seem more particularly to have their effect on the size of the stock. As graceful as the Devon, the Red-Polled has the additional advan- s of being hornless, in itself no little gain where horses also run in the pastures, or he stock sent to market have to make a long journey by railway, boat, or road. The first herd-book was issued in 1874. The color and description of tbe breed, agreed upon by breeders in the autumn of 1873 : The color red, but the adder may be white. The extension of the white of the udder a few inches alone the inside of the flank, or a small white spot or mark on the k under part of the belly by the milk veins, shall not be held to disqualify an animal dam form "part of an established herd of the breed, or answer all other ,i ials of the standard description. Form. — 1 I Id be no horns, slugs, or abortive horns. The following are the points for a superior animal: Color. — A deep red with udder of the same color, but the tip of the tail may be white, nose not dark or cloudy. Form.— A neat head and throat, a full eye, a tuft or crest of hair should hang over the forehead; the frontal bones should begin to con- a little above the eye and should terminate in a comparatively narrow prominence at the summit of the head. In all other particulars the commonly accepted points of a superior animal are taken as apply- ing to Bed-Polled cattle. Clean, thin, short legs; a clean throat with little dewlap; a springing rib. with large carcass; a large udder, loose and creased when empty; milk veins very large and rising in knotted pull's to I tre points in a good Red-Polled cow. Animals. Average weight at maturity. 12 Bull - . do . 16 Ox An 14 Font years. dpurc: Ono hundred years. I of milk : 11,250 pounds. not o/ butler : .'Jj pounds to 1 pound butter. Troduct. Quantity. 1 072 11 250 do 336 rn pastnre. t routs, turnips and cake, years. I rj e grass ; no timothy. 1G4 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Weights of Devon cattle.— -The following arc some of the weights of live cattle of this breed, as recorded by Mr. Euren: No. Age. Weight. Length from point to shoulder. Total length. Girth. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 13 Tears. 9 5 6ft G 8 3 3 7 8 3 G 9 S1 23 Founds. 2,093 1,314 1,320 1.43G 1,427 1,281 1,354 1,514 1,650 1, 350 1,472 1,G49 1,358 1,1*7 1,464 It. In. 5 2 4 B 4 o 4 11 5 0 Ft In. 7 10 0 9 Ft. In. 7 10 G 9 G 4 G 8 G 7 6 0 5 2 6 8 G G 4 8 4 7 4 11 G 7 G 9 G 7 7 1 G 10 Also average daily yield of milk iu pound s: • No. Date of calving. u s ,2 a a ~~SM»_J^l'fi&&^L^l^Rg . * "*v^®^^^^s^SBH - *(■&-' H ■-•• £»& — i^B m-S -- ! ' 2 & .;■ iHBSfc. '.". ^^H ms?" ? '< ' 4f jfc^ ■ t^-JmL. .jtnM X*.. 1* i ■■- * - i i :- THE UNITED KINGDOM. 167 small island, which is only 12 miles long by 6 miles broad, and, what ia most remarkable, it exports every year above 2,000 head of cattle. The Jersey cow is specially adapted for the dairy, yielding a quality of milk so rich that no other can be compared to it. But the specialty is butter, and in this it stands unrivaled for quality and profit. Description. — The head should be small, slender, and lengthy from the eye to nose; the horns thin and open, not cramped or too curly; the eye full but not too prominent ; the ear lengthy and broad and well fringed with hair : a broad muzzle should be avoided ; the neck should be long, flat, and narrow, with a tendency to rise at the withers, and breadth behind the arm to allow of a full expansion of the lungs, the chest being rather deep than broad. The flat-sided cow is more espe- cially to be chosen as a milker; the hips should be wide, rugged, and high, and the haunches wide and large, drooping toward' the tail ; the thigh long and lean from hip to hock, the veins being prominent and easily felt ; the legs slender with flat bone and small, flat feet, the hinder ones having good width between, to afford room for the ujlder : a long and thin tail is a great point in breeding. This is a general description of the breed, but the Jersey Agricultural Society have a standard of points by which they judge an animal. Color. — They are gray-fawn and white, yellow-fawn and white, gray- dun and white, gray and white, silver-gray dun, cream-color fawn, &c. Animals. Average weight at maturity. Cow cwt.. 8 Bull do... 12 Ox Age at maturity .- Four to five 3 .- Fivo hundred years. Annual average pounds of mUk : Seven thousand. MilkU .- Twenty pounds to 1 pound butter. Milk to pounds of cheese : None made. Product. Quantity. 750 Milk 7,000 None. \ Chceso Tsabnr : Little or n©» 1 at night and tethered by day., irnips, &.c. en months. Grasps : Trefoil. Lucerne, clover, rye. The follov some of the famous yields of Jerseys as published by Mr. E. P. Fowler, of Southampton : Y>cld of butter per week when in full flow. iber. Quantity. Number. Quantity. 1 Lbs. oz. 28 0 20 13 20 0 19 8 19 0 18 12 18 4 8... Lbs. oz. 18 0 17 9 17 0 16 12 16 0 15 13 14 0 2 9 . 3 10 j 4 11 5 12 "!.\"1!".".".".."".".*!^".".".""".*" 13 14.- ..—*; 0 7 Cream test, 32 degrees. 168 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Decrease of stock. — Einderpest or foot and mouth disease has never appeared in the island. The decrease is owing to the great number exported of late years to America, where the breed is highly prized. Price. — From $200 to some thousands, according to pedigree. Topography. — The surface of the island is everywhere undulating. The high land consists, for the most part, of granite rocks ; the south- ern part, of a mass of schistose rocks incumbent upon granite. Temperature. — The climate of Jersey from its insular situation is milder than that of other places under the same latitude, and the mean temperature, which is 53°, is higher than that of any part of England. In summer it is 61°, and in winter 42°. AYRSHIRE CATTLE. This breed is found in Ayrshire, Scotland (whence it derives its name), and the adjacent portion of the Lowlands. It is an admirable breed of milch cattle, rather under the middle size, but hardy, and yielding ex- cellent milk in large quantities. Description and color. — The improved cow has the head small, but rather long and narrow at the nozzle, though the space between the roots of the horns is considerable; the horns are small and crooked; the eye is clear and lively ; the neck long and slender and almost destitute of a dewlap; the shoulders are thin and the forequarters generally light; the back is straight and broad behind, especially across the hips, which are roomy; the tail is long and thin; the carcass is deep ; the udder capacious and square ; the milk vein large and prominent ; the limbs are small and short, but well knit ; the thighs are thin ; the skin is rather thin, but loose and soft and covered with short hair ; the general figure, though small, is well proportioned ; the prevailing color is mottled red and white. Product. Weight Aanual averace production of milk... Milk to pounds of buttur pounds . . 9,000 35 Milk to pounds of cheese do.... 16 A verago -weight at maturity : Cow 12 Bull do 16 Ox «v> 18 Age at maturity : Four to five years. How Ion j bred pure: One hundred years. Product.— & good cow will yield from 9,000 to 10,000 pounds milk. This milk is calculated to return about 250 pounds butter or 500 pounds cheese per year. Treatment. — The cows are treated by enterprising farmers as fol- lows: They are kept constantly in the byre (or shed) till the grass has risen to afford them a full bite. Many put them out every good day through the winter and spring, but they poach the ground with their feet and rip up the young grass as it begins to spring, which, as they have not a full meal, injures the cattle. Whenever the weather becomes dry and hot the cows are fed on cut grass in the byre from G in the morning to 6 in the evening and turned out to pasture the other hours; when rain comes the house feeding is discontinued ; when pas- ture grass begins to fail in harvest they receive a supply of the second growth of clover, and afterwards of turnips strewed over the pasture ground ; when the weather becomes stormy in the fall of the year the THE UNITED KINGDOM. 169 cows are kept in the byre daring the night, and in a short time after- wards both night and day ; they are then fed on oat straw and turnips; they continue to yield a considerable quantity of milk for some time ; part of the turnip crop is eaten at the end of harvest and beginning of winter to protract the milk, and part is stored up for green food during the winter; after this store is exhausted the "Swedish" turnip and potatoes are used along with any fodder till the grass can support the cows. Chaff, oats, and potatoes are boiled for the cows after calving, and they are generally fed on rye grass during the latter part of the spring. Price. — The average price for good cows is from $122 to $146. The county of Ayrshire is for the most part plain open country, neither hilly nor level, but rising from the shore in a gradual easy ac- clivity till it terminates in mountains on the southeast, and moorish hills on eastern boundaries. No part can be termed level, for the sur- face abounds with numerous swells and roundish hills which facilitate the escape of moisture and promote ventilation. Climate. — For more than two-thirds of the year the wind blows from the southwest, and the rains are often copious and sometimes of long duration. The temperature is 59° in summer, 37° in winter, and the mean during the year 47°. Soils.— Clay, or argillaceous earth, is the most common. This species is so tenacious that it can only be plowed in a state of moisture, but by application of lime and other manure it is convertible/into fine rich loam, thousands of acres having been thus treated. Loam of alluvial forma- tion is found in holms on the sides of rivers and other low situations. Tho substratum in the higher parts of the county abound in unmixed granite, while also is found breccia whins-tone, greenstone, and red sandstone. EXPORTATION OP BRITISH CATTLE TO TIIE UNITED STATES. All of the breeds here treated are said to have greatly improved in the Unittd States, where the conditions of climate and soil have been favorable The best animals to import are the pure breeds, and choice should bo made according to the needs and fancy of the importer and the circum- stances of the climate, &c, of his grazing lands. For dairy purposes, having regard to cost of keeping, the preference seems to \e for the Alderney, Ayrshire, and Welsh, while the Short- horn and Red-Polled excel both for milk and beef producing qualities. As a general farm stock the Devon, Hereford, Polled, Aberdeen or Angus, and Sussex are pre-eminently admired for beauty, size, and flesh- making qualities. As to tie best methods, best routes, and cost of transportation, Mr. De la Perielle writes as follows : Tho loss tlrough mortality, an important item, I have found can "be overcome by proiiting by the experience of practical shippers. My experience, which has extended, over many yivars, has proved that personal and practical attention is amply repaid from tho fad that tho loss of cattle shipped by me has not exceeded 1 per cent. Many shippers findi therefore, difficulty to obtain marine insurance, and the rates rule high from tho faci of their not attending and insisting upon the details of properly stall- ing cattle onboard steamers, cheapness in this particular being false economy. As to the route, some are shipped from London, Southampton, Bristol Channel, Liver- pool, and Glasgow, but I would give the preference to Liverpool, as I consider it offers greater faciltties for shipping than any other port. Tho freight per head is from $25 to $35, according to destination, but I ship sometimes at a much lower rate when thero is a largo nutiber of animals to ship, and I reckon the cost of food en route for pedigree stock to be about 36 cents per day. 170 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. WHERE TO PURCHASE BRITISH CATTLE. The following may be of interest to intending purchasers as showing the places and dates where most of the animals of the reported breeds may be seen and purchased : West Highland and Scotch cattle generally are shown in large num- bers at Falkirk trysts (or fairs) second Monday In September and Oc- tober, when from 20,000 to 30,000 are shown ; at Muir of Ord fairs, Inverness, and all Scotch fairs ; also at Newcastle October, fairs ; at Stagshaw, in the same county; at Brough Hill, Westmoreland; at the Norwich markets, and at Barnet fair on the first week in September, and Worth am pton August 26. Galloways are met with at all the fairs in south and west of Scotland ; at Carlisle, Penrith, Eosley Hill on Whit Monday, Brough Hill, and Newcastle fairs. Shorthorns: The fairs at Newcastle-on-Tyne, Durham, Darlington, Yarm in Yorkshire (October 19 and 20), Northallerton, Northampton, Boston in Lincolnshire, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire are remark- able in theif several districts for this breed. Of these Newcastle, Dar- lington, and Yarm are probably the best. Herefords : The best shows of this stock are at the fairs in Hereford- shire in the month of October at the great market in Hereford itself, October 20; at Leominster in March and October 27; at the fairs in Monmouth and in Boss great numbers of well-bred animals are shown. Among the other fairs those of Shrewsbury, Wolverhampton, Birming- ham, Gloucester, and Barnet in Hertfordshire, are noteworthy. Devons are shown in their own county at South Molton, Saturday after February 13 ; Orediton, Saturday before last Wednesday ir April ; Sampford-Peveril,' the following Monday ; Exeter, February io, May 19, July 21, December 8 ; North Molton, third Wednesday in May and last Wednesday in October; at Barnet fair, first week in September; Bough- ton Green, Northampton, June 24, 25, and 26. Sussex cattle are rarely met with out of their own county and its neighborhood (Lewis, May G). Channel Islands : One of the best fairs for this stock (Jerseys) is Southampton, Trinity Monday. Ayrshires are met with in abundance at the fairs in the sourh western counties of Scotland, the principal probably being Ayr (last Friday in April) for cows, barren and in calf, and young cattle. I have the honor to transmit herewith tabulated summary of the special points of information called for by the Department's form sent me. STEPHEN B. PACKARD, Consul. United States Consulate, Liverpool, January 28, 1885. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 171 Tabulated summary of the special Greeds of British cattle reported ly Consul Packard, ireed. Annual pounda Milk to pounds Milk to pounds of cheese. Great Britain. Livo weight. Age at ma- of milk. of butter. Habitat. Cow. Bull. Ox. turity. 11; 500 40 Yorkshire, &c Cwt. 16 to 18 9 14 to 17 12lo14 12 11 13 to 14 8 12 Ciot. 18 to 20 12 15 to 20 1G to 20 10 Cict. 20 to 22 11 17 to 20 20 to 22 14 Years. 3 (*) 2 to 4 . Sic Hereford, stock until it becomes so fat as to be literally useless for any other purpose than to take a prize. Mr. McDonald, in his report to the Koyal Agricultural Society upon the stock exhibited at the society's meeting at York in July, 1883, says on this point: Overfeeding has been disappearing somewhat in recent years. There is still too much of it, however. He says elsewhere : Preparation for modern show yards is a severe ordeal and only good constituted animals can endure it. It leads to many breeding mishaps and failures ; but when one finds the sires and dams of so many of the prize-winners themselves in prize-lists, as was the case at York, one is forced 4o the conclusion that successful showing and breeding go hand in baud to a considerable extent and to a larger degree than is commonly imagined; and one is led to believe that high feeding is not so detrimental in skillful s to successful breeding as is generally imagined. Herefords, and only Herefords, are found in Herefordshire, Shrop- shire, Monmouthshire, Radnorshire, Breconshire, and also in Worces- tershire and Montgomeryshire. Large numbers are also found in Corn- wall and Ireland, and there are herds of them in many other counties. They are seldom crossed with the Short-horn, though' they are said to blend well when it is done ; the same statement holds good with the diires. Hereford on Devon has been tried, resulting in a progeny ior in some respects. Hereford on Alderney is said to produce satisfactory results, improving the cow of the first, cross as a feeder and not injuring her milk in quantity or quality. A cross with the West Highland Kyloe was a failure, but with Galloway Polls was a great suc- cess. These statements of the results of Hereford crosses are taken from a prize essay for the Royal Agricultural Society made by the late H. H. Dixon, a notable authority on such matters when alive. 17G CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Evidence establishes beyond question that the Hereford when re- moved to almost any climate does not degenerate as a beef producer. The females, too, of* the breed are found most satisfactory for the dairy, under different conditions than can be found in their home countries. Both of these conclusions are contrary to an opinion I have heard many express to the effect that Herefords deteriorate away from home. But I have observed that while such an opinion seems very general, it is maintained by those without special knowledge of the breed, and I think it an inherited prejudice which a little investigation would dis- prove to the satisfaction of the holder. "Old prejudices die hard" is true and trite. In Bedfordshire and Dorset herds have been main- tained for many years, fifty in some cases, and these herds are fully up to the standard of the homebred ones; in every case, that is, in which due care has been taken to get an occasional infusion of fresh blood. In the wet and changeable climate of Cornwall the breed is established largely and maintains its reputation, though Devons aud Short-horns are said to deteriorate there. In the counties near London, Surrey, Cambridge, and Kent, Herefords have done well ; also in Wales and Scotland. They withstand the severe climate of the latter country without seeming difficulty, and will live where many Short-horns cannot. In Ireland they are much esteemed and their number is constantly in creasing. They maintain in all these places their characteristics of early development and rapid and even fattening. The breed seems to stand the heat with the same indifference it does the cold. In Jamaica the progeny of some imported Hereford bulls have proved the most valuable and useful stock in the island ; and the heat of Australia has not affected in the slightest degree the character- istics of the large number of Herefords there. Of their success in the United States I shall speak farther on. I have thus far considered the Herefords mainly as a butcher's breed. I will now speak of their qualifications for the dairy. In the shire of Dorset, one of the crack dairy districts of England, producing a butter much sought after,* there are many Hereford dairy herds. The owner of the largest of these herds wrote twenty years since as follows : Our herd of Herefords have been established nearly thirty years, and so far from their being degenerated with us they are much improved, aud Hereford dairies are becom- ing very common in this county. In proof that they are good for milk with us, wo let nearly 100 cows todairy people, and if I buy one of aay other breed to till up'tho dairy, they always grumble, and would rather have one of our own bred heifers. Onr system is, wo let our cows at so much per year,*nnding them in land and mak- ing the hay ; the calves being reared by hand with skim milk and linseed until three months old, when we take them, and allow a quarter's rent of the cow for the calf at that age ; they are then turned into the pasture.' The proprietor of this herd and writer of this letter was Mr. James, of Blandford, Dorset. His son writes me under date January 19, 1S84, that the same system is still pursued and that the Herefords are as great a success as ever. He says : My late father and myself have kept and bred Herefords for dairy cows for forty- eight years and have always used the best blood we could get. I have wou a num- ber of prizes for "dairy cows" and " dairy cows and offspring" against Devons and Short-horns. Mr. James further says : In a cold, wet, sour place there is nothing like the Herefords ; their good coats are a protection in the winter. The butter that is made is a splendid color and taste. * So much appreciated is this Dorset butter, that to my personal knowledge it is a common practice for retailers in Bristol to call certain tine grades of Normandy but- ter Dorset butter. They say it is about the same and helps the sale. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 177 There are lots of Tlereford dairies iu this county. In the year 1881 I sold two bulls to cross Short-horns, and I know parties who have crossed Hereford** with Short-horns and have como back again to tho Herefords. Mr. White writes me from Wiltshire as follows : I keep a dairy of ninety pure bred Hereford cows, which breed has been kept on this farm for the last sixty years, and I have at all times endeavored to obtain the milkiest strain I could, and I think I have now a herd of cows more adapted to dairy purposes than any other Hereford herd in this country, I have made fair trials between the Hereford and Short-horn as to prolit, and I give my decided preference to the former. The testimony from these two herds is the most valuable that could possibly be obtained as to the dairy capabilities of the breed, as they are the largest, and have been longest established of any in existence. I have received letters similar in tenor to the above from various smaller breeders in different counties, and I have not been able to dis- cover an instance where breeders or dairymen have changed back to other breeds after starting in with Herefords. I had hoped to send with this report some figures giving actual milk and butter products, &c, but I must leave them for a supplementary report, as I have al- ready detained this one oyer a month, waiting for the promised sta- tistics. But it is not so much as milkers that the United States are' interested in the breed, but as beef producers ; and that in this capac- ity they are indeed largely interested will be proved when I say that the extraordinary demand for pedigree Herefords from the United States in the last few years has so increased the price of these cattle that the Hereford breeders are looked upon with envy by other breed- ers throughout the kingdom as having " struck a bonanza." That Herefords will repay a large expenditure is undeniable. Their tremen- dous development of flesh, their activity as feeders, their insensibility to changes of climate, their hardiness, their quiet and placid tempers, are just precisely the qualities needed for the improvement of our West- ern, Texas, and " Spanish n cattle. Their bulls, too, have a marvelous faculty of impressing their qualities on their get, and there is many a half-breed Hereford which is absolutely indistinguishable in appearance and quality from a pure bred one, so completely is the influence of the dam eliminated. Another point. The Hereford is specially strong just where our Western cattle are weak, viz, in the development of the flesh on the back. The back of a well ripened Hereford steer has been compared to a table, and the back of a Texas steer to a wedge. Volumes could not say more. There were two remarkable sales of Herefords during the past year ; one, the dispersal of Mr. Pitt's herd at Chadnor Court, and the other the dispersal of Mr. Turner's herd at Leen. Mr. Pitt established his herd in 1842 from four celebrated cows of the day. I present a little statement of the amounts received by Mr. Pitt at this sale. Number of animals. Value. Average. $13, 450 00 4, 961 63 7,818 05 1,113 67 3. 995 87 2, 800 00 $120 00 198 47 651 50 371 22 *jr> calves 12 i wo-year old heifers '.i two-Year-old heifers ; 12 yearlings 7 bulls 400 00 Ninety-one animals averaged about $375 each. The average of $651.50 for twelve two-year-old heifers has never be- fore been equalled in England in any breed. H. Ex. 51 12 178 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Mr. Turner's herd has been established for about eighty years, his grandfather being the founder. Since 1854 Mr. Turner has won with individuals of his herd 111 first prizes, 60 second prizes, 11 third, besides 52 special prizes. He received an average of $369 apiece for his animals, his cows and calves averaging a little higher. These two herds were exceptionally fine and had a wide celebrity. Many of the animals went to the United States, making, with all others forwarded, a total of 1,800 pedigree Herefords sent to the United States from February 1, 1883, to February 1, 1884. This includes one lot of 300 sent to Baltimore in January of this present year. The question naturally comes up now, whether this demand for the Herefords is a fancy or a fashion, likely to die out and let down prices. It is worth considering. I have said that the principal demand for the Herefords in the United States was as beef makers, but I did not intend at all to intimate that their merits as milkers were overlooked. On the contrary many breeders in the United States are enthusiastic over them as a dairy breed and quite a number of wealthy men are forming herds. Some go so far as to claim that the Hereford is the coming breed, which is going to carry all before it, and that the Short-horn will eventually fall before the Middle-horn, just as the Long-horn went down in the past. The high esteem in which the breed is held in the United States and the growing appreciation of its merits which exists in England preclude, it seems to me, the possibility of a fall in prices in the near future or in fact for many years. It is even possible that for a time prices may go higher than now. A gentleman writes me from Hereford County thus : I am now looking out for a lot (of pedigree Hereford cattle for America) ; they are more difficult to get, as the demand has been great and prices are much higher. HOW TO EXPORT HEREFORDS. By far the larger proportion of theHerefords sent to the United States go via Liverpool, though several large herds have been sent by way of Bristol. I am of the opinion that in many cases better facilities could be obtained via Bristol than are obtained via Liverpool. One reason I have for this opinion is the fact that several of the steamers plying in the lines from Bristol to New York are unusually high between decks, and extremely well lighted and ventilated — an important matter. Another advantage is that cattle can be brought from Hereford in the cars directly alongside of the ship's deck. The Great Western Railway Company quote the following to me as about their average rates for transporting cattle from the town of Here- ford to Bristol or to Avonmouth docks (a port of Bristol) : Half wagon-load consisting of 4 cattle , $5 40 Small wagon-load consisting of 7 fat cattle 8 '20 Medium wagon-load consisting of 8 fat cattle 9 23 Large wagon-load, unlimited (holding about 10) 11 00 The Great Western Steamship Company, plying between Bristol and Kew York, inform me that their rates average from $25 to $30 per full- grown animal. The ship provides water and stalls, and their bills of lading contain this clause: " Ship not accountable for mortality or acci- dent from any cause whatever." A herd of one hundred and nine Here- ford cattle was carried on this line some time ago at the following rates : Cows and heifers, $24.33 each: calves, $12.16 each: sucking calves, $4.86 each. A herd of fine Jersey cattle carried on this line subsequently, when freights were higher, paid an average of $30.50 each for full-grown animals. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 179 In order to take proper care of valuable cattle in ocean transit, there should be one man for each twelve cattle. Competent men for this pur- pose can be hired in England for about 61.25 per day and all expenses paid, including a pass back to the port of departure. When a steamer gives a rate for carrying cattle, the pass over and back for a certain number of cattle-tenders is included. The foreman in charge of the tenders would of course get more than $1.25 per day, but in most cases he is the American agent or buyer, or is connected in some permanent capacity with the farm or the bus! uch cattle of course are insured to their full val ; . iy, andare admitted, being breeding animals, into the United States free of duty. Certificates from a veterinary surgeon and from the consul at the point of depart- ure invariably accompany sucli CQl nt. HEREFORDS IN THE UNITED STATES. Any account of Herefords in the United States would be incomplete without mention in connection therewith of the name of Mr. T. L. Miller, of Beecher, 111. lie was 1 he first , or one of the first, to perceive what a boon to the stock of the United States the almost unknown Hereford would be, and for years ho has persistently and enthusiastically ad- vocated htm in his Live-Stock Journal. In 1873 he imported from Here- ford a two-year-old heifer, Dolly Varden, with a calf at foot. She has brought alive calf every year since, one of the first being the bull Sue- Cess, "hitherto acknowledged as the best Hereford bull in the United States, and still alive and active. Dolly Varden and Success have been repeatedly exhibited and never beaten, whilst the get of Success has in several instances brought $1,000 per head." The Hereford Times, of October IS, 1SS3, says: To tins purchase of Dolly Varden and her calf, combined with the indomitable energy and perseverance of Mr. Miller, tho brisk demand, present high favor and re- pute hi which Hereford cattle are held is attributable. .Mr. Miller's neighbors in Illinois are following his example in import- ing Herefords. Messrs. G. Leigh & Co., of Beecher, 111., have bought eight animals within the past few weeks from the herd at Felbampton Court; Mr. Culbertson, of Chicago, two; and Mr. J. V. Farwell, also of Chicago, sixteen, all from the same herd. , ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. In conclusion, I wish to acknowledge the extreme courtesy with which my requests for information have been responded to by the breeders of Herefords. It is not always easy for a consul to obtain information. His requests sometimes are met with discourtesy, sometimes with in- dillereuce ; but in this case only five letters out of about a hundred and thirty-five dispatched by me remained unanswered. In every case in which I had a personal interview with Hereford men, except one, every facility was placed at my disposal for a thorough investigation. I have t<> acknowledge, especially, the kindness^in counection with this report, of Thomas Diickhain, esq., M. P.; of S. W. Urwick, esq., secretary of the Hereford herd -book; of J. Boweu Jones, esq., of Shropshire; of Lord Moreton, M. P.; of E. G. Clarke, esq., of Bristol; and of K. J. Hine, esq., assistant secretary of the Smith field Club. LOPJN ANDREWS LATHEOP, Consul, United States Consulate, Bristol, January, 31, 183d. 180 CATTLE * AND - DAISY * FARMING. A table prepared by Consul Lathrop, of Bristol, showing the respective weights of the cattle exhibited at the eighty-sixth annual show of the Smithfield Club, December, 1883. STEERS NOT EXCEEDING TWO YEARS OLD. Herefords. Short- horns. Derons. Sussex. Red-Polled breed. Scotch Highland breed. Scotch Polled breed. Cross-bred cattle. Owt. qr. lbs. It 1 10 13 0 12 14 0 20 12 2 24 13 3 18 12 0 20 Owt. qr. lbs. 12 0 20 13 1 14 13 3 4 12 2 23 12 2 26 11 1 10 12 0 25 12 0 0 Owt. qr. lbs. 10 2 10 10 1 14 9 0 10 8 2 0 9 3 23 10 0 20 8 3 20 Owt. qr. lbs. 12 2 24 13 2 25 11 1 8 12 0 2 12 1 8 12 2 25 13 3 0 Owt. qr. lbs. Owt. qr. lbs. Owt qr. lbs. Owt. qr. lbs. 13 2 24 11 2 14 11 3 22 13 0,0 12 3 27 12 0 21 12 1 20 STEERS ABOVE TWO AND NOT EXCEEDING THREE YEARS OLD. 15 1 4 15 1 6 17 0 24 15 2 21 16 1 4 15 3 12 15 0 24 14 3 22 16 0 16 18 2 5 16 3 10 14 1 21 17 1 0 17 2 26 17 3 8 17 1 4 18 0 10 16 2 20 18 2 4 18 3 8 19 0 27 34 1 4 12 1 22 12 2 2 13 3 6 14 3 10 15 1 9 12 3 0 14 3 12 13 3 20 15 0 4 19 0 5 18 3 24 14 0 20 18 0 0 16 0 2 12 2 0 12 1 24 14 0 18 16 2 26 16 3 8 16 2 20 13 2 20 16 0 8 15 0 15 16 1 4 14 2 10 18 1 10 19 0 20 16 3 5 17 0 21 17 1 4 17 1 4 18 0 22 17 2 6 15 3 26 10 0 24 17 0 16 17 0 16 STEERS ABOYE THREE AND NOT EXCEEDING FOUR YEARS OLD. 17 3 14 18 2 16 19 3 0 19 1 20 18 2 10 17 2 6 17 2 6 15 3 20 14 2 7 14 0 18 17 1 22 13 2 2 20 1 0 18 3 2 15 1 20 17 3 6 15 3 20 15 3 14 13 2 10 17 0 0 21 0 23 19 0 22 17 1 0 19 1 24 19 3 3 20 2 20 HEIFERS NOT EXCEEDING FOUR YEARS OLD. 17 0 18 17 0 26 18 3 27 18 1 5 IG 3 12 10 3 20 16 1 10 15 3 18 15 8 20 10 0 14 14 0 1 13 3 12 12 1 20 12 0 0 13 0 2 36 3 14 14 0 8 14 0 18 17 3 19 33 3 2 14 3 26 12 1 24 13 3 22 9 2 18 14 1 10 17 2 22 31 1 6 33 1 5 13 3 16 14 0 18 17 3 20 13 3 10 COWS ABOYE FOUR YEARS OLD. 20 3 2 21 0 0 19 2 12 18 1 8 19 1 18 17 0 8 16 3 14 13 3 0 12 1 13 17 1. 4 13 1 10 13 3 15 16 0 16 16 2 6 15 3 10 14 0 21 20 0 5 17 2 24 14 3 4 13 0 14 14 0 5 13 2 10 11 3 12 11 1 0 19 3 0 17 2 20 14 2 24 17 3 15 - THE UNITED KINGDOM. 181 HEREFORDSHIRE AND HEREFORD CATTLE. REPORT PREPARED FOR COXSVL DOOKERY, OF LEEDS, BY MR. JOHN EERSLET FOWLER,* PREBENDAL FARM, AYLESBURY. DESCRIPTION OF HEREFORDSHIRE. Ill writing an account of this very valuable and beautiful tribe of cattle, it is necessary to give a description of the county which gives its name to the breed, and also of the soil and climate, as well as the general characteristics of the district, as this particular breed of cattle is specially adapted to certain localities in England, and, although I will not venture to affirm that they will not thrive under other climatic and geological circumstances than their own county, from my own per- sonal experience I find that they are more adapted for those districts winch partake more or less of the character of Herefordshire. This county is situated in the west midland district of England, ad- joining the Welsh counties, and is bounded on the north by Shropshire, on the east by Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, on the south by Monmouthshire, and on the west by Eadnorshire and Breconshire. It will, therefore, be seen that it has no sea coast, but the river Wye run- ning through the county gives it communication with the sea, through the Bristol Channel. It is well supplied with railway communication, the Midland giving it a direct route to the north, and the Great West- ern to the south and west, and also to the metropolis. The city of Hereford itself is, also, connected with the Northwestern line, via Mal- vern and Worcester, thus giving the county every means of supplying the various grazing districts of England with numbers of excellent store cattle, as also for the dispatch of fat animals to the markets of the great metropolis and the teemiug populations of the many thriving towns in the north. The soil of the county is varied, the larger portion is a red clay, as also strong loam. Around the town of Ross, where some of the choicest specimens of the breed are found, the soil is a loamy gravel or light loam. The old red sandstone forms also a considerable portion of the county, and some of the hills axe limestone. The valleys are particu- larly adapted for the feeding of cattle, as they are moist and rich, and the soil is of a mixed character, from the continuous washing away of the hills, and the debris finding its way to the lower grounds, and form- ing a rich alluvial deposit well suited for the production of the finest grasses. The hill-sides and higher portions of the county are eminently suited for the breeding and rearing of cattle, and the comparative mild- ness of the climate is favorable for the health and early development of the calves. The acreage of the county is 532,890 acres, divided into or about the following proportions: Orchards, 27,000 ; woodlands, 37,000; and the remainder for agricult- ural operations. According to the last Government returns there were under — Acres. Corn crops 95,299 Green crops 32,813 Clover and rotation grasses 34, 108 Permanent pasture 265, 661 Bare fallow 11,247 Hops 6,416 * Juror at the Paris Exposition of 1878. T82, CATTLE AND VAUIY FARMING. It will therefore be seen that the permanent pasture far exceeds all the other portions of I jmp together, The population in 1881 was 11S,147. Very few of the people are employed in manufactures, but many find employment in the autumn in hop and fruit gathering. THE GREAT CATTLE PAIR IN HEREFORD. The city of Hereford is situated somewhere near the center of the county, and is in latitude 52° 4' north, and longitude 2° 54/ west. The climate is on the whole temperate. The city is small, and has been the seat of a bishopric from the earliest times, for more than twelve hun- dred years. The cathedral is very beautiful, but does not rank among the largest of the English fanes. It has portions of Norman work in it, and since its restoration has been made one of the handsomest in- teriors in the Kingdom. The city proper is rather poor, but some of the streets and the market place are large and spacious, and at fair time their appearance is very wonderful, every portion of the streets, even up to the cathedral yard itself, is crowded with the u white-faced beau* ties" of the county; while Shropshire, Monmouthshire, Breconshire, and even Gloucestershire send their contingents. It is indeed a remark- able sight, being different to anything of its class in England, as the thousands of cattle brought together are all of one type, deep brownish- reds with white faces, and some other portions of the body and tips of tail white. There is no interspersing of Shorthorns or other breeds, an occasional Devon is seen, but that seems to be an accident, and the shouting of drovers, the bellowing of the cattle, and the general hum of conversation whilst the deals are made, forma singular and very amus- ing sight. The great fair takes place in the third week in October, and as many as from 8,000 to 9,000 head of cattle have been brought for sa3e during that time. Some years ago dealers like Carwandine, Pardiug- ton, Jones, Knight, and Price were accustomed to bring some hundreds, and generally sold them to the graziers of the midlands or to other dealers Avho brought them up to the great markets at Banbury, Ayles- bury, and Northampton', where there was always a ready sale. The trade now seems quite changed, and but few good animals ever reach the midland markets, as the graziers themselves go down by rail in a few hours and buy largely of the breeders, or dealers, who get together on their own premises lots of from 30 to 100 for their selection, and it is only rarely that men can be suited at the old markets. HISTORY OF THE HEREFORD BREED. I am greatly indebted to the writings of the late Mr. Dixon, a well- known agricultural writer, for much of the information contained in this paper, as well as to my good friend Mr. Duckham, member of Par- liament for Herefordshire, who was the editor of the Hereford Herd- Book, and who has done as much, or perhaps more than any other man, to bring this noble race of cattle prominently before the public at the present time, who has given me much valuable information, and I can- not do wrong in quoting from these most reliable authorities for many statements which I shall make in this paper. I will also give my own personal experience as a grazier, and judge at the royal and other agricultural shows, where I had many opportunities of getting well acquainted with this breed. Old Fuller, who was a quaint writer of more than two hundred years ago, says of Herefordshire, "that it doth share as deep as any county in THE UNITED KINGDOM. 183 the alphabet of our English commodities, though exceeding in W. for wood, wheat, wool, and water," and M that its wheat was worthy to jostle in pureness with that of Heston, in Middlesex, which furnished man- chets for the kings of England, and its Wye salmon were in season all the year long." And before his day u painful Master Camden" described the county as "not willingly content to be accounted secondshire for matters of fruitf illness." Yet both writers are silent as to cattle, and Drayton sang of " fair Suffolk's maids and milk," of the hogs of Hamp- shire, the calves of Essex, and how Rich Buckingham doth hear Tho name of "Bread and Beef;" yet he says nothing of these attributes of Herefordshire. Many writers were of opinion that the Herefords were descended from cattle from Devon and Normandy, which were of a deep reddish brown color, and that the white faces were an accident from a singular sport of the breeding of a white-faced bull by a noted breeder of the last cen- tury, Mr. Tully, of Huntington, near Hereford. The story I have heard related as follows: That the cow-man came to him, on his coming out of church one Sunday, and told him that his favorite cow, who was daily expecting to calve, had produced a bull-calf with a white face, and this had never been known before. Eeport says the master ordered it at once to be killed, as he dared not let it be known that he had such a stain of blood in his well-known herd: but the man begged him to go and see it, as it was the finest calf he had ever seen. Mr. Tully, when he had seen it, agreed with his man that it was a wonder, and that he would, out of curiosity, rear it. He did so, and he proved to be a very remarkably fine animal, and he used him on all his best cows, and his progeny became celebrated for their white faces. Many old chroniclers say that the county was noted for its breed of white cattle on the banks of the Wye as far back as the tenth century, but they had red ears, and it is recorded that Lord Scudamore in, or about the year 1GG0, in- troduced some red cows, with white faces, from Flanders, and this may have been the reason that the noted Tully bull, after a lapse of more than a hundred years, might have cropped up, as asporr, from the well- known deep red cattle of the country. It must not be considered that the white face is the only type of the purity of this breed, as the mot- tled face is considered by many breeders as of greater value than tho pure white, and 1 can myself testify that some of the finest cattle I ever grazed, and some of the best I ever saw, have been mottled-faced and light-brindled; in fact those of the last-named type have shown the greatest aptitude to fatten, on the grass, of any, and many graziers have told me the same. Mr. Eyton, of Eyton Hall, Salop, was the founder of the Hereford Herd-Book in 1845, and when he commenced it, he found it necessary to divide the Herefords into four distinct classes, viz, the mottled-faced, the dark-gray, the light-gray or white, and the red with whiteface. Yet, after the lapse of only thirty-eight years, people question the purity of the breed, if they have not the characteristics of the well-known white ■ and markings. Mr. Duckham says, " the present uniformity of the color is due to the influence of the bull," and this is a remarkable corroboration of my views, expressed in a paper on " Breeding, facts and principles," which I read at a meeting of the Central Farmers' Club, some few years since, 184 CATTLE AND DAIEY FARMING. when I propounded the dictum (which, by the bye, was not new), " that the male exercised the external characteristics, and the internal organ- ization followed the female," in nearly every class of animal. Long be- fore the commencement of the herd-book the Herefords had made •* a reputation and a name," by being continually successful at the Smith- field Club annual fat cattle show, from its establishment, in 1799, by Mr. Westcar, of Creslow, near Aylesbury, Bucks, and who, for twenty years in succession, won the premium prize with a Hereford ox, against all kinds of cattle. I had not an opportunity of knowing Mr. Westcar, as he died before my day, but I had been for many years on intimate terms with his relative and successor, Mr. li. Eowland, who gave me many interesting stories of Mr. Westcar, and who was, undoubtedly, the first man to bring the Herefords to the front, against all the world. I re- member Mr. Rowland telling me, whilst standing in the midst of the far-famed Creslow Great Ground, and on the spot, marked by a clump of trees, where Mr. Westcar's lifeless body was found, he having fallen dead from his horse, how the Duke of Bedford, in the latter part of the last century, went down with Mr. Westcar to Hereford in his carriage and four post-horses, taking two days for the journey, and stopping one night on the road at the well-known country inn, the Staple Hall, at Witney, and accompanied by Lord Berners, in another carriage and four, with some ladies and other members of their families, to attend the great fair at Hereford, and where the duke desired Mr. Westcar to order dinner for a hundred persons at the principal hotel, and to in- vite all the more celebrated breeders and dealers to meet him. He de- scribed the aunoyance of some of the dealers at the noblemen being brought down to see these grand bullocks, which they had only seen in the Creslow pastures, as it had had the effect of raising the price of the cattle in the fair at least £1 per head. After dinner his grace and Lord Berners announced their desire to have from ten to twenty of the best cows that could be found and two bulls, to bring into Bedford- shire, there to establish a herd on their estates. Lord Berners, who was a breeder of Loughorns, gave up the breed and took to Here- fords. This visit of the Duke of Bedford, with the continued success of the breed in the show yard, at Smithfielcl, by Mr. Westcar, brought them prominently into notice, and firmly established their merits. Sir Brandreth Gibbs, the honorary secretary of the Smithfield Club, in his history of the club, states that at their first show Mr. Westcar's prize ox measured 8 feet 11 inches long, 6 feet 7 inches high, 10 feet 4 inches girth, and that he was sold for 100 guineas. This animal was bred by Mr. Tully, of Huntington, and weighed 247 stone, dead weight, S pounds to the stone. Enormous as the dimensions of this ox were, they were far exceeded by another Hereford, fed by Mr. Grace, of Putlowes, near Aylesbury, which was 7 feet high, 12 feet 4 inches girth, and weighed 260 stones, of 8 pounds, dead weight. Mr. Duckham mentions that about the years 1812 or 1813 Mr. Potter sold for Mr. Westcar at the Metropolitan Christmas market fifty Hereford oxen that averaged 50 guineas each, making 2,500 guineas ; and he mentions that Mr. Smythies, of Marlow, Salop, obtained the following extract from Mr. Westcar's book for the sale of twenty Hereford oxen at different periods from 1799 to 1811, and which I can corroborate, as the same was shown me by Mr. Eowland, when visiting him at Creslow. The list was confined to those which sold for £100 and upwards : THE UNITED KINGDOM. 185 Date. Dec. 16,1709 Dec. 4, 1800 Dec. 13, 18C0 Nov. 20,1801 Nov. —,1802 Nov. 31,1802 Dec. 4, 1802 Dec. —.1803 Dec. VJ, 1303 Dec. 191,1803 Dec. 5, 1804 Dec. 4, 1805 Nov. 20,1811 Oxen sold. 2 oxen to Mr. Chapman 1 ox to Mr. Chapman 1 ox to Mr. Harrington G oxen to Messrs. Giblett &. Co 1 ox 1 ox to Mr Chapman 2 oxen to Mr. Horwood 1 ox to Mr. Chapman 1 ox to M r. Reynolds 1 ox to Mr. Glblett do do 1 ox to Mr. Chandler Valuo. £200 147 100 630 100 126 200 100 105 105 105 ]00 105 The whole 20 sold for £2,123, or an average of £100 C>s. each. I have also seen at Mr. Ledbrook's, who succeeded Mr. Grace at Put- lowes a few years since, when the price of meat was lower than in the be- ginning of the century, 50 oxen tied up for Chistmas at the end of Novem- ber, for which he had been bid £2,500 ; the price was rather under 5s. per stone, but this would have made them average over 200 stouo per head. The class of animal I have been describing is now no more. They were live-year old worked beasts, and even older, which had been for two or three years harnessed to the yoke, and had therefore attained great size. Working in the plow is now comparatively rare, and early maturity is the aim of all the best farmers in England, and the Hereford breeders are not likely to be left behind. It is a rare thing nowadays to purchase a Hereford steer at a fair over three years old. When I began farming, thirty years ago, I bought a lot of beautiful three-year-old Hereford steers in October at £13 10s. each, in poor condition. I gave them the run of the straw yard, and 3 pounds of oil-cake per day, and turned them out to grass in May, and sold them in August and September at from £23 to £24 each, giving me some excellent manure aud a good profit on the animals. The price of this class of beast rapidly rose, and now they can scarcely be bought under £21 to £22 each, and as they only make about £2G or £27 each when off the grass, they do not pay enough. I once went to a Hereford fair at Easter and bought 10 of the finest old worked beasts I ever saw at £29 10s. each. They were large, fine-framed animals, and when they arrived at Aylesbury Baron Mayer de Rothschild saw them and begged I would let him have them, and I consented on condition that he gave me a round of one of them for my Christmas dinner the same year. He took them to Mentmore, and some made £46 to £47 each at Christmas, and others went off the grass in October at £38 to £10 each, but such aged beasts are not found now. Amongst the most noted graziers of these cattle was the late Mr. Senior, of Bron ghton pastures, near Aylesbury. This gentleman was a very successful exhibitor of 'Hereford s after Mr. Westcar's death, but of late years he grazed Sussex beasts, as he could not get the worked animals from Herefordshire. Mr. Duckham and other writers on Herefordshire cattle say that the county is not by any means a good grazing district, but eminently adapted for breeding and rearing cattle, and that no class Of animal thrives so well, when changed on to the fine pastures of Buck- inghamshire, Leicestershire, and Northamptonshire. As Mr. Westcar's name and his residence at Creslow has been so often quoted by all writers upon the Herefords, I must be pardoned for giving a slight sketch of this famous grazing district. "The great ground," as it is called at Creslow, is, as before stated, about 330 acres and is very undulating, and bounded on two sides by a brook, a tribu- 186 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. tary of the Thames, and on the other two sides by a large double ox- fence, with large elm trees affording shade to the numerous head of cattle grazing there. I have seen nearly 250 head of horned stock and 500 sheep and lambs, with 20 mares and foals, grazing in this one field, and all getting fat. It is jocosely said that 'the cattle are turned into the field in May and by the time they have walked around the in- closure they come out fit for the butcher. The old mansion had for- merly been a monastery, and the estate belongs to the Lord de Clifford, in whose family it has been for some centuries, and it is stated that Eosamond de Clifford, " Fair Eosamond," was born there. ^Nothing can exceed the rich pastoral beauty of this district. From the upper ground the eye wanders over the far-famed vale of Aylesbury, the old town, the " .^Egelsbireg " of the Saxons, standing in the midst the rich past- ures of Whitechurch ; Quarrendon, with its ruined chapel of the fifteenth century ; and Fleet Marston, in which parish is Putlowes, formerly men- tioned as the rival of Creslow as a feeding pasture, and a rare tract of grass land stretching away for more than 15 miles along the valley of the Thames. Sir Brandreth Gibbs, in his "History of the Smithfield Club,-7 men' tions an incident of some interest in 1825. There was a sweepstakes between three Herefords belonging to the Duke of Bedford and three Durhams belonging to the right honorable Charles Arbuthnot, which was won by the Herefords. Mr. Duckham says that from the establishment of the Smithfield Club in 1799 to 1851 all the different breeds and cross-breeds were shown together, but since that time they have been exhibited in distinct classes. And, as far as can be learned, during the time they were shown together the Hereford oxen and steers won 185 prizes ; the Shorthorns, 82 ; the Devons, 44 ; the Scotch, 43 ; the Sussex, 9 ; the Longhorns, 4, and the cross-breeds, 8 ; thus showing that the whole of the prizes won by all the other breeds and crosses in the Kingdom were 190, or only 5 in excess of the number registered by the Herefords alone. Mr. Discau says that during fifty-three years to 1851 the Shorthorns by their females made up considerably to the total of the Herefords, as they numbered 174 prizes to the Herefords 207. It is interesting to know how the Herefords have retained their former renown, by their comparatively youthful prowess at the present day. We find that Mr. Heath showed his gray beast at Birmingham, winning first honors, with a girth of 9 feet 7 inches ; and his Hereford cow at three years and ten months measured 9 feet in girth. Mr. Shirley's gold-medal steer at two years and seven months girthed 8 feet 7 inches. And he averred that up to seventeen months old he had had only an ordinary calf and stock treatment. It will therefore be seen that the breed is not only not deteriorating but is likely to maintain its position against all competitors. THE HEREFORDS AS DAIRY CATTLE. Having said &u much of the feeding qualities of these animals, I must now allude to their milking properties. Generally they are not con- sidered such good " fill-pails" as their rivals the Shorthorns or Aryshires, nor such butter producers as the Channel Islands breeds, yet their butter-miiking qualities are of a high order. I quote from Mr. Duck- ham, who says Mr. Eead, of Elkstone, finds the Herefords retain their general aptitude to fatten, and that in the team they are excellent and THE UNITED KINGDOM. 18 * that they have been used for dairy purposes for nearly fifty years on the farm, and that he raises his calves by hand after a few days old. Mr. James Mappowder, of Blandford, Dor I that Hereford dairies are becoming' very common in that county; that they let nearly one hundred cows to dairy people, and that if he buys one of any o breed to fill up the number tin rumble. His sy > let the cows at so much p£r year, finding them in laud and bhe hay ; the calves being reared by hand with skim milk and linseed until three months old, and they are then turned out to pasture. Mr. Olver, of Penhallow, Cornwall, says: I rear my calves on skim milk. It is generally ?nid Hereford cows are bad milkers. That is contrary ro my experie oow Patience, bred by Mr. Cooke, of More* ton House, had given 14 pound a, bred by Mr. Long- mere, Buckton, Salop, gave 22 quarts of milk, yielding 2J pounds of butter per day. From Ireland and Scotland reports show that excellent results have been attained. It is fair to say that my own experience is contrary to the opinion that they are better for the dairy than Shorthorns, as when I was judge of cattle at Hereford, some few years since, there was a milking competition, and we had all the competitors in tho class very carefully milked, and both the first prizes were obtained by Short-horns of high class pedigree, beating all competitors, even including Aryshires and J ers« THE HEREFORD IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. The Herefords have proved themselves well adapted for foreign and colonial countries. Mr. Stone, of Guelph, Ontario, says: I am an extensive breeder of Shorthorns, which breed I think very highly of; Imt I Lave also purchased BOme i [erefords from Lord Bateman's and Lord Berwick's herds, and am .highly pleased with them. The climate is very variable, varying in twenty- four hours from 30 to 40 degrees, and that the Herefords stand the changes equal to any breed. Mr. Edwards, Knockalva, Jamaica, says that for many years they had no change of blood till 18o8, when Sir Oliver (1732) and Malcolm (1646) were imported, and that they did the greatest service in the island; that this breed are good workers, hardy, and of great aptitude to fat- ten. Mr. Merry man, of Maryland, and Mr. John Johnston, of Xew York, testified to the breed standing the variations of the climate remark- ably well. Mr. W. Dangau, from Hunter's River, Australia, in addi- tion to their feeding powers and hardiness of constitution, found they were excellent in traveling long distances and that they would do from 250 to 300 miles better than any others. I have, therefore, shown that the Herefords are admirable for foreign countries. Amongst the most noted strains of blood I lind from Leopold (1) and Wellington, which bull was sold in 1816 for £283, that tho mottled faces are mostly de- scended, and Victory, which was a dark gray, and Cotmore (37G),which was a white-faced bull, and Brockwcod, which was alight gray, were all specially noticed in the iirst number of Mr. Eyton's herd-book. Mr. Dixon remarks that there were not many points of difference be- n the dark grays and the mottle faces, the latter of which were known as Ben Tomkins sort, and the Rev. Mr. Smythies, of The Lynch, was one of the best and most spirited breeders of his day, and offered to show a hundred -Herefords against tho same number of Shorthorns from any herd in England. All these remarks show that much pains and infinite care have been taken in perfecting this noble breed, and for the best lines of blood tho herd-book must be consulted. 188 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. The breeders put their heifers to the bull at from eighteen months old to two years, and the calves generally run by the side of their dams for several months. The cows are put to the bull at a certain time, so that they may generally come due to calve in the early spring, and to meet the grass ; although some others like the cows to calve about October and November, housing the calves, and keeping them on with a little milk and cake, so as to be strong by the summer. Some breed- ers think that by letting the calves suck the mothers it prevents their coming into season for the bull as early as if they were weaned at once, but from inquiries I have made I find but little difference in it. This is contrary to my own and some other breeders7 practice, as I have found the cow lies barren, especially Shorthorns, for some months after calv- ing if the calf lies night and day with the dam. Several Hereford- shire breeders are in the habit of giving, their calves, at a very early age, good old beans, which should be given whole, and in a few days they begin to crack them after rolling them about in their mouths, and secreting that frothy saliva which seems to be so condusive to a calf's well doing. I have tried the plan and can speak highly of the practice, no food can be better, as beans are peculiarly fitted for forming bone and muscle. On the whole, I believe the Hereford breed, as a flesh-forming animal, is second to no breed in the world. The meat itself is equal, when well fed, to the best Scotch or Devon, and every authority proves they do well when imported into other climes. In England it is found that the best grass lands are most calculated for their flesh development, and when tied up, liberally fed, and well cared for, they can hold their own in the show yard against any breed in the country. As dairy cattle the Short-horns beat them, but, taking all things into consideration, England may well be proud of her white-faced Herefords. JOHN KERSLEY FOWLER. Prebendal Farm, near Aylesbury, January 7, 1884. COMPARATIVE MERITS OF BRITISH CATTLE. REPORT PREPARED FOR C01VS7JL DOCKERY, OF LEEDS, BY MR. JOSEPH LAY FAULKNER, VETERINARY SURGEON, SOUTH MILFORD. SHORTHORNS. In submitting a report of the merits and propensities of our various British breeds of cattle, I will commence my remarks by giving a brief sketch of the modern history of the Shorthorn, or Durham cattle— so termed from the parent stock inhabiting the county of Durham — which have special claims upon the attention of both home and foreign breed- ers inasmuch as it has the power of more easily adapting itself to all soils, climates, and circumstances than any other animal of the bovine breed, and contributes a greater weight of prime beef, butter, and cheese to our markets, directly and by their influential crosses, than half a dozen of the other established breeds put together. The combination of their milking and feeding properties fully entitles them to the premiership of the general purpose cattle. If we take London and other great dairies as a criterion of the milking qualities, we have abundant proofs of their THE UNITED KINGDOM. 189 excellent properties, as at least 90 per cent, are Shorthorns, which per- form the double duty of milking and feeding simultaneously and when dry are fit for slaughter. The recent scrutinizing test which they have undergone during the late competition for dairy honors at the Royal Agricultural Society's show held at York, in July, 1883, and in the Lon- don dairy show, in October last, prove their worth. At both of these places the first and second prizes were triumphantly carried off by Short- horns; and as an additional proof of the Shorthorns' superiority, the Queen's two years and eight months old pure Shorthorn heifer eclipsed all other breeds, ages, weights, and sex, and deservedly carried off the much-coveted champion prize at the fat-cattle show held in London December, 1883. The dairy tests were conducted on the most scientific principles, and leave no doubt as to a correct decision having been arrived at I do not think that the most essential properties of the pure Short- horns are so universally known as they ought to be. Theforeign buyers, whose tastes have been carefully studied, do not, as a rule, make milking properties a sine qua non, but give their favor to attractive appearances, and, above all, long ancestral line, without which in their eyes no ani- mal is worth their notice. Kow, many of our first-class breeders have neglected the careful cultivation of dairy productions, and obliterated them altogether in some of the purest and most valuable breeds. These proceedings have had a damaging influence on the breed generally. In- stances are not wanting wThere paper pedigrees have been held as the only virtue to be studied, while nature's bountiful provisions have dis- appeared. Refinement has its limits, and when pushed beyond those limits degeneracy is the result, and the breed is often condemned when a jury would find a true bill against the breeders. Forty years ago some of the highest bred Shorthorns were extraordi- nary dairy cows and possessed great aptitude to fatten when dry, but, though the great demand for showy animals has somewhat interfered with the careful cultivation of these properties, which consequently have been slightly impaired, this only exists when breeders have not ac- counted dairy capabilities of sufficient interest and importance to occupy their serious attention. Besides, to do so would entail an infusion of new blood, which would incur the disapproval of a clique of con- noisseurs, who might declare the innovation an unpardonable departure from the well-defined paper line and rule system of breeding so exten- sively practiced by some of our pioneers, who, unfortunately for the cause, have paid too little attention to the dictates of nature. The best all round general purpose cow can be selected from the old Tees water Shorthorns, which are still to be found in great numbers inhabiting the bank's of the river Tees, in the north of Yorkshire. These are the parent stock of our most refined breeds of Shorthorns, and still retains the substance, constitution, and udder for which the breed has long been <1 istingnishecL From this foundation, with proper selections, a superior class of animals can be raised and modeled to suit circumstances. The possession of so many worthy properties admirably adapt them for exportution, and I know of no other breed that I can be more confi- dent in recommending to the notice of foreign buyers. The male ani- mals of Hns breed are most impressive sires, and stamp their own characteristics on the progeny in a marked degree, which is, perhaps, more distinguished abroad than at home. One of our earliest improvers of the Tees water Shorthorns wao Charles Collings, who with his brother became a considerable farmer about 1770, but Charles has the credit as an early founder of this breed. 190 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. In the year 1810 his herd was sold by auction with the following re- sult: £ a. ^7 cows - 2,802 9 11 bulls 2,361 9 7 ball calves under I 697 15 7 heifer calves 942 18 Total 6,804 11 Since then a descendant of a calf sold at this sale (Young Duchess) has realized more money than the whole herd was sold for. One, two, and three thousand guineas were frequently paid lor members of that tribe or family, of which there is a goodly number in England at the present time and which are still held in high estimation. ■ The influence of a good sire is shown by the following statement : A remarkable animal termed the Durham ox was got by one of the bulls sold at the above sale out of a common cow. The ox was sold for public exhibition, from which circumstance their sprung up a great de- sire to possess and improve the Shorthorns in distant quarters. The ox, after being exhibited for several years, was slaughtered after two months illness, which reduced its llesh considerably, but its dead weight of meat, without tallow or offal, was 2,322 pounds. Many other in- stances of great weignt can bo recorded, viz : Pounds. Live weight of steers under four years old 2, 212 Live weight of heifers under four years old .. „ 2,049 Live weight of cows 2, 352 Average dead weight : O f matured ox when fed in tho ordinary war for market 920 Of heifer when fed in tho ordinary way for market 800 Of cow when fed in tho ordinary way for market 880 Milk : — Annual average weight 8, 000 Weight to 1 pound of butter.... 24 Weight to 1 pound of cheese 10 Soil.— Alluvial and light loam in East Riding ; in West Riding, brown clay. Climate. — Mean temperature, 49°. 4. Color. — Red, white, and roan. HEREFORDS. Herefords are an oldf established breed of high renown, whose fame has gone to the antipodes as possessing many highly meritorious prop- erties, the principal of which is its fattening propensities and high qual- ity of beef. A hardy, strong constitution seems to pervade tho whole family, as no signs of delicacy or degeneracy ever appear in their ranks. These characteristics commend them to the notice of home graziers and breeders abroad. For several years past there has been a rush to se- cure the befct specimens on offer for export, and some hundreds of fine animals have recently been consigned to enterprising breeders across the Atlantic. Tho chief merit of the Hereford is their beef produc- tions ; they have little pretension to the supply of the dairy. The calves, as a rule, run with their mothers, whose parental duties in many cases are heavily taxed, but this defect is occupying the attention of many breeders, and it can be removed in time by careful selections and proper observance- hi mating them. They inhabit large tracts of laud partially surrounded by the Welsh hills— land which is well calculated to develop its true character to full perfection. The breed has long been ascribed the best ir« i he west of England. The uniform character has become a THE UNITED KINGDOM. 191 stamped standard and is universally acknowledged, and is found to answer admirably in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and tbe United States. They are very quiet and contented animals, and stand a long sea voyage well, without falling off in condition. Death or difficulty rarely occurs in transit. The origin of the Hereford was from the cattle of the county, from which selections were made, and the breed as it now stands owes all its reputation to modern cl; in the latter part of last century a Mr. Tompkins started a system of breeding which ultimately exercised great influence on the stock of this part of England. Size, adaptation to the dairy, and the purposes of labor were the chief properties studied by the breeders. Two cows fell into the hands of Mr. Tompkins which had an extraordinary aptitude to become fat, on which account he retained them for breeding. One of them, with more white on, he named Pigeon, and the other, a rich red with spotted face, he called Mottle. Mr. Tompkins established his Hereford s from tihc existing breed of the county, and not by mixture. with dissimilar kinds from other quarters, and although the improvement commenced in the last century, the Hereford breed was late in being prominently brought before the public as one possessed of the valuable properties for which it is now so justly esteemed. Pounds. Live -old ox at Smithfisld show, December, 1883 (offal, 8 pou 2,486 Live old heifer at Smithiiold show, December, 1883 (offal, 8 poi i : re) '. 2, 127 Live weight of four-year-old cow at Smithlield show, December 1883 (offal, 8 pounds to the score) 2,329 Milk, annual average 3,000 I. — Deep-red loam and clay, lighter and poorer near the Welsh hills. Climo Color. — Red, with white face and white streak down back, and a broader one on the belly. An old established breed, without foreign admixture DEVONS. The Devon is an old and well-defined breed, and is honored with standing first in the catalogue at the Christmas fat-cattle showin London, where it has been known to obtain the highest honors. They are to be found in the greatest purity and perfection in the northern part of their county and a portion of Somersetshire. They are very compact and graceful in appearance and light of bone. Their uniform, deep-red color, peculiar to the North Devon, goes to prove their freedom from any admixture or foreign element, which gives them a high standard of purity. The purest bred ones are somewhat wanting in size for general pur- poses, and their improvement is slightly impeded by show-yard decis- ions, which are invariably in favor of small, compact animals, which no doubt are admirably adapted for their own locality, where they graze well and produce an excellent quality of beef, but they cannot surpass (as many of their ardent admirers try to maintain) some animals of greater weight in arriving at maturity at an earlier age. Therefore they rly sought after for rich feeding districts in other quarters. There are cases in which great weights have been attained by single animals, but this is not a characteristic of the breed, and will be al- luded to hereafter. The stronghold of the pure North Devons is not the richest parts of Devonshire and Somersetshire. The soil is light and varied, in some parts hilly and uneven. 192 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. In the richer alluvial plains and near the coast a heavier and coarser class of Devons are kept, for which no special attention is paid to ped- igree or refinement. Some splendid steers of this (as well as the North Devon) class reach the London market, where they soon change hands at remunerative prices. North Devon is a breeding and grazing district, calves are mostly reared with the cows, aud often a greater number of calves are seen in the field than cows. The yearling heifers run out through the winter, only receiving a little assistance during a storm. The yearling steers being on their way to the butcher, are kept in yards and receive a moderate allowance of straw and turnips during the winter months, and have liberal treatment until ready for the butcher at three and four years old. The quantity and quality of Mr. Skinner's cow Myrtle, during the trials at the London show, was a great surprise to all who were not thoroughly acquainted the full capacity of the Devons. The cow was milked at 8.30 a. m., and again at 7.30 p. m., when the result was 20 pounds of milk which gave 14.75 percentage, 5.28 of fat; total award, 87.80. Age of cow, four and one-half years. She calved on July 4, and was tested on October 3, 1883. The solids, which are in excess of the Jersey, is a great achievement, and an event worthy of notice in agriculture, together with the extraordinary weights attained by some highly forced animals. This cow Myrtle gave 50 pounds of milk per day for a considerable period after calving (second calf), and milked for over a year at her first calf. The journey to London and other ex- citing causes, which are unavoidable in a show-yard career, would to some extent tend to reduce the quantity of milk. The largest Devons and many of the best milkers are seldom seen in the show yard, as prizes, as before stated, generally go to the most sym- metrical. The late Mr. Skinner, father of the present Mr. Skinner, ex- hibitor of the cow Myrtle, showed some Devon oxen in 1853 (winning at Bridgewater aud Taunton Christmas meetings) scaling 1,(300 pounds dead weight. This weight is enormous. These animals had, no doubt, been employed in farm labor for some years, and then forced for show. Mr. Skinner has recently sold a bullock under three years old, weigh- ing (dead weight) half a ton. The top average weight for well fed steers three to four years old, is 720 pounds, dead weight; some reach 1,000 pounds with extra attention ; but 720 pounds may safely be taken as a fair average for fully-matured Devon steers, although 800 pounds is not unfrequently reached by choice beasts. Cows, when fat, will average 800 pounds at six to seven years. Bulls often weigh, when very fat, a ton (live weight). A selected dairy of cows will average from 500 to GOO gallons of milk a year, many giving up to 700 gallons, and 300 pounds of butter. These are exceptional cases. A prevailing custom in Devonshire is to let cows to dairymen for the season, £13 each being about the average paid. . Pounds. Live weight : Four-year old ox, at SinitMeld show, December, 1853 (offal, 8 pounds to the score) 1,906 Weight of heifer, at Smithlield show, December, 1883 1,600 Weight of cow 1,934 Milk: Annual average 3,500 To pound of butter 22 To pound of cheese 9 Climate. — Mean temperature, 50°. Color.— All red. All old breeds established by selections from existing breed of the country. ? THE UNITED KINGDOM. 193 POLLED ABERDEEN AND ANGUS BREED. This breed has loop: ranked amongst the most valuable converters of vegetable into animal food, and few can excel them for the return when pitted against other breeds, acre for acre. The other Scotch breeds are on a par as to age at maturity, but the Aberdeen may have a little ad- vantage in weight. For long ancestral purity of blood (if it be of impor- tance) it must yield that honor to the Galloway and West Highlander. In some cases they have equaled the ponderous Short-horn in weight. They do not possess the regular uniformity of type and character of the Galloway, but no good end can be served for practical purposes by de- scribing the origin of the breeds. Authorities agree that our exist- ing Pollies are descended from homed cattle, and when the departure from the ancient order of things took place can only be conjectured. These Polled varieties are grouped in three defined breeds, viz, Norfolk, Galloway, and Aberdeen. The latter formerly embraced a variety of colors, but since the systematic improvement has set in, all shades of color, except black, are at a discount, and it is now black and nothing else. They are now being modeled to the breeder's fancy and require- ments. The setting on of the tail is a characteristic in the oldest ; the removal of this defect will be a valuable achievement when accom- plished. The superiority of the Pollies and Highlanders over most other breeds consists in the excellent quality of their beef and the high per- centage of dead to live weight. As a rule the meat is well marbled, often a greater proportion of compact, finely-grained flesh, with less coarse fat than many other breeds. Some people will place the Devons before them. I consider it in no way inferior. Both these breeds with skillful care have greater things to look forward to. Amongst those who are not thoroughly conversant with the Aberdeens an idea exists that they are slow feeders as well as being slow at arriving at maturity. There is little doubt that such was the case. Now, how- ever, it has been so greatly improved in that respect that it matures al- most as soon as some of the leading breeds, and if well fed from birth the best specimens become ripe at the age of from twenty-eight to thirty months. This breed is remarkable for retaining loveliness of form during the fattening process, and in cases of excessive feeding they rarely be- come patchy or disproportioned. Since the rage for young beef became so strong, many have been fed for the butchers at thirty months old, where they have realized from £25 to £35. Many fully-matured bullocks will fetch at the London Christmas market £40 to £48 each. The breed cannot now be distinguished for its milking properties ; formerly it was held in high estimation for dairy purposes. The main aim of the im- provers has been the development of its beef-producing qualities to the .deterioration of the flow of milk ; and now they are actually deficient in this respect, but with a little attention their ancient reputation can be restored. A few families are excellent milkers j these are becoming more highly esteemed than they were a few years ago. This breed, as well as the Galloway, are finding favor with English breeders, and many herds are already formed in England, also in Ireland. In Scotland itself this breed is extending its territory. More than a hundred herds are now established there. Of the Polled Herd-Book, published in 1862, six volumes have been issued, and in the last the names of 119 breeders appear. There have now been registered 1,930 bulls, 5,054 cows and heifers. The herd-book is now conducted by a society formed in 1869, on similar principles to the Shorthorn Herd-Book. One of our great im- provers of the breed was Mr. Hugh Watson, followed by Mr. McCombie, H. Ex. 51 13 194 CATTLE AND DAIEY FARMING. Tillifour, whoso remarkable show-yard achievements, both in fat and breeding stock, have been instrumental in bringing their true merits before the public. The deservedly high reputation the Aberdeens have gained is mainly due to the indefatigable exertions in the promotion of the breed by that popular breeder, whose judgment is entitled to the highest respect. In Mr. McOombie's early days he laid a firm foundation, to which the most noted animals of the present day are closely allied. He purchased the mother of the Prides for the sum of £12 10s. in 1844, and at the dispersion of his herd, in 1880 10 Prides averaged each over £80 10s. One Pride, the fifth in descent from the £12 10s. animal, realized the handsome sum of £283 10s. At the present day they are most val- uable and popular; their only real rivals are the Ericas, of Ballindalloch. McCombie's show- yard honors are unparalleled in farm-stock history. I firmly believe there is sufficient scope for judicious selections to be made from the Galloway ranks. to obtain as great results as those achieved by those popular improvers of the Aberdeens. The Galloways are by no means pushed to the extent of substance and refinement to which they are capable of developing. Mr. McCombie's success in build- ing the family of the Prides was in a very great measure due to his great judgment and care in the selection of bulls. The difference be- tween the two breeds is, as might be expected, from different circum- stances. The Galloway has a thicker skin, a stronger and better coat of hair, and more shaggy appearance than the Aberdeen. xVdmirers of each breed claim superiority, and on this point considerable difference of opinion exists. The Aberdeen answers admirably to the indulgence it receives, and the Galloways do well on more humble fare; meritorious animals of both breeds have appeared in the show ring, and, from a butcher's point of view, neither breed hns to yield to any other. Live weight: Pounds. Four-year-old ox, at Smithfield show, December, 1883 (offal 8, pounds to the score) 2, 375 Cow or heifer (offal, 8 pounds to the score) 1,883 Dead weight : Fully matured ox (average) ordinarily fed for market 720 Milk: Annual average 3,500 To pound of butter , 24 To pound of cheese 10 Soil. — Clay, loam, and peat. Climate. — Mean temperature, 47° 8'. Color.— All black. GALLOWAYS. Galloways are by nature good milkers, but since the rage for youngr Scotch beef has sprung up in the London markets, the dairy prop- erties have become a. secondary consideration, and the pole-axe has taken precedence of the dairy. As beef producers they rank among the first quotation. At the international show held at Poissy in 1875, the Scotch Pollies were awarded the highest honor for the best live beef against all breeds, which honors were substantiated when dressed. This breed has been distinguished for hardiness and feeding properties for many generations. Their fine qualities are no longer hid under a bushel. Their reputation has spread far and wide, and a great and in- creasing demand has sprung up, both for home market and export. Be- ing hornless and very docile they are admirably adapted for yard feed- ing, railway and ship transit. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 195 They are reared upon thin, rocky, inferior land, in a most severe cli- mate, especially in winter and spring, and their ready response to liberal treatment commends them to all who are engaged in agricultural pur- suits. Notwithstanding their climate, the ordinary breeder affords no shelter beyond about three of the severe months, but nature has provided them with a thick, black waterproof of long, thick-set, silky hair, and strong mellow hides to protect the model carcass, and to fit them for the hardships they may have to endure in their native homes, while their more favored rivals, the Aberdeens, are often only exposed for a corres- ponding period in the summer. This practice has been established many years and is found to succeed well in Aberdeenshire, and all ad- joining counties where artificial food can be abundantly produced. The winter food consists chiefly of straw and turnips on farms where they can be profitably produced. It is fully believed that the Galloway can gain a year in maturity, give a third more milk, and a proportionate increase in beef under more favorable circumstances. The price at which selected animals can be purchased : Heifers, at two and three years old, from £25 to £35. Much larger prices are realized in many cases where fashion overrules judg- ment. By careful cultivation the general milking properties can be restored, and I have the authority of the principal of a large butter fac- tory to state that the Galloway produces the richest milk of any other breed that contributes to the dairy, and is very regular in quantity which supports the remark that their robust constitution defies all ordi- nary disease ; therefore few drawbacks are experienced. The beef is spoken of in the sixteenth century as being right delicious and tender, which properties it retains in a high degree to the present day. The English graziers found out their good feeding properties soon after the union of the two crowns, and for upwards of one hundred and fifty years the trade has been extensive and is now brisker than ever. The once-prevailing practice of spaying the heifers has been discon- tinued, and the heifers are now retained for breeding purposes to meet the growing demand, and give a more favorable opportunity of improv- ing the breed by selection. The Galloway cattle possess all the character and resemblance which constitutes a breed, yet they vary much in size and form according to the treatment they receive and the fertility of their ranges. Not sup- plying young growing stock with sufficient nutritious food, when bone and muscle are forming, is an erroneous practice, which many breeders have followed, when at the same time convinced of their error. These animals answer admirably to liberal treatment, and therefore must be adapted for countries where food is plentiful. I have always received highly satisfactory accounts of the progress made by them in foreign countries. At the Smithfield show (London), the Scotch Pollies are all classed together as one breed. The weights under the head of Aberdeens is a little more than the Galloway. Founds. Average dead weight of a matured ox ordinarily fed for market 700 Milk: Annual average weight 3,000 To 1 pound of butter 22. To 1 pound of cheese 9 Soil.— Loam, clay and sandy. Climate. — Mean temperature 49°.2. Color. — All black. One of the oldest British breeds. 196 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. NORFOLK POLLS. They are red in color and have figured at the Royal Agricultural Society's meetings for many years, and have gained many prizes in the class " for other established breeds," and were awarded the dignity of special prize at the royal show held at Battersea in 1862. Since then they have been gaining approbation, giving evidence, as they do, of good milking properties, as well as size and symmetry, and carrying a good proportion of lean meat to the fat. Considerable attention has been paid to the improvement of this breed, and it is becoming more noted for dairy, productions. The soil, climate, and treatment are favorable to their cultivation and development of all their essential properties. They are the general dairy breed of their county, which is more a grain and grazing district than dairy. The soil is alluvial, loam and sand, fertile, with a mild climate. They are an old breed, with short legs and thick bodies, supposed to be de- scended from the Galloway, with native admixture. Live weight : Pounds. Four-year old ox at Smithfield show, December, 1883 (offal, 8 pounds to the score) 2,012 Cow or heifer 1,984 Dead weight : Ox fed in the ordinary way 700 Cow or heifer fed in the ordinary way 640 Color. — All red. Climate. — Mean temperature, 49°. 5. WEST HIGHLANDER. This wild and fierce looking mountain ranger, with its long, shaggy hair and gracefully set long horns, is a general favorite with every gra- zier in the Kingdom, of which it may be said "it never lost a friend or made an enemy." The great demand and keen competition for these really hardy and picturesque animals for grazing in all parts of Eng- land leaves a very small margin for profit. They are special favorites with many noblemen, and are selected for the profitable adornment of their parks. Many are slaughtered for the use of the castle o:#mausion, the beef being of the choicest quality, and they harmonize well with the deer, and are the ornament of the parks through all seasons, as house protection is unknown to them unless on special occasions, where show- yard honors rule the ambition. I have seen them in their native homes and again seen the same animals shown in our southern markets before the railways were taken advantage of, fresh and vigorous after a drive of over 600 miles. Their inexhaustible staying powers are specially de- sirable to beef producers in distant countries where railway accommo- dation is not available. They mature at four years old ; they are quick graziers, and produce the highest quality of beef. They average be- tween 480 pounds and 600 pounds dead weight, according to keep, &c, but can be brought to much greater weight by artificial food and treat- ment. They have been bred in vast numbers in the bleak and romantic isles and highlands of Western Scotland from time immemorial and still retain their high reputation to the fullest exteut for all the above prop- erties. The grazier may not realize a very great profit for the outlay, as the never-failing demand keeps up the price, but profit is very cer- tain as there is always a corresponding demand when fat, and they re- quire very little attention, being grass fed ; and they are free from ail- ments. In their mountain homes they are of a wild nature, but soon THE UNITED KINGDOM. 19? yield to domestication, when they become very docile on receiving kind treatment. They give rich milk and a fair quantity, but from their high and profitable feeding qualities they are not used in regular dairies, but supply home consumption and cottagers (cotters). When prepared for our fat shows they scale great weights. Their long coats of hair, for- midable horns, and general wild appearance, render them very attrac- tive objects and add great interest to the exhibition. These animals cross well with the Shorthorn bull as well as the Galloway. The pro- duce, invariably surpassing the dam in weight, are well formed and often combine in a greater degree the milking and feeding properties. Argyleshire is the stronghold of Scots. The breed is not, however, con- fined to that county, but extends to the rugged heathery hill3 surround- ing, where scarcely any other kinds of cattle can exist. Live weight : ronr.ds. Fully matured ox, at Smithfield show, December, 1883 (offal, less than 8 pounds to tho score) 2, 090 Cow or heifer at Smithfield show, December, 1883 1, 486 Dead weight : Fully matured (average) steer when fed for market on grass GOO Heifers when fed for market on grass 520 Milk : Annual average 2,500-3,000 To 1 pound of butter 22 To 1 pound of cheese 9 Soil. — Light loam, clay, and granite. Climate. — Mean temperature, 48° 4'. Color.— Red, black, and dun. THE SUSSEX. The Sussex are now ranking among the improved breeds, and possess all the essential character of the Devons, but resemble more the South than the North Devons, being larger in size and coarser in form. The breed may not have been so strictly kept from foreign admixture of blood, yet it exhibits as great a uniformity of character as any other breed. They exhibit a slightly nervous temperament, and are not very heavy milkers, but are good grazers, and, when fullj matured, attain considerable weight. They require four years before they reach full ma- turity. This breed has its warm admirers as well as prejudiced oppo- nents; it may not have obtained that public favor to cause its intro- duction into other parts of the country. This is not from any inferiority of the breed, but because the same attention has not been employed in calling forth the properties most jrenerally valued in any breed of cattle. It is not until comparatively a recent date that tho promoters of this breed have set to work in good earnest to remove defects and supply symmetry, quality, and early maturity. Those efforts have been wonderfully successful/ The show of reds at the royal agricultural meeting, held in York, in July last, far surpassed any former show for quality, refined improvement, and development of important parts. Sussex being chiefly arable land, the work was formerly done both by bullocks and heifers, for which work they are admirably adapted, com- bining as they- do weight of body with muscular activity. They are still used in the stiff soils of the weald. From four to eight are worked together, commencing at three years and worked until five or six, when they are fattened for the butcher. The distinctive color is red, but of a less florid shade than the North Devon. They have long, but not coarse horns : the hair and handling is not equal "to that of the Devon, but 198 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. they feed to greater weights at equal ages. They are tolerably good, milkers, but are not eagerly sought after for regular dairies. Their general appearance indicates that if means were used to improve them in the degree to which they are susceptible, and by judicious attention to the selection of parents to improve the progeny, they are capable of developing into good dairy and beef producers and become valuable for exportation as the foundation for a breed that is likely to be molded to the taste and requirements of future breeders and to soil and climate. Live weight : Pounds. Of four-year old ox at Smithfield, 1883 (offal over 8 pounds to the score). 2, 241 Weight of heifer (Smithfield, 1883).. 1,890 Weight of cow, any age , 2,245 Dead weight : Fully matured ox, ordinary, fed for market 840 Heifer, fed for market 720 Cow, fed for market 800 Milk: Annual average 4,000 To 1 pound of butter 24 To 1 pound of cheese 11 Soil, — Clay, loam, sandy. Climate.— Mean temperature 50°. Color.— All red. WELSH CATTLE OR RUNTS. The great improvements that have been made in this breed has brought it into prominent notice by graziers. This breed was a me- dium-sized mountain beast, but has now pushed to the front, and at the great Smithfield show held in London has scaled the heaviest weight of any bullock in the hall. The breed possess many of the West High- landers properties, but lacks the hair and the picturesquely fierce ap- pearance of those shaggy inhabiters of the Scotch hills. The Welsh give rich milk, and are extending their limits, but they are not likely to supersede the fine existing breeds or modify the character of many by admixture. They would answer well for export where hardihood is very essential and refinement not of importance. They are natives of the hilly country, where their food- is the rough herbage of the mountain, where the cattle are in a corresponding degree small, but coarse and robust, and somewhat slow at arriving at maturity. In the vale, where better natural and artificial food is plentiful, they make a greater size and answer well to treatment. It may have been a sufficient length of time distinct and uniform to constitute a well- defined breed, and a good butcher beast, but wanting in style and grandeur. Live weight : Pounds. Of four-year old ox at Smithfield Decern her, 1883 2, 498 Cow or heifer (offal 9 pounds to the score) „ 2,214 Dead weigh t : Average of fully matured ox, ordinary feeding 800 Milk : Annual average ' 3,000 To 1 pound butter 24 To 1 pound of cheese 10 Soil.— Slaty clay. Climate. — Mean temperature, 49°. 5. Color.— All black, with strong horns. An old breed. The improvement of modern date. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 199 THE LONGHOEN. The Longhorn a century ago held an eminent position among our British breeds of cattle in many of our northern English counties, and was liberally distributed over Erin's green isle. They have long been on the wane, and their reputation, which had given Bakewell, the orig- inator of the breed, years of anxious study, has passed away more rapidly than acquired; given way to animals possessing earlier maturity, milk- ing and grazing properties in a greater degree than the once popular Long-horn. Some spirited efforts have been made for years past by enterprising men and ardent admirers of this once-famed breed to restore them to public notice and patronage, and the result is that some splendid indi- vidual specimens are brought forward at our great meetings. The Koyal Agricultural Society of England and Christmas shows encourage the breed by offering prizes for them, and they certainly attract more than an average share of attention from young farmers and sight-seers. The ponderous horns and peculiar and uncommon color, white streak down the back, a broader one on the belly, with dingy gray or mixed brown and white center pieces, and clothed with water-dog hair, render them very attractive. They give very rich milk, and formerly were good dairy cows. They attain considerable weight when fully matured, which takes at least four years. The beef is very firm and good, but not evenly distributed, and is wrapped in a thick valuable hide. They possess a strong, hardy constitution, and although confined in narrow limits, it is to be hoped those energetic patrons of the old breed may be successful in their efforts to reinstate them in all their former glories, with suck modifications and improvements as will render it worthy of public notice and more extensive patronage. Many of Mr. Bake well's followers succeeded well with the breed by con- tinually hiring bulls from Mr. Bakewell. One of the earliest and most distinguished adherents was Mr. Fowler, near Oxford, whose herd was sold off in the year 1791, when the following prices were realized, viz: Bull, five years old, was sold for £215 ; bull, two years old, for £220.10; bull, one year old, £210 ; bull, aged, for £215. Four cows realized £215, £273, £120, and £195, respectively. Pounds Average dead weight of steer, four years old 800 Average dead weight of heifer, four years old 720 Average dead weight of cow, aged 800 Milk : Animal yield 3,000 To pound of butter 22 To pound of cheese 9 Soil. — Deep loam on limestone. Climate. — Mean temperature, 49°.0. THE AYRSHIRE. The Ayrshire ranks amongst the best cattle for dairy purposes. It has few equals, but it is not held in high estimation as a beef beast, be- ing small and not that kindly animal that graziers like to meet with ; still they are good feeders when dry. They have an extensive circle of admirers in their own native home and surrounding counties. They are a hardy race, and are bred exclusively for dairy uses. Their Ayrshire home on the Clyde and near the Irish sea consists of moorland, hills, and in some parts undulating surface of common clay j the hills are 200 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. light, rocky, with poor herbage. The narrow valleys have sweeter food. Towards the sea there are great belts of barren sand. The climate is moist and the district greatly exposed to continued winds and humid vapors from the Atlantic. There are a few tracts of useful land, but throughout the fertility is very moderate. The Ayrshires at one time were used in our London dairies, but have been relinquished in favor of the Yorkshire or Teeswater Shorthorn. They did not come to the weight and condition after foiling to be profitable for milk, and, there- fore, are supplanted by animals better adapted to the system of milking and feeding simultaneously. Although the Ayrshires are very valuable dairy stock in their native homes, and it is not satisfactorily settled as to whether they do not pay best on medium and poor herbage, in some cases it has been found that when transported to genial soil and climate they begin to lay on flesh and do not increase in milk in a corresponding degree. Although of long standing, it was late in being prominently brought before the public as a defined breed, and the high qualities pos- sessed thereby are due to the admixture of Teeswater and Jersey blood which has been introduced to their country. The great similarity existing between the Jersey breed and the Ayrshire is in the color of skin, horns, and dairy properties. The general resemblance of form is so great that a Jersey cow might easily be mistaken for an Ayrshire. The bull calves of this breed are mostly sold for veal. No breed receives more attention than this does by its admirers to keep intact and type all its properties. These animals carry the neatest^bag and best formed teats of any breed. They do not cany a brilliant color, being a dingy red and white. When dry they feed well. Their greatest drawback is want of substance for general purposes, but there is no just reason why this breed cannot be greatly improved and all defects removed. Pounds. Dead weight of matured heifer or cow fed in the ordinary way for market . . 5G0 Milk: Annual average weight 6,000 To 1 pound ofbutter .' 22 To 1 pound of cheese 9 Soil. — Loam, clay and sand. Climate. — Mean temperature, 48°. 8. Color. — Dingy red and white. An old established dairy breed of Teeswater and Jersey mixture. THE JERSEY. The Jersey is distinguished as producing rich milk, fine colored and delicate flavored butter, for which luxury they are often kept as lady- pets in private families, but are only partially used in regular dairies to give a little coloring to the dairy products. They are to be found throughout the United Kingdom for the same purpose. Color pale red and white, but the smoke or silver-gray color is -preferred j skin of orange-yellow, which is an indication of rich milk ; small sized and of delicate constitution. They are not prepossessing in form, and are awk- ward of gait, but very docile. The surplus bull calves are fed for veal ; the heifers are kept for the dairy and breeding purposes. Therefore, lit- tle can be said for the beef. Any improvement that may arise from cross- ing will be due to the new infusion. It would take many generations of careful culture to permanently unite and establisb those essential properties in such a degree as to commend them to the public as profit- able beef and butter machines. They are more fitted for amateur farm- ers and opulent families, than for ordinary dairy purposes, as when they have done milking there is little to carry to the reserve fund. The THE UNITED KINGDOM. 201 prices vary more from fancy than intrinsic value, ranging from £20 to £30 4'ot good animals, but three times that amount has been paid for them when sold at auction, and over £100 frequently for very choice specimens. They will no doubt answer all reasonable requirements if exported to genial soils and climates. They are regular breeders and will continue to be so to a good old age, but as a natural consequence will fail to retain the quantity and quality of milk as if young and in full vigor. Annual average of milk, 4,880 pounds ; 17 to 20 pounds of milk to 1 pound of butter ; quantity of milk to cheese, not known ; average live weight at four years old, 896 pounds. RESUME— ANALYTICAL COMPARISONS • Meat producers. — As to the profitable size of an animal, there is a great difference of opinion amongst men whose judgment and experience entitle them to great respect. Every man has his favorite breed and this in their eyes is the only breed worthy of cultivation. But wo must bear the great fact in mind that the profit of breeder and feeder de- pends not so much upon what the animals make as what it costs mak- ing. The Hereford not infrequently pays the grazier better than the Shorthorn, but the value of a breed is not to be determined by the profit it yields between buying and selling, but by that which it yields to the breeder and feeder conjointly from its birth to maturity. The great objections raised against the Devons is said to be their diminutive size. Now, there are many specimens of the Devon breed that have scaled great weights. Mr. Hancock, of Hales, had a bullock in 1873 whose live weight was nearly 2,788 pounds, and which yielded 1,780 pounds of beef. This animal was five years old and had been worked on the farm. A well-known breeder, Mr. Hatway, had an animal of the Devon breed which weighed 1,700 pounds dead weight. There are many other indi- vidual animals which have reached extraordinary weight. Mr. Samuel Kinder^s champion ox weighed alive 2,128 pounds, and gave a carcass of beef weighing 1,500 pounds. At the Smithfield Club show, in 1875, Mr. Richard Warner's cow weighed alive 2,03G pounds. These weights leave great hopes of further development in size of the general breed. Although these are extreme cases, of which many more can be referred to, they md,y suffice to hold out great encouragement to a beginner to make selections possessing qualities and capabilities calculated to remove the North Devons from the stigma of pigmy animals. Their dairy properties may not rank with the first, but they possess that tend- ency to dairy productions that give every encouragement for great im- provement in that important branch by judicious selections and careful treatment. The very best beef-producing animal in existence is the cross between the Scotch Follies and the pure bred Shorthorn bull. This system of crossing is extensively practiced in Scotland. Ninety per "cent, of the Aberdeenshire beef, so highly prized in the London market, is a cross between these two breeds. At the Smithfield Club show in Lon- don in 1880 the average increase in weight of six steers of Polled breed under three years of age was 1.78 pounds, and the corresponding class of Shorthorns show 1 .79 pounds. The black Pollies will frequently realize at three years in the London Christmas fat-market from £25 to £40, and some choice specimens higher sums If the breed were dis- tinguished for milking in the same degree, it would be one of the most 202 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. valuable of our British breeds. The rise in this breed has within the past few years been remarkable. Good average cows will bring from £30 to £45, while better-bred familes and more popular will realize from £50 to £100 on an average; some fashionable tribes ranging from £120 to £270. The average of Mr. Adamson's sale in 1881 was as follows: Fifteen cows realized over £47 each ; 10 heifers averaged £47 ; 0 calves over £20 each ; 2 bulls averaged £118. The 36 animals averaged £56 lis. each. London dairy tests. — The result of the London dairy scientific tests may show the qualifications of individual specimens, but I do not think that a reliable annual average, either of weight of milk, proportion of milk to butter^and milk to cheese, characteristic of any breed is recorded. In fact I do rret think such a statement possible to be made, as good soil, climate, and other circumstances make great variations, even with the same animals. However carefully an experiment in such cases is conducted it can only apply individually, and is open to criticism and objections, and is not calculated to satisfactorily solve the question upon reliable information. The nearest approximation to the requirements will be gathered from general milking properties, where minute details which cannot have a general application must be taken into considera- tion. In a very extensive milking dairy in Yorkshire, where every depart- ment is conducted on the best and most economical principles that ex- perience can suggest, daily records of productions, &c, show that 2 gallons, or 20 pounds of milk per diem, through the year can be ob- tained from the selected dairy Shorthorns, inclusive of a few Ayrshire and Jerseys, and a couple of Galloway and Shorthorn crosses. At the dairy show held in London, October 3, 1883, the following is the analyses of milk, with other data, on which the awards of prizes were made, wThich results only go to prove the foregone conclusion as to the best dairy cattle in the British Isles, the championship falling to the Shorthorns, as did also the second honor : Breed. Age. Shorthorn Do Short-horn and Dutch Guernsey Jersey Devon Ayrshire Ys.mos. 7 9 5 6 7 7 2 5 4 4 5 4 6 Date of calving. May 12 Sept. 27 July 10 Apr. 8 Aug. 5 July 4 Oct. 3 Day's miik. Lbs. oz. 51 47 GO 4 18 8 36 4 Percent- age of solids. 12. 9G 14.20 12.12 14.25 14.21 14.75 14.18 Per cent, of fat. 3.85 4.71 2.80 5.54 5.14 5.28 5.12 Total award. Percentage. 99.12 92. 05 91.59 87.50 81.87 87.80 79.81 Weights by breeds. — In pursuance of the capabilities of the recognized breeds, I will give their live weights when at the highest state of per- fection which skillful treatment can bring them to, and by which it will be seen that the combined properties of milking and grazing do not exist in all renowned breeds, although the winner of the champion dairy prize on the 3d of October is of the same breed as that which carried the first prize in the same hall in December, 1883, as best fat cow in her class, and weighing 2,352 pounds, the heaviest of all female exhibits, and, what is more worthy of remark, another Shorthorn heifer a little over two years old obtained the champion prize against all breeds, weight, or sex; her live weight being 2,049 pounds. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 203 The following table shows the live weight of two of the heaviest ani- mals in each class, but not necessarily all prize winners, as in many instances the prizes went to the lighter animals : Breed. Steers (not over 2 years). Steers (not over 3 years). Steers (not over 4 years). Heifers under 4 years. Cow, 4 years. Devons 5 Herofords ? Shorthorns ? Sussex $ Red-Polled ....£ Scotch Polled \ Cwt. qr. lb. 10 2 10 1 14 0 22 3 18 3 4 1 14 2 25 1 20 1 Cwt. 14 ia 17 16 19 18 17 10 17 15 19 18 qr. lb. I 4 i u 0 24 1 4 0 27 3 8 3 24 0 5 8 6 1 20 1 2 1 10 Cwt. qr. lb. 17 2 6 Cut. qr. lb 2 8 17 3 14 19 3 19 1 20 20 1 1 18 3 2 17 2 4 14 3 6 21 0 23 19 0 22 1 4 3 12 3 37 0 20 1 5 3 12 3 2 3 20 Cwt. qr. lb. 17 1 4 13 3 15 20 3 5 21 19 2 13 20 0 5 16 2 0 2 22 1 10 Highlanders (any age) : 19 cwt. 1 qr. 1 lb. ; 17 cwt. 2 qrs. 18 lbs. ; 14 cwt. 5 lbs. ; and 13 cwt. 2 qrs. 10 IbS. Welsh oxen (any age) : 22 cwt. 1 qr. 6 lbs., and 19 cwt. 3 qrs. 2 lbs. Special excellences. — After making* special remarks on the merits and demerits of the various British breeds of cattle which are recognized by the Royal Agricultural Society of England and protected by herd- book records, there are incidents and freaks of nature which are in some degree calculated to mystify the opinions of the inexperienced. For instance, there is the enormous weight of the Devon oxen, Which is not characteristic of the breed. The same thing occurs in Welsh Hunts. The pure Devon is a small, compact, hardy animal, of fine quality, medium milker, of rich quality. The Hereford is of large size ; good grazer; inferior in milk yield. The Shorthorn, great size, good t, superior milker. The Aberdeen, compact, with good size; good grazer and medium milker. The Galloway, slightly smaller than the Aberdeen, but very compact in form ; medium milkers, of rich quality. The Highlander, small and compact ; milk rich, and fair quantity for size, but not often used for dairy purposes ; they are bred on the hills, run together and reared in the same manner as mountain sheep ; their beef is of the finest quality. The Ayrshire, small-sized, bred for dairy purposes, in which they excel; good grazers, but, as very few steers cure kept, little is said about the quality or weight of beef. The Jersey, small, deer-like ; gives rich milk and line quality of butter ; no preten- sions to beef-producing. The Welsh, useful dairy animals ; over me- dium size; milk, rich ; vary according to food and treatment; not so rich and graceful in general appearance, but a good, sound, hardy ani- mal. T\w Sussex, great size, fair milkers, good grazers ; for this breed there are great hopes of further distinction. The Longhorn, large frame, hardy, and good grazers; formerly good butter and eheese pro- ducers. The Norfolk Pollie, thick, chubby animals; good dairy cows and grazers, but do not possess that graceful figure that characterizes the Northern Pollies ; it seems to be lighting its way to greater popularity ; some attention has been paid to them by foreign buyers. The Guern- sey belongs to the same group of islands as the Jerseys, and possesses the same dairy properties, giving a little more milk, and is heavier in carcass, but plainer in form. 204 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING CONCLUDING RECOMMENDATIONS. Before concluding, it may not be deemed inexpedient to introduce a few qualifying remarks that may not produce any detracting influence, but have a tendency to establish confidence in my experience and hum- ble endeavors to give a correct and unbiased description of the capa- bilities of the various breeds of cattle referred to in this report. For many years I had the entire management of the extensive and distin- guished herd of Shorthorns belonging to the late Earl of Ducie, Glou- cestershire, as well as the Herefords, Scots, and Jerseys, which were kept more as experimental auxiliaries than for the permanent establish- ment of the breeds. I established a considerable herd of selected Short- horn cattle for Napoleon III, and although they were located in the two extreme temperatures, they answered admirably, and just as their in- fluence was beginning to be felt in France their further development and usefulness were suddenly cut short by the unfortunate Franco- Prussian war. I also formed, and for many years superintended, the well-known herd of Shorthorns belonging to Colonel Gunter, in addi- tion to Galloways and other smaller herds of different breeds, and have acted on nearly three hundred occasions as judge of stock at agricult- ural societies in the United Kingdom. My remarks, therefore, as far as possible, are founded on facts obtained by long experience, and I am actuated by no motive or interest beyond a desire to submit this report with as much truth and as few errors as my abilities will allow. I have for forty years given my undivided attention to breeding and feeding of nearly every description and breed, during which time I have shipped to all quarters where British breeds are to be found, and have had more than ordinary opportunities afforded of acquiring a thorough practical knowledge of the true merits of the various breeds. I have always found the Shorthorn, Hereford, Devon, and Scotch Pol- lies answer admirably when exported to Australia, New Zealand, South America, the United States, and Canada. I entertain a very high opinion of the Sussex cattle for exportation. There are many other English breeds, but I think 1 have named the animals best adapted for other climates. The Norfolk Pollies answer well with liberal keep, but cannot rough it with the Scots. The Highlanders, on account of their wildness, have not often been tried, but they can easily be subdued and brought to be very gentle. The full details of the properties of our best British breeds of cattle are embodied in the separate reports under the different heads, which facts strongly support my confident recommendation of the following breeds as the best adapted .for exportation to the United States and Canada, viz, Shorthorns, Herefords, Devons, Galloways, Aberdeens, and Sussex. These animals possess strong, robust constitutions, and other essential properties abundantly fit them to fully maintain their reputation when suitably located, and every breed named is capable of further development under circumstances more favorable to their varied habits. The Scotch Pollies can stand severe climates with inferior food, and the heavier cattle will freely respond to the rich fare of the plains. Where milk and butter are made specialties the Jersey and Ayrshire are invaluable. The West Highlander, if once located in the United States, would gain friends where the climate did not necessitate the winter housing. The Longhorns are very ungainly, both by rail and ship, owing to their ponderous horns. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 205 PRICES OF BRITISH CATTLE FOR EXPORT. The prices at which really good formed animals ought to be purchased will vary a little according to age and other circumstances. The subjoined list contains the prices at which genuine good animals of the different breeds can be obtained : Shorthorn cow or heifer, with pedigree £35 to £50 Hereford cow or heifer, with pedigree 35 50 Devon cow or heifer, with pedigree 30 45 Galloway cow or heifer, with pedigree 25 40 Aberdeen cow or heifer, with pedigree 30 45 Ayrshire cow or heifer, with pedigree 20 35 Sussex cow or heifer, with pedigree 30 40 Norfolk cow or heifer, with pedigree 30 40 Jersey cow or heifer, with pedigree 20 30 Welsh cow or heifer, with pedigree 20 30 Longhorn cow or heifer, with pedigree 30 If noted blood and renowned fame are required, higher prices would have to be paid; and all breeds have favorite families and lines of blood which do not in all cases arise from any greater excellence they possess. HOW TO SELECT CATTLE FOR EXPORT. In selecting animals for export a saving of 20 per cent, can be effected by knowing the breeders as well as the breed, and devoting sufficient time for due examination. Limited time and hurried selections is often followed by disappointment to the purchaser, and throws discredit upon the breed when landed on foreign shores. I think it quite practicable to purchase half a dozen choice specimens of each breed with authenti- cated pedigrees, including young bulls to match, and delivered in New York free of all charges for the sum of £50 each. Liverpool to New York or Portland is the best route. Passage of cattle, including food and water, £6 per head ; insurance from 10 to 12 per cent., according to the season of the year and vessel employed. The charge for man to attend upon them is regulated by the number of cattle shipped. JOSEPH LAY FAULKNER, M. E. C. V. S. L., Veterinary Surgeon, South Milford, County of York, West Biding, England, January 3, 1884. JERSEY CATTLE. REPORT BY CONSULAR AGENT RENOTJF, OF JERSEY. The breed of horned cattle in the island has long been known, and is in mauy respects remarkable. The important peculiarities are the small size and delicate frame of the animals, the large quantity and rich quality of the milk they yield, and the yellowness of the fat, and of the butter made from the milk. The first result may, no doubt, have been produced by the habit of breeding in and in, which has long since been carried to such an extent that each island has its own breed, which may not be mixed on any consideration whatever. Perhaps the same cause com- bined with the practice of tethering, the pampering with various kinds of food, and the climate may be sufficient to account for the other pecu- liarities also. Although very small, many of the cows are remarkable 206 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. for symmetry, and they rarely show vicious temper. They have a fine curved taper horn, a slender nose, a fine shin, and deer-like form. Of the different island breeds the Alderuey is the smallest and most deli- cate, and the Jersey is somewhat larger, but not very different. The Guernsey cattle are larger boned, taller, and stouter in all respects, and have a less fine coat. The color of the coat is very various, being com- monly red, red and white, gray and white, or cream colored, but there are good beasts of black, and black and white color, with a dingy ridge down the back. All the cattle are yellow round the eyes, and within the ears, and this peculiar tendency, it has been already remarked, is accompanied by a similar color of the butter made from their milk, and of their fat when killed. The cause of this peculiarity of color has been an object of much unlearned and learned speculation. It is evident that the milk is not the only secretion of a yellow color, for in addition to the eyes and ears being tinted, it is one of the peculiarities of the best ani- mals that there is a yellow tinge at the root of the tail. It has been suggested that the color is derived from bile, but yellowness is not the essential character of that secretion. Its properties are to be bitter, carbonized, and to perform certain functions in the animal economy. Colorless bile is possible, and so, beyond a doubt, is yellowness without bile. But that the coloring matter of the milk and tissues of the Chan- nel Islands cow may also be the coloring matter of the bile is an hypoth- esis which no physiologist would condemn, so is the doctrine that the near vicinity of the sea may supply an excess of soda in the grass, and that the practice of closely tethering, by limiting the amount of exercise, may engender a tendency to something akin to bile, if not bile itself, to be in excess. The large yield of milk from the island cows and the rich- ness of the milk for batter are well kuown. Extreme cases show that from 16 to 17 pounds per week of butter have been made from the milk of one cow. The cattle are fed in the ordinary way, and milked three times a day. Each cow requires about If English acres of grass land, and is fed during winter, from the beginning of November, on mangel- wurzel, turnips, parsnips, and hay. Good cheese can be made from the milk, but it is not manufactured for sale. THOMAS RENOUE, Consular Agent. United States Consular Agency, Jersey, February 20, 1885. Products of Jersey cattle." [Inclosure in Consular Agent Eenouf s report.] Name of breed : Jerseys ; annual average pounds of milk : 2,400 ; milk to pounds of cheese: not made, milk being too rich; name of country: Jersey, Channel Islands; size at maturity : cow : length, 7 feet ; girth, 6 feet ; height, 4 feet 2 inches ; bull : length, 7 feet ; girth, 6 feet 10 inches ; height, 4 feet 6 inches ; live weight of cow : 1,000 pounds; live weight of bull: 1^200 pounds; age at maturity: 3 to 3£ years; weight of meat at maturity: bull, 800 pounds; cow, 580 pounds; origin of breed: Jersey, no animals being allowed to be imported except for slaughtering purposes, so that the breed is kept pure ; few cows are slaughtered at maturity or in condition ; if barren they do not feed well, and when in milk difficult to fatten, owing to their great yeld of milk ; the average price of butter is Is. 3d. per pound. Topography : Altitude, 139 feet above sea level ; mean temperature, 51° 9' ; maxi- mum, 87° 7' ; minimum, 21° 3'; soil: loam, clay, sand, and gravel. *The Jersey pound is 8J- per cent, heavier than the English pound. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 207 Substratum : According to locality, granite, clay, and red gravel. Cultivated grasses : Timothy and lucerne in small quantities, about one-third to two-thirds clover, rye- grass. Methods of housing. — Well appointed and warm stables with good straw litter in winter. In summer they are left in the lields except in bad weather. feeding. — From spring to autumn they are tethered in the fields to rye-grass and clover; in winter they are fed on hay, turnips, mangel-wurzel, and parsnips. Handling products. — The milk is kept in clean dairies, and churning is done twice *a week; no cheese is made when cows are in full milk ; they are milked three times daily. CATTLE IN CORNWALL. REPORT BY CONSUL FOX, OF PLYMOUTH. In answer to Department circular, I beg to state that I employed special agents, who were considered most likely to be able to procure in- formation as to breeding cattle, but regret to add that, except in two instances,- they have been altogether unsuccessful in their efforts. They report that there exists, on the part of farmers generally in this district, either a reluctance to afford information on the subject, or a want of sufficient data to enable them to give the desired particulars with such accuracy as would make them desirable. I inclose form, which contains particulars obtained from a large breeder, and copy of a letter from a large farmer, who replied to the application made to him, not in the form attached to the circular, but by general remarks, in the form of a letter. HOWARD FOX, Consul. United States Consulate, Plymouth, July 25, 1884. SPECIAL STATISTICS CONCERNING CATTLE IN CORNWALL. [Supplied by Mr. T. Hoaken, of Loggens. Hoyle, Cornwall.] Breed: Shorthorn. MUlc: Keeps no account of milk, cattle being reared for breeding purposes, and usually sold at two years old. Dairymen pay attention to milking qualities in breeding. Live weight: At maturity: cow, 12 cwt. ; bull, 26 cwt. Topography : Altitudo : 200 feet above the level of the sea. Temperature: mean, 00.5; summer, 50.2; winter, 41. Soil: Top soil a sandy loam. Substratum : Sandstone, marl, and clay, with spar. Dexter granite and clay slate. Cultivated grasses : Timothy, red and white clover, rye, and cocksfoot. Housing : Store cattle in open boxes ; turned out every day for exercise except in very severe weather. Feeding cattle, in close houses well ventilated. Feeding: Fed on roots, hay, chaff, and a little meal. Mr. Joel Howa, farmer, to Mr. Cock. llnclosnre in Consul Fox's report.] Gare Lamorran, November 20, 1883. I have been looking over the paper (tabulated form) you sent me, and I am very sorry that I am not able to fill it up, as I would take a good bit of trouble for Mr. Fox. I have no idea as to the amount of milk a cow would give in a year. It would de- pend on the breed and the size of the cow. Jersey or Guernsey would be the richest 208 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. milk, and tho most and best butter, according to the milk, but I think a cross-breed cow would produce more in the year, being a largor bullock, aud would come to the butcher with more weight when finished. I can only refer to our own county. The climate varies so much at tho same alti- tude that we must study our own particular farms as to what breed we ought to keep, and I presume it would be the same in America. Shorthorns will not do at all in tho north of our county because it is so bleak and cold. Their bowels are so lax they be- come thin and poor, but here in the south, on the best and most sheltered land, they do very well. But I believe the Devons aud Herefords are tho most profitable for. feeding purposes, having less bone and inoro beef in their best cuts, and being more hardy. They can bear the frequent changes of weather better tban the Shorthorns. They are not so lax in their bowels, aud do not require so much nor such good food. I should think the bullocks of Cornwall paid tho farmers lroni £5 to £6 per head per year, without corn or artificial food, but of course the milking cows pay more. Then the cost of labor would be more. I am, &c, JOEL ROWE. CATTLE IN SCOTLAND. REPORT BY CONSUL WELLS, OF DUNDEE. Ill submitting herewith a " Report on breeding cattle," I have to state that I have consulted many of the leading cattle breeders of high standing in this district, inspected several herds, and procured all the information within my reach in relation to the subject. I have secured photographs of representative animals of the several breeds, and given a short history of them. The photographs will be found to convey a more accurate description of the animals than cuts or lithographs. I am under obligation to William Smith, esq., of Benholm Castle, Kincar- dineshire, for the information he gave me regarding dead and live weight of stock and kindred matters; also to J. W. Barclay, esq., member of Parliament for Forfarshire, Scotland, who is a practical farmer, owning a considerable herd of pure Polled Angus cattle on his farm at Auehla- pan, Aberdeenshire, and is chairman of the Arkansas Valley Land and Cattle Company, which has a herd of 25,000 head in Colorado. He has recently visited this ranch aud there introduced Polled Angus and Gal- loway bulls. Mr. Barclay is a recognized authority on cattle breeding* and agricultural matters, and accordingly he has favored mo with in- formation relative to " the best animals to export to the United States," " the purchasing price of the animals," and " the best means of increasing the exports of meat to this country from the United States." To Thomas Ferguson, esq., of Kinochtry, near Coupar Angus, and others I am par- ticularly obligated for valuable information regarding the Polled Angus and other breeds of cattle within this district. Mr. Ferguson has been a contributor to various agricultural papers in Great Britain and America, and has received prizes for reports and essays on agricultural subjects, and was the first to direct the attention of American stock breeders to the superior merits of the Polled Angus cattle. He has made the breeding of cattle a specialty for the last forty-five years, and has now one of the finest herds of Polled Angus cattle in Scotland. 'ihe different breeds of cattle in this district are the Polled Angus, Shorthorns, Ayrshire, West Highland, aud Polled Galloway. A very small number in the aggregate of the Alderneys and Jerseys are to be iound in the parks of noblemen, but the five breeds mentioned, with their crosses, undoubtedly constitute the staple cattle in this district. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 209 THE POLLED ABERDEEN OK ANGUS BREED. The farmers of Aberdeenshire, it is stated, have done much to im- prove this breed and to make its beef famous in the southern markets. The number of this breed of cattle in Aberdeenshire is said to be greater than in all the rest of Scotland, and that district produced tho man that obtained the largest number of prizes awarded to any one man for ex- cellence in this breed, viz, the late Mr. William McCombie, of Tillyfour. In Aberdeenshire there are many celebrated breeders of this stock. Among the prominent ones may be mentioned Mr. G. Wilken, of Wa- terside, of Forbes, who owns an extensive herd, and who has sent nearly 1,000 head of these cattle to the United States and Canada within re- cent years. It has just been publicly stated in the Scotch newspapers that this gentleman has been offered and refused $50,000 from America for the privilege of picking a hundred head from his valuable herd of this breed. The following lithographs show specimens of the breed from Mr. Wilken's herd. This breed ranks as one of the highest, if not the highest, of beef, pro- ducing cattle in Scotland, and are called Polled Angus for the reason that they are without horns (polled), and we: 3 first raised and bred in the territory called Angus, which lies along the base of the Grampian Hills, embracing tho Strathmore Valley, and extending north nearly to Ab- erdeen. These ancient cattle remained in their native state isrom time almost immemorial until comparatively recent date. They were origi- nally of all colors and shapes. In tho year 1808, the late Mr. Hugh Watson, of Keillor, near Coupar Angus, whose herd had been owned by his ancesters for hundreds ~of years, began to try to effect some im- provement in the meat-producing capacity of his cattle, and his efforts were crowned with remarkable success. Mr. Thomas Ferguson also in- herited a herd of cattle from his father, whose "Doddies" (as these cattle were called) had been closely bred for generations without any change of sires, only the calf from the best cow being retained as a bull. In 1839 Mr. Ferguson purchased some heifers from Mr. Watson, and in years subsequently some more bulls and heifers, and finding them so much superior to those he received from his father, ho immediately com- menced breeding the. Keillor cattle, and from that time till now has made the breeding of Polled Angus cattle a business. He adopted what is called the " in and in7' line of breeding for more than thirty years, rarely going outside of his own stock for fresh blood, and it is by this system that he attributes his success as a breeder. I visited this gentleman's farm, called Kinnochtry, situated in the beautiful and fertile valley of Strathmore. His home farm comprises 420 acres, for which he pavs a yearly rental of $8 per acre. In addition to this rental he is at great expense for artificial fertilizers, stocking his farm, paying servants' wages, &c, yet he has made stock-raising profit- able, and he informed me that he realized this year from his cattle alone over $20,000. He has a herd of over 100 head of very fine pedigreed Polled Angus cattle, consisting of 2 stud of bulls, 41 cows, and the re- mainder calves and yearlings. He stated that he had just sold 20 bull- calves to Mr. George Whitfield, of the Government model farm, Canada, for $300 each. The beef of the Polled Angus cattle is of a superior kind; it gives a very high percentage of dead meat to live weight; in butcher's phrase, " it dies well and cuts up" admirably. Tho cattle are in general form lengthy, deep, wide, and even-proportioned, and are docile in dispo- sition, easily kept, and come to maturity early. They are hardy and H. Ex. 51 14 210 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. rigorous, and can adapt themselves to most all climates. They are uni- formly black in color. When well fed they mature at from 24 to 28 months. The average weight of 24-year-old steers is about 1,000 pounds dead weight, and will bring in the Scotch and English markets from $150 to $200 each. They are more particularly distinguished as beef producers than for being suitable for the dairy, being only fairly good as milkers. They are bred and raised extensively in the northeast of Scotland. Mr. Barclay, member of Parliament for Forfarshire; Mr. John Hanny, of Gavenwood, Banff ; Mr. Hume, near Brechir j Mr. T. M. Nicoll, of Littleton, Kirriemuir, and several others have paid great attention to the breeding of Polled Angus, and have now excellent herds of these cattle. The bull shown in lithograph No. 1 is Prince of the Eealm, bred by Mr. Ferguson at Kinochtry, now the property of Mr. John Hannay, of Gavenwood, Banff, Scotland. This bull while in the possession of the breeder gained a first prize at the Highland Society's show at Kelso in 1880, as a two-year-old, and the first prize at the same society's show at Glasgow in 1832, besides a number of champion prizes in minor shows. At Glasgow, at the age of four years and fourteen days, he weighed 2,600 pounds, with a heart girth of 8 feet 5 inches. Since he passed into Mr. Hannay 's possession he has gained other prizes and champion plates. He has been spoken of as one of the best Polled Angus bulls which has been seen for years. THE POLLED GALLOWAY BREED. This breed is black and polled like the Angus, but in disposition and maturing properties it more resembles the West Highlander. The Galloways may be described as the cattle of the Southern High- lands, while the West Highland cattle occupy the northern Highlands of Scotland. The following interesting report on Polled Galloway cattle was pre- pared for me by the council of the Galloway Society of Great Britain : POLLED GALLOWAY BREED. [Report prepared by the council of the Galloway Cattle Society of Great Britain for Consul Wells, of Dundee] This breed of polled cattle took its name from the province of Galloway, which now comprises the two southwestern counties of Scotland. Pedigreed herds of this "breed are principally kept in Galloway and Dumfries-shire, in Scotland and in Cum- berland, the most northwesterly county of England. The origin of the Galloways is lost in the mist of antiquity. An allegation has never been made in any well-informed quarter that they are not an original and distinct breed of cattle. From time imme- morial they have been polled or hornless. There is a tradition mentioned by some writers that in remote ages they were provided with horns, but it is nothing more than a tradition, for in the earliest notices of the breed, centuries ago, there is no allu- sion made to there being horned. So emphatically are they a hornless breed that it is a certain mark of an animal not being a pure Galloway if it has the smallest trace of horns. The Galloway breed of cattle was improved as early as if not earlier than any other breed of British cattle. Immediately after the union of England and Scot- land an extensive demand sprang up from the southeastern counties of England for Galloway cattle, and this induced the breeders to make great efforts to improve their bovine stock, in which they were very successful. This improvement was brought about not with crossing with other breeds, but in breediug from tho best and handsomest of both sexes, and by feeding and management. The improvement effected during the present century has been great, and it has been brought about by the same means, namely, by systematic and skillful mating of the best specimens of both sexes, and • • j*£ ^■^toiM ^^^^^H^HB * ■ jI •^ *m j ^ > _^z-^ ;^^i yW^ '"t. \ - ; A < H ^ ?^|l W^*' l "is^S ^\ I B •< ^ » {/■/£. ^wSbI "• ^^B v *- 9 ^H .*"» "" 9 nfiBi&S • ' 1 - $5 fe § - % & ■ • ;J ' •- j / Br ■;-'s'- •'■••' ..% ■ * THE UNITED KINGDOM. 211 also by attention to diet and general management. The Galloways, as a breed, can- not lay claim to any superiority as milkers. Their milk is rich in quality, but the quantity they give is not largo. However, the milking faculty runs in some strains, and individuals of them are excellent dairy cows. It is mainly as a beef-producing breed that Gallo vays have made a name for themselves. The quality of their beef is similar to that 01 the Aberdeen, Angus, and West Highland. The beef of these three breeds ranks as ' prime Scots " in the Smithfield and other leading British fat markets, realizing there the highest current rates. Its superiority arises from the fact that it is well marbled, the fat being well intermingled with the lean. In respect of proportion of dead to live weight Galloways kill unusually well, ma- tured animals of the breed being estimated by experienced butchers to dress upwards of GO per cent, of their live weight. Galloways arrive at maturity when from two to three years of age, according to tho way they are kept when young. A well-fed Gal- loway may be estimated to weigh when two years and nine months old 1,600 pounds live weight, and 1,000 pounds dead weight. Many weigh more, but others reared under adverse circumstances are less. No cattle in Britain are hardier than the Gal- loways except the West Highlanders, and the difference between these two breeds in this respect is very slight. In all improvements of the breed the retention of this ancient characteristic of them has been successfully kept in view. While their skin is mellow to the touch it is moderately thick. Moreover the profusion of long, soft hair, with a thick, mossy undercoat, which has always been characteristic of this breed, conduces to and is symptomatic of their exceptional hardiness. The Gallo- ways are kept on the low-lying farms, where mixed farming, grain-growing, and cat- tle breeding and feeding are practiced, and also on the intermediate hill grazings be- tween the high mountains and the lower valleys. Many herds are located in hill- lying districts where the climate is so severe and cold that the growth of the cereals is not attempted. A largo number of young Galloways are wintered in the open air, 1 the sky and the hills and tho glen," as has been said, being their only winter shel- er. This system is pursued not from scarcity of house accommodation but of delib- -ate choice, it being found by experience that from their hardy nature and being 'red to exposure they are not only able to stand the severities of the climate, but jt they thrive better and make more progress during the succeeding summer and an when wintered in the open air than under cover. It is a valued characteris- \.c of tho Galloways that they thrive well when kept upon poor and scanty fare, and indeed they have long proved themselves able to stand adverso circumstances, whether these arise from soil or climate or both. They are remarkably impressive as a breed, which is no doubt due to tho length of time — at least nearly two centuries — they have been bred from animals of the same type and possessed of the same characteris- tics. Alike in respect of color, absence of horns, and general outline and symmetry, their offspring from cows of other breeds so very closely resemble the black Galloway Polls that it is not easy to distinguish a pure from the cross-bred animal. When the Galloway bull is put to horned cows of any breed from 95 to 100 per cent, of the produce are found to be black and hornless, and in stamping their offspring with their qualities otherwise the prepotency of the Galloways is very marked. Galloways have long been in great favor for crossing with other breeds. Bulls of this breed have been very extensively put to both Short-horns and Ayr- shire cows, and in England especially it has been a favorite and highly successful mode of crossing for beef purposes to use the Short-horn bull on the Galloway cow. By either mode symmetrical cattle of large frames are produced. They aro hardy and their meat is free from patehincss, well mixed and superior. These Galloway crosses mature early and reach very heavy weights. A Galloway cattle society exists, its two main objects being (1) to maintain unimpaired the purity of the breed of cattle known as Galloway cattle, and to promote the breeding of these cattle, and (2) to collect, verify, preserve, and publish in a Galloway herd-book the pedigrees of the said cattle and other useful information regarding them. The headquarters of this society are at Dumfries, Scotland, and it has published eight issues of the Herd-Book.* Both of these animals (Nos. 15 and 16) are first-prizewinners at the Highland and Agricultural Society Show of Scotland, and are the property of and bred by Mr. James Cunningham Yarbreach, of Dalbeattie, Scotland. THE AYRSHIRE AS DAIRY OATTLE. I have been supplied with the following information regarding this breed : The Ayrshire is emphatically the Scotch dairy breed, and a thor- oughly thrifty dairy cow, and one that will fatten rapidly when dry, * Here follows a statement concerning the true characteristics of the Galloway breed, which was not published for tho reason that a similar statement appears in the report from Leith, to which tho reader is referred. 212 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. has few equals. The origin of this breed is difficult to trace ; no par- ticular men seem to have stood out conspicuous frou; their fellows as breeders or improvers. The chief excellence of the breed is supposed to have arisen from the peculiar circumstances of climate, soil, and sit- uation of several of the western counties of Scotland. The farmers in these districts noted the points that indicated good milkers, and, as a consequence, the best milking cows were put to good bulls, and in this way a very superior dairy breed has been established in the west of Scotland, and spread rapidly over most other parts of the country. No breed of cattle in Scotland will produce an equal quantity of milk, but- ter, and cheese to the Ayrshire. Many cows, when in their best con- dition and well fed, will yield 3 gallons per day for three months, and produce a total of from 500 to 700 gallons per cow per year 5 600 gallons per cow for the year has been considered an average on good farms. The proportion of milk to butter and cheese, the standard recognized in Ayrshire, is about (in imperial British gallons) 2J gallons of milk to 1 pound of butter, and 1 gallon of milk to 1 pound of cheese. The aver- age weight of a gallon of milk is 10 pounds 8 ounces, and the following figures show the result of a milking competition at Ayr on the 26th and 27th days of April, 1861 : Name of owner. Greatest milk- ing. Average of four milkings. Weight of butter. A. Wilson J. Eendrie W. Eeid .. E. Wallace W. Eeid... •E. Wallace Lbs. OZ8. 28 12 26 0 25 7 28 14 30 15 25 5 Lbs. ozs. 24 3* 24 5 20 8} 28 8| 27 5J 23 8* Lbs. 0Z9. 2 2 '1* 15 In the above competition the greatest yield at a single milking was rather over 3 gallons, which produced at the rate of 15 pounds of butter per week. Being a competition, and the cows highly fed, the returns afford no fair criterion of the ordinary milking capacity of an Ayrshire cow. Two distinct classes of cows might be selected from among the Ayrshires — butter and cheese makers. Many cows, however, combine both the butter and cheese making faculties in a remarkable degree. Compared with the Polled Angus and Shorthorn, the Ayrshire is a small breed, but it is said that when crossed with a bull of either of the two breeds mentioned, the produce is an animal admirably adapted for maturing early and fattening rapidly. The color of Ayrshires is generally of red and white in spots ; sometimes white and black, or red or brown, and the horns are fine and twisted upwards. The face long, with a lively yet docile exi)ression. The figure of the body, enlarging from the fore to the hind quarters; broad across the loins ; the back straight ; the tail fine, long, and bushy at the extremity ; the udder white and capacious, coming well forward on the belly j the teats of middle size, set equally and wide apart from each other; milk veins prominent and fully developed. THE WEST HIGHLANDS. This hardy breed of cattle may be stated to ocuupy as its home the whole of the West and Middle Highlands of Scotland and the Western Islands. No cattle are possessed of more distinctive and strongly ■ THE UNITED KINGDOM. 213 marked features than this breed. Their limbs are short, but mus- cular; chests wide and deep; ribs well developed aud fairly arched ; backs straight; neck and dewlap somewhat coarse in the bull; horns of groat length, spreading and tipped with black ; colors various— brindle, dun, cream, red, and black. They give only a small quantity of milk, and are very slow in arriving at maturity, not becoming ripe until the age of five or six years. .Their beef is of a very superior quality and I heir hides make the best of leather. SHORTHORNS IN SCOTLAND. Shorthorns, as their name denotes, have short horns, and in color they vary from pure white to a deep or rich red. Tho most popular color for these animals in Scotland is a mixture of the two, forming a deep or light roan, sometimes called strawberry, flecked, or hazel. Shorthorns are as symmetrical as tho Polled Angus, and grow about the same weight. They are hardy and arrive at maturity early ; but, like the Polled Angus, they are principally noted as beef cattle. For the dairy they are not equal to some other breeds in Scotland. The first improvers of Shorthorns were the brothers Charles and llobert Colling, who commenced improving these cattle nearly a century ago; also Mr. Bates, Mr. Booth, and others, all in the northern counties of England. OFFSPRING OF IMPORTED CATTLE. The Departmental circular says : It i8 further believed that the imported breeds, when suitably located and managed, produce in their new homes offspring superior to that; produced by the same breeds in their original homes, and that the superiority is more marked in their succeeding than in the first generations. For instance, tho imported breeds of Shorthorns, Jerseys, and Holsteins are superior in tho United States to the same breeds in Europe ; and it is thought that tho same result would follow the importation of the Norman, Brittany, Flemish, and Charlevoi breeds, as well as others not enumerated. To what extent is this result realized in other countries ? In answer to this it has to be stated that, as Scotland does not im- port cattle to any appreciable extent for breeding purposes, little ex- perience can be quoted on the point in question. A few Shorthorns have been imported from the United States which were descended from stock originally sent from this country. The breeding Shorthorns imported from the United States by Lord Dunmore and other noblemen were of considerably larger size than animals of the same lineage reared in Britain. Tho ancestors of Short- horns had been in the United States for several generations and the superiority of their offspring imported to Britain over British-bred stock of the same breed was most marked. This would lead to the in- ference that cattle grow to a larger size in the United States than in Britain, the more especially as the herds of these noblemen who im- ported the cattle from the United States contained many of the largest aud best-fed animals of the breed in tho country. BEST METHODS OF EXPORTATION TO THE UNITED STATES. Scotland ^^yell supplied with railroads, and the cattle can be put into special trucks aud conveyed quickly to Glasgow, Liverpool, or London, where there are facilities of the best order for shipment, and most suitable and convenient accommodation for animals on board the large Atlantic liners which sail from these ports. 214 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. BEST ROUTES OF EXPORT, AND COST THEREOF. Per rail to Glasgow, Liverpool, or London, thence per suitable or specially fitted np fast steamers to the United States. The « through freight" of cattle from most parts of Scotland to the United States is about $26 per head; from the extreme northeast of Scotland, Aberdeen, Banff, or Peterhead, about $27.50. THE BEST SCOTCH CATTLE TO EXPORT. The most suitable animals to export to the United States depends on the climatic conditions of the States to which they are sent. As beef producers the Polled Angus, Shorthorns, West Highland, and the Polled Galloway are the best to export from this district. The West Highlander's beef is considered the best, and they are the most hardy, being able to stand much exposure and therefore best adapted for cold and mountainous districts, being able to live on coarse and scanty food. They are, however, small, and do not arrive at maturity till three or four years old. The Polled Angus rank next for superior beef, and are nearly as hardy as the West Highlanders, and are much larger in size and come to maturity at the age of from twenty-eight to thirty-six months. They are principally bred and raised in the northeast of Scot- land, and are believed to be very suitable for the northern part of the United States and western ranches. The Shorthorns are very large, and come to maturity at about the same age as Polled Angus, but their beef is of a coarser quality. The Polled Galloway very much resembles the West 'Highland, al- though larger, and comes to maturity earlier. The Aberdeenshire farm- ers, for beef, prefer a cross between a Shorthorn bull and a Polled Angus cow, as crosses of this origin arrive quickly at maturity, are of good size, and produce beef of fine quality. As milkers the Ayrshires are undoubtedly the best to take from this country. PURCHASING? PRICES OF ANIMALS. Per head. Average pure Polled Angus cattle $150 to $300 Black^Polled Galloways 100 250 Shorthorns 125 250 Ayrshires 75 150 West iSghland 75 125 All, of course, depends on quality. Very superior sepcimens of all of the breeds mentioned have repeat- edly been sold for exportation to the United States at considerably higher prices than the average given, but to obtain adequate specimens of the several breeds in this district the averages mentioned would have to be given, although sales at less prices have occasionally been made. For expenses for attendance and food en route, $6.25 for food (hay aud oil cake), and $1.25 per head for attendance— total, $7.50— is consid- ered sufficient, and with a good number of cattle on board the total expense would be about 8G.25. Some experienced United States traders in thoroughbred cattle are supposed to make $3.25 cover the total charges under this head. CATTLE STATISTICS OF SCOTLAND. The total number of cattle in Scotland for the year 1883 was 1,094,317. The percentage of the several breeds is not known from any statis- tics, but probably the cattle stock of this district is composed of three parts of cross-breeds and one part of the several pure breeds. THE UNITED KINGDOM 21& The percentage bred for the dairy about 20 ; for the butcher, about 80 per cent. Of late years stock in Scotland has decreased. Disease imported from time to time in live stock, causing farmers to cease from breeding cattle, has to a great extent been the cause of this decrease. Another cause is to be found in the improvement of the cattle, mak- ing them ready for the butcher earlier. And a third cause is the in- crease of population and wages, and consequent enhanced demand for butcher meat, which for many years has been sold for high prices in the Scotch and English markets. IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF MEAT AND CATTLE. The stock of cattle in Scotland is not nearly equal to the consumptive demand. The stock as shown is not sufficient for home demand, excepting ped- igreed stock, which is exported to the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, West Indies, and the continent of Europe. The farmers who in consequence of imported disease have ceased (in a measure), as already mentioned, to breed cattle, mostly get their sup- plies of feeding-cattle from Ireland, where a good many are bred and not many fattened. Some cattle from the United States and Canada have also been fat- tened in Scotland, and there seems to be no reason why this latter trade might not be extended to the advantage of all concerned. But if the Scotch farmers bred and fed cattle to the utmost of their ability the supply of fot cattle would still not be nearly equal to the consumptive demand. The continent of Europe, United States and Canada supply a large proportion of the beef consumed in Scotland and there is every reason to expect that the British demand for beef from these countries will continue to increase. TIIE NATURE OF THE IMPORT SUPPLIES. From the continent of Europe the beef is mostly in its live state ; from the United States about half the amount dead and the other half live. A large quantity of tinned or canned meat is also imported from Chicago and elsewhere in the United States. Some cargoes of frozen mutton have come from Australia and Kew Zealand which appear to have been a success. This trade is likely to increase. IMPORTS FROM THE UNITED STATES. A large number of live cattle, fresh meat in refrigerators, and tinned meat come from the United States. THE BEST MEANS OF INCREASING THE EXPORTS OF AMERICAN MEAT. If the United States Government would take measures to extermi- nate pleuro-pneumonia and to suppress any contagious diseases when they appear, the British Government would then admit freely the im- portation of fat and store cattle, greatly to the advantage of United States producers and of British farmers and consumers. The British farmers would profit greatly by having a supply of good store stock from the western plains, and fat stock would fetch a better price if they could be moved from the ports of landing to inland markets. 216 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. THE BEST MEANS OF INCREASING THE EXPORTS OF AMERICAN DAIRY PRODUCE is to send the best articles properly packed, quickly and carefully con- veyed, and they will then not only command the highest price in this market but the demand will also increase. WILLAED B. WELLS, Consul. United States Consulate, Dundee, February 24, 1884. Special statistics concerning the products of the several breeds of cattle in Scotland. Name of breed. Improved Polled Angus. Shorthorns , Ayrshire West Highland... Polled Galloway.. Annual average pounds of milk. 4,000 4,200 6,000 2,500 2,500 Milk to 1 pound of butter. Lbs. 24 20 25J 24 24 Milk to 1 pound of cheese. Lbs. 10 10* 10* 10 10 Live weight. Cow. Bull. Ox Lbs. 1,200 850 900 1,000 Lbs. 1,750 1,875 1,250 1, 350 1,500 Lbs. 1,500 1,600 1,050 1, 150 1,300 Age at maturity, Yrs. 31 Weight of meat at maturity. Lbs. 1,100 1,150 630 850 900 Color. Black. Ked.white, roan, and bnnvn. Various. Do. Black. Name of breed. Description. How long bred pure. Origin of breed. Improved Polled Angus. Shorthorns Ayrshire West Highland.. Polled Galloway. Long, low, deep, wide, even, and cylindrical and pleas- ing to the eye. Formed same as Polled Angus, only larger. (See description of A yrshires in report.) Shaggy-haired, level and square made. do 80 years. ...do.. From time im- memorial. ...do 30 years. Hugh Watson first im- prover. His coadjutors were Wal ker, Ferguson, and Bowie. Charles and Bobert Col- lins, Mr. Booth, and Mr. Bates. Not known. Native cattle of Scotland. Bev. J. Gillespie, Monser- w aid, first impiover. Name of breed. Improved Polled Angus . . . Shorthorns Ayrshire West Highland. Polled Galloway. Methods of housing. Housed in Novem- ber, December, January, F e b - ruary March, and April. Pastured during remaining months. Housed similar to the Polled Angus. Housed longer than other breeds. Seldom housed. Feeding. .do Pasture gP.iss in summer, turnips and straw in winter; occa- sionally oil- cake added. Grass, hay, tur- nips, and oi 1- cake. Grass, hay, tur- nips, and oil- cake: much cooked food in the shape of bran, beaus, and meal. Grass in the sum- mer; occasion- ally straw and turnips in win- ter. ...do Breeding. From 16 to 24 months. ...do ...do From 2$ to 3 years. .do Handling prod- ucts. Two men at $250 each per year are required for a herd num- bering 120. Do. $7.50 per head per annum. $2.50 per head per annum. Do. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 217 Altitude: In Scotland a high and almost continuous ridge of mountains run from the NNW. to SSE. To the east of this ridge of high ground the rainfall Ts comparatively small, and the climates of all districts not exceeding 500 feet above the sea are dry and suited for the successful cultivation of cereals. To the west of the ridge the rainfall is heavy and the climate moist, and therefore only adapted to the rearing of such stock as West Highland or Polled Galloway cattle. Mean temperature : The mean temperature of January, the coldest month, is '39° in the west and 37° in the east. The mean temperature of July, the warmest month, is about 64°. Wheat and barley are sufficiently ripened, although the mean temper- ature of July and August falls as low as 56°. Summer : Summers havo been bad in Scotland for the last seven years, generally cold and wet, with much want of sun. The impression current is that the seasons in Scotland are not as good as formerly. Winter-: Generally raw and open in Scotland, but for some years very wet, with little frost. Soil : All of the four varieties of soil above mentioned as well as others prevail in Scotland. Agricultural survey and surface mapping bf this country has been hith- rto little studied. Any approximation, therefore, of the relative proportions of the various descriptions of soils would, it is thought, partake largely of the character of conjecture. Substratum : The underlying rocks in this district are carboniferous, trap, old red, and alluvium. Cultivated grasses: Clover: For 1893, 1,502,004 acres. Rye-grass, &c : For 1883, 4,790,032 acres. SCOTCH BREEDING CATTLE FOR THE UNITED STATES. REPORT BY CONSUL LEONARD. As a means of obtaining the most reliable information regarding the kinds of Scotch breeding cattle which are likely to be of use to the stock-breeders of the United States, I applied to. William MacDonald, esq., editor of .the North British Agriculturist, aud ,he has kindly sup- plied me with much of the material that lorms the basis of this report. Mr. MacDonald published iu the North British Agriculturist an edi- torial on the subject which gives so fully aud clearly the information desired as to breeds of cattle peculiar to Scotland that I adopt it as part of my report and give it below without any material addition : EDITORIAL FROM THE NORTH BRITISH AGRICULTURIST. It is difficult to answer the queries of the circular definitely or accurately. There is a lack of data, but approximations can and will be given. At once it may he conceded that with dairying in the forefront there is only one breed native of Scotland which can be a great object to the American. That, of course, is the beautiful Ayrshire, whose milking properties are second to those of no ' ctherrace when properly developed, and whose fattening qualities, when dry, are aston- ishing. In the full flow of milk a cow cannot get fat ; but when an Ayrshire becomes yeald she is not difficult to fatten. This cannot be said with so much force* of the rival dairy breeds. An Ayrshire steer is a kindly feeder, and becomes good beef, if well kept throughout, at thirty to thirty-six months, with a live weight of from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds. The breed, however, being in such a pronounced manner a dairy one, the number of pure Ayrshire oxen is not large ; nor does the breed claim to rank high as beef-makers, though meat of pretty good quality is easily produced by Ayr- shires even after they have served their time at tho pail. Records of milking tests with Ayrshires should satisfy Americans that, keeping in view their tendency to lay on flesh when dry, there is no breed preferable to it where dairying is the main object, and few, if any, so good. The average annual yield of milk per cow of th« Ayrshire breed is fully 600 gallons. Of course, some animals produce far more than that, but others are less. The return 218 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. of butter per cow annually has been estimated at about 250 pounds, and of cheese rather over 500 pounds. With the Polled Aberdeen-Angus, the Polled Galloway, and the West Highland breeds there have not been any reliable or exhaustive milking tests. Those breeds are reared chiefly for beef-making purposes; but many animals, especially of the Polled description, are fine milkers. The three breeds excel in respect of the richness of their milk, but comparative analyses on this point are wanting. The Aberdeen- Angus, taken as a whole, cannot claim to be more than fair-milkers. A few cows in almost every large herd, in yield of milk, make a decent approach to an Ayrshire— producing between 500 and 600 gallons per annum. A considerable number, however, notably where the animals have been fed hard, as heifers, would not reach more than half that quantity. In these circumstances, it is doubtful if the average would be quite 400 gallons per cow annually. But when you come to the production of beef this breed stands second to none. Indeed, if early maturity is combined with the quality of the meat, it is probably not too much to say that the Aberdeen-Angus has no equal as a butcher's beast among the pure breeds in this or any country. They "die" remarkably well ; that is to say, they accumulate a con- siderable quantity of fat and tallow internally. Then the wealth and texture of flesh are superb. The weight at maturity varies a good deal. Picked bulls or oxen fattened hard for exhibition scale occasionally as much as 2,700 pounds, and we have seen females of the breed exceed 2,000 pounds. A good average live weight for cows of the breed, as they go to the butcher, is from 1,200 to 1,400 pounds. Bulls generally range from 1,600 to 1,800 pounds. Oxen not intended for competition in the show-yard, but lib- erally fed throughout, will go to the butcher at the age of thirty to thirty-six months weighing from 1,500 to 1,700 pounds. The great value of the Aberdeen-Angus in a country like America is its potency in crossing with the rougher native breeds. It lends flesh and quality to the lanky, somewhat sharp-topped, ordinary ranch variety. The Galloway, like the Northern Polled, is a very old breed. It has not the credit of maturing quite so early as the other j>olled breed, at least it seldom gets the chance. It is as largo in frame as the Aberdeen- Angus, but, as a rule, it is not fattened to such an extent; consequently, the recorded weights are rather less for the Galloway. The dairying properties of the Galloway are not high, though many cows of tho breed are really good at the pail, and the quality of the milk is excellent. An American critic recently said that the Galloway beat the Aberdeen- Angus in the production of oxtail soup. That may be, but the breed has greater merits than that. It is exceptionally hardy, carries a great quantity of very fine flesh, and is admirably adapted for a wet climate and high exposed country. Galloways have never been so well protected from cold in winter nor quite so generously fed as the Aberdeen-Angus have long been and are. Galloways are so hardy and so much accustomed to exposure that they should be eminently suited for ranching on the great Western prairies. They cross successfully with other meat-producing breeds ; a cross between a Galloway cow and Shorthorn bull, for instance, has long been a favorite butcher's beast in the border counties, and commands, when well finished, as high prices as the oft-quoted "prime Scot" in the Southern markets. Next to the West Highland, the Galloway breed is probably the hardiest in Britain. The West Highland breed is comparatively unknown in America. A few specimens, however, have lately been sent out, and wo hope more will follow. Being horned, and sometimes nervous, or vicious even, they are not so easily handled as the Polled breeds or as the Shorthorns, but their unrivaled hardiness and rare quality of flesh would be of service on the American ranch. Their beef is of the richest and most palatable nature, and their shapes and character are grand and pronounced. They would, by judicious mating, reduce the "daylight" and tone down the "timber" of the Texan or Western varieties. Many of the Highlanders are never under cover, summer nor winter, and the death-rate is astonishingly small. The West Highlander will npt milk, mature, nor weigh with the Scotch Polled. The milk, however, though short m quantity, is believed to be the richest of its kind in the Kingdom ; the beef has the finest of flavors, and is beautifully mixed. They are not usually matured till about four years old, but their ripening properties have not been fully tested. They are fed on more scanty herbage than any other British breed of cattle. If West Highlanders were fed generously from calf hood they would, as a rule, be perfectly ripe at the age of three years, if not before. SPECIAL STATISTICS CONCERNING SCOTCH BREEDS. The following information is supplied to assist in properly locating under similar conditions in the United States such foreign animals as THE UNITED KINGDOM. 219 have proved by long experience to have been profitable in their native homes: Name of breed. .™?"S Mflktoi Milk to l ^Ti^fr'f pound of pound of S liilk butter' 3heea* Live weight. Cow. Bull. Ox. Ago at maturit y. Weight of meat at maturity. Polled Aberdeen Angus Polled Galloway West Highland Ayrsbiro 400 330 GOO Galls. Galls. H n Lbs. 1,300 1, 250 1,050 900 Lbs. 1,700 1,650 1,400 1,150 Lbs. 1.G00 1,550 1,380 1,050 Trs. Lbs. 900 850 720 Name of breed. Color. Description.* How long bred pure. Origin of breed. Polled Aberdeen Angus . . . Black do Long deep body on short legs ; the finest of beef ; rich flesh on small bone ; glossy coat ; best of beef producer.-*, and fairly hardy. Long haired, deep framed, wealthy fieshed, strong bone, very hardy; suitable for wintering outside. Long horns, long hair, short legs, deep ribs, good out- line, somewhat narrow frame, great length, hard- iest Britisb breed, winter outside. Short upstanding horns, sharp hind quarters, broad ribs, smooth skin ; best dairy breed in Scotland, if not in Great Britain. Nearly a cen- tury. Over a cen- tury. Time imme- morial. For genera- tions. The old Scotch cat- tle. West Highland Black, red, dun. yel- low, brin- dled. Black and white, red and white, brindled. Obscure. Name of breed. Product. Labor. Meat. Milk. Cheese. Polled Aberdeen Angus . . . Good Tho finest grained.. Excellent rich flavor. Finest flavor Fair quality Hich Fair. Polled Galloway Good quality Rich but small Great in quantity and of fair qual- ity. Good quality. Fine West Highland Untractablo .. Scarcely used. Ayrshire , Notk.— Animals fattened hard from youth for exhibition of the Polled and West Highland breeds arrive earlier at maturity than is indicated above, and attain greater weights, but the estimates given are about average. Cows fed on bean-meal or other special food will give larger returns in milk, but- ter, and cheese than the above. In supplement to the foregoing tabular matter, I subjoin farther in- formation relative to the Polled Galloway and Ayrshire cattle* which, may be deemed of interest. CHARACTERISTICS OF A TYPICAL, GALLOWAY. I quote from a pamphlet published by the -Rev. John Gillespie, M. A., editor of the Galloway Herd-Book of Great Britain (to whom I am in- debted for other information contained in this report), as follows: Statement of the characteristics of a typical animal of the Galloway lyreed. [Drawn up by tho council of the Galloway Society of Gio:it Britain, 18th April, 1883. J Color : Black, with a brownish tinge. Head : Short and wide, with broad forehead and wide nostrils ; without the slight- est symptoms of horns or scurs. 220 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Eye: Large and prominent. Ear : Moderate in length and broad, pointing forwards and upwards, with fringe of long hairs. Neck: Moderate in length, elean, and filling well into tho shoulders; the top in a lino with the back in a female, and in a male naturally rising with ago. Body. — Deep, rounded, and symmetrical. Shoulders : Fiue and straight, moder- ately wide above; coarse shoulder points and sharp or high shoulders are objection- able. Breast: Full and deep. Back and rump: Straight. Bibs : Deep and well sprung. Loin and sirloin : Well filled. Hook bones : Not prominent. Rind quarters : Long, moderately wide, and well filled. Flank: Deep and full. Thighs: Broad, straight, and well lot dojvn to hock ; rounded buttocks are very objectionable. Legs : Short and clean, with fine bone. Tail : Well set on and moderately thick. Skin : Mellow and moderately thick. Blair : Soft and wavy, with mossy undercoat; wiry or curly hair is very objec- tionable. CHARACTERISTIC POINTS OF AYRSHIRE CATTLE. The second article is quoted from the report of a committee of the Ayrshire Agricultural Society appointed to revise the points indicating excellence in the Ayrshire breed of cattle, as follows : Proposed ratio scale of points of excellence in Ayrshire cattle. Points. (1) Head short, forehead wide, nose fine between tho muzzle and eyes, muzzle large, eyes full and lively, horns wide set on, inclining upwards 10 (2) Neck moderately long, and straight from the head to the top of the shoul- der, free from loose skin on the under side, fine at its junction with the head, and enlarging symmetrically towards the shoulders 5 (3) Fore quarters : Shoulders sloping, withers fine, chest sufficiently broad and deep to insure constitution, brisket and whole fore quarters light, the cow gradually increasing in depth and width backwards 5 (4) Back short and straight, spine well defined, especially at the shoulders, short ribs arched, the body deep at the ilanks 10 (5) Hind quarters long, broad, and straight; hook bones wide apart, and not overlaid with fat; thighs deep and broad ; tail long, slender, and set on level with the back 9 (6) Udder capacious. and not fleshy, hinder part broad and firmly attached to the body, the sole nearly level and extending well forward, milk veius about udder and abdomen well developed. The teats from 2 to 2} inches in length, equal in thickness, the thickness being in proportion to the length, hanging perpendicularly ; their distance apart at the sides should be equal to about one- third of the length of the vessel, and across to about one-half of the breadth 33 (7) Legs short in proportion to size, the bones fine, tho joints firm 3 (8) Skin soft and elastic, and covered with soft, close, woolly hair 5 (9) Color red, of any shade, brown or white, or a mixture of these, each color being distinctly defined. Brindle or black and white is not in favor ... 3 (10) Average live weight, in full milk, about 10£ cwt 8 (11) General appearance, including style and movement... 10 Perfection '. 100 JOHN LORKE STEWART (of Coll), Convener of Committee. At the annual general meeting of 19th February, 1884, the above report was adopted, and ordered to be printed and circulated amongst tho members and oilier* JAMES McMURTRIE, Secretary, METHODS OF HOUSING SCOTCH CATTLE. Polled Aberdeen Angus. — Grazing in summer. Stalls or partially cov- ered courts in winter. . Polled Galloicay. — Grazing in summer. Wintered mostly in open air, and partially in court-yards. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 221 „ West Highland.— Outside through summer and winter. Supplied with hay and some turnips during severe snow storm or frost. Ayrshire.— Grazing in summer. Kept mostly in byres during winter, with runs out in open weather. FEEDING SCOTCH CATTLE. There is very little cake or purchased food fed to any of the breeds, excepting for animals intended for exhibition, or during the last few months of preparation for the butcher. Bather more extra feeding is supplied to the Aberdeen Angus than to the other breeds, especially in the case of high-bred pedigree stocks. BREEDING SCOTCH CATTLE. In the select pedigree herd bulls are kept in the house, and the females are brought to them at the discre&ou of the owners, having scrupulous regard to the relationship and* corresponding features of the animals. In general commercial stocks, or breeding for the butcher, it is quite common in the case of Galloway, Highland, or Ayrshire cattle, to al- low a bull to graze regularly in a park with twenty to thirty females. HANDLING PRODUCTS. As regards dairy produce, that obtained from the Galloways aud Ayr- shires is largely made into cheese, the remainder being chiefly disposed of in sweet milk to the largo towns by rail and milk-carts. The Polled Angus and Highland inmost cases foster their own calves and supply milk for the necessities of the various holdings. A great many of the Ayrshire cows' calves are sent at once to the butcher, while others are fattened at the age of a month or two as veal, but the calves of the other three breeds are, as a rule, brought to ma- turity at the various ages indicated in the foregoing table. TOrOGRAPnY OF SCOTLAND. With reference to the questions of altitude and temperature indicated on the schedule accompanying the cattle circular, I may briefly state that Scotland has been aptly defined as "a great plateau, deeply cut into valleys and having mountains rising to 2,000 or 3,000, aud occa- sionally even 4,000, feet of elevation." The climate is exceedingly va- riable. From its insular position, however, the cold in winter is not so intense nor the heat in summer so great as in corresponding latitudes in the United States or on the continent of Europe. The temperature, except in moorlands in the interior and the more mountainous districts, seldom remains long at the freezing point, nor in any part of the country does it often rise to an intensity incommod- ing the labor of the field. The ordinary greatest range of the ther- mometer is between 84° and 8°. While the average temperature generally may be held to range be- tween 45° and 47°, it is noteworthy that it does not descend as the ob- server moves northward, or to the vicinity or into the interior of the Highlands. The mean temperature of Scotland, noted at fifty-five stations, alti- tude 256 feet, during the year 18S3, was 45° 9', and the mean tempera- ture of the .city of Edinburgh with an altitude of 260 feet, for the yarn© period, was 46° 9', 222 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. As to the proportions in which the various soils are distributed throughout Scotland, I find it stated in a work of reference which, al- though published some years ago, is still valuable in many respects as an authority, that — English acres. The loams amount to 1,869,193 Rich clays 987,070 Gravelly soils 681,862 Cord or inferior clays 510,265 Improved mossy soils « 411,096 Alluvial haugh or carse land 320,193 Sandy soils 263,771 Total cultivated land, probably 5,043,450 Total uncultivated land 13,900,550 Total area , 18,944,000 or 29,600 square miles. Of this area about 4,000 square miles belong to the islands. According to the agricultural returns recently published, I find that the cultivated area of Scotland is now estimated to be about 4,800,000 acres. Eegarding the questions of soil and substratum and their conjoint relation to the cattle and the natural feeding products of a district, I would take the district of Aberdeenshire and Banffshire as the best type iu Scotland. The cattle from that part of Scotland command the highest price in the London markets, partly clue to the breed and partly to the natural feeding facilities possessed. More than one-half of the area is occupied by granite, generally in a decomposed state. This decomposed granite, being rich in alkalies (potash and soda), from the decomposition of the feldspars and mica, forms a soil to which only a proportion of phosphate requires to be added as an artificial manure to raise the best turnip crop in Scotland. The high feeding powers of these turnips, along with the natural clover that grows freely all over the shire, enable the Aberdeenshire farmers to turn out the best-fed cattle in the market. EXPORT AND PRICES OF SCOTCH CATTLE. In reply to the memoranda accompanying cattle circular I have to state as follows : The best method of exportation to the United States is by regular cattle-carrying steamers. The best animals to export are Polled Angus, Polled Galloway, Short- horns, and Herefords. ' The best routes of export and cost thereof are from London, Liver- pool, and Glasgow, on an average of $17 to $24. The purchasing prices of the animals are, for good class yearlings : Polled Aberdeen or Angus, £30 ($146) to £50 ($243.33). But individual specimens of the choicer pedigreed Aberdeen or Angus have realized over 500 guineas ($2,554.91). Galloways, £25 ($121.66) to £40 ($194.66), while choice pedigreed specimens of the Galloway breed have likewise fetched long prices. West Highland, £15 ($73) to £20 ($97.33) : Ayr- shire, £20 ($97.33) to £25 ($121.66). The estimated expense for attendance and food en route is about £1 ($4.86) a head, if ten or more go. DISTRIBUTION OF SCOTCH CATTLE. Throughout Scotland Shorthorns are more generally distributed than any of the four distinct breeds peculiar to the country, but these latter ■s s 5 § iS^SEiSfe 1 (paBtfe-* • ^5$^ ' BP% Pm ,^^S»^^B RS ^^^^^mU| '' 1 ||w .•^?|£: JBf iifl i ##Bl Jl^BH • ;:?"v 1 WBK&!& ' '~'?Ji&eBSS&££ie3^<9KL Ir-- 'min -fT ' ■ BR - 7^| . ^^SSBKr^yc-' aBI^^H^^^^^Sh nH& 1 i ;-*■ ^■f*>y 1 *•& BByl 1B1 I I ;% ■JSiim^M ■ ■ A H V % ::'- s - £. ' ^ ' fVA! ■ THE UNITED KINGDOM. 223 cover the ground they belong to more closely. The Galloways and Ayr- shires may be said to completely cover the southwest of Scotland from Stirling arid Dumbarton to Wigton. The West Highland cattle occupy the northwestern counties, and the Polled Aberdeen Angus with Short- horns, the northeastern counties. Shorthorns are more numerous in the northeastern counties (in the Polled Aberdeen district) and they extend to the southeastern counties. BREEDING FOR DAIRY AND BUTCHER. About 15 per cent, of the cattle in Scotland are bred for the dairy and about 85 per cent, for the butcher. NUMBER OF CATTLE IN SCOTLAND. With respect to increase or decrease of stock in this couutry, I may state that according to the board of trade returns, collected on 5th June, 1883, the number of cattle of all ages in Scotland was 1,094,317. This is a slight increase on the figures for 1882, but less than the num- ber returned for 1872, as thus shown : 1872 1,120,593 1878 1,095,337 1882. 1.081,246 1883 1,094,317 Nevertheless, there was a slight increase during same time in En- gland and Wales, making the total for Great Britain rather more in 1883 than in 1872. IMPORTS OF CATTLE INTO GREAT BRITAIN. England and Scotland are largely dependent on foreign supplies of cattle. The needed supplies are obtained thus : From the United States : Large numbers weekly of fat cattle, gener- ally of the best quality. These have to be slaughtered at the port of debarkation ; also a very large quantity of killed meat. From Ireland : Heavy weekly supplies of fat, and, in the season, large numbers of store cattle. Spaio and Portugal : About 25,000 to 30,000 head of good class fat cattle weekly. The northern countries of Europe : Gross number about 5,000 cattle weekly. Russia : A considerable and increasing trade in dead meat. Canada : Gross number about 60,000 cattle, of which probably 10,000 to 15,000 bought by farmers to feed. PORTRAITS OF REPRESENTATIVE SCOTCH CATTLE. In accordance with requirement expressed in the memoranda above referred to, I have secured portraits of representative cattle of the sev- eral breeds, and send them herewith. The list of portraits is as follows : Polled Aberdeen or Angus (by favor of George J. Walker, esq., Portlethen, Aber- deen) : (1) Bull. Sir Maurice (1319). (2) Cow. Juno (3374). (3) Cow. Sybil, second of Tillyfour (3?2G) and her hoifer calf Sappho Sybil (5020). Polled Galloway (by favor of Rev. John Gillespie, M.D., Mouswald, Dumfries): 224 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. (4) Bull. Harden (1151), from oil painting by Gouday Steel, animal painter to the Highland and Agricultural Society). (5) Cow. Clara (1375). (6) Heifer. Lalla Rookh (2142). West Highland (by favor of John Robertson, esq., Old Blair, Bleir Athole): (7) Bull. Photographed from one of the Duke of Athole's herd. (8) Cow. Photographed from one of the Duke of Athole's herd. Ayrshire (by favor of James McMurtrie, esq, Ayr.) : (9)*Bull. Baron O'Bucklyire (281) at four years. (10)*Cow. Bright Smile (1307) at four years. Those portraits are not uniform and do not indicate the size of each animal relatively to the others, hut I believe the relative size of each animal can be estimated by reference to the tabular matter in this re- port. Besides the gentlemen whom I have named as having aided me with materials for this report, I am indebted for much of the information contained in it to Messrs. John Swan & Sons, the eminent cattle agents of Edinburgh and Glasgow. J. A. LEONARD, Consul- General (lately Consul at Leith). United States Consulate-General, Calcutta, July 18, 1884. CATTLE IN IRELAND. REPORT BY CONSUL PIATT, OF QJJEEKSTOWN. RAVAGES OF THE FOOT AND MOUTH DISEASE. Since receiving cattle circular many letters of inquiry addressed to persons presumed to have the best and fullest knowledge upon the sub- ject of breeding cattle in my district have been written, the answers to which have been few and far between as well as meager. The follow- ing statement is made up of information thus received supplemented by personal inquiries which I have caused to be made : During the past year several districts in Ireland have suffered very severely, owing to the introduction of foot and mouth disease from Eng- land. With a view to checking its spread and ultimately " stamping out" the disease, very stringent restrictions were placed upon the cattle trade of the entire island by the veterinary department of the privy council. Fairs and markets were prohibited in many parts of Ireland, and several of the most important shipping ports were closed against exporters. Irt order to secure open ports in England and Scotland for Irish cattle it became necessary to have cordons drawn around the un- infected districts in Ireland, and no cattle were permitted to be shipped from districts outside those embraced by these cordons. Even cattle inside the cordons could only be shipped on the production of a certifi- cate from the clerks of the poor-law unions, who had means at baud for satisfying themselves that no infected cattle were permitted to leave Irish ports. By this arrangement, and owing to these very crushing restrictions, the important stock-breeding province of Oonnaught was for a time completely suppressed, all sales of cattle being prohibited ex- cept by special license of the lord lieutenant, or else by means of an ap- plication to the clerk of the local authority or a justice of the peace. * For portraits of Ayrshire cattle see report of Consul Wells, of Dundee. H^^ ^■j^^ f ^m A * w V -^^^S i/" • *;'; .a ^^^^^BbSS*?* • :■- p Hup' ■^5& - KE-^ • • • ■r I \?affi ^^^^^^ — > tth^ £0 |S| B^. H^B • •^ N ^■feNK ,|g^ ■^■**?*K.-*a !HS5r F5 -P-SE^P^T- Js. & s &1 S * & b & 1 1 • *>* : . '■'■■:> * v fc». ^^H Ifekw N JK Ilk J * vjiB Ail 5 § * - - r> o Z v: JO > o . n ■n r- > 2 > z D m •" THE UNITED KINGDOM. 225 No oider like this has ever before been issued in Ireland, and the effect of the mandate upon small stock-breeders must prove almost ruinous. Some idea of the disastrous effect of these restrictions upon the cattle trade of the entire country may be gathered from the fact that it is in this same province of Connaught that the largest and most important cattle fair held in Ireland takes place. The fair referred to is that an- nually held in Ballinasloe, and which is always attended by large num- bers of stock-breeders from the other three provinces, viz, Munster, Leinster, and Ulster, in search of young stock for fattening purposes. The stopping of the source from which these young stock were obtained caunot but have a very damaging effect on the entire cattle trade of the country. THE CATTLE TRADE OF IRELAND. The cattle trade of Ireland is undoubtedly its greatest and most flour- ishing industry, surpassing as it does by several millions of pounds ster- ling annually the very important and prosperous linen trade of the northern province (Ulster). For several years past Irish stock- breeders have been receiving from England and Scotland in exchange for live stock an annual average of $73,000,000. The returns for the year just closed have not yet been made out, but it is anticipated that they will prove the most depressing on record, and on a rough estimate the sum realized it is not expected will exceed £8,000,000 or £10,000,000. In the year 1882 there were exported from Ireland to Great Britain 201,777 fat cattle, 430,000 " stores" (lean cattle), and of other descriptions 3,000, or a total of 724,777. During 1883 not more than half this number have been exported, owing to the restrictions above referred to. For four out of the twelve months the export of u store" cattle from Ireland to England was prohibited altogether, and for seven months of the year the restrictions of a general character were so great as to almost extin- guish the cattle trade in some portions of the island. The precautions adopted by the veterinary department, however, are having the desired- effect; the spread of the disease has been checked, and its ravages have now been il stamped out" of some districts. In proportion as these good results are being realized the restrictions are being removed; but, though a considerable improvement has taken place, the cattle trade of the country is still very much crippled, and it will take some time be- fore it recovers the serious check which it has sustained. In connection with this part of the subject it will be of interest to draw a comparison between the prices which cattle brought in 1872 and 1883 at Ballinasloe fair. In 1872 first-class oxen (mixed breeds) real- ized £24 10s. ($119.22) per head. In 1875 the same class brought £25 10s. ($124.09) per head, while last year these quotations fell to £20 10s. ($09.76), and as low as £13 ($63.26) per head for fourth-class animals. In 1872 first-class heifers sold at £20 ($97.33), and last year they brought £22 ($107.06); the quotations for fourtb -class animals being£14($6S.13). CATTLE CENSUS OF IRELAND. The total number of cattle of all classes and breeds in Ireland in 1883 was 4,090,021, an increase of 108,810 over 1882. Of this number there were in Leinster 1,066,502, increase 35,330 ; in Ulster 1,078,049, Increase 24,221 ; in Connaught 623,997, increase 10,815; and in Munster 1,327,473, increase 38,444. The table which I inclose will show the number and description of cattle in each county of Munster (in which province this consulate has H. Ex. 51 15 226 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. its jurisdiction) during the years 1882 and 1883. Of the different breeds comprised in this return it is impossible to give the proportions, though cattle of mixed breeds largely predominate. GENERAL INFORMATION CONCERNING CATTLE IN IRELAND. I return herewith the printed form which accompanied circular of July 18, 1883, with the blanks filled so far as 1 have been able to obtain the requisite data. Dr. William K. Sullivan, president of the Queen's College, Cork, who is considered the first authority on the sub- ject of inquiry in Southern Ireland, and to wham I am indebted for the principal topographical and scientific facts (including the list of grasses), remarks in sending the same to me : Our farmers are so little accustomed to such numerical and accurate details that I assure you it is very difficult to give such information. The details about the breeds of cattle have been given by Mr. James Byrne, J. P.,Wattstown Castle, Shanbally- more, County Cork, one of the most experienced agriculturists in the county, and one too who had the advantage of scientific training. The information about the geology could, as you will at once see, be only general, and I have accordingly written it across the columns. Mr. Eichard J. Maxwell Gumbleton, J. P., Glanatore, Tallow, County Waterford, a successful breeder and exporter of Shorthorns in South- ern Ireland, has been kind enough to furnish some expressions of opin- ion as well as information on various points referred to in your instruc- tions. Mr. Gumbleton states that the best method of exporting cattle from the south of Ireland to the United States is by shipping them from the ports of Cork or Waterford via Liverpool to any port of our country. There are, he says, very valuable herds of Shorthorns in Ireland, and the bulls from these herds he has no doubt would pay well for exportation to the United States. The only other breed peculiarly good, Mr. Gumbleton says, are the Kerry cattle, which are very pretty (small in size and black) and very good milkers. The Shorthorns in Ireland are altogether bred for dairy purposes, the mixed breeds being reserved more for the butcher. Latterly the breeding of stock in the south of Ireland is on the increase, and the supply is very much in ex- cess of the home demand ; in fact the stock-breeders of Ireland live by exportingvast numbers of cattle every year to England and Scotland. It would, therefore, in Mr. Gumbleton's opinion, be highly undesirable to export cattle from the United States to Ireland for dairy uses or for the purpose of the butcher ; in fact, sending cattle to Ireland would be somewhat like " sending coals to Newcastle." His experience is that cattle, as a rule, if circumstances be favorable, greatly improve by ex portation, and he would willingly use an American-bred bull, if well- bred, and think the fact of his coming from America a good recom- mendation. He doubts if the imported Shorthorns in the United States are superior to the best herds in England and Ireland, and he strongly suspects there are a greater number of first-class Shorthorns in England and Ireland than there are in the United States. He believes, however, that most breeders would be glad to have a change of blood, provided the animals were well-bred, and he considers such a change would be attended with satisfactory results to all concerned. Mr. Eichard Good, Aherlow, County Cork, an extensive and success- ful cattle breeder and exporter, has in reply to questions given the fol- lowing information in connection with the cattle trade : The best animals to export to the United States are Shorthorns, and Pedigree Short- horns can be had as low as £40, and as high as £1,000, or more, each. Kerry cattle are also very good, and these are attracting more attention than they did formerly. THE UNITED KINGDOM. 227 owing to the ease with which they are managed. They are particularly suited to mountainous districts, which would not properly feed Shorthorns. Good Kcrrys can be had for £20 each. The best means of exporting cattle from the south of Ire- land would be via the ports of Cork or Waterford to Liverpool, aud thence by the steamers of the National Lino to the United States. Tho steamers of the National Line being the largest and steadiest, are best adapted for the purpose. As to fodder, hay, oats, bran, and some cake would form very good food for the vovage. The sup- ply of eiit tie in the south of Ireland is very much in excess of the home demand, and the surplus stock are exported to the midland counties of England and Scotland. The rate for transportation of cattle from Cork to Liverpool, by local steamers, is about (2.60 per head, insurance extra. It may prove interesting to note that the total acreage of the province of Munster is 5,934,082, which during the years 1882 and 18S3 was utilized as indicated in the inclosed statement. JOHN J. PIATT, Consul. United States Consulate, Queenstoicn, April 3, 1884. Return showing the number and description of cattle in each county, in the province of Mini- ster during the years 1882 and 1688. Counties. Milcli cows. Two years old and upwards. One year old and under two years. Under one year. Total. Cork: 1882 177, 021 175, 800 103, 519 101,851 51, 004 54,032 96, 315 05, 855 81, 080 83, 070 41,080 40, 058 41,278 38, 601 21,725 20,750 33, 805 28, 634 24, 484 23, 389 51,100 52,504 13,682 13, 579 63, 070 66, 151 29, 449 28, 891 34, 180 37, 257 23, 187 25, 560 49, 543 55, 748 18,701 19,990 101,309 109,845 51,511 50, 574 36, 5G4 44, 136 59,854 00, 234 60, 886 63, 857 22, 771 24, 248 383, 284 390,397 206, 204 208, 075 150, 153 164, 059 203, 840 211, 044 lg£3 Kerry : 1883 Clare : 1882 Limerick : J 1883 : . Tipperary: 242, 708 255, 185 96, 840 98, 713 1883 Waterford: 1883 551, 825 551, 572 186, 173 177, 406 332, 895 364, 832 Total : 218, 136 233, 603 1, 289, 029 3, 327, 473 1883 15, 467 31, 907 38, 444 253 8,767 Breeds of cattle in the south of Ireland. Name of breed. Annual aver- age pounds of milk. Milk to pounds of butter. Height at matur- ity. Live -weight. Cow. Bull. Ox. Cow. BulL Ox. 9, 450 4, 000 to 5, 000 .'!, 000 1, Lbs. 38 In. 50 48 50 54 In. 60 50 52 58 In. 04 52 54 62 Cwt. 9 to 14 4 5 9 Cwt. 15 to 23 5 6 12 Cwt. 12 to 2C 6 Limerick Dairy 8, 000 to 9, 500 15 228 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Breeds of cattle in the south of Ireland— Continued, Fame of breed. Age at matur- ity. Weight of meat at maturity. Color. Description. ETow long bred pure. Origin of breed. Shorthorn Trs. 5 5 5 5 Cwt. 6 to 9 4 5 7 Red and roan. Black ... Red Red and roan. This is well known Small hardy mount- ain breed. Small breed; good for fattening; not bo milky as Kerry. Middle-sized ; horns longer than those of the Shorthorns; good milkers. 100 years. Timoim- Eiomo- rial. 100 years. Time im- memo- rial. Imported from Yorkshire and Durham. Aboriginal. Cross between Ker- Limerick Dairy ry and Devon ; originated by a man named Dex- ter. Cross between Shorthorn and ancient dairy broed of the dis- trict. Mean temperature.— Cork, 51.5° Fahr. ; Limerick, 49.4° ; Waterford, 48.6°. The mean temperature of the southern half of Ireland varies from about 48° in the interior to 52° on the southwest seashore. Substratum. — The mountains in the south of Ireland are all Silurian and Devonian slates and sandstones. The plain of Munster, which comprises the great cattle dis- tricts of Limerick, Tipperary, and North Cork, is mountain limestone. Most of the river valleys also contain mountain limestone. Iu many parts of the country the un- derlying rock is covered with deposits of gravel and sandy clay, called by Irish geolo- gists '** drift," resultirig in part from ice action. These gravels correspond in great measure to the subjacent rock, that is, are " limestone gravels " in the limestone dis- tricts, and sandstone and slate gravels, clays, and sands in the Silurian and Devonian districts. Cultivated grasses. — The following are the kinds of grasses sown in laying down land for permanent pasture : Poa trivialis, roughis, meadow grass ; Poa pratensis, smooth- stalked meadow grass; Festuca duriuscula, or hard fescue, a variety of Festuca ovina, sheep's fescue ; Dactylis glomerata, rough cocksfoot grass ; Solium perenne, perennial rye-grass; Anthoxantum odoratum, sweet-scented vernal grass ; Cynosurus cristata, crested dog's-tail grass ; Alopicurus pratensis, meadow fox-tail grass ; Phlcum pra- tense, common catVtail grass; A vena flavescens, yellow oat; Festuca loliacea, a va- riety of Festuca pratensis, meadow fescue. [Common red clover and Italian rye are grown for hay, but are cut for soiliug iu early spring. White clover is generally sown with the grass seeds for permanent pasture.] Total acreage of Munster and utilization of same during the years 1882 and 1883. Tear. Total ex- tent under crops, in- cluding meadow and clover. Grass. Fallow. Woods and planta- tions. Bog and marsh and barren mountain land, water, roads, fences, &c. Total acre- age. 1882 1, 246, 394 1, 212, 170 3, 248, 167 3, 283, 458 4,578 4,120 111,415 110, 991 1,324,128 1, 323, 943 J 5,934,682 1883 35, 291 34, 224 458 424 185 THE UNITED KINGDOM. 229 BUTTER INDUSTRY OF IRELAIH). REPORT BY COXSUL PIATT, OF CORK In my report on the credit aud trade system in the south of Ireland published in No. 43 of Consular Reports, I mentioned the butter trade as the principal one identified with Cork. It has more than once, since I forwarded that report, occurred to me that a special report on the butter industry and trade in Southern Ire- land would not only be interesting to our people at large, but might afford some suggestions whereby our many countrymen interested in dairy farming, as well as those dealing in dairy products, would bo benefited. Accordingly, as giving full information regarding the butter indus- try in Ireland, and especially in the south of Ireland, as well as discuss- ing the relative condition of this local industry as compared with the same industry in other countries, stating the drawbacks under which it labors, and suggesting the proper steps to be taken for their removal and for the improvement of this staple industry of Southern Ireland, I inclose a copy of the evidence given last June, before a special commit- tee of the British House of Commons, by William J. Lane, esq., of Cork. Mr. Lane has contributed directly to one or two reports which I have heretofore made on trade between the United States and Ireland, &c. lie is a gentleman of great intelligence and enterprise, himself a butter merchant of large experience, one of the principal promoters of the Cork Exhibition of 1883, and likely to be widely known henceforth in the politics of Southern Ireland, being one of the newly chosen members of Parliament of the Nationalist party from the county of Cork. To Mr. Lane's statement, which relates to, illustrates, and discusses the dairy and butter industry at large, I add a report on the butter trade of Cork, explaining the advantages of the climate and soil in Munster for the production of butter, presenting various interesting statistics in con- nection with the local butter manufacture and trade, describing the customs and methods of the Cork Butter Exchange, giving the price of butter for a long series of years, &c, specially prepared and furnished for my use by T. J. Clanchy, esq., another prominent butter merchant of the city, who is mentioned in Mr. Lane's statement, and who is par- ticularly identified with the trade in canned butter. Mr. Clanchy has obtained gold and other medals at the Paris, Calcutta, and Melbourne Exhibitions, during recent years, over all competitors, for his hermeti- cally sealed canned butter, and contributed to the consular exhibit from this district last year at New Orleans a full display of his goods, which I think must have attracted the attention of such visitors as were inter- ested in the dairy products of the United States. In connection with the subject of canned butter, it may be well to direct the attention of those in our country so interested to the oppor- tunity which, I am told, exists for a large development of American enterprise with respect to this class of butter. Within seven or eight years France, Germany, and Denmark have, by the adoption of the system of packing butter in hermetically sealed cans, each containing 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, or 24 pounds of butter, secured the entire, or about the entire, trade of supplying the ships of the world, I believe that the American creamery butter is eminently suitable for this particular branch of the export butter trade. If this butter were packed 230 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING and sealed in cans similar to those exhibited by Mr.Clanchy, which pre- serve the butter fresh and sweet for a long period in any climate, im- mediately on being made at the creameries, nothing, so far as I can see, is to prevent its use in supplying the immense foreign shipping trade of our country. Whereas all vessels going from Europe to America take with them a supply for the double voyage, it would be quite practicable, if this enter- prise were introduced in the United States, to secure the entire business for American exporters. In my opinion our countrymen would be able to compete most successfully with European countries for this trade, inasmuch as all dairy products can be raised so much cheaper in the United States than at this side of the Atlantic: For the large passenger steamships the finest butter is utilized, and also for export to countries where the consuming population require, and can afford to pay for it, such as India, Japan, China, Australia, the South American countries, and those bordering upon the Mediterra- nean. For merchant shipping, and for the lower or poorer classes of the population in the above-named countries, a second and third quality of butter is good enough, and it is for the inferior qualities the United States, it would appear from the published market reports, require a greater outlet than for the products of the best dairies, inasmuch as the American markets, are constantly glutted with unsalable surplus stock of lower grade butter, chiefly owing to the inroads which the improved manufacture of butterine has made upon the markets hitherto available for the consumption of cheap genuine butter. Since merchant vessels use chiefly butter of the third quality, it will be seen that a market for large quantities of this class of butter might be found if the canning system were adopted for the supply now furnished for the most part by European exporters. Within a few years past two Irish houses have adopted this system of tinning butter, and their efforts have been crowned with great suc- cess, although their combined shipments are so small that it does not contradict my general statement that France, Germany, and Denmark monopolize the trade. The two Irish houses referred to are those of Messrs. Clear and Sons, and Mr. Clanchy, who furnishes the accom- panying interesting report. The latter shipper, at much trouble and expense, gave his fellow- tradesmen in the United States an opportu- nity of inspecting for themselves the way in which the tinned butter trade in Ireland is worked, by the exhibit at ISTew Orleans already men- tioned. In my report on the credit and trade system, I explained the method by which transactions are regulated between the producers and the butter brokers in Cork market. It may be worth while to quote that portion of said report ; it is as follows : In the beginning of the year the butter brokers of Cork market advance loans to the farmers to the amount of two-thirds of the value of their butter produce for the year, at rates of interest varying from 6 to 10 per cent. With this money the farmer pays his rent, buys stock and seeds ; according as he makes his butter he sends it to the broker to pay off his debt. The brokers borrow the money so advanced from local banks, at a lesser rate of in- terest than they charge. When they receive the butter from the farmers they sell it to the exporters for prompt cash, and the exporters ship to English merchants, giv- ing one and two months' credit for the payment. The export of butter is a different branch of the trade conducted by a different set of merchants, who, on receiving their orders from their THE UNITED- KINGDOM. 231 foreign correspondents, go to the Cork Butter Exchange daily and buy the brands they require at the open competition which takes place, as ex- plained by Mr. Clanchy, at 11 a. m. each day ; and they resell to their cus- tomers at a fixed regulation commission of 2s. 677. (or GO cents) per hundred- weight over the published Cork market price of that date. This commis- sion includes buying, selecting, carting, coopering, and shipping. Out of this commission they allow buyers a discount of two months at 5 per cent. (i. e., 2d. per pound sterling, or 4 cents per $4.87) for prompt cash payments, or they draw a bill on the purchaser at two months after date lor the net amount of the invoice. Unlike the American shippers they give the butter to the buyer before they receive either cash or bill, and frequently they have to regret this system of trading, as their customers often become bankrupts and completely evade payment for the goods purchased. Having observed the system here and in the United States, I am inclined to believe that the latter is the better and safer, since it re- quires the drafts to be paid by the consignees before they obtain posses- sion of the bills of lading, and consequently before they get possession of the goods. JOHN J. PIATT, Consul. United States Consulate, Corlc, October 29, 1885. THE BUTTER TRADE OF CORK.* Tho staple product of the South of Ireland is butter. The province of Munster, of. which Cork is the chief city, is essentially and before all other things a butter-pro- ducing country, for which it possesses a remarkable combination of natural advan- tages not to be found together elsewhere. The essential conditions for making good batter, arc: (1) A mild, "equable climate, not too hot in summer and not too cold in winter. (2) A sufficient rainfall to promote an abundant growth of grass. (3) A good firm soil, not over-rich. Fine butter cannot be made in an excessively hot cli- mate, and of course snow and frost, that cover and bind up the pastures for a consid- erable part of the year, render its production in quantity impossible. Grass-fed butter will always be the best, and tho country where the cattle can be fully grass-fed in the open air for tho longest period of the year is that in which most butter of good quality can be produced. The climate of Munster is rendered singularly even in its temperature by its geo- graphical position. Its coast lino extends over nearly tho whole southern end and a largo portion of the western side of the island, receiving the first influence of the great warm ocean current, tho Gulf Stream, which acts as an equalizer of temperature, a sort of governor, preventing tho winter from being too cold .and the summer from being too hot. The. warm vapors floating over the land in winter raise the temper- ature, and by forming clouds and rain in the summer prevent excessive heat. The winters are much milder than in other countries of the same latitude. Occa- sionally a winter passes without sufficient ice to give even one day's skating. The rainfall is very great, and combined with the mildness of the seasons causes an abundant growth or grass for a large part of the year. A great proportion of the pastures are on uudulating uplands, the configuration of which lends itself to rapid irrigation, the water running off the slope and leaving the grounds sufficiently moist without morass or spongin The pastures in those upland districts are not over-rich, but good, sound, friable soil, producing sweet, crisp herbage, the butter made from which possesses great keeping properties and a peculiarly delightful taste, the true butter flavor, so dear to those who kuow and can appreciate it, the absence of which is to be noticed in many of the continental butters, and in some Irish butters made off very rich lowland pastures. It is found that the excess of fat or oil made off deep rich soil makes them more liable to turn rancid, and reduces their keeping qualities, and that such butters, how- * This report was prepared by Mr. T. J. Clanchy, a Cork butter merchant. 232 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. ever good they may be for immediate use, are not so suitable for preserving or for ex- port; to hot climates as the butter from the well-drained upland districts and the lighter but good soils which prevail to a very large extent in Minister. Even from the richest lands of Monster, such as the celebrated Golden Vein, a well-defined belt of land which runs through the province and which is considered to be almost un- surpassed in the world for its fine quality, the soii and climate are so favorable that the butter, although perhaps more suitable for high-class mild-cure make, still pos- sesses considerable kcepiug powers when properly \>reserved, although not to the same degree as the produce of the lighter pastures. Tbe following is the return of acreage under grass meadow and clover in the four provinces of Ireland in 1884 : Provinces. Acres under meadow and clover. Acres under grass. Total acres under meadow, clover, and grass. 594, 097 591,697 492, 794 283, 542 2, 684, 132 3,293,445 2,313,248 2, 055, 483 3, 278, 829 3,885,142 2, 806, 042 2, 339, 025 Ulster Total for all Ireland 1, 962, 730 10, 346, 308 12, 309, 038 The total quantity of arable land in Munster in 1854 was 4,730,840 acres, of which 3.885,142, or 82 per cent., was under pasture, besides which a large proportion ofTtho arable land was devoted to growing roots and fodder for the winter feeding of stock. Suitability of soil and climate would not, from the butter-producers' point of view, bo of much use without a supply of milch, cows, and in this respect the province of Mun- ster is well provided. According to the annual Government returns of live-stock for 1885, the number of milch cows in each of the four provinces of Ireland is returned as folloAvs : Leinster , 238,630 Munster „ 549,578 Ulster 190,871 Connaught 438,396 Total for Ireland 1,417,481 From which it appears that Munster has more than one-third of the milch cows of Ireland. The returns of live stock in England for the year 1884 show that the number of milch cows in that country was 1,715,27;">, and in Scotland 408,745, so that Munster contains very nearly one-third as many milch cows as the whole of England and con- siderably more than all Scotland. Taking the return of live stock in Ireland and in other European countries, I find the following to be the result : Nwniber of live stock and population in the following countries. Date. Countries. Live stock. Population. 1883 1883 Great Britain „ Ireland. 5, 962, 779 4, 096, 021 1,382,815 11,446,253 15, 776, 702 1,434,406 29,710,012 5, 174, 836 1880 Belgium 5, 536, 654 1880 Franco 37, 321. 18'J 1873 Germany 45,234,061 1881 Holland 4, 114, 000 From this it appears that while Great Britain has only 20 head of live stock to each 100 inhabitants; Belgium, 25; France, 30; Germany, 35, and Holland 35, Ireland has 79 head of live stock to each 100 people, and in the province of Munster the pro- portion of live stock to population is even greater, the live stock being 1,364,470 and the population 1,331,115, or over 100 live stock to each 100 inhabitants. In Ireland cattle have to a great extent replaced human beings. The population of Ireland in 1841 was 8,175,124, while in 1881 it was reduced to 5,174,836, a shrinkage of THE UNITED KINGDOM. 233 over 3,000,000. The conditions that have brought about this remarkable chango, a chango which is unparalleled in peace or war, in any country in the history of the world, are well worthy of the thoughtful study of statesmen and economists. Whether this result is the outcome of state policy in the past, or of the accidents of geographical environments, laws, and social system, it equally suggests Goldsmith's celebrated lines, which, by substituting "live stock" for " wealth," apply to it with roinarkablo apti- tude: 111 fares tho land, to hastening ills a prey, AVhero stock accumulates and men decay. The bearing, however, of these figures on the question of the butter supply, is that they show that Ireland has a larger proportion of its butter to export, aud less peoplo at homo to consume it, than any other country, an additional proof of tho great im- portance of the Irish butter industry to commerce. Tho city of Cork, the capital of the province, is tho natural outlet for tho greater portion of the butter produced in Munster, owing to its contral position, its unrivaled harbor of Queenstown, and its direct communication by roads and railways, which tap tho principal butter-producing districts. A butter market has been held in Cork for a very long time, and in 1769 it was placed under the management of a committee of tho principal merchants, under whom it remained for one hundred and fourteen years, until the present year, when a special act of Parliament was passed, transfer- ing its management to a body of trustees, with power to make by-laws for its regu- lation. The quantity of butter which passes through this market is enormous. In tho first year, 1769, of tho record, 105,309 packages passed through the market, and tho annual quantity has since largely increased, being now considerably moro than three times as much. The largest quantity received in any one year was in 1878, when 434,239 firkins passed through tho market. The Cork butter market is held overy day, Sunday and a few holidays excepted, and the sales on a singlo day have been as largo as 3,800 firkins of about 7f> pounds net, which, when prices were high, would be value for about £12,000 sterling (§58,398. ) All the butter has to bo cleared away within tho day to make room for another large quantity coming by road and rail for tho next day's market. The system of selling butter in the Cork market is peculiar to this market. At a quarter before 11 a. m., buyers and sellers assemble around a table, and at tho first stroke of 11 all'buyingmust be concluded, and the whole quantity of butter, frequently some thousands of firkins, has changed hands. To the uninitiated the buying and selling at this table appears to bo a perfect Babel, which can only bo understood by tho brokers and exporters, who keep up a perfect cross-fire of offers and bids until the stroke of the clock at 11, when suddenly all the noise ceases, buying and selling are over for tho day, and the buyers proceed to cart away their purchases. The firkin butter is inspected and classified by sworn judges, and all the bargains at tho table are made for the various qualities of butter so classified. This applies only to the officially classified butter, but there is now also, since the passing of the recent act of Parliament, an open market, where butter is bought and sold on tho judgment of tho buyers and sellers themselves, with- out any official classification. There is another branch of tho trado which is of groat importance— that of pre- served butter in hermetically-closed cans. Up to very recently there were certain restrictions placed on this branch of the trade in tho interest of the dealers in fir- kins, and, although Irish butter, from its great keeping properties, is, perhaps, tho most suitable of any in tho world for preserving, this important branch of tho trade was allowed to go into tho hands of the Danish and French packers, who had several years' start of the Irish tinned-butter preservers, and got possession of the various foreign markets. It is gratifying to be able to state, however, that within the last few yean, since the Paris Exhibition of 1878, tho Irish canned-butter trade has greatly ex- tended, and has been particularly active in the last two years. In 1878 tho writer of this paper exhibited Irish butter preserved by a special pro it tho Concours, open to all nations, held in the Paris Exhibition, and gained tho only gold medal thereat for preserved butter. As a further test of its keeping prop- erties, he sent his preserved butter to tho Melbourne Exhibition of 1880, and after crossing tho tropics on the voyage out, it gained tho highest award, the silver medal and first order of merit. Ho has since gained a silvor medal at Calcutta, and his pre- served Irish butter is now (1835) on exhibition in tho Government section of tho World's Exposition at Now Orleans. Tho reports from very remote parts of the world, where it has been sent, Java, tho Straits Settlements, China, India, South America, Africa, and other tropical and trans-tropical countries, are most encouraging, aud there is every indication that Irish preserved butter is rapidly gaining favor all over tho world. The following tables will show the iluctuatibns in the prices of the finest butter for forty years, ending in 1881: 234 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Tables (prepared by the writer) showing the average price of the finest butter each month, year, and ten years, and the rise in prices from the lowest to the highest price each year, for the forty years ending in 1881. [In shillings per owt] 1841 to 1851. Season. i i © 1 a ! 5 < £ 5 § 1 £ 2 © O © a © E o I D © 6? ■ I i 9 u •2 . © a >. CO <1 © 6 © M 1841-'42 in 100 89 89 90 84 89 90 86 89 85 80 90 31 1842-43 74 90 80 81 75 80 80 78 78 82 86 88 81 16 1843-'44..... 84 86 73 72 70 69 72 73 73 75 77 74 78 17 1844-'45 8G 70 73 71 71 76 81 94 96 94 94 100 84 29 1845-M6 101 90 77 83 83 91 93 94 86 88 91 90 89 24 184G-'47 98 90 74 84 85 93 93 89 92 90 93 102 90 28 1847-'48 105 102 88 85 87 92 91 88 90 91 98 100 93 18 1848-'49 106 94 83 82 81 78 76 75 70 70 70 72 80 36 l849-'50 88 80 65 66 65 68 72 71 73 74 78 78 73 23 1850-'51 88 84 65 66 69 79 81 78 79 80 89 89 80 24 Average — 94 89 77 78 78 81 83 83 82 84 86 87 84 24 1851 to 1861. 1851-'52 86 80 68 70 73 75 76 80 77 78 80 80 77 18 1852-'53 86 77 69 69 72 78 79 86 90 95 94 94 82 26 1853-'54 104 102 81 90 93 95 96 98 101 107 107 107 98 26 1854-'55 111 101 92 92 90 90 93 98 102 104 105 107 100 19 1855-'56 120 113 100 98 99 101 106 112 112 114 118 122 109 24 1856-'57 140 130 106 105 107 109 114 116 120 121 122 122 118 35 1857-'58 120 114 100 103 108 114 110 110 105 114 118 126 112 26 1858-59 122 112 99 104 104 105 105 105 108 120 128 126 112 27 1859-60 120 112 102 103 106 110 115 117 120 121 127 130 115 28 1860-'G1 128 122 107 106 105 106 111 114 115 116 112 113 113 23 Average . . 314 106 92 94 90 99 102 103 105 109 111 112 104 25 1861 to 1871. lS61-'62 1862-'63 1863-'64 1864-'65 1865-'66.... i866-'67 1867-'68 1868-'69 1809-70 1870-71 Average. 113 111 95 96 97 102 103 105 110 113 116 11C JOfl 127. 103 93 93 94 98 100 104 105 115 118 119 II | 120 101 88 87 93 101 103 111 111 117 117 117 114 101 94 105 112 118 118 117 132 124 124 124 IIS 127 106 102 110 117 120 130 129 130 134 135 130 123 132 116 111 113 114 114 115 112 114 120 120 120 118 128 108 100 99 97 102 106 105 107 115 120 121 109 128 106 102 109 121 127 130 131 136 145 144 138 126 130 105 103 104 111 119 125 128 131 135 133 135 122 130 108 111 117 125 130 130 130 138 146 148 150 130 124 107 100 103 108 113 110 117 121 126 128 128 116 1871 to 1881. 1871-72 1872-73 1873-74 1874-75 1S75-76 1876-77 1877-78 1878-79 1879-'80 1880-'81 147 136 142 154 145 153 142 147 127 148 120 116 120 121 119 130 119 115 103 112 118 114 115 123 120 124 119 104 87 112 117 111 114 129 ISO 127 117 101 79 115 118 115 119 141 119 135 115 109 78 124 124 122 129 140 129 149 126 113 105 133 129 125 135 14$ 138 150 123 115 126 139 130 124 139 150 140 146 121 119 128 136 132 129 145 153 145 154 130 126 139 143 135 138 151 159 146 158 132 128 140 143 135 139 155 155 150 158 138 128 140 143 135 140 156 165 160 150 140 133 147 143 128 125 135 144 135 144 126 120 116 133 30 29 42 34 41 M 25 46 69 31 Average . . 144 117 114 113 117 128 133 133 140 143 144 146 131 33 THE UNITED KINGDOM. 235 For tho live years which havo passed of the current decade, prices have been made lower and the tendency seems to bo still lower prices. The present year ia the cheapest for a long time back, the butter market feeling the effect of the greal depression in p: veroly as other classes of farmers' produce. For the, ten years ending January 1, 1881, a little over 4,000,000 firkins of butter passed through the Cork market, or an average of 400,000 firkins a year, which, if valued at £3 10«, ($17.03) per firkin, would give an annual total" of £1,400,000 ($6,813,100) as tho yearly value of the butter sold in the Cork butter market during these two years. T. J. CLANCHY. THE BUTTER INDUSTRY OF IRELAND. [Evidence of "William J. Lano, esq., before committee of House of Commons.] To discuss tho question of the Irish butter industry from either tho farmer's or trader's point of view would be an inoxcusablo mistake. Its national importance couldhardly be overestimated. The manufacture of butter is the staple industry of Ire- land, and any close student of what is going on in other countries must recognize that tho future agricultural prosperity of Ireland largely depends on the full development of its dairy industries. While .British free-trade legislation continues it would be simply impossible for Ireland to compete, as a grain-producing country, with the ever- increasing wheat areas of Canada, United States, Russia, India, Egypt, and Australia. Tho approximate number of cattle in the United States is 51,000,000, and the possi- ble increase may be estimated by the fact that the pasturage lands west of tho Missis- sippi exceed 780,000,000 acres. Each year the cattle-raising industry of the United States makes a vast stride, and year by year the development of the American rail- way-systems and tho competition of ocean-carrying lines enables the surplus produce of America to bo landed on our shores at prices with which Irish farmers cannot com- pete. Tho threatened competition of Australia and South America in the meat markets of Great Britain, by means of refrigerator transportation, should not be minimized or ignored as another source of danger to the Irish cattle trade. These facts j ustify the assumption that Irish farmers cannot, in the future, look forward either to tho raising of graiu or cattle as a remunerative employment. Barley and oats, of course, may yet be regarded as paying crops, but, like all others, they also are menaced in various ways. By climate and tho nature of its soil Ireland is specially adapted to the manu- facture of butter, and its geographical position certainly gives it great advantages for the speedy marketing of its produce, as compared with the other countries rival- ing it in the butter trade of England. Addressing tho Royal Dublin Society in December, 1879, Professor Sheldon valued that year's make of Irish butter at £0,181,818. I have no hesitation in saying that by proper development the butter produce of Ireland could be raised to an annual value of over £12,000,000, with even the same number of cows. This is not difficult to calculate. With the present very inferior breed of dairy cattle in Ireland, tho aver- age annual production of milk per cow may be put down at 430 gallons. It requires 3 J gallons of the milk yielded by these cows to produce 1 pound of butter by the ordi- nary methods of setting and churning. This gives a return of 123 pounds* of butter per cow. Tho cows on the Munster model school farm give an average annual yield of fi90 gallons of milk, which, by the use of the separator, produced au average yield of 276 pounds of butter per cow. Mr. Richard Barter, of St. Anne's, Blarney, attains an average of 228 pounds of butter per cow in his improved dairy. Taking a far lower standard than Mr. Barter's of what might be achieved by an improved breed of dairy cows, and an improved method of manufacture, I do not think a yield of 205 pounds of butter pel row would be an impossible achievement, which would bo an increase of two-thirds on the quantity made at present. To estimate the increased price which would bo otainod for Irish butter manufactured on tho most improved continental i one-third of its present value needs no figures to support tho assumption. Should tlic accuracy of febe above figures be questioned, which is quite possible, be- cause there are no standard records of the produce of the average dairy, cow of the Irish farmer, 1 can fall back on the wide room there is to support a vastly-increased number of dairy cows in Ireland, to sustain my theory that the butter produce of the country can bo raised to an annual value of £12,000,000. This sum would pay two- thirds of tho present rental of Ireland, and if tho dairy resources of Ireland were 236 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. developed to their fall capacity, the whole present rental should bo paid by the butter produce alone. This shows tho great national importance of the Irish butter indus- try, and it is as a great national question it should bo discussed. It would be very difficult to convey to the minds of persons outside tho Irish butter trade the very low level to which Irish butter has fallen in the markets of Great Britain. Perhaps its position could not be better illustrated than by stating that in Dublin, the capital of Ireland, the requirements of the consuming public are al- most entirely catered for with Danish butter and Dutch butterine. One line of steamers from Rotterdam has brought no less than fourteen thousand packages of butterine to Dublin since the 1st of January, and very large quantities manufact- ured in other countries have been brought by other routes, the exact amount of which could not be ascertained. When this is possible at a time when the produce of Irish dairies was being sold at 5s. 6d. per pound, and the best at 9d., no surprise need bo expressed at the exclusion of Irish butter from London, Manchester, Liverpool, &c. As a matter of fact Irish butter can only be sold now with very great difficulty in a few of tho manufacturing districts of Englaud, and the area of its consumption is becom- ing more limited every year. Its competition now is rather with the produce of tho butterine factories than with the butter shipped from Franco, Denmark, Germany, and Sweden. Butterine has realized a higher price in tho English and Dublin mar- kets for tho past twelve months than secondary grades of Irish butter, and the bulk of Irish butter, unfortunately, is of secondary quality. The price realized for Irish butter is simply ruinous for the Irish farmers, and with a continuance of the existing system of Irish dairying, the prospect is most disheartening. It simply means agri- cultural ruin, and agricultural ruin means national bankruptcy for Ireland. I have measure^ and do not shirk the responsibility of this statement. The sooner it isrec- oguizod by every one interested in the welfare of this country the better. That there is no natural impediment to Irish butter excelling the produce of all other countries is clearly established by Mr. T. J. Clanchy, of Cork, having obtained tho gold medal at the Paris Exhibition of 1878, and medals at tho exhibitions of Calcutta and Melbourne, from all competitors, with the butter of selected Irish dairies, and, also, by the extreme high prices commanded on the London market for the butter of one or two factories established in Ireland, on the continental system, by the Rev. Canon Bagot. What, then, it will be asked, has caused the decline of tho Irish butter trade If I do not hesitate to place the responsibility for it on the neg- lect of our Government to provide for tho education of our farmers, as has been done by the Governments of all those countries which have excelled us in tho manufacture of butter for the last thirty years. • With paternal solicitude they spared no efforts to bring education on dairy -farming within tho reach of their agricultural populations. The success of their efforts is evidenced by the prosperity of their dairy industries, as also by tho sad plight of the Irish dairy farmer, who has been left unassisted and uneducated in the keen competition forced on him by his European and American rivals. The ruin which is now impending over the dairy farmers of Ireland, and the gen- eral agricultural depression of this country, is rebuke sufficient for tho apathy and neglect the Government that undertakes to rule us have exhibited towards Ireland's best interests. The Governments of the United States, France, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden have all recognized their responsibility 'of practically educating their agricultural subjects, and have spared neither money nor trouble in efficiently dis- charging that duty. The Government of Ireland has done nothing for the Irish farmers. The farmers of Ireland had a far stronger claim on the Government than those of any of the countries above named. Because, owing to past British legisla- tion, they were denied education, and, owing to the Irish land-laws, they have been always kept on the border of poverty. They were thus prevented from doing for themselves what was done for the educated and prosperous farmers of other countries by their respective Governments. I do not want to introduce politics, unnecessarily, into this statement, but it is impossible to exclude the attitude of the Government of Ireland from the discussion of a question which so very largely hinges on the measures that have been adopted by tho Governments of those countries which have so successfully driven Irish butter out of the markets of Great Britain. Without the assistance and education given by the continental Governments their dairy farmers could never have beaten Irish butter out of tho markets. Up to the time these Gov- ernments made dairy interests a state care, Irish butter, through force of the superi- ority it derived from tho natural advantage of soil and climate, was highly prized not alone in England but in every country penetrated by British commerce. Year by year, as education improved the make of butter in other countries, the prestige of Irish sank lower and lower until it has come to that point beyond which if cannot go without extinction. Situated, then, as they are, through no fault of their own, tho Irish dairy farmers are utterly unable to help themselves in this uneven struggle withthe state-supported com- petition of other countries. Their ignorance of even what is cau sing the depreciation THE UNITED KINGDOM. 237 of their produce (as is evidenced by the complaints in the Irish press against the Irish butter merchants), and t heir utter inability through want of capital to provide either an improved breed of dairy stock or the proper appliances for modern dairying, make an unassisted effort to maintain tho struggle for existence a simple waste of energy. In other countries the resident nobility and gentry largely aid the schemes of Govern- ment education by maintaining largo model dairies on their estate, where Govern- ment teachers instruct tho tenantry, by practieal dairy experiments, and by the sale of calves oil' these farms, the breed of the best dairy stock is disseminated amongst the smaller dairymen. By having tho center of attraction in London, Irish noblemen and large landed proprietors live out of the country, and even this supplemental as- sistance and education which is given on large estates on the Continent is denied to tho Irish farmer. Besides tho large endowments given by every State in the Union for agricultural colleges, the American Government spent $475,719.26 last year in cir- culating knowledge in agricultural matters amongst tho wealthy farmers of tho United States. What has been done, and is being done by European states to promote scientific dairy-farming has been so often placed before the public of late that I need not re- capitulate it hero. A reference to the United States consular reports will reward the inquisitive on the point. I have said enough to prove that it is the paramount duty of tho state Government to como to the assistance of the Irish dairy farmers, and to do so quickly if they are to bo saved from annihilation, and Ireland from overwhelm- ing disaster," the Government must fully recognize that they alone, by neglecting their obvious duty, are responsible for tho existing crisis, and half measures of assistance, or feeble experiments will be of no avail. I am not concerned with the general agri- cultural requirements of Ireland, and must therefore only confine myself to such parts of a general agricultural improvement scheme as I think imperatively necessary for the proper development of the manufacture of Irish butter. In the United States tho Department of Agriculture at Washington looks after the interests of agriculture over their whole territory ; it is presided over by a minister, assisted by a scientific stalT. Each separate State, there, has its own agricultural colleges and farms. I do not think we need go farther for a model of what is wanted in Ireland. Wo waut a department of agriculture in Dublin, whose duty (inter alia) should be to direct a system of dairy schools and farms in every county to train teachers for those schools; to collect and disseminate information on every subject connected with the most improved systems in other countries; to import and experiment on the best breed of dairy cattle, and distribute them on the state dairy farms of the counties for which each breed was best adapted, to provide Government loans to farmers for the erection of dairy and cow houses, and in every other way to promote tho general dairy indus- try of the whole country. There should be a Government dairy college in every county, and, to fulfill its mission properly, a farm of dimensions proportionate to tho number of pupils, who, from the agricultural population, might bo expected to attend, should be attached to each. Tho scale of foe3 charged should be within the reach itf small farmers, and scholarships ought to be awarded at an entrance examination, io induce intending pupils to study elementary subjects connected with dairying. In some of the large agricultural colleges on the Contiuent, tho Government contributes a grant for each dairy maid equivalent to tho difference between the value of her work and her expense on tho establishment; she pays nothing for her education, lu the Swedish colleges the cost of maintaining a dairy maid for a year is £18, her work is valued at £7, and the Government contributes £11. Tho produce of tho dairy leaves the establishment a profit. In such colleges the agricultural male pupils pay high fees. On these Irish county farms a herd of pedigree bulls and cows should bo maintained, the former should be available to tho farmers of tho district on payment of a fee, and the latter (of different breeds) should bo experimented with to test their milk and butter producing capacities en the different kinds of pasturage in each county. The importance attached to this point on the Continent maybe gathered from ihe fact that there are different staffs of Government professors employed for eight or ten years consecutively examining with tho most accurate scientific precision (even by analysis of the skimmed milk and buttermilk) the produce of all tho various breeds of dairy stock on every different section, so as to decide by what artificial foods the pasture grazing should be supplemented on each farm to maintain a maximum butter produce. The" sumo scientific precision informs the farmer of each district at what temperature the dairy-house, the cow-house, the cellar, and even the drink of the cattle must be maintained for every week of the year; in tho same way he is guided as to comparative advantages of the dry tub, water, ice, and separator system of obtaining hv* cream, and even to tho effect which the difference between 2,400 and 2,500 revolutions per minute of tho separator will cause on the quality of tho cream, I digressed to show by what means the perfection of dairy farming has been accom- plished on the Continent. The total absence of what may be called any high-milking stock in Ireland is one of the gravest features of the situation. Even amongst those who go in for keeping 238 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. very high-class cattle in Ireland, the greatest attention has been paid to the strains that produce most beef, at the expense of the loss of the milk. In other countries they breed dairy stock for milk first and beef afterwards. They consider it pays them better to get a high return of butter for some years and lose a little on the sale of the cow. In a very few years a small herd of a good strain of milkers on each Gov- ernment farm would disseminate good milking blood through the wholo dairy stock of Ireland. At present, the general run of farmers never know what kind of stock their dairy cows are derived from ; they buy them on chance, in fairs and markets. Some idea' of what may be done i* the way of breeding for milk may be gathered from the fact that in America particular strains of Jersey cows yield from 00 to 100 pounds of butter per month, and there are authenticated records of cows yielding 105 pounds of butter per month for a season. Of courso these cattle are only fanoy breeds, but it shows what might be done on Government farms. The particulars of these records can be found in the Breeders' Gazette of America. It is unnecessary for me here to state what should be the training given in such dairy schools to pupils. There should be a seed-testing station attached to each, as one of the greatest draw- backs to small dairy farmers in Ireland is the wretched class of seeds imposed on him by unscrupulous dealers. I am informed by practical farmers of great experience that it is owing to the deleterious adulterations of grass seeds that the increased aborting of cows is mainly due. This source of loss to the Irish dairy farmer is in- creasing year after year. It is being anxiously investigated by the American Govern- ment, and different authorities ascribe its spread to different causes. It illustrates the necessity of having a veterinary as well as a seed department in each school. Each of these county establishments should bo provided with a traveling dairy, and its working, illustrated by a competent lecturer, should be exhibited at the large fairs and other centers where the agricultural community could bo instructed. "A model dairy and permanent exhibition of improved appliances might with very great advantages be established at the Cork Butter Market, where hundreds of farmers could see jt in operation every day. Dairy education mast be brought within reach of the farming masses, poor as well as rich. I think elementary education on dairy farming should form part of the national school system. Government should sup*- plement the funds of agricultural societies to enable them to offer attractive prizes for successful dairying. Without proper dairy and cow house accommodation no amount of education would enable tho Irish farmer to produce good butter. Thoy are practically without one or the other at present, that is, as these buildings are un- derstood in dairy countries, on tho Continent and in America. Milk, cream and but- ter are most susceptible of taint from any kind of bad odors or impure air. The most frequent complaint against secondary Irish butter is its peaty or smoky flavor. This is contracted by having the milk set, and the butter made in the ordinary dwelling rooms of small farmers. Impurities also attach to the milk, owing to the filthy condition of the cow from bad stabling. Therefore a model well-drained cow-house is of as much importance as a model dairy. Loans on favorable terms should be given to the farmers to erect those buildings, and I think it would be well if the Govern- rnent prepared model plans for each class of building, and insisted on their being all constructed according to those plans. The cost could be fixed by scale, in proportion to the number of cows to be provided for. The expense of obtaining such loans should also be regulated by a low fixed scale. In asking so much assistance from the Government for Irish dairy farmers, I do not ask for more for them than has been done by other Governments, and I do not see why these county farms should not be, at least, self-supporting. No scheme of improved dairying will quite enable tho Irish farmer to compete favorably without extension of the prcsi'r.t means of transporta- tion. Ireland must be opened up by either tramways or light railways, and until eome cheaper and quicker means of being able to construct them than exists at pres- ent is provided by legislation, limiting and reducing the power of factious opposi- tion, this development will be of very slow growth. If the Government recognize the strong claim the Irish dairy farmers have on them, and even at the eleventh hour undertake to provide the assistance I ask for, then there is still ample room to hope for a speedy revival of the Irish butter trade and the prosperity of the country. With proper manufacture Irish butter must lead the market, on account of its natural su- periority and flavor. Of course a great deal will have to be done by all who have to handle the improved make of butter, so as to put it in the markets in the most at- tractive shape. The packages must be greatly improved — I would recommend white packages, of 56 pounds, as most likely to be received favorably. They should be so shaped that they could not be rolled; this would save the butter from great abuse, and keep the packages clean. I see no reason why our butter packages should not bo made of beech, which grows in Ireland most abundantly, and, which, consequently, would cost less than imported oak. There is an objection to it on the ground that butter does not keep so well in beech as in oak casks for a lengthened period. In the future there will be no necessity to keep butter any time in casks, and prejudices of this kind should not bo permitted THE UNITED KINGDOM. 239 to interfere with the utilization of this native timber, which is now practically worth- less when grown in quantity. The most scientific butter-producing countries, Den- mark, Sweden, Germany, aud America, use nothing but beech packages, while we in Ireland, through our ignorance, send from £50,000 to £100,000, annually, out of the country for imported oak. In this connection, I cannot omit referring to the very bad treatment which Irish butter receives from both our railway and steamship companies. They handle it roughly, which, of course, injures the quality, and neither on their platforms, wharfs, trucks, or steamers, do they make any special provision, in the simple matter of cleanliness, for the proper transportation of Irish butter. The con- sequence is that very often a shipper is not able to recognize in the begrimed casks delivered in London or Manchester the clean packages shipped at Cork or Waterford. In this matter a great injustice is done to Irish butter. In the local rates from pro- ducer to market, and in the general rates from Irish markets to the English centers, Irish butter is very heavily handicapped by excessivo charges. Butteriuo is brought from Holland to Dublin at less money than Cork butter could bo delivered in Dublin. Butter is brought from New York to Liverpool at less money than from Cork to the same port. It costs 4'2s. Cd. per ton to send Cork butter via Dublin to Bradford, and Danish butter is brought from Copenhagen via Hull, Bradford, and Liverpool to Dublin at 25s. per ton. The Irish carrying companies are doing their best to kill the Irish butter trade. I wish a deputation of their traffic managers would visit Franco and Holland to see tho delicate handling which butter receives from tho carrying com- panies there, and the scrupulous cleanliness of the trucks and steamers specially re- served for butter traffic. What is wanted in Irish butter is cleanliness in make, pack- ing, and transportation, close grain, and fine texture, total exclusion of water, freedom from oversaltfng, even quality, even color, and uniformity of weight. I cannot con- clude this paper without referring to tho butterine trade. It would be childish to say that because butterine interferes with the sale of butter therefore it ought bo suppressed. When manufactured from wholesome ingredients and sold under its proper designation it is as legitimate an article of food as any other. But when the trade is conducted as it now is, most dishonestly, it ceases to have any claim to con- siderate treatment. In this week's issue of The Grocer, one of the largest wholesale houses in London advertises to sell it as finest Irish firkins and fine Irish firkins; a Dutch firm offers, by circular, to make it 60 as to imitate any well-known butter — Irish firkins and Irish roll being specially mentioned. Every week's police office reports contain records of fines imposed for selling butterine as butter. In Dublin last week several firms were fined £10 for selling Dutch butterine as Irish roll butter. I have no hesitation in saying that I believe nineteen-twentieths of tho butterine sold in Great Britain is consumed as butter. Irreparable damage has been done to the dairy interests of these countries by this nefarious trading, and Parliament should intervene to put a stop to it. This compound has no claim to the name butterine; it is adopted to deceive tho public. This name should be prohibited. Let these com- pounds of fat be called margarine or oleomargarine. If, as they claim, tho manufact- urers depend on its intrinsic merits to sell it, they need not fear adopting its true desig- nation. Every package imported into the country should have either of those names branded on it in letters one inch long, and also the name or the manufacturer or his trade-mark. Every package issuing from a British factory should comply with the same conditions. Every shopkeeper selling any quantity of these compounds should bo bound by law to mention the name of the compound to tho purchaser. If these conditions be enforced, with the same penalties as they (or simillar provisions) are en- forced in other countries, no injustice will be done to honest traders, and a great act of justice will bo done to dairy farmers, who have quite enough to face in the keen competition of honest rivalry. The existing powers of dealing with this gigantic swindling are utterly inadequate. Unless from those who are interested in maintain- ing fraud, I don't see where any opposition could be given to legislation in this direc- tion. FRAJSTCE. CATTLE BREEDS OF FRANCE AND THEIR PRODUCTS. REPORT BY CONSUL WILLIAMS, OF ROUEN. INTRODUCTORY. Iii compliance with the request of the Department of State to examine and report upon the subject mentioned in the cattle circular addressed to the consuls of the United States I have categorically answered the questions therein propounded (see statement at close of report) and will attempt to render the work more complete and practical by such descrip- tions, illustrations, and information as I have been able to obtain from personal observation of the different breeds of cattle in their original homes and from other reliable sources. This consulate embraces a large portion of the ancient district of Normandy, is situated in the northwest portion of France, and well adapted by its fertility and abundant supply of water for grazing pur- poses, and has long been distinguished for the peculiar and marked typo of its cattle and horses, and affords a wide field for the study of the races of cattle indigenous to France; while its contiguity to Great Britain on the one side, and Belgium, Holland, and Germany on the other, renders great caution necessary to discriminate between the original and mixed breeds. We reserve the title of distinct breed to a number of individual animals presenting uniform characteristics, shapes, and adaptabilities, and capable of transmitting and perpetuating this type in their progeny. There must be this fixity to constitute a race DISTINCT FRENCH BREEDS OP CATTLE. France appears to have a substantial claim to eighteen distinct breeds of cattle, of which I append a list, adopting the French nomenclature: (1) Flamande, (2) Normande, (3) Bretonne, (4) Parthenaise, (5) Char- olaise, (C) Limousine, (7) Mancelle, (8) Comtoise, (9) Feraeline, (10) B res- sane, (11) de Salers, (12) Garonnaisc, (13) Bazadaise, (14) Landaise, (15) Gasconne, (16) Baritone, (17) Bearnaise, (IS) d'Algerie. Although many other varieties of cattle are found in France than tbose enumerated above, I cannot view them otherwise than as traceable to the foregoing parent stock, or the issue of imported animals, which will receive passing notice in considering the cattle of France. The description of a breed is not easy to outline, hut I will endeavor to sketch the chief characteristics of a group of which the individual specimens present various traits. FLEMISH CATTLE. Origin. — The origin of this breed is not precisely known. It is prob- able that this race originated on the shores of the North Sea, whence came the breeds of Holland, Schleswig, Holstein, and Jutland, all re- 240 FRANCE. 241 markable for their milking qualities. The center of production and rearing of the best specimens of the breed "Flamaude" is in the de- partments of the north of France, in the rich pastures of Bergues, Dunkirk, Oassel, Bailleul, Hazebrouck, and Lille. We meet with less numerous herds, more or less distinct and pure, in Boulonnais (termed Boulonnaise), in Artois (Artesienne), in the de- partments of the Somme, Oise, and Aisne (there termed "Picarde"), upon the borders of the Sambro (Maroillaise), and about Bordeaux (Bordelaise). The Bretonne breed has contributed its share to the production of the latter variety of this race. In its original homo there are two varieties of this breed, that of the region of Bergues and that of Cassel. The variety of Bergues, or Berguenarde, has slightly greater length of horns, is thicker set, and is adapted to fattening and yielding milk. It is carefully maintained for both purposes. The animals reared about Cassel are finer and more sought for, being preferable to those of Ber- gues for dairy purposes. Description. — The Flamande breed is essentially valuable for the dairy, and incidentally only for food, and is not adapted to work, and is destined to predominate in the dairies of the northeast of France. I will therefore more particularly describe some of the peculiar features of the cow of this breed. The head of a good cow is fine, of conical form, rather long ; the nape of the neck thinly covered with hair; the horns wide apart, fine throughout, projecting forward and downward, and in such a manner that in some animals they bend back and touch the forehead; they are small, white or yellow, with black tips; the ear is blunt, moderately large, and covered with fine hair ; the eyes projecting and black, with a mild expression ; the forehead long, and ordinarily narrow, terminates iu a snout slightly protruding, of black or mixed color; the neck long and thin; the brisket is prominent and well hung; the withers, well developed in the best types of Bergues, are small in ordinary specimens ; the line of the back is straight, with a slight depression at the junc- tion of the back with the loins, due to the separation of the vertebra — greater strength of spine and loins would be desirable; the hips, often protruding, measure between one another from 24 to 26 inches ; the buttocks are equally prominent and wide apart; the base of the tail is low, sometimes a little raised by the protrusion of the sacrum, of which the line is not sufficiently grounded with that of the coccygeal bones; the tail is fine and long, terminating in a thin tuft of hair; the chest is narrow and confined, and the ribs rather flat (the cattle raised in Bergues and Cassel have a tendency to lose these defects); the belly is of moderate size, but ample towards the flanks and mammary region, of which the loins are well developed and occasionally forked ; the bag large, round, often of a brown or spotted color, and well hung ; the teats are of moderate size, covered with fine skin and soft hair; the shoulders rather flat and moderately muscular; the hoofs black; legs flat and the buttocks sometimes depressed ; the coat reddish brown, ordinarily of deeper tint towards the head, and sometimes there ap- pears on the flanks, on the head, and especially on the cheek, white or speckled spots, and these are considered signs of pure blood. Many of this breed are found in Flanders of bright-red color or deep brown, others roan, but the reddish brown is considered the type of the race. The traits sought for by the breeders of this race in the cow are those which would indicate an aptitude for milking, without an inclination for fattening; a certain harmony of form, a little gaunt rather than too H. Ex. 51 16 242 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. much rounded; a bony, well developed frame, giving size to the body; the hind quarters relatively more developed than the fore quarters; the flanks large and deep, joined to a good-sized and well-hung bag, termi- nating in regular teats, with skin supple and soft, rather than too tine ; a head with little flesh; a lively and at the same time soft expression of the eye; in short, all of the well-known characteristics which present a feminine aspect to the eye of an expert. 3fillcing qualities.— There are Flamand cows yielding 35 to 40 quarts of milk per day. This yield is quite exceptional ; is only attained at the expense of the richness of the milk, or to the great injury of the race itself. In the Flamand country the average yield of a good cow is about 2,G40 quarts per year, or 10 quarts a day during the season of pasturage for two hundred and ten days, and 6 quarts per day during the season of winter, and remaining dry for two months. Weight. — The weight of such a cow is about 1,000 to 1,200 pounds; size at the withers, 53 inches ; at the croup, 55 inches ; the length from the nape of the neck to the withers is 5 feet 3 inches ; from the withers to the level of the joint of the buttocks, 4 feet 9 inches ; the head, 9.7 inches ; the circumference of the body behind the shoulders, 6 feet 3 inches ; the size of the haunches, 2 feet 3 inches, and the height about 2 feet 6 inches from the ground. Flamande hull. — The best breeders select the bulls of this breed from those contrasting with the cows and supplying the deficiencies of the cow, but with a feminine appearance, not disregarding the signs of a vigorous constitution. Thus, the preference is given to bulls with a low- hung body ; tail, loins, and thighs muscular. Experience has demon- strated the success of this method of improving the species. It will be noted that in this description of a race reared for its lacteal qualities are certainly found many features which would commend it to the butcher, and this view is corroborated by the fact that these ani- mals are highly prized by the consumer. A glance at the bull of this breed corroborates this fact and indicates clearly the adaptability of the race for fattening purposes. The color of the coat is of a deeper tint than that of the female; the head sizable; snout fine, neck moderately full ; throat and dorsal muscles sufficiently supplied ; shoulders rather small; the body raised and slightly pointed ; defects which yield to good treatment. The weight and measurement of a bull of this race aged thirty months, raised in the department of the north, I herewith subjoin with cut. The Flamand ox is exceptional, the females being universally raised; the few oxen are raised with a view of exhibiting at the agricultural fairs. The Flamand ox has been utilized at the beet-root sugar manufact- ories of the north, and if not subjected to severe labor, they fatten read- ily on the refuse of these factories. BREEDS OF SUB -FLAMAND S. In traveling on one side from Dunkirk to Boulogne, Montreuil, and Abbeville, and on the other toward Arras, by the way of Saint Omer, we find modifications in the race Flamande. In the former place the name of " Boulonnaise" is given to the subrace and that of uArt£s- ienne * to that in the ancient province of Artois, although these two subraces are frequently confounded with the mother race. The subrace u Boulonnaise" is of smaller size and less weight, its shape more slender and angular, while the belly and flanks are more fully developed, the FRANCE. 243 croup and loins large and lean, the udder large, indicating good milk- ing, the hair equally red or reddish brown, and the body nearer the ground. The quality of the pasturage and the care have great effect upon the shape and size of the different species. The cattle buyers give the name of •" 1 >»mrnaisienne " to the " Boulou- naise" raised about Desvres, Samer, Ilucqueiiers, and Fruges, small districts formerly known under the name of " Bournais." Under this head is found the " IS amponnoise," the variety "Boulonuaise" of the arrondissement of Montreuil as well as of the valley of Authie, derived from Nanpont, a village situated at some distance from the mouth of this river. Toward Boulogne, Marquise, and Calais, the race is larger and becomes identified with the pure Flamaud. The subrace Art^sienne, more generally wholly confined to pastur- age, which often becomes scanty, is less developed than the cows of Bergues, and even of Saint Omer, is more slender and smaller, but its constitution is less lymphatic. The breeder of these excellent cattle is reluctant to cross them with any other, and fears to impair their milking qualities, which have not been improved by crossing with the Durham, and their adaptation to fattening is unnecessary to develop. It is said that heifers of this breed occasionally become so fat as to remain sterile. This race includes about one million or more, which number is increas- ing, constituting about one-twelfth of the entire cattle of France, and of this number four-fifths are found in the eight departments of France, beginning at the north and comprising the adjoining districts. The price of these cattle range from $130 to 6175, according to age, weight, &c; some animals bring $200, and even more. Bulls of this breed are in constant demand from Holland and Belgium. THE NORMANDY BREED. The origin of the Norman breed seems unknown, in fact has never been traced. It is considered that the nature of the soil has produced the breed. It seems to have changed very little in the last century and is very remarkable. The center of production of this fine breed is com- prised in the departments of Eure, Manche, Calvados, and Orne. DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORMANDY BREED. The distinctive character of this breed is an unprepossessing bony frame, long and heavy head, largo snout, a large mouth, such as is found in animals of large appetite; sleek horns, often short and twisted for- ward towards the forehead ; body long, backbone presenting bony pro- tuberances and depressions in the cows advanced in age ; neck rela- tively strong; shoulders muscular; breast rather deep, often contracted; belly large ; flank large and hollow ; hips ordinarily slightly spread by corpulence; croup small; rump slightly developed; hind part narrow, but with well-developed and well-formed bag, and ordinarily the signs of good milking; limbs short; skin thick and hard, showing signs of slow growth ; coat variable as to color, brown, roan, and red, or piebald ; never fails to present brown streaks scattered' over the surface of the body. This has given rise to the term u brindled." VARIETIES OF THE NORMANDY BREED. This breed has varieties more or less distinct. In Coatentm and Bessin, which extends from Cherbourg and Lisieux, comprising Va- lognes, Carentan, and Isigny. a country which is celebrated for its but- 244 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. ter, the race takes the name of "Cotentine," and is remarkable for its lacteal qualities." It is called the " race Augeronne" when it is found in the valleys of Auge, whence the large cattle for the Paris market are largely supplied. They give the name of "Augeron," however, to all domestic animals of that region. They say "Augeron horses," "Augeron hogs and sheep." I have been thus particular to explain, as buyers might be unnecessarily confused. THE MILKING QUALITIES OF THE NORMANDY BREED. The claim is made for this breed, and especially those denominated " Cotentine," that they were the first milking race in the world. How- ever this may be, it is incontestable that they possess admirable milk- ing qualities. We meet with cows all over Normandy which give 35 quarts in twenty-four hours, and they have been known to produce 50 quarts. The1 average yield of milk is about 3,000 quarts per year, or about the same as that for the Flamand race. Unfortunately it is a fact well recognized by dairymen that the production of milk is an in- verse proportion to its richness or capability of furnishing butter, and it has been stated that 32 quarts of milk from a cow of the Normandy breed produced but 2£ pounds of butter (1 kilogram), while it is calcu- lated that from 25 to 27 quarts of milk would suffice ordinarily to make the same amount of butter. The English allow 9 quarts, if the cream and milk are beaten together, for a pound, and 13 quarts if the cream alone is churned. But only a limited confidence can be placed in the above figures, as the richness of the milk varies not only according to the nature of the cow, but also is greatly influenced by numerous circumstances, such as the food, the gestation more or less advanced, &c. It is admitted by scientists that the cows which furnish the most milk do not give the most butter ; but, as far as I am able to inform myself, the variety Co- tentine, of the Norman breed, is an exception to this rule, and produces an abundance of milk, and this milk yields relatively a quantity of un- exceptionable milk. ISIGNY BUTTER. The butter of Isiguy is undeniably as good as the world produces. Seven and a half millions of pounds of butter of Isiguy is annually con- sumed at Paris. If a calculation was based on 35 or even 27 quarts per kilogram (2£ pounds), the production of milk would be fabulous for so small a district. However, this is not a sure test, as all the butter called " Isiguy " is not made there. The conclusion that the butter of Isigny is better than any other in the world is an affair of patriotism, for we find the "Flamande" lauded in the same manner; the Hollanders say the same of the race Hollandaise, the Swiss of their admirable races Switz, Fribourgoise, and Bernoise. The reputation is, however, merited in this case, and proceeds from three distinct causes — the stock, the excellent grass, and skill and care in making the butter. The Normand cow is found all over France, and often furnishes only fair butter elsewhere. THE NORMANDY AS MEAT CATTLE. The raco Normande furnishes many of the largest animals for the Paris market, notably an ox of six years weighing 1,970 kilograms (4,335 pounds), but it only returned 2,197£ pounds of net meat and 125 >, si __^ Ser^'' ,v. sii. - • Kpk ' /l . ■ .4;. I ^Hn| 1 9 1 1 j 'WBE* yv% 1 at it J | ta 1 FEANCE. 245 kilograms (275 pounds) of fat. Another of these monstrous animals weighed 4,185 pounds, and measured 2m 45cm, or 8 feet, at the withers, and 2m 97cm, or 9 feet 9 inches, from the head to the base of the tail. Their comparative aptitude for work is very slight, a small pair of Gascon, Baudois, or de Salers oxen would soon tire out these huge Co- tentines. The meat of this breed is highly esteemed in regard to quality, but the small proportion of net weight of meat and the great proportion of bone (of make weight) is quite striking. Many attempts have been made to overcome this difficulty without interfering with the extraor- dinary milking qualities of the breed, but with very indifferent success, and the breeders rest content with the oxen which they have, knowing that in the best dairy races the ox is secondary. THE DURHAM-SCHWITZ-NOEMAND. There seems no good reason why the cross of the type de Schwitz, which has been frequently tried, should improve the breed. In the opinion of Norman breeders the race Cotentine is the best for milk to be found in Europe, the race Scwitz could not improve it in that re- spect, and it is not wonderful in its product of meat. Thi3 half-breed has been again crossed with the Durham, and given rise to a new race, termed the " Durham- Schwitz-Normand." Many rather remarkable specimens of this type have been exhibited. Their characters were those of the Durham, with less fineness of bone and skin. This new race seems to have no advantage over the cross- breed of the Durham and Normand. The amelioration of the race Kormande, in view of its chief aptitude, can only be obtained by selec- tion. THE BRITTANY BEEED. The race Bretonno occupies nearly exclusively the five departments which are comprised in the ancient province of Bretagne, consisting of the departments Cotes-du-Kord, Finistere, Morbihan, Loire Inf&rieure, Ille-et-Vilaine. Bretagne possesses only one race of cattle, the race Bretorme — strange coincidence in France, where each province num- bers many breeds among its stock of cattle. This breeds is very nu- merous and contains about 1,500,000 head of cattle, or about one-eighth of all the cattle of France. It presents varied developments according to the fertility and culti- vation of the soil where it is found, but everywhere is found some type that indicates its origin from the department of Morbihan. Origin. — Various origins are given to the race, such as that it is a degradation of the race Hollandaise ; that it came from the Indies, on account of its similarity to the milch cows in the neighborhood of Bor- deaux, which are supposed to have had such an origin, &c. The best authorities, however, agree that the race Bordelaise, as this race is termed in the neighborhood of Bordeaux, and which resemble the Hol- landaise race, is nothing but the race Bretonne more developed by means of more abundant and substantial food. Characteristics. — The ancient race Bretonne is pie-black or black in color. The cow may be described as having a black snout, sometimes mottled, rarely white, while the membrane which surrounds the tongue is always white, which is distinguishing mark. Taken altogether the animals of this breed would be classed as follows: Thick set, often found measuring at the withers from 3 feet 2 inches to 3 feet 6 inches; 246 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. eye bright; head short, fine, and small ; horns ordinarily fine and white at the base, are black at the extremities, varying, however, and are sometimes black or yellow, or entirely black throughout, which latter type of horns is greatly esteemed ; they also vary in length and size, the shorthorns being preferred. This cow is long from the shoulder to the buttocks compared with its height, and has short and small neck and little ears, the head perfectly detached ; little or no dewlap is noticea- ble ; the withers and back are on the same line ; some have these parts large, but they are often projecting ; above all, the mammillary veins are large and flexible, and no French race presents more marked type of good milkers. CARE OF CATTLE IN BRITTANY. This race is so neglected in its home that it might be almost said to provide for itself. The bulls are few and young and the cows are brought to the nearest. These cows have no especial care ; during the winter they have some hay or straw given them in the morning, before they are sent out upon niaaser pastures to obtain the complement of their rations; while ex- posed to coid for msuy hours, thej7 receive scarcely enough sustenance to preserve life. It is from this cause that the breed is in such a lean condition, while it is proof positive that its native qualities must be very substantial to bear up under such treatment. The ox of this breed passes through many hands usually before he reaches the butcher. His first owner usually keeps him until he is about two and a half years old, then sells him to another, who works him for about the same length of time. At the age of five to six years this lean animal is sold to another, who endeavors for about two months to put him in flesh, and then he passes into the hands of a fourth, and not un- frequently to a fifth, before he is ready for his Jast trip, which is to the fair. It would be difficult to push division of labor farther. In their home it is rare to find these cattle in good condition, but this is a necessary consequence of scanty food ; but careful observation shows that the bony system is slightly developed, and that they can be readily and profitably fattened. The weight of the cow of this breed is from 330 to 440 pounds, and an ox from 550 to 770 pounds. THE BRITTANY COW AS A MILKER. The average quantity of milk is from 1,460 liters to 1,825 liters (1,542 to 1,928 quarts) ; that is to say, an average of from 4 to 5 liters (4^ to 5| quarts) per day. Considering the size of the animal, its usual scanty fare, it must be considered as a good return. The farmers of Morbihan, when asked whether their cows are good, reply, " This one gives 4 pounds, that one 6 pounds, and the other 7 pounds." They mean that such a cow gives such an amount of butter per week. IMPROVEMENT OF THE BRITTANY BREED. The attempt has been made to improve this breed by crossing with the Durham and Ayrshire; the result in the former case was good, in- creasing the weight and precocity of the animal, but without an equally happy result in regard to milking qualities ; while the product in the latter case resulted only in producing a less quiet race, of a little larger size and not as good for milk. The only remedy seems to be in selection, and the amelioration of this breed seems closely connected with the agricultural amelioration flyfc*** ' WzW* ^^ 4i ^? f % 1 Hi.»:iia2P 11 r^fc. PF w^ i, \^§*i I «B», / li i ^m j ^Pj'&HH -, pfc- • i 1 n 1 ■ *•>;'*; £ s. ■Mr ^ 1? a - '•??< -. '--i ^5 , ?-,. " "V * FRANCE. 247 of the land. It is incontestable that the race Bretonne is the most quiet and hardy of all known races, can content itself on less while giving a relatively high return. It is calculated that a cow of this breed will give a pound of milk rich in butter for each pound of hay consumed} there is no other which will yield a like quantity with less than from two to three times the quantity of food. Again, we must consider that this rich milk is produced under circumstances where others would starve. It has been justly styled the " race Bretonne/' useful to the rich and the providence of the poor. THE PARTHENAISE BREED. The name of " race Parthenaise " is applied to designate the different varieties of a perfectly homogeneous breed found upon the shores of the ocean from the mouth of the Loire to that of the Gironde. These varieties assume different names in different localities, and present modifications peculiar to the nature of the soil, treatment, and other economical conditions, without altering the general character- istics of the race. In the Loire Inferieure they are called "race Nantaise;" in Poitou, " race Poitevine ; n in the neighborhood of Cholet, " Choletaise ; " " Ven- deenne" in the Vend6 ; " Gatinaise" or " Bocage" in the country known under the name of Gatine or Bocage ; and, lastly, " Maraichine" on the shores of the ocean and the marshes of Saintonge. But the parent stock is that raised in Bocage, an extension of the granite reef which forms the greater part of the peninsular of Bretagne, extending along Bocage and the most wooded parts of the west. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PARTHENAISE BREED. The breed of Parthenay has a large and flat forehead, short head, the chaufrein straight and snout large ; the horns are long and tapering, white at the base and black at the extremities ; the neck is short and muscular, the dewlap of moderate size, a little thick ; shoulders long and muscular; withers long and low; chest deep; ribs often flat and low; line of the back straight; loins large; haunches wide apart; croup horizontal and well furnished with muscles ; tail deep set ; thighs well muscled and straight ; form nearly a square with the projection of the haunches ; limbs are short but strong, at the joints large, but very straight. The animals of this breed are heavy, slow, but tenacious, robust, and good workers. The ordinary size varies from 5 feet 9 inches to 5 feet 11 inches. When fattened they readily attain 1,100 pounds, live weight. Their skin is nearly as fine and soft as that of the little race Bretonne, and indicates their aptitude for fattening. The only color admitted for these animals is yellowish brown, slighly varied, as it is sometimes paler, and again approaches claret color. The young animals at birth are brown, which changes as they develop into a lighter tint. THE PARTHENAISE AS MILKERS AND MEAT CATTLE. The cattle of this breed, under the names of "Choletins," "Nantais," or " Parthenais," contribute largely to the supply of the city of Paris, and vary in weight, according to age, &c, from 1,750 to 2,250 pounds. The race is not precocious, but at the abattoirs of Paris butchers told me that they preferred them to the more precocious breeds. The cows 248 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. of this breed are smaller in size. The cows in some parts are consigned entirely to the duties of maternity, and the least possible amount for the use of the household is alone taken from it. There are found, how- ever, among them some good milkers, notably of the variety Maraichine. The net returns of the product of meat are more than average ; the quality is fine, and the capacity for work constitute this race among the first rank of the French breeds. THE CHAROLAISE BREED. The race Charolaise is justly regarded as one of the most impor- tant races of France. It is precocious, vigorous in work, and excellent for meat. The cow has never been remarkable for its milking qualities. The name given to this breed of " Charolais n or " Nivernais-Charolais" is identified with the name of the place of its origin, and "Nivernais" perpetuates the name of the department where this race today has its center of development, and where the finishing touches have been put upon it. The Charolais has been termed the Durham of the French race, and it has in a less developed degree the prominent characteristics of that breed, so that a description of that well-known breed would answer for this one. The same lightness of head, fine skin, large haunches, straight line of back, and short legs are found in the one as in the other. In the Durham, however, the bones are small, the legs are slim, and the ani- mal is totally unfit for work, while the Charolais, of firmer bones and strong legs, is well fitted for the work. The Charolais, is at the same time suitable for work and valuable for the butcher. Finally, the Durham demands abundant and substantial nourishment and perma- nent stabling, while the Charolais, in contrast, is far more hardy, lives and thrives upon herbage, and is only stabled during the most inclement portion of the season. Nevertheless there exists an affinity between these two races which assures success in crossing them, but only in in- creased precocity in fattening. The breeding with Herefords proved a failure, injuring their qualities for work, and rendering them more exacting in quality and quantity of food, and on the whole less robust. A constitution of resisting conta- gious diseases is peculiar to this breed. The cows fatten more readily than the oxen. These cattle are brought into this region in large num- bers to fit for the butcher. THE LIMOUSINE BREED. Those who have examined the race Limousine in Limousin attest the wonderful change that intelligently directed care has effected in the amelioration of this breed. At the recent fair at Paris, where I counted 47 cattle of this breed among a total of 332, they compared favorably with any on exhibition, and the butchers said that the net returns of meat were very large, being from 66 to 69 per cent. The Limousines of the mountains are, on the contrary, of small size, hardy, and yield at the abattoirs only moderate returns. It is said of tne cattle, as of the inhabitants, that destiny impels them to emigrate. Emigration has caused the improvement. The Limousin ox has a yellow coat, paler on the inner side of the limbs ; large yellow horns, which describe a semicircle; large, bright, mild eyes; moderate-sized head, the neck well proportioned to the rest of the body, the dewlaps falling nearly to the ground 5 haunches well formed ; flank low; thighs round; - -5.# m^ »*& W^- • -w$ i * kl ' h mm '4m MP Ik, 1 1 .'|9K:. ;,-■ K • tjK ^0 **..« if j ■1 | *».» - «»» I ■ Co B 1 A J Sfrbi. ' _ .!"v'v<."; 1 1m .'.-., § • tHI i ; &wL m |Mk H^ \ - - i .■s 3j ' a 4 $ ^k^ ''■' 3 •isF'S? H I - Jp s Immz - .ft '•M|f- ■iH Wi ?t T r "*" "^r j \ m V M&P ^SBzt i 111 ' ."rnf^M ¥ im. &£$&%•.. ^'^^SJJP'^M "' vHt?"' I ' * r #^ ^ ;$/ • FRANCE. 249 shin large; good foot; good gait and easy movement. Their docility is very great and highly prized. They walk slowly and husband their strength while they do their work. The cow is much smaller than the ox, and is remarkably feminine and very fine in limbs. The head is ex- pressive. She has great energy and works more briskly than the ox, but lacks his endurance. The difference of size between the ox and cow of this breed is easily explained by reasons which I gave above. The cow remains in her home in her original state, while the young ox at the age of twelve or fifteen months is taken into the rich and highly cultivated portions of the coun- try. He receives better and more substantial food; his native qualities are developed ; the animal grows and thrives under the better surround- ings. The mild treatment and painstaking of the driver insures the docility of the oxen. They are seldom strained ; and as the farmer ex- pects the greatest return from the growth and increase of weight of his cattle, it is not unusual to see a cart drawn by three or four pairs of oxen which could be moved by one pair. The cows work in their homes in the mountains, and are able to turn up the light soil upon which are raised rye and buckwheat. She is only a moderate milker, not equal to those of the breed do Salers, occupy- ing the neighboring mountains. Some attempts have been made to improve this breed by crossing with the Durham, the Charolais, and Gascon. The result of the former was generally good, but less aptitude for work, and with the others occasioned loss of that docility which is of great value to the pure breed. THE MANCELLE BREED. The race Mancelle is destined to disappear. The pure breed is only found among some poor farmers, and then of an inferior type. It is difficult to study the pure breed, and scarcely interesting or instruct- ive. I have succeeded in obtaining a cut of this race. Although capa- ble of work, they are rather classed as ordinary workers. The Norman graziers said that they often turned them into their pastures long after the others, but they were the soonest fitted for the market of the capi- tal. A short cut was discovered to utilize this race by developing it and at the same time exterminating it, or rather substituting for it a su- perior breed. The early attempts to introduce the Durham blood to ameliorate this race were so successful, and the transformation so great, that it may be considered as a great stride in advancing the value of French cattle. The "Durham-Manceaux," as this breed is termed, has increased the precocity and propensity for fattening to a degree (as claimed by many) of superiority to all other cattle of native or crossed breeds. However this may be, from the study of these animals, which were very numer- ous at the recent annual exhibition of animals for the butchery, as well as among the most successful breeders and fatteners of cattle, the fusion of these two bloods has produced excellent results, such as increased precocity, lighter bones, more developed fleshy parts, fuller chest, while diminishing the belly and rendering the ribs more cylindrical ; the neck becomes shortened and the head finer. The Durham blood can also be successfully renewed in the Durham-Manceaux, and with such happy results and direct proof as the list of prizes takeu by these cattle for many years attest. The returns of net meat from the Durham-Manceaux is large, vary- ing from 66 to 72 per cent., weight from 2,100 to 2,400 pounds, at three 250 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. years ten months of age. The Durham-Manceaux must be considered one of the most valuable breeds which France possesses for food. THE COMTOISE BREED. Among the many mixed races of the northeast of France is found a fixed and numerous breed named the " race Comtoise." These have three different varieties, known as "Tourache," "Femeiine," and "Bres- sane." They occupy the mountainous parts of the east of France, from the Vosges to the Alps, the valleys of the basin of the Saone, and the department of Ain. The variety Tourache tends to disappear. Its continual mixture with the Swiss races serves daily to efface the type more and more. The proprietors of the rich pasturages of the Jura have long been in the habit of loaning to the Swiss 4,000 to 5,000 cows for the summer season, at §10 per head. This periodical emigration has been the means of infusing much Swiss blood into the pure breed. This renders the study of this variety useless. In the local fairs the three varieties are classed together as Comtoise, although, for reasons shown above, the Tourache is fast disappearing; the Bressane is formed of variable elements ; the Femeiine alone presents a satisfactory type of a race. THE FEMELINE BREED. The race Femeiine has a light brown coat, head small and narrow, eyes set near the horns, soft and mild air, fine horns, slim neck, small ears, small dewlap, fine limbs, the ribs well rounded, bones sufficiently light, skin thin and loose at the shoulder, which indicates an aptitude for fattening. The Femeiine ox is docile, quick in his movements, has a fair aptness for fattening, and is a favorite with the butchers. The husbandman keeps his oxen till seven or eight years of age, then puts them in the stables for three or four months, and partially fattens them by feeding them with the after-grass, potatoes, and turnips, cooked and mixed with rye flour, maize, and even with wheat of in- ferior quality, diluted in water; he also gives them some rape-seed cakes. He then sells them to drovers, who supply Lyons, Cote d'Or, and even Paris. The figures of these annual sales are from 8,000 to 10,000 animals, at an average price of about $80 per head. Their weight is from 660 to 880 pounds, and the percentage of net meat often rises to 60. Although a good breed and superior in milking quali- ties to the Charolaise, the latter scarcely giving enough to sustain its calf, the ox Femeiine cannot be compared to the Charolaise, with or without the Durham mixture, for in the Durham-Charolaise it is diffi- cult to ascertain where the blood of the Durham begins and that of the Charolais ends. The variety Bressane is a coarse specimen of the race Comtoise; has its merits as an excellent animal for work, and when even quite old, before it is fattened, is still sought for by the butchers, its flesh being very savory and esteemed in the market of Lyons. In the annual exhibitions of France this variety Bressane has often taken the prizes, and I herewith insert a cut of one of these prize animals. THE SALERS BREED. The race de Salers is one of the oldest in France. It has always been held in good repute. This breed presents the three qualifications desired, but seldom united in the same animal— aptness for work and - il^L i ■ ^iliW i J * . • -. '■ H|9 .• i / Ah r 1 b & 1 i I » a b & \ V ' FRANCE. 251 fattening joined to good milking qualities. Besides, it is intelligent and docile. Briefly described, it is from 4 feet 2 inches to 4 feet 6 inches size: live weight, 1,750 to 2,250 pounds; tine, soft, shiny coat, generally red, without spots; fine, supple skin, loose from the ribs; long, slim horns, ordinarily white, wide apart, shooting upwards and backwards toward the end; short head; large forehead ; bright, mild eye; good-sized neck; dewlap is moderate; shoulders strong and chest well developed; limbs muscular, fairly strong; are lusty, vigorous, and straight, so formed as to insure a brisk gait ; the Salers is often observed trotting like a horse; his body is thick-set and his belly well developed. The name is derived from the little city of Salers, district of Mauriac, situated in the midst of the mountains of Cantal. Although they occupy a small territory, they manage to export many of these cattle. The oxen are first sold to the neighboring departments for work, and finally they are sold to those who fatten them and thence to Paris. The cows emigrate south and are sought for dairy purposes. At the recent fair for animals for food at Paris the race de Salers, as usual, was well represented. Many of these cattle attain great weight, at the age of five years often running from 2,000 to 2,700 pounds. The heifers, as remarked, are sold to the south of France, enough only being reserved to replace the superannuated cows of the dairy; others, again, are sold in pairs for working cows. DAIRYING ON THE CANTAL MOUNTAINS. A dairy in this part of France consists of about 35 cows, varying however from 20 to 100 cows each. A certain amount of mountain past- urage is required for this dairy. These domains upon the mountains contain 800 acres or more and pasture several dairies. The milk is made into cheese — at home in the spring and fall, when the cows are on the farms, and on the mountains when the cows repair there during the summer. The mountain is utilized as a pasture as long as possible ; then the cows descend to the farm and live upon the late vegetation. This devoured, they go into winter quarters in the stables. The past- urage of the mountains is gauged by the number of head it can feed. They say a mountain of 40, 50, or 100 head, to express that the same number of cows or their equivalent can be kept during a certain time. A three-year- old ox or cow or 2 yearlings represent a head; three animals of two years old represent a head ; a mare and colt represent two head. The young calves with the cows are not counted. This compu- tation is admitted and has the sanction of the law in case of dispute. The area per head upon the mountains of Salers, where the herbage 5s thick and rich, is lj acres; another claims it requires 2J acres and even more per head. The cost of this mountain pasturage is from $6 to $8 per head for the season. In Auvergne, and especially Salers, these mount- ains are carefully tended, and are watered as well as possible. They spread the cattle droppings and break down the mole-hills, and close a certain portion each year. When required, drainage is employed, and the pasture is never too closely fed, The herdsmen lead the cows to a dry place for rest at night, and these places are changed every few days. Portions of the pasture well-sprinkled and cared for afford great relief to the cows, wThich are driven two or three times each day. The cows ascend the mountain on the 25th May ; this is fixed and would require a convention to change. Their time of departure de- pends upon howr much food is at the farm ; the 1st of October is about the usual time of descent to the farm. Compared with the Flamandes 252 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. and dormancies cows, which give 2,500 quarts of milk per year, the cow of the Salers is rated as a moderate milker ; but this inferiority does not apply to the whole race, for in Auvergne, as in Normandy, and in the north, we find cows which give 3,000 quarts. The average of the dairies of Auvergne is at 1,500 quarts, or there- about^ per head. This is less than with the two before-mentioned races, but the difference is equally great in the consumption of food. Indeed, in Oantal the annual food of a cow consists of grass in pasture foreight months of the year, and 18 or 20 pounds of hay for the rest of the time, while in Normandy and the north the cows are always gorged to reple- tion with a variety of food, and at a cost of three times that of the cows of Oaatal, so that for the same amount of food the cow of Salers gives a greater return of milk. The milk of the cow of Salers is very rich and well adapted to making cheese. CANTAL CHEESE. Cheese-making is general and well managed in the mountains of Au- vergne. This cheese is known throughout France as " Oantal cheese." Its manufacture is so simple that I have ventured to insert it. The milk is curdled by pressure in large vats, without skimming. The curd is then strained through a straining bagof white bolting cloth, kneaded, salted, and pressed. The whey, still containing some particles of butter and cheese, is mixed with milk, which causes the cream to rise. From this butter is churned. The cheesy particles remaining after the churning are utilized for making a common cheese, consumed in the locality. The whey remaining after the last process, not being consid- ered too rich, is given to the hogs. A Salers cow produces from 8 to 12 quarts of milk per day, while an occasional one is found giving 25 quarts. About 11,000,000 pounds of cheese are annually made in this region, an average of about 410 pounds per cow. The best dairies turn out 440 pounds per head, inferior ones 220 pounds. In the spring it requires 1,000 to 1,100 quarts of milk for 100 kilograms (220 pounds, of cheese, but as the season advances the richness of the milk in cheese increases. In the fall it again requires €00 quarts of milk for 100 kilo- grams (220 pounds) of cheese. An average for the year would be about the latter figure. This same milk produces besides from 15 J to 18 pounds of butter. This cheese is sold to the merchants at about 10 cents per pound. This price corresponds to about 6J cents per quart for milk. In Normandy and the north the milk of which the butter is made gives only a return of about 4 cents per quart. This difference of price probably indicates the difference in the qual- ity of the milk of the two breeds. This cheese is mostly consumed in Limousin and the south of France, and, though not sought for by the epicures, is palatable and nourishing. It is claimed that the " race de Salers n is less important in a dairy point of view than in furnishing working cattle and food. THE SALERS CROSS-BREEDS. The cross-breeding has been tried with the English races of Durham, Devon, the Scotch breed of West Highland, and the Swiss races. The animals of the cross-breed of the Durham at the late exhibition at Paris indicated a slightly greater precocity, but the general verdict of those who have carefully examined the subject is that the crossing has not ameliorated the race, ard that this can only be effected by a careful selection of breeding an imals taken from the admirable race itself. FRANCE. 253 RACE D' AUBRAC. Although I have not so classified it, it seems proper that the race cVAubrac, having the fixed characteristics of a distinct race, and although neighbor to the race de Salers and bearing a resemblance to that race, should not be confounded with it. One of the most marked peculiari- ties of this breed consists in its short legs, out of proportion to its long, thick body, characteristic, however, of all the animals of this region, not excepting the human race. The race d' Aubrac has a good head, fair size, the snout long and large, strong horns, gracefully turned and twisted and of moderate length. The d'Aubrac cow has a handsome velvety coat and flexible skin, the chest large, the back flat, the bones of the haunches rounded and slightly prominent. The color of the coat is rarely simple, but mixed with clouded tints. The ordinary colors are fawn, hare tint or badger, and soot black, mixed with black and gray. The ox of this breed attains its growth very slowly. This is not surprising, considering how those animals in tended exclusively for work are brought up. But this want of precocity does not apply to all of tho race, since some magnificent Aubrac cattle evince remarkable precocity. To obtain this condition the animal must be well fed from the time that it is weaned. DAIRYING IN AVEYRON. The cow of Aubrac, like those of most of the southern breeds, is smaller than the male. It is not a great milker, under favorable cir- cumstances giving but 9 or 10 quarts of milk per day. The cheese- making is nevertheless extensively carried on in these mountainous regions. The cheese is deemed superior to that, of Holland, but will not keep so long, as the whey is more carefully removed from the latter. The same establishment of mountain dairies as found in Salers exists in Aveyron. Each dairy of one hundred cows has a head of the cheese- house, to whom $24 is paid j a boy especially in charge of the calves, at half price; three herdsmen, at $16 each, which makes a total of $84 wages for a herd of one hundred cows. The wages are paid at the end of the season, out of the product. These employes are fed on milk, rye bread, and salt bacon ; this food is estimated at $28. The capital of an establishment of this kind is about $200, besides shifting fences for iuclosiug the cattle at night, and dairy utensils and cheese on hand, which never exceed $100. The average yield of an Aubrac cow is 140 pounds cheese and 7 pounds butter. THE AUBRAC MEAT-OX. The butcher's stall is the end of the ox of Aubrac, as of all the rest of the oxen in the world, but as a working animal he gives a good profit for his keeping, and it therefore does not detract from his value that he attains his growth slowly. THE AUBRAC CROSS-BREEDS. With this race, as with that of the Salers, the crossing with other breeds has not improved it, except in regard to precocity, and as the animal more than pays his way, it seems no object to obtain this pre- cocity at the expense of diminishing his usefulness as a worker. 254 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. THE GARONNE BREED. The race Agenaise, or Garonnaise, is found in the valley of the Ga- ronne, between Toulouse and Bordeaux, an extent of about GO leagues. This is one of the finest, largest, and strongest breeds of France, and well adapted to the portion of the country which it occupies. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GARONNAISE. The oxen of this breed measure 5 feet 8 inches at the withers, and even more, and weigh 2,300 pounds, while the cows only measure 4 feet 8 inches and weigh 770 pounds. This race is not faultless, being consid- ered as having the brisket contracted behind the shoulders, the horns long and pointed towards the ground, and the back hollow. This latter is, however, partially overcome in some animals. FEEDING IN THE GARONNE. The animals of the high laud are fed with a certain parsimony, while a model style of food is provided for those in the valleys. A constant succession of artificial forage, fresh and green, is afforded from 15th March to the 15th of November. From the 15th of March to the 15th of April green rye is fed and mixed with cut straw. This grain, sown in October on a well manured soil, furnishes at the end of winter a nour- ishing and healthy food. From the 15th of April to the 1st of May, before the blossoming, barley sown in November and later is fed. From the 1st of May to the 15th of June these grasses are replaced by dry fodder; red clover, green and dry, constitutes a portion of their food. From the 15th of August, for the clover, a mixture of vetches and oats, sown at intervals, affords refreshing nourishment during the extremely heated sea sou! Towards the middle of August the corn fodder is ready and lasts till the middle of November. The corn is sown iu the spring upon the same ground from which the rye and barley had been cut in the spring. Eleven-fortieths of an acre sown in corn will support two cows for two months. This crop is valued at $3 to $3.50. The leaves and seeds of millet are utilized. These are carefully gathered, and if the other fodder is sufficient, are not drawn upon till winter. During the four months of winter the main dependence is upon red clover, the Holland clover straw, and hay ; but few roots are cultivated in this part of France for fodder. THE GARONNAIS OX. The Garonnais ox, of large and solid build, is not only used before the carts of the country, but can be seen at Bordeaux slowly trailing heavily laden carts for the loading and discharge of vessels. In the way of fattening and early maturity the ox merits attention. At the recent Paris exhibition many could be seen which were precocious and of good size, giving good returns of meat in regard to quality and quantity. THE GARONNAIS CROSS-BREEDS. A single cross-breed Garonnais, being Limousin-Garonuais, was ex- hibited and appeared well. There appears no good reason why these races, both remarkable for working and meat, should not assimilate readily. The best accredited opinion is that the Durham race is descended *M FRANCE. 255 from the Holland breed, but some claim is made that it came from the race Garonnaise, a large number of which were exported to England. However this may be, there is some foundation in the precocity of the race, which does not equal that of the Durham ; but the aim is attended with success to, improve this race, and, like the Gharolais, Garonnais, and the Durham-Manceaux, to rival the Durham in returns of meat, without impairing their working capacity. CENSUS OF THE GAUONNAIS. The number of this breed occupying the vast and fertile valley of the Garonne is about 400,000 head, spread over 4,200,000 acres of land. The number of those animals is increasing and their condition sensibly im- proved from year to year. THE BAZADAISE BREED. ' On approaching the railway station at Laugon, between Bordeaux and Bayonne, we invariably see in the summer small clumsy carts, with low wheels, laden with pine wood, and drawn by animals which we recognize with difficulty, on account of their droll trappings, as oxen. The head, quite large, appears larger in consequence of a species of head-gear made of sheep-skin, which entirely protects it and shades it from the sun in that warm latitude. A sort of shirt of coarse cloth covers closely and protects the animal against the bites of flies and other insects. This curious clothing and intelligent care evince the proper and just appreciation of the inhabitants of the Landes toward the beasts which serve and feed them. There is no occasion there for a society for the protection of animals. This race derives its name from that of the charming little city of Bazas, in the extremity of the department of the Gironde. The soil about Bazas is morefertib than that in the districts of Mont- de-Mar sau and Dux, which explains the difference between the two neighboring races, the race Bazadaise and the race Landaise, although these races have many points of resemblance. The oxen are often submitted to long journeys over paved roads, attached to heavy carts. They toil along these dusty roads under a burning sun, and bear up well under it. The ox-driver takes the best possible care of his cattle, and never strikes them. They march along at their ease; he excites them by words, speeches, and even pleasantries, and a particular song, on hear- ing which the ox redoubles his efforts, Fanners and butchers at Bordeaux and Paris are unanimous in their praises of this breed. The superiority of the flesh of the Limousins and Salers is attributable to the fact that these breeds are usually worked very lightly, or about enough to pay for their feed, while the Bazadais does not only agricultural but commercial work. At the south the cows are worked more than the oxen by the farmers. The horse of the Landes is small, light, delicate, excitable, fiery, indefatiga- ble in running about the country, but incapable of working the land or carrying heavy loads. Breton or Boulonnais horses, if substituted, ac- customed to good, rich food, would be expensive. Oxen are more con- venient, economical, and therefore in general use. The ox, however, fattens easily, and gives a good return of GO per cent, or more. There have been few attempts to cross this race, while great strides have been made in their amelioration b^ selection. 256 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. THE LANDAISE BREED. I have said that the race Bazadaise is often confounded with the race Landaise. It is often crossed thus, but without any advantage, and tending to attenuate the proportions of the animal. The race Lan- daise, like the Bazadaise, is found in the department of the Landes, and is also subjected to hard work. Agriculture is rude in that department. The animals subsist upon scanty, hard grass. During the winter the working cattle are fed upon hay, the others upon wheat, straw, and corn-stalks. On many farn.3 the cattle are fed by hand. Many wickets are placed in the wall of the house which opens upon the court, sur- rounded by sheds and stalls, where the animal is free. By these wickets the members of the family in turn give mouthful after mouthful of food to the animals, and with wonderful patience and economy place every mouthful of food in the very gullet of the animal, thus prevented from rejecting it. They are often tempted by the sight of a green leaf, or some appetizing hay tea, or a bit of turnip, but these appearances are often deceitful, and the poor beast is only offered some dry straw which had- been untouched in his rack and should have served for a bed. This method of taking care of an animal takes much time, and makes a great inroad into the night of the workman, whose entire day is taken' up in the fields ; but it is astonishing with how little feed, of the most ordinary kind, the animals subjected to heavy and incessant labor can be kept in good condition. The cows, much smaller than the oxen, are subjected to hard work, while they nourish their calves without receiving any additional nour- ishment themselves. LANDAISE BULL-RACES. The agility of these animals is extraordinary ; they take a trot with- out being blown. They are often sent on long routes and make 45 to 50 miles in twenty-four hours, and in making these distances they do not stop for rest. At the fairs in the Landes the agility of these ani- mals is often exhibited; the bulls rarely figure in these games, although they are termed "bull-races." The oxen and cows ordinarily take part in these games. These are less exciting than bull-fights, but the great- est enthusiasm is evinced by the crowd, and the same agility and au- dacity on the part of the actors, who evince a curious knowledge of the ways of the animal, to whom they openly oppose themselves without any other defense than the rapidity of getting out of his way. The skillful athlete, with a cigarette in his mouth, makes a slight movement when the bull advances towards him with his head lowered ; the horns graze his breast, but he has closely calculated the distance. As the infuriated animal rushes upon him, with his head lowered to strike him, he coolly places a foot between his horns, and, aided by the upward movement of the animal's head, safely springs behind him. This is not always ac- complished without accident, but precaution in the way of cords usually prevent any unpleasant episodes. THE LANDAISE AS A MEAT CATTLE. The race Landaise has an established reputation at the annual fairs of fat cattle in France. Upon a hardy race, badly fed in its home, as are the Landais, increased food works wonders ; if to this is added a selection of breeding animals £ou are sure to arrive at the utmost rel- ative perfection of the race. This race, while strongly framed for work, •5 a § <5 "^^^yC"' / " o 1 **s^'s ' '"" "^ ,^,111^^-^c^^ ""Sl-l ^■^^ -JP*' ' i; ggp N^" ■- >$&* ' l^fcH^''^' -dill ^ffj$j£v » ■ ■'>"i,V-^>i't^ i J^K^i-: i IBp ■■' WmKr 9 IK 'Iff * FRANCE. 257 has a small, bony structure, qualifying it for taking flesh. TL«i peculiar bouy structure belongs to the race therefore it has been demonstrated; that if these animals are well fed from their birth, they will at an early age return good profit for their keeping for the solo purpose of food. THE GASCON BREED. All agree that the race Gasconne is especially adapted to work. Its prominent features are briskness and force for "work. It is principally found in the department of Gere, a very broken country, where the cul- tivation of the hills is difficult and laborious. Its powers are hero put to constant proof. Its faults are those of a race given up to work en- tirely, and that of the hardest kind. The oxen are worked until they are twelve to fifteen years old, and then fitted as well as may be for the butcher. Compared with the races Bazadaise and Garonuaise it has many traits in common. The race Gasconne is slower and more clumsy, but more vigorous, stiff at work, like the soil it cultivates. The Garonuaise is more precocious. The raco Bazadaise is more lively, better adapted to the light soil that it dwells upon, and above all to the fatigue of long journeys, which it bears astonishingly. The cows of this breed are more in number than the oxen and are submitted to very rough work. They are poor milkers, scarcely affording nourishment for their calves. In that part of France they cook with oil and fat, and there is little demand for butter. Those who wish for milk buy the littlo Bretonucs which are found in great numbers in the Pyr6n6es, and from Bordeaux to the eastern limits of tho Biscayan country. r Thcro are numerous subraces, considered distinct, notedly those com- ing under the head of Ari6g<3, but they would scarcely interest those studying tho French races from an American point of view. CATTLE OF THE PYRENEES. Although it is admitted that there are many varieties, known as " Bas- luaise," " Baretonc," "Landaise," they rcsemblo one another so closely hat it would simplify matters much to generalize them as "races des :*yr<$nees" or races of tho Pyr6u6es. Like all the mountain races, these ncreaso in size wrhen taken to fertile plains. They are not very great uilkcrs, but there arc found exceptional cows which give a fair average, but they are more or less uniformly good workers, and can be fattened fairly after their days for labor aro.over. ALGERIAN CATTLE. The race of Algiers is not very generally known, but as stock- raisers send yearly a large number of cattle to Marseilles, as well as the interior of France, a brief sketch of this race might not be out of place. The coat is generally brown or mauve, sometimes drab or chestnut, nore or less mottled, seldom clear. Its girth varies from 3 feet 9 inches o 4 feet 5 inches. Tho smaller animals are found in the mountains, the arger in the richer valleys. Characteristics.— Frame rather large than small; head wants fineness, without being exactly heavy and large; limbs large andlirmlv attached ; horns largo and colored, their direction upwards and circular; body short, thick and round; withers thick; sides well arched; chest fair H. Ex. 51 17 258 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. size j dewlap prominent; flank short; skin smooth, but rather thick than fine ; step light and aspect lively ; very tractable and of good dis- position. On the whole, this description pictures an animal without many faults. The ox is a good worker, tough, energetic, and only needs size and weight. Care and- handling. — It is said of them that they live and thrive where European breeds would languish and die, submitted to the same fare. In the spring they have abundant feed, but during the rest of the year they live upon dry herbage, sunburnt or injured by the heavy dust, while for drink they only have an insufficient quantity of brackish water. Such is the carelessness of the Arabs that they fail to provide forage for the winter, although the snow sometimes covers the earth for fifteen consecutive days. They do not attempt to protect the cattle from the cold of winter or from the excessive heat of summer, and the cattle, submitted to all the vicissitudes of a variable climate like that of Algiers, endure a deprivation of food more or less complete for nine months of the year. It is not astonishing, therefore, that the mortality of these cattle is great. The Algerian cow as a milker. — The Algerian cow is a poor milker"; gives scarcely milk enough to nourish her calf, which the Arab woman tries to take from her for the household. Only one of the four teats is allowed for the calf. If this cow is a poor milker, as an offset its milk is rich. The Arabs drink it fresh or sour, and make butter and cheese by a barbarous process, a description of which would not be instructive. This race has been crossed with the Schwitz, a native of the center of Switzerland, with happy results, adding to the size and improving the milking qualities. Submitted to a good liberal regimen they have ex- cited attention and admiration, and have yielded as high as 69 per cent, net meat. In 1878 42;250 Algerian cattle were imported into France. MISCELLANEOUS BREEDS. This article might be extended to an indefinite length if attempt were made to include many of other breeds and subbreeds, such as the race Tarentaise; the breed of the Black Mountain, termed "race de la Montagne noir ; " the race du Gevaudau, found in the department of Herault, of small size, but said to be as old as poverty. I have en- deavored to call attention to the more prominent breeds of cattle as seen in their homes, and describing their surroundings, solely in the hope of guiding the intelligent breeder in his search for the type of cat- tle best adapted to the locality and the ends which he proposes to ac- complish by importing the same. STATISTICS OF LA VILETTE, THE PARIS ABATTOIR. All of the large cities of France are supplied with abattoirs, or slaughter-houses. The celebrated La Vilette, of Paris, combines the advantages of a cattle market with a slaughter-house ; has ample ac- commodations for housing 5,000 or 6,000 head of cattle, besides calves and sheep. About 5,000 head of oxen are slaughtered here weekly, in addition to the other animals. Upwards of 1,000 men are employed here, and the streets are paved. There are 64 large buildings, some for the doomed cattle and others used as slaughter-houses. Fountains and tanks abound. These build- ings cover about 67 acres, and the .whole presents the appearance of a FRANCE. 259 miniature city. The details of the entire process, from the time that the animal arrives in Paris until the product of meat reaches the consumer and the remainder is utilized, although an interesting and profitable study, scarcely comes within the scope of this article ; but I will give, as calculated at Vilette, u the returns of the products of an ox of the average weight of 350 kilograms (770 pounds) and of average quality : Returns of products. Francs. Hide, average weight 48 kilograms, at 1 franc 48.00 Suet, 25 kilograms, at 92 centimes 23.00 Refuse 18.00 Total 89.00 Expenses. Octroi, at 12 francs per 100 kilograms 42.00. Bringing from the market to the abattoir 35 Washing of the tripes 40 Labor 6.00 Sundry expenses (food, material, &c.) 5.00 Total 53.75 Balanco 35.25 Or about 10 francs per 100 kilograms. This proves that an ox bought in the market for 1.60 francs per kilo- gram (per pound about 14 cents) costs in the abattoir 1.50 francs per kilogram (per pound about 13 cents). The variation in the prices of hides and suet may more or less in- fluence the price of the net meat, but the above figures demonstrate in an exact and general way the returns of the products and the cost of the labor and management. The return of net meat of the animals slaughtered in Paris varies ac- cording to the age, the race, the kind of food, and the degree of fatness they have reached. The returns at Paris are greater, as the journey rids the intestines of excrement. The net returns from cattle from 3 to 5 years old is found to be pro- portionally the best. The average return is, for cattle in ordinary con- dition, from 50 to 55 per cent. ; half fattened, 55 to 60 per cent.; fat- tened, 60 to 65 per cent. ; extra fattened, 65 to 70 per cent. Animals slaughtered in the abattoir general at Pans. Year. Oxen. Calves. Lambs. Total. Tear. Oxen. Calves. Lambs. Total. 1873 1874 1875. ... 1870 1877 161, 862 100,579 [94,505 163, 190 120, 698 138, 360 162,379 163,943 177, 460 1,030,615 1, 140, 530 1, 238, 482 1,277,726 1, 280, 430 1, 322, 175 1, 445, 469 1,500,194 1,641,234 1, 641, 080 1878 1879 13S0 1881 1882 189, 499 198, 573 218, 080 2-12,621 239, 204 183, 798 183, 777 186, 913 192, 781 198, 473 1, 431. 537 1,409,129 1, 531, 462 1,573,563 1, 603, 123 1,786,834 1,791,479 1, 936, 455 1, 998, 965 2,040,780 The above figures, from an authentic source, give an idea of the im- mense work done in this vast establishment. , The number of animals slaughtered in the abattoirs of Grenelle and Villejuif during the year 1882 was : Oxeu, 34,178 ; calves, 31,970 ; lambs, 203,813. 260 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. This gives the following total of animals slaughtered in Paris in 1882 : Oxen, 273,382; calves, 230,443 ; lambs, 1,800,960. OCTROI TAXES. The octroi, or municipal tax, is levied in all cities and villages upon every article of food and drink. Every person who eats and drinks thus becomes a tax-payer. GRADING MEAT IN LILLE, The different appreciation of the various cuts of meat in the markets of Lille, Paris, and London is astonishing. The stock breeders are in- terested and should familiarize themselves with this question, that they may know what portions of the body they should strive to develop by the judicious choice of breeding animals. In the same animal the mar- ket price varies more than half, according to the part of the animal from which it is taken. A pound of the fillet in the subjoined cut, No. 1, fig. 2, and No. 5, fig. 1, are sold at Liile at 4L cents and at Paris at 44 cents per pound, while the portions 13, 14, and 15 scarcely bring 12£ to 14 cents per pound. This distinction is not made in all the cities, but is destined to become general in all large centers of consumption. The accompanying cuts and tables give a clear idea of the mode of grading beef in Lille, Paris, and London : Mode of dividing an ox in the alat loirs at Paris. Weight of each piece ot Number a fat Norninn ox, weighing Quality. of Names of pieces. pieces. 4.T7 kilograms net (1,007.50 pounds). * Pounds. r \ 44 C9 o 63 14 3 Th irk flank 41 00 I... J 4 Sirloin 110.23 5 Fillet 1=>.43 G 7 33.07 Total of first quality 313. 05 Shoulder-blades „....< 131. 32 8 End of neck 11.02 0 10 Ribs 09.20 2G1. 54 Clinck / 55. 12 11 Neck - 77.10 12 Brisket 165. 34 in. ..J 13 55.11 14 Cheek 22. 04 15 Inner sirloin 22.04 33.10 Total of third qnalit y . 1 - 429. 91 1,007.50 •a 3 t. 5: ... E- 8: I: 1 II FRANCE. Mode of dividing an ox in the abattoirs at Lille. 261 Quality. Number of pieces. Names of piecea. Weight of each piece of a fat Flainar.d ox, weighing 458 kilograms uet(l,()0'J.7U pouuds). 1 3 4 5 C 7 8 0 10 1L 12 13 14 15 Fillot Pounds. 15. 00 70. T4 liibs 77.10 I 1 (il.72 85. 27 57.32 Total of first quality 317. 01 c 92. CO II....} SO. 52 \ 48.50 200. C2 f 97.00 00.13 III. ..J Flack.... CS. 34 Erisket 82. CO 52. 01 115. 09 492. 07 17009770 Mode of dividing an ox in the London butcher-stalls. Quality. Number of pieces. Names of pieces. Weight of each piece of a 4 -years of age, ordi- nary quality, weighing 1,032 pounds, English weight (407 kilograms). f 1 2 8 4 10 G 7 5 11 i;s 8 12 14 15 16 1G 18 Pounds. 144 72 I ...J 32 | Buttcok 112 1 112 Total of flint quality 472 f 80 n 24 | 120 I Shoulder 48 248 Thin flank ( 1+ III....? Chuck 44 ( 04 f Clod 40 IV.... Nook 48 44 1 "Chock 312 Total of tho four qualities 1,032 262 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. FOOD CONSUMPTION IN FRANCE. I give below a table oi the ordinary annual consumption of food in the principal cities of France, per capita; also a table of the imports and exports of cattle and their products in France for the last three years : Cities. Broad. "Wine. Fresh meat. Kilos. 164 175 2-14 165 219 2G7 177 183 Liters. 224 230 186 210 25 1G2 170 49 Kilos. 80 71 63 65 Lille 49 46 Toulouse - 55 61 This table demonstrates that the people of Paris consume in average the most wine and the least bread, and those of Lyons the most wine. The inhabitants of Eouen and Lille consume the smallest quantity of wine, owing to the absence of vineyards and the great consumption of cider in the former and of beer in the latter place. The annual coil- sumption of beer in Lille is 213 liters and of cider 124 liters in average. IMPORT AND EXPORT OF ANIMALS FOR FOOD. The import and export of animals for food and their products for France during the last three years : Import. Export. Description. 1882. 1881. 1880. 18S2. 188L 1880. Oxen head.. Cows do.... Fresh meat kilograms . . Cheese do Butter do — 77, 866 50, 133 CO, 285 16, 056, 038 6, 341, 010 54, 133 44, 093 57, 451 15, 638, 946 7, 271, 593 68, 384 65, 431 75, 185 15, 790, 488 7, 045, 036 39, 908 29, 355 9,182 4, 430, 534 38, 366, 629 27, 531 30, 455 8,419 4, 076, 557 30, 879, 118 19, 956 22, 259 5, 472 4, 267, 297 31, 0G4, 521 MEAT PRICES IN FRANCE. , We have seen that the average price of good marketable beef on foot at Paris is about 32 cents per pound, 28 cents for second class, and 24 cents for third class, while at Rouen the prices are 36 cents, 33 cents, and 30 cents for the same ; the latter prices prevail at Lille. There seems no reason why this discrimination should exist to the prejudice of the latter cities, except that no person ever thinks of underselling his neighbor here, and it would be torture to any ■ vender to discover that he had not obtained the highest possible price. THE FOOD DEFICIT OF FRANCE: WHENCE IMPORTED. From these tables can be seen that France does not produce its own meat and dairy products, and never can. France is very far from fur- nishing a good nourishing regimen. The average consumption of meat among the rural population is about 57 pounds per head} in rural dis- FRANCE. 263 tricts containing more than 1,000 inhabitants, 147 pounds; and 176 pounds in Paris. In England the average consumption of meat per head is about 180 pounds. This estimate of consumption must be still cut down, for it would require upwards of 6,600,000,000 pounds to fur- nish this quota, but the actual consumption only reaches 2,600,000,000 to 2,800,000,000 pounds, of which about one-tenth is imported. Italy contributes largely of this amount, in the exceptional year of 1878 fur- nishing to France 72,661 oxen, 41,775 cows, and 230,000 sheep. Algeria, as noted before, gave 42,250 oxen in that year; Belgium furnished 5,000 oxen and 37,000 cows; Switzerland some hundreds of oxen and thou- sands of cows and sheep ; Germany, besides 1,135,000 sheep, sent some hundreds of oxen and thousands of cows. The United States, up to that time, had sent only 659 oxen. Many American cattle find their way through Belgium iuto France, owing to greater facilities for shipping by the Belgian lines. In regard to the amount of this traffic the in- formation can be furnished by consuls of French ports in regular steam communication with the United States. A deficiency of the home supply of meat exists in France, yet the Government has been called upon to play the r61e of Providence and be- come responsible for unfruitful seasons, and is expected to solve the problem of rendering a high price to the farmer for his meat and grain, while furnishing cheap bread to the laborer. A large number of the more intelligent of the population, influenced in some degree, perhaps, by private interests, consider the public consumption of food as limited and incapable of extension, and that increased exertion is alone neces- sary to supply the home demand. They therefore conclude that the im- portation of foreign food is directly hostile to the rights of the French producer, and, relatively, curtails labor. When they prohibit and restrict the free entry of articles of food, they seem oblivious to the fact that, while they can do little more to increase the supply, the ordinary increase of population demands greater supply, and that in cheapening the necessaries of life they increase the moral and physical vigor of the workman, and enable the poor consumer to .apply the difference to other wants. This policy weighs heavily, and inflicts cruel sufferings every day upon the manufacturing districts and affords no relief to the farmer. CATTLE-FEEDING IN FRANCE. Stall feeding. — In the north fattening is done largely in cattle-sheds near sugar-houses, or in dairies near towns. The residue of sugar works, distilleries, and breweries, also oil cakes of oleaginous grains, form the principal base of their diet. Farinaceous food takes but a secondary place and is only used as an accessory. The pulp of the beet-root takes the principal place in the fattening. It is difficult to form any idea of the enormous quantities of food that the sugar works and distilleries of beet-root afford for fatten- ing purposes. At present France produces 432,000 tons of sugar, for which it requires 7,987,500 tons of beet-root, one-third of which, 2,662,500 tons, pressed pulp of beets after the saccharine matter is extracted, is used for fatten- ing cattle. Pasture feeding. — It is said that the scarcity of farm labor is circum- scribing the limits of this industry. In the description of many of the different breeds mention was made that pastures abounded especially in Normandy, the north, Oharolais, Nivernais, Auvergne, Franche 264 CATTLE AND DAISY FAEMIKG. Comt<3, and Vendue. Those of Normandy can be considered the best for fattening purposes. Nievre and Oharolais rank second. The rental of these pastures varies. In Normandy there are three classes or qualities. The first is valued at $2G per acre ; it is estimated that six-tenths of an acre of this land will fatten an ox of 1,200 or 1,300 pounds, live weight. The second- class pastures rent at $21 per acre, which is considered sufficient to fatten an ox of 1,100 pounds, live weight. The third quality rents for $19 per acre, and three-fourths of an acre is considered sufficient for fattening an ox of 900 pounds. FATTENING CATTLE IN FRANCE. The graziers of Normandy buy at the cattle fairs of Bretagnc, Anjou, Maine, Berry, Manche, Touraine, Poitou, and Santonge, towards the last of April, thin cattle of the Breton, Normand, Parthenais, Salers, Mancelle, and mixed Durham breeds. These cattle are turned into the third-class pastures at first, where they rest and refresh themselves. When improvement in their condition is observed they pass succes- sively into the second and first class pastures. One-fourth are ready for sale in three months, or in the month of August ; one-half leave the pastures for the market one month later ; the last are sent forward in October. The fattening, therefore, takes about four months. Every fat animal sold is replaced by a thin one. When the feed is too short for cattle, sheep take their place, at the rate of two heads for one of cattle. The pasture is thus occupied from the 1st of May until the 15th of November. Milking cows are pastured the same length of time, and are stabled for the rest of the year, and fed on hay, carrots, cabbages, pulp of beets, or brewers' grains ; to this is added, in the neighborhood of Lille, to cow3 in full milk, a mash of pulverized beans or oil-cake. Carrots, parsnips rich in sugar, beet-root, potatoes, artichokes, turnips, and rutabagas constitute the winter food of the cattie. Very little grain is fed. COST OF FATTENING CATTLE IN FRANCE AND IN THE UNITED STATES. The French calculate that it costs $37 per head to fatten cattle in France, and only $2.40 to $2.75 in the United States. HOW TO PURCHASE CATTLE IN FRANCE. The requirements and deficiencies of this market in regard to meat are evident. A practical man looking over the ground could determine the best manner of importing them, and, as remarked, I am informed that Belgium affords the cheapest entry, and if the cattie are suffered to rest in the rich pastures of that country the benefit would result in pecuniary profit. With a view of answering the interrogatories contained in the cattle circular, I have endeavored to assist in this effort to increase and amelio- rate the native breeds of cattle, which is justly considered one of the most important elements in the general agricultural prosperity of a country. In endeavoring to describe the various breeds of cattle found in France, and delineating the especial value of these breeds in such a manner that the American breeder could determine the advantages, if any, which would follow their introduction, I would merely further add that the only knowledge absolutely essential to one desirous of buying FRANCE. 265 cattle in this market is tbat lie should know what be wants and be ca- pable of selecting the best specimens of the breed. A buyer could pur- chase as large a number as he wished with comparatively little trouble, for he could avail himself of the fairs, which are held annually, monthly, aud weekly in all parts of France, where several thousands of cattle are exposed to sale and change hands. If ignorant of the language, be can readily find an interpreter, or, if ho asks it, his consul will find one for him and otherwise assist him. THE SUITABILITY OF FRENCH CATTLE FOR THE UNITED STATES. I unhesitatingly state, as the result of my study of this subject, that the intelligent stock breeder can nowhere better than in France find as good and great a variety of breeds of cattle from which to select those suitable to the various requirements of the United States. CHAS. P. WILLIAMS, Consul. United States Consulate, Rouen, May 22, 1884. Special statistics regarding French cattle. Xame of breed. Origin of breed. Age at maturity. Weight of meat, not. Color. North of Franco r ear 8. 3 G 6 5 3*8 5 3J3 Pounds. 1,100 2,400 521 1,370 695 Red and brown. Salora.l Yellow. Saonoand Loire Light yellow. 715 740 Mancello Maine and Loire Light red. Ifame of breed. Annual milk yield. Milk to pounds of butter. Size at maturity. Live weight. Cow. Ox. Cow. Ox. Qts. 2,700 3 COO liROO 1.C00 Qts. 11 13 7 8 Ft. In. 4 G Ft. In. Pounds. 1,100 Pounds. 1,800 7 10 4,200 770 3 5 480 4 G 2,200 1,030 850 - 4 7 6 0 1,100 1,100 266 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. DIVISION OF LAND AND CATTLE BREEDING IN FKANCE. REPORT BY VICE-CONSUL MARTIN, OF MARSEILLES. OLD-TIME CATTLE-BREEDING IN FRANCE. Until a comparatively recent date the French peasant appeared to attach do value to cattle beyond that arising from their produce in labor or in milk. Every animal that was born was either expected to do serv- ice and toil in its peculiar capacity for the whole term of its active life, and was seldom turned over to the butcher before he had reached the age of ten years or more, or be slaughtered for consumption as soon as weaned and before its keeping would become an expense to its owner. Hence the favor that veal still finds in France as an article of food, and probably also the great natural fault of the generality of French breeds, viz, slow maturity. Under these circumstances the farmer who, partly on account of the advanced age of the animal and partly through the collusion of the butchers, could not even obtain the price originally paid for his cattle, had come to look upon it as a sort of necessary evil, and made no effort to improve or even to maintain the integrity of the original French breeds. INSTITUTION OF CATTLE SHOWS IN FRANCE. In 1854 the Government, perceiving the danger of this disposition of French farmers, instituted annual shows in the several regions of the country, where prizes were awarded to the best specimens of agricult- ural produce, and especially of cattle, with particular attention to im- provement in the direction of meat product and early maturity. At the same time the growing welfare of the people brought about a marked increase in the consumption of meat, naturally attended by an advance in prices. The farmer was not long in finding out that he could realize a profit in the sale of his stock if it was brought to the market in a fair condi- tion, and perceived the advantage of renewing it oftener, and at the same time made some effort stowards improving its qualities and mend- ing its faults. CATTLE CENSUS OF FRANCE. As* to quantity there does not seem to have been decided progress made in the last fifty years. As far back as 1837, a census made in that year fixed the number of horned cattle at 9,936,538. In 1866, after the annexation of Savoy and Nice, it was estimated to be some 12,000,000 ; in 1876, after the loss of the rich provinces of Alsace and Lorrain, it was reduced to 11,351,220; and the returns for 1880, the last published, give an aggregate of 11,446,253. That this number is not sufficient to meet the wants of the population is shown by the amount of importation of neat cattle in the same year, 1880, which was no less than 196,508 heads and exceeded the exporta- tion by 137,207. In 1881 the difference fell to 74,277 heads, but in 1882 it again rose to 108,571. The importation of butcher's meat is also large, and amounted for the three years above named, respectively, to 8,518,500, 5,745,100, and 6,028,500 kilograms. DIVISION OF LAND IN FRANCE. That the breeding of cattle does not keep pace with the increasing consumption of meat, nor find sufficient encouragement in the conse* FRANCE. 267 queiit advance of prices, can only be explained by the extreme division of land property in this country. It originated at the time of the French Bevolution, when all the es- tates belonging to the nobility (nearly the whole territory) were confis- cated and sold at auction. Then the succession law embodied in the French civil code aggregated the effects of this first parceling of the territory. It provides that each heir can claim to receive his share of the inher- itance in kind, and that the share allotted to each should contain an equal distribution of the constituent parts of the estate, real and per- sonal. It is easy to imagine to what extent the working of this law has di- vided landed property in France since the beginning of this century. Again, the French peasant allows the great desire, inherent to his nature, of owning the ground that he cultivates to allure him into pur- chasing small lots at rates which large land owners could not obtain for their whole property. The latter finding that they can by selling their land piecemeal realize profits from 20 to 30 per cent, larger, do not hes- itate to dispose of it in that way. The consequence has been, that while real estate at one time acquired almost incredible value (from $2.00 to $1,000 per acre, and for some ex- ceptionally productive land as much as $1,C00), nearly all the soil has fallen into the hands of the peasantry, who excel at reaping from the earth all that industry can achieve, but who too often lack the means of carrying on agriculture on a large scale. It is estimated that from 75 to 90 per cent, of the cultivated land of France belongs to what is called "petite culture," that is, to that class of farmers who work their own land with no other help than that of their children. At the same time those who do not own land in their own right, or have none to expect by inheritance, flock to the cities where they find better remuneration for their work and thus contribute, together with the necessities of the military service in this country, in making scarcity of help one of the most serious grievances of French agriculture. For this reason we see that almost all the productive land of the country is devoted to such culture as may be expected to give the best results under the smallest outlay. A schedule of the share occupied by each important branch of agri- culture may here be of interest : Arable land. Acres. Propor- tion to total snrfaco. Agricultural products: Wheat 17,071,120 19, 996, 350 4, 970, 556 3, 322, 543 1, 174, 893 303,218 16, 450, 311 Percent Other prain Leguminous plants Potatoes -. Beets ...... Colza All other culture Pasture land and meadows 63, 288, 991 12, 373, 036 1, 526, 575 19,594,268 5,336,493 23, 370, 133 50.45 9.86 Orchards 1.21 Wood land and forests 15.61 Vineyards 4.25 Heath lands and other unproductive land 18.62 Total 125, 494, 496 100. 00 268 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. DIVISION OF CATTLE IN FRANCE. This peculiar division of land aird culture in France has led to a simi- lar division of the cattle-raising industry. Nowhere in this country is it made a special pursuit, and the stock passes through many hands before it is finally turned over to the butcher. As a rule it is raised in those parts of the country where pasture land is abundant and the soil unfit for other culture. As soon as the young animal is strong enough it is taken to one of the numerous fairs that are held in all parts of the country; a farmer, whose ground is not ex- tensive, will buy the calf and submit it for a short time to the li^ht work which he requires, and after a few months, when the yearling has grown in his hands, he will take it again to the lair, sell it at a small profit, and buy another younger animal with the same prospect of profit for the future. In this wise, the stock is bought and sold several times before it passes into the hands of an "engraisseur," who makes it a special business to buy from farmers cattle which he brings to a satisfactory condition of "fat," and finally sells to the butcher. Under this system the different original French breeds have neces- sarily become mixed to a large extent, and it is difficult to determine exactly the number and importance of each. In a general way, cattle are most numerous in the northern and eastern parts of France where milk is a common diet ; in the south, where oil supersedes butter very largely, the breeds show a greater aptitude for labor; and in the south- eastern region, where neither milk nor labor is in great demand, there is no special breed, and the number of cattle is extremely limited. In the seven departments forming this consular district meat cattle only number 110,018 head, or less than 1 per cent, of the total of France, and it is, so to speak, all imported either from the cattle-raising parts of France, or from Italy, Sardinia, and Algeria. This made it impossible to collect any information directly from the breeder, which would have been of far greater value and interest ; and in the following description of the most important French breeds I had recourse to official statistics as to numbers and to the works of the Marquis de Dampierre and M. J. Magne as to the several breeds.* < CATTLE CENSUS OF FRANCE. As no census of the stock of this country was ever made with special regard to the several breeds, I have adopted the plan in the following statement to give the number of cattle belonging to each agricultural region of France which will permit a comparison of their relative im- portance : District. Area. Proportion to area of district Number of cattle in 1880. c 2 • Arable land. Pasture land. Oxen and bulls. Cows. Yearlings. Total. CrtO Eastern. ^Northern Western. Acres. 16, 693, 000 22, 920, 107 19,989,243 19. 455, 312 16, 472, 645 12, 936, 014 17, 028, 175 IV. ct. 54 70 58 57 34 39 28 Pr.ct 13 12 13 16 9 7 4 356, 042 209, 230 907,210 311, 593 441, 944 155, 831 110, 889 1, 138, 040 1,698,615 1,788,925 1, 129, 777 593, 541 381, 185 378, 159 275,441 438, 666 492, 137 340.578 145,445 88, 145 59, 850 1,769,523 2,340,511 3,188,272 1,781,958 1,185,940 625, 161 548, 898 106 102 159 92 South western... Southern Southeastern . . . 72 48 32 Total 125, 494, 496 3, 492, 739 7,113,242 1,840,272 1 11.446.253 •These interesting descriptions of French cattle are omitted, being fully covered liy some of the other roports from France. FEANCE. 269 PHYSICAL FEATURES OF FRANCE BY DISTRICTS. Description of Northeastern and Eastern France.* — The northeastern and eastern regions are generally mountainous, covered with wood and pasture land. Unproductive land is extensive and agriculture less advanced than in most of the other regions. The vineyards are im- portant andproduce the celebrated wines of Champagne and Burgundy. Eye is more important than wheat, and colza and hemp are also largely grown. Nearly all the geological formations can be found in this mountainous region, the primary and granitic in the Alps, the Jurassic in the Jura range and in the greater portion of the region, the cretaceous in the Champagne district, the triassic and permian in the Vosges, the porphy- raceous in tho Beaujolais and Morvan provinces, and the alluvium in that part of Alsace that was left to France. The climate is more extreme than in any other part of France ; the mean summer temperature is G4°, that of winter 32° ; tho rainfall amounts to 20.22 inches per annum. Tho rainy days averago 137 iu the year, and frost 70. The prevailing winds blow from the northeast and southwest. Description of Northern France.] — Tho northern region is the richest, most fertile, and best cultivated region of France. The land, which is nowhere in the region absolutely unproductive, is only broken by low and cultivated hills. The proximity of Paris insures for all the produce of tho region a certain and profitable outlet, and there is scarcely a branch of agriculture that is not followed. There, too, landed property has better resisted the disintegration prev- alent in France, and permitted of the valuable use of agricultural ma- chines. In brief, every produce of the French soil is extensively and profitably grown in tho northern region, except a few that require a warmer climate — tho olive, orange, and grape — although some vines are to be found in some parts of the region. It belongs entirely to the mioceuc formation, Jurassic, calcareous, and tertiary. The climate is tempered by tho sea breezes and is equally free from intense cold and heat. The mean summer temporature is 63° j and that of winter 40°. The mild and damp winters are favorable to pastures, which acquire particular qualities from the beneficent sea air. The rainfall averages 22 inches and the rainy days 140. Southwest and northeast winds are prevalent. Description of Western Francc.% — The western region, much alike to the northern region in its principal features, is far from equaling it in riches and advanced agriculture. Brittany, which forms tho principal part of the region, is of primary and granitic formation. It is covered with heaths and landes, and cau- not raise successfully anything but buckwheat. The other parts of the region havo greater analogy with the northern region, and in a general way the description given of the latter applies also to the former. Description of Central France.^ — The central region contains two dif- ferent parts, the plains in the north, and tho central table-land in France. * The breeds raised in this district aro the Charolais, the Comtoiso, and the Morvan. tThe breeds of cattle raised in Northern France are the Normandy aud the Flemish. t The breeds of cattle raised in Western France are the Breton, the Cholotais or Parthenan, and tho Manceau. $ The breeds of cattle raised in Central France are the Limousine, the Salers, and the Aubrac. 270 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Through excessive wood-clearing the x>lain region has become marshy, unproductive, and unwholesome. The soil is generally sandy, with an impervious clay substratum, where no vegetation is seen but heaths and broom. In marly parts some rye and a much larger quantity of buckwheat is grown. The " Plateau Central," of granitic and volcanic formation, embraces some fertile valleys,that of Limagne among others, remarkable by its rich loam soil, but the vegetable earth, which is most common, has been formed by the disintegration of feldspathic rocks, is light, and fit only for woodland and meadows. Greenswards, consisting chiefly of an herb called " Mardus stricta," are found on the highest summits of the table-land. Under those cir- cumstances the region naturally devoted itself to the cattle-raising in- dustry, and the "Plateau Central" supplies nearly all the different parts of France with large quantities of much esteemed stock. The climate, although colder, owing to the altitude, is not excessively so, and can compare favorably with many other parts of France. Description of Southwestern France.* — The southwestern region, which is inclosed between the ranges of the Cevennes and the Pyrenees at the east and south, is entirely composed of plains and valleys, with the ex- ception of the landesj a wide sandy expanse, resting on a pudding-stone substratum ; the region is fertile and in advanced stage of culture that embraces all the agricultural productions of France except the olive and orange. The vineyards cover nearly 2,000,000 acres, and produce the well- known Bordeaux wines and a good deal of inferior brandy. The cult- ure of Indian corn comes next in importance, and is especially extensive in the poorer district, where the peasant uses it for food for himself and. his cattle, and as flour, fuel, and bedding. The natural pasture land is also plentiful, and sown meadows give a good supply of lucern, and particularly clover, the use of which has grown to form an important branch of trade. The geological formation is entirely of the tertiary order in the plains, and in the Cevennes and Pyrenees partakes of different formations, the granitic and Jurassic predominant. The climate is moderate, the mean temperature being 09° in summer and 41° in winter; the rainfall averages 23 inches, distributed in 130 rainy days in the year. Frost is seldom seen for more than 35 days. Description of Southern and Southeastern France. — The southern and southeastern regions are quite different in every respect from all the other regions of France. The climate, produce, culture, and general aspect are entirely peculiar to the region. Wood and pasture lands are scarce, the calcareous hills and mountains, stripped of the last vestige of a tree, are barren and grow nothing but shrubbery and aromatic herbs, on which constantly browse numerous herds of starveling sheep that are led from one hill to another and lay waste all those parts of the country through which they travel. Three-fifths of the region are utterly sterile and deserted. On the other hand, the two other fifths are remarkably productive and turned to culture which cannot be attempted in any other portion of France* The olive, orauge, mulberry trees thrive admirably ; the vine is exten- sively cultivated and produces immense quantities of wine, which, al- though of inferior quality, brings an important revenue to the country, In some part flowers grow in the open air at all times of the year, and * The breeds of cattle raised in Southwestern France are the Garounaiso, the Baza- dais, the Gascon, the Bordelais, and the Pyrenees. ' FRANCE. 271 give rise to numerous factories for the preparation of essential oils and perfumery, and to an important production of honey. The drought is nearly permanent, and is broken only by floods of rain which are more injurious than beneficial, as they frequently occasion dangerous inundations and carry away a good deal of precious vegeta- ble earths. In the Valley of the Ehone the rainy days only number from 120 to 130 in the year, and 53 on the Mediterranean shore, and still the rainfall is larger than in any other parts of France, and averages 38 and 26 inches respectively. The climate is more moderate on the sea- shore where the mean tem- perature is 72° in summer and 42° in winter. In the interior the mean winter temperature is 35°. The prevalent winds are the northwest or mistral, a cold and violent wind, and the southeast or rainy wind. CAMARGUE CATTLE. The only original cattle breed of the region is the Camargue breed. Its only interest lies in the fact that it lives in a semi-wild condition in the Camargue, a marshy delta of the river Rhone. It is of small size and measures about 4 feet 4 inches j its color is generally black, some- times red 5 the head is elongated ; the horns are long and in the shape of a bow. There are no stables in the delta, and the herds are allowed to roam through the island at liberty all the year round. When the young calves are born they are fastened to pickets sunk in the ground and have to wait until their mothers are willing to come and nurse them. No use has ever been made of the breed except for bull-fights, and it is rapidly disappearing. At the present day there are not more than eight hundred head liv- ing in Camargue. All the other cattle found in the region is imported from other parts of France, or Algiers, Sardinia, and Italy. FRENCH IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF CATTLE. To close this report and give an idea of the cattle trade as carried on in France, I have appended the following schedule of the importation and exportation of cattle for the year 1882 : imports. Countries. Oxen. Cows. Bnlls. Yearlings. Male. Female. Calres. Imported from— Italy 57, 058 18, 730 3,192 17, 749 311 21, 127 Algeria ium Switzerland 20, 148 5,674 3,785 3,048 288 1,165 2,073 966* 872 2,126 406 1.360 226 i2l* 24,299 6,665 3,382 Germany 4,240 Holland Spain ""264" 201 167 598 743 Other countries Total 83,220 50, 692 1,740 4,279 4,239 56, 814 272 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. EXPORTS. Countries. Oxen. Cows. Bulls. Yearlings. Male. Female. Calvos. Exports to— E:i"l;*n(l 21,094 11,052 13> 060 1 190 9, 505 r>, ooo 8, 272 G, 430 721 847 83 '""65' 70 62 1,003 88 10 2,107 508 "i,'?.7o" 273 736 4, 500 1, 099 1, 2<»7 Switzerland 1,210 Total 46, 422 29, 943 1, 065 1,223 4, 258 9,183 J. S. MARTIN, Jr., Vice- Consul. United States Consulate, Marseilles, February 5, 1885. CATTLE EAISING IN THE SOUTHWEST OF FRANCE.* REPORT BY CONSUL ROOSEVELT, OF BORDEAUX. In the departments of France forming the consular district of Bor- deaux there are five principal breeds of cattle, viz, the Garonnais, Bazadais, Bordelais, Landais, and Limousin. ORIGIN OF THE BREEDS. Garonnais. — Native of the country through which the Garonne River flows ; the most abundant breed of the Southwest of France ; has always been known in the country, and has not been crossed. Bazadais. — Issued from the Pyrenean breed and imported, at the be- ginning of the sixteenth century, into the environs of the town of Bazas ; has a great resemblance to the Garonnais, and has never been crossed; is considered one of the oldest breeds of France. Bordelais. — A cross-breed of Brittany and Dutch ; was imported into the locality at a remote period ; is preserved from degeneration by the constant renewal of the blood. Landais. — Issued from the Pyrenean breed, and raised only in the department of the landes (moorlands) ; has undergone the changes nat- urally due to the difference of climate and soil, and has become adapted to the country, where, under the local influences, it has almost become a new breed ; has not been crossed. Limousin. — Raised especially in the environs of the town of Limoges; seems original to the country ; has not been crossed. • DESCRIPTIONS AND GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. Description of the Garonnais. — Buff color, sometimes darker about the without being head, hoof, and tail; bull, 5 feet 4 inches; cow, 5 feet tall *Note by Consul Roosevelt. — This report is compiled from information derived from the municipal veterinary surgeon in charge of the slaughter- house of the city of Bordeaux, M. Marcel Courregelongne, one of the most eminent cattlc-hrceders of this department, and also secretary of the Society of Agriculture of the Gironde ; from the manager of the General Milk Company of Bordeaux, the municipal records, the newspapers of this locality, and from the most reliable authors. FRANCE. 273 "high above ground;" very thick bones and strong limbs; thick mus- cles, long body, well supported; deep but rather narrow chest, flat ribs, rather thick neck, fore quarters more bulky and heavier than hind ones j rather flat thighs; thick skin, thick flat horns bent forward and gener* ally downward. This fine breed forms the wealth of the Southwest of France, to which it gives its work and meat. Strong, docile, and handy, it works well and much, but with a slow pace. The ox takes flesh easily; the cow hardly has milk enough to feed her calf. Raising Garonnaisc calves.— If the calf is intended to make a beast of burden, he is fed, until four mouths old, by his mother and at the same time by a Brittany cow used as assistant nurse (that cow assists in feed- ing three calves), then he receives a little bran until six months old, when he is weaned. He is then sent grazing all day and stabled at night; he receives besides green or dry forage, according to the season. Such is the diet he will follow up to his last day. When thirteen months old, he is castrated and begins to be broken to the yoke; from that age to that of two years and a half, he is employed to do the light work of the farm ; from two and a half to five or six years old, he is put to the coarser works of agriculture, then stabled to be*fattcned. The fattening begins in February and is finished at the end of September. The animal re- ceives at first radishes and turnips, which are chopped with straw, then purple clover and corn fodder; to that green forage is added bran, corn, flour, and rape or linseed cake; during all the time of fattening the ox is not allowed to go out. A calf three and a half or four months old is sold for the stall at from 818 to $30. If the calf is intended to be kept for reproduction, he is weaned only when nine months old, and up to that time has three nurses besides a special food of meal or floury substances; he is then sent graziug dur- ing the day and stabled at night; when ten or eleven months old he may be sold for $00 or $70; he begins to serve when fifteen months old, and when he reaches the age of thirty months he becomes too heavy for cover- ing; he is then fattened without being castrated, and sold to the butcher at the price of 7 cents per live pound. The cows are covered when fif- teen months old ; they go to pasture during the day, and receive a ration in the stable where tbey are kept at night; this ration consists of green or dry forage according to the season. Working QaronnaisG cattle. — The cows work like the oxen. When farrow or too old to work, they are fattened and sold to the butcher, who pays about 7 cents per live pound. An ox at the age of maturity, five or six years old, weighs 1,100 or 1,200 pounds. After having been taken away from the work and fat- tened he weighs from 1,300 to 1,400 pounds. He is then sold to the butcher at from $150 to $175, and yields 55 per cent, of the live weight in meat. When specially fattened for the stall the ox weighs up to 2,500 pounds, at about four years of age. Its flesh has a fine grain. A pair of workiug oxen, from four and one-half to five years old, are sold at from $2G0 to $300. A pair of Garonnais oxen can pull a cartload (two- wheeled cart) of 10,000 pounds weight for 12 J miles in one day, but can work at that rate only three times a week. The working pace is about 1J miles per hour. The working animal is fed on bran, dry hay, and sometimes a little ration of oats. H. Ex. 51 IS 274 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Meat product of Garonnais cattle. — The following is the product of two young oxen 'which had received premiums at a cat,tle show : No. 1, three years and ten months old : * Live weight at the slaughter-house pounds.. 1,848 Weight of the four quarters do.... 848 Proportionate weight of the four quarters to the live weight per cent.. 62-91 Weight of the tallow pounds.. 110 Proportionate weight of the tallow to the four quarters per cent . . 12-83 Weight of the skin pounds.. 107 Proportionate weight of the skin to the four quarters per cent . . 12-96 No. 2, three years and eleven months old : Live weight at the. slaughter-house pounds.. 2,176 Weight of the four quarters. do 1, 366 Proportionate weight of the four quarters to the live weight per cent. . 68-78 Weight of the tallow ^ pounds.. 162 Proportionate weight of the tallow to the four quarters per cent . . 13-19 Weight of the skin pounds.. 136 Proportionate weight of the skin to the four quarters per cent. . 10-00 Garonnais crossbreeds. — An author says that this breed deserves the name of " Shorthorn of the South," having the same form and bearing and the same propensity to fatten when young. It is supposed to be a cross-breed of Garonnais and Dutch. According to reliable documents large numbers of Garonnais were exported to England in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when the South of France was occupied by the English. This breed has never been crossed by any foreign blood. It is left to itself for reproduction, the raisers hardly taking any care to secure good bulls. The cattle-breeders say that this breed should not be crossed in- its native country, because that would make it Jose the qualities which render it particularly adapted to the locality. All cross- ings hitherto tried have proved complete failures. This breed repre- sents about two-thirds of the cattle in the department. Garonnaise grazing country. — The altitude of the country is about 250 feet above sea-level. The mean temperature is 56° F. — in summer, 72°; in winter, 43°. The soil belongs to the secondary and tertiary periods. The agricultural soil is composed of— Acres. Limestone 132,750 Eich compost 32,800 Gravel.... 1,700 Stony ground 18,000 Sandy ground • 27,500 Heathy ground 12, 350 The soil of the plain and great valleys is very fertile. The plain of the Garonne, of proverbial fertility, lies on alluvial ground 12 feet deep. The culture of the ground is triennial ; first year, wheat and cereals of spring and autumn growth ; second year, green forage ; third year, hemp, tobacco, rape, and linseed. THE BAZADAIS CATTLE. Description.-rD apple dark gray ; nose, anus, and inner part of thighs white ; eyes encircled with white hair ; some of cows are light gray. Bull 4 feet 8 inches, cow 4 feet 4 inches high. The animal is compact, "close to the ground," with thin, dense bones; powerful muscles ended by strong sinews; harmonious and wonderfully balanced body; loin? very well attached. The animal is built for fatigue and endurance, with broad and neat articulations ; hind quarters broad, well made, with thick flesh and muscles from rump to knee ; hoofs hard and of a good quality ; head short, broad at the forehead ; horns well attached} neck FRANCE. 275 short; ribs round; stands remarkably plumb on his legs; tail well attached; skin rather thick, of a light tissue, with somewhat rough hair. Being energetic and having a quick pace, these animals are emi- nently fit for work. Yoked to enormous two-wheeled carts, they carry prodigious loads under a scorching sun, and sometimes with a sandy dust which renders their work very painful. AVitli all the qualities of a beast of burden, the fiazadais is also good for the butchery, and, though weighing less than the Garonnais, is frequently rewarded at the fat-cattle shows. It is preferred for the butchery, being in general fatter than the Garonnais ; its flesh is better, gives more of the choice cuts, and yields a greater average of meat — more than 60 per cent, of the live weight. The ox takes flesh much more easily than that of the Garonnais breed. The cow hardly has enough milk to feed her calf. Bazadais calves. — If the calf is intended to make a beast of burden he is treated exactly as the Garonnais ; sometimes sent grazing, but gener- ally kept in the stable. He is castrated when twelve months old, and begins to be broken in three months after ; he is then used for light plowing and harrowings. When three years old he is yoked with a companion to a two-wheeled cart, and carries 2,500 pounds, but for short distances only. When four and a half years old he is used for hard work till the age of six or seven, without snowing any sign of great fatigue. Weight and value of Bazadais oxen.— A pair of Bazadais oxen can pull 10,000 pounds weight for 12J to 13 miles in one day, but can work at that rate only three times in a week. The working pace is about 2 miles per hour. The working animal is fed on bran, dry hay, and sometimes a small ration of oats. A pair of working Bazadais oxen from four and a half to five years old are sold from $220 to $260. One-third of the Bazadais working oxen are used for carting heavy loads, one-fifth are sold for the vineyards of Medoc and Sauterne, the rest are employed for agricultural purposes in the Bazadais region. This latter portion is fattened when from four and a half to six years old, whilst those belonging to heavy works are fattened only from the sixth or seventh year of their age. The fattening begins in May and termi- nates at the end of February. From May to October the animal is fed on green forage, corn fodder, vetch, and purple clover. From October he is fed on hay, bran, corn meal, rape, and linseed cake. A Bazadais ox at the age of maturity (five or six years) weighs from 900 to 1,000 pounds ; after being fattened as above he weighs from 1,100 to 1,200 pounds, and is then sold to the butcher at the rate of 12 cents per pound live weight. The cows work like oxen. The calves are bought for the butchery from $18 to $30 a head ; their flesh is very white and greatly praised. When raised expressly to be fattened, on reaching its full growth, the animal weighs about 2,000 pounds. In the southwest of France the Bazadais represents about one-third of the bovine species and the Garonnais two-thirds. The Bazadais as alone-malting animal. — A reliable author mentions as a known fact tbat in the country where the Bazadais is raised the horses become small and slender, with small carcasses, whilst the oxen become compact, thick, and long ; in other terms, in the same country, under the same influences, and with the food produced by the same soil, the bony system of the horse is reduced to the smallest proportions, whereas that of the oxen takes a great development. This would tend to prove tbat the Bazadais oxen have a particular tendency and aptness to as- 276 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. similate the calcareous salts contained in the pastures. If the Bazadais ox is really endowed with the faculty of " easily making" bones, it would be a useful importation into countries the soil of which is too poor in calcareous salts to properly feed beasts of burden ; and, on the other band, if it was imported into countries the soil of which would supply abundant calcareous salts, the frame might be, in the course of time, developed to a great size and power. The Bazadais grazing grounds. — The altitude of the country in which that breed is raised is 270 feet above the level of the sea. It is com- posed of flat grounds, with little valleys, where spring many calcareous waters. The mean temperature is G2° F. — in summer, 69° ; in winter, 43°. The soil belongs to the superior miocene formation, characterized by the shell-marls, containing all the varieties of cerites with yellow conchiferous sands and yellow or gray clay, often characterized by the Ostrea undata and Ostrea crispata. The ground is undulated and varied. On the same farm clay, sand, gravel, limestone, &c, are met with. The underground is as varied as the arable ground ; it is composed of clay, flint, stone, and limestone, but is not deep. The culture is biennial — first year wheat and rye, second year corn, potatoes, beet-root, and spring forage ; besides every farm has about one-third of its extent in artificial meadows. THE BORDELAIS CATTLE. Description. — Black and white (piebald). Bull, 4 feet 6 inches ; cow, 4 feet 2 inches high. Hind quarters developed as compared to the fore quarters ; thin limbs ; small bones ; angular forms ; pelvis very wide ; neck thin and almost fleshless ; head fine ; horns thin, black, bent for- ward, and often rough; udder expanded without beiDg fleshy; milk abundant. Qualities of the Gironde Bordelais. — This breed was imported into the Gironde many years ago, for dairy purposes solely, being the result of crossing between the breeds of Brittany and Holland ; it was and is still maintained by constant importations of Dutch bulls. It can hardly bo called a breed, as it does not reproduce itself exactly. It is compara- tively scarce, being used only for the dairy. Of the Brittany cow, from which it originates, cut 22, gives a pretty correct idea of it. The female only is known and described, as the young males are sold for the stall. The bulls and cows when too old to breed are sent to the slaughter- houses, but the meat is of inferior quality. The weight of the cow is about 500 pounds when at maturity, 4 years old ; it is then sold at from 880 to $100. The price of the bull is $80; after two years' service he is sold to the butcher. The Bordelais as milkers. — This is the only breed which provides the department of the Gironde with milk. After calving the cows give 4J gallons of milk a day for one month. Afterwards it gradually goes down to 2 gallons. The average quantity given by one of these cows amounts to about 050 gallons per annum, with a proportion of 2.90 per cent, of butter and 3.35 per cent, of dry caseine. The Bordelais not suitable for exportation. — The Bordelais could not be profitably exported— (1) because it degenerates if not renewed by frequent crossing; (2) because as a milker it is not so good as the Normandy cow. The grazing-grounds of the Bordelais. — The altitude of the country is about 150 feetabove sea-level. ; It is generally composed of flat and undulating ground. The arable goil is composed of clay, pebble, limestone, and sand. The mean tern- .cotf aV FRANCE. # 277 perature is 57° F. — in summer, 69° j in winter, 43°. The soil belongs to tho Tertiary period. Feeding and housing Bordelais cotes. — The cows of the Bordelais breed are left in the fields day and night as long as the weather permits; when stabled (in cold or snowy weather) they are fed on second-crop hay, coarse cabbage, and any kind of green food that may be had cheap. Those kept by rich people have rations of bran added to the above. When the pea season sets in, very large quantities of that vegetable are daily shelled in tho city of Bordeaux at the establishments for preserv- ing vegetables, and the pods are sold for the cows, who are very fond of them. That food gives a particularly sweet taste and pleasant flavor to the milk. EXPERIMENTAL CATTLE -FEEDING IN FRANCE. It may bo interesting to note the following remarks, being the result of experiments made by a breeder of dairy cows, although such experi- ments have not been made on local breeds. To properly keep cattlo in France requires every day 1 pound 11 ounces of hay, or the equivaleut of it, for each 100 pounds weight of the live animal. An animal, to be completely satisfied, requires every day one-thirtieth of his weight. Besides that one- thirtieth in dry sub- stances, he wants four-thirtieths of water, or any other liquid contained in the food. If, to be completely satisfied, a cow requires a daily food of 3£ per cent, of its weight, and if 1$ are necessary to sustain life, it ensues that the half of the ration is keeping food and the other half is productive food. Each pound of productive food gives one pound of milk, or increases by nearly 1 ounce the weight of the calf in tho mother's womb ; and for the animals which are being fattened, 10 pounds of forage give 1 pound of increase in weight. The calf at its birth weighs one-tenth of its mother's weight. During the first month after calving, the cow gives a weight of milk equal to 3£ per cent, of her weight. Afterwards the milk diminishes gradually. THE LANDAIS CATTLE. Description. — Buff color, with a lighter hue around the eyes and tho extremities. In some animals that color is darker, and sometimes tinted with bay. This breed is much smaller than any of the before mentioned the bull being only 4 feet 4 inches and the cow 4 feet high. It is a small or rather mean variety of the great Pyrenean family, hardly in- teresting to others than the inhabitants of those barren countries. Tho animal is small, compact, well-shaped, energetic, and quick, with long thin horns, dead white, with black tips. It is extremely sober, and is noted for its endurance ; its fine and nervous limbs, like those of tho Devon breed, have a peculiar character and prove its swiftness. The animal is kept in good condition, in spite of hard plowings, with very little forage, and that of the worst kind. The cow, though not strong, is equally enduring, and without extra food works very hard, even whilst feeding her calf. The animal trots very well without losing breath ; oxen unaccustomed to the cart have been known to travel from 47 to 50 miles in one day and night. A pair of Landais oxen in working condition, four and a half to five years old, are sold at $lcS0 to $200. When specially fattened the ox may reach the weight of 1,600 pounds. In spite of its qualities this breed is not of sufficient value to export. The grazing grounds of the Landaisc. — The altitude of the country is 160 feet above the level of the sea. 278 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Flat and barren ground (moorlands). Mean temperature in summer, 72° j mean temperature in winter, 44°. THE LIMOUSIN CATTLE. Description. — Buff color, with a paler hue at the inner" part of the limbs ; large soft eyes, surrounded, as well as the muzzle, by a whitish circle. Smaller than the Garonnais, but larger than the Bazadais, thus giving an average height of about 4 feet G inches for the cow and 5 feet for the bull. There is a great variety in the size of the animals, owiug to the places where they are raised. They have a softer skin and are much finer and less bony than the Garonnais. Body rather long , withers high and not muscular; hind quarters narrow; short neck; thick head ; horns pale, with brownish tips, flattened towards the base, not always well bent, turned forward and often downward. The cow is small, delicately shaped, and would be remarkably fine if not over- worked. She has round ribs and well-made hips; is very spirited, and works much more quickly than the ox, which goes slowly and lazily. The cow gives scarcely any milk. The cause of this difference is that the cow is the exclusive product of the locality, which is poor, whereas the male calves and young oxen are the objects of an active trade, and are bought by persons who take them into richer countries, where they are fed preparatory for work and the slaughter-house. The difference in the diet makes the difference in the size. The Limousin makes flesh more rapidly than the Garonnais, and the quality of the meat is superior. A pair of working oxen bring from $240 to $280. When specially fattened a Limousin ox will weigh about 2,200 pounds. Grazing grounds of the Limousin. — The altitude of the country is 300 feet above sea-level. Highest temperature in summer 90° ; lowest temperature in winter, 10°. Soil of the primitive period, formed by the desegregation of granitic, gneissoid, porphyric, and feldspathic stones. The arable ground is clayish, gravelly, or sandy, without a sufficient thickness, which causes many large plains to be covered with heath. The substratum is clayish or loamy, rather permeable. The cultivation is biennial. First year, fallow, black wheat, radish, and potatoes ; second year, rye or wheat. The soil is undulating, the climate damp and cold, and liable to great variations of temperature. Besides the above principal breeds, this district contains a few other of lesser importance which never come on the market of Bordeaux, and which, for that reason, are not known. HOW TO EXPORT CATTLE FROM BORDEAUX TO THE UNITED STATES. The best and only method of direct exportation to the United States from Bordeaux is by the Bordeaux Steamship Company, which makes regular monthly voyages. The conditions of the company, submitted to the emigration laws, are the following : (1) Only ten head of cattle can be carried at a time. (2) The animals will be placed on deck. (3) The freight for each animal will be $80, including shipping, land- ing, attendance on board during the passage, and accommodation. (4) The food will be provided by the shipper. The daily food re- quired for an animal on board is 10 pounds of hay and 8 pounds of bran. The wholesale price of hay is about 80 cents per 100 pounds. 4*-\(m-mm Jfl I ■i ^HiHfa' i 1 < 'I- "" • 1 ' !§;-'' I K- •I m am ' % \ % i ,. ^ f ' J yi gMfegBMj I* iiiW 1 ! 1& ' fe tr- G ' b 9 * 5 b i FRANC K. 27 d bran $1.60 per 100 pounds. Counting fifteen days from date of ship- ping to that of landing, both inclusive, each animal would eat : 10 pounds of hay, X 15 = 150 $1 20 8 pounds of bran X 15= 120 1 92 3 12 This added to the freight makes a total of $33.12 per head. The prices of frieght of the Bordeaux Steamship Company applies to choice animals carefully attended to, but the freight of animals sent in cargoes by American ships would be much cheaper, FRENCH BREEDS SUITABLE FOR EXPORT TO THE UNITED STATES. Among the breeds hereinbefore mentioned only two might perhaps be worth importing into the United States, the Garonnais and Bazadais. The former, on account of its .size and powerful frame ; the latter, on ac- count of its energy as a beast of burden, of its yield in good meat, and of its wonderful power of assimilating food. The cost price of a couple of choice Garonnais would be about $300, that of a couple of choice Bazadais about $260. EXPORT OF AMERICAN BEEF CATTLE TO BORDEAUX. It would not be advisable to import any breeding animals into this district, because all the crossings hitherto tried with the local breeds have proved complete failures, and consequently the cattle raisers are not inclined to try new experiments ; if they were so inclined, they would choose bulls belonging to breeds known in France, and not pur- chase animals of a breed unknown to them. If the importation of breeding animals is not likely to give any good result, the importation of live stock into Bordeaux for the butchery would, on the contrary, meet the requirements of the market, and the probabilities are that the introduction of such animals, if arriving in good condition, would be a profitable speculation. In order to elucidate the matter, so as to oring the question within the comprehension of any person concerned, I shall first explain the manner in which the city of Bordeaux is supplied with meat, the part acted by the commissioners, who are the intermediates between the producers and the butchers, their systematic removal of live stock from the market in order to raise the prices, &c. This will be seen in the following extract of the newspaper La Victoire of Bordeaux, of Decem- ber 1G, 1880: Generally on arriving at Bordeaux the dealer cannot wait until bis stock is sold and paid for ; not being rich he requires ready money for other business. The commis- sioner is there, ready at hand ; ho examines the cattle, values it after his own fashion, tries to hint that the butchers are well provided, the market bad and overstocked, &c. ; he advanees to the dealer a certain sum of money, about three-fourths of the value of the cattle ; but often, to end sooner and not to wait ten or fifteen days for the settlement of the sale, the merchant prefers to transact for a trifling profit and gives up tho cattle to tho commissioner, who then makes the best of ifc. The same article mentions the punishment which the commissioners inflict upon the dealers who do not prove sufficiently accommodating : Frequently the commissioners send their employe's to the fairs of the region in order to prevent sales from the dealers who were unyielding to them. The part of the commissioner is thus defined in La Victoire of De- cember 3, 1880, by a letter of Mr. Olagnier, a municipal councilor, who made a special study of the question: The commissioners are at the same time the bankers of the producers, from whom they most often discount the price of the cattle which is sent to them for sale; and of 280 CATTLE AND DAIRY FAKMING. the butchers, to whom they sell the same cattle on a credit of seven or eleven days; they, besides, are merchants, buying and selling for their own account, and then, being holders of nearly all the cattle intended for the supply of our city's market, they can, owing to their small number, maintain the prices at a high figure. I have contended, and the fact is verified by two members of the municipal council who raise and sell cattle, that the commissioners of Bordeaux pay for cattle a lower price than that paid by the commissioners who supply the markets of Paris, while it is a well-known fact that beef is cheaper in Paris than in Bordeaux. Consulting the records of the municipal council I read in the report of the sitting of November 12, 1SS0, the following statements* corroborat- ing the preceding one : Correspondents and at the same time bankers of producers and of the butchers, and being, besides, merchants, they centralize the cattle, deliver to the market only the number required to maintain the highest prices, and by the influence which they ex- ercise on the butchers by advancing them money they paralyze the spring of compe- tition, which is necessary to reduce prices to their real level. At the sitting of the municipal council of February 12, 1880, one of the members, M. Min-Barabraham, read reliable documents showing that the commissioners paid their own price for the live cattle, and that, owing to their then scarcity of forage, the owners were obliged to get rid of their cattle at unremunerative prices, and after having quoted the report of a special commission named by the municipality to inves- tigate the matter, the report showed that meat in the city of Bordeaux was dearer than in Paris or any other large city of France. He found that the price of meat was always increasing, " even in the years when the price of cattle had obviously gone down on account of bad forage harvests.'* M. Min-Barabraham mentioned that as far back as 1870 he called the attention of the council to the high price of beef; that a commission was then ordered to inquire into the causes of such dear- ness and try to remedy it ; that in 1874 attention was directed to the constant and unreasonable increase of prices, when the mayor appointed a new special commission to investigate the former, and also to find the means of admitting free competition. This commission, however, did not prevent the continual increase of prices. The honorable coun- cilor then said : When one of the branches of trade, that which serves the public alimentation, is in the hands of eight or ten commissioners, who are at the same time speculators and merchants, who can at their will cause a rise by allowing on the market only the cat- tle that they wish ; who hold in their power a majority of the butchers by the weekly credits which they (the commissioners) grant them, I say that this is no longer liberty, it is monopoly. The last word seems to be the alarm-cry uttered by everybody in Bor- deaux for the last twelve years. On the 12th of November, 1880, Mr. Olagnier, a municipal councilor, presented a petition by which 4,500 inhabitants, in presence of the exces- sive prices reached by the butchers* meat in town, claimed the re-estab- ment of taxed prices ; and another member of the council mentioned that for the last twenty years the price of meat had more than doubled. The consequences to be drawn from all the preceding is that the com- missioners monopolize the cattle trade at Bordeaux ; that they admit to the market only the small number of animals required to maintain the highest prices; that the cattle-raisers, merchants, and butchers are at their mercy ; that the municipality have for years been constantly in search of the means of checking the monopoly; that the public is deprived of the most necessary article of food on account of the small quantity of meat sent to the stalls, and especially of high prices de- manded for it. FRANCE. . 281 In presence of such a state of things, my opinion is that the im- portation of live stock from the United States would prove a paying speculation, as it would meet the most urgent wants of a population of 221,000 inhabitants, consuming yearly 22,000 oxen. If the monopoly was destroyed, and if meat became more abundant and cheaper, this amount would increase 50 per cent. COST OF INTRODUCING, STABLING, AND FEEDING CATTLE IN BOR- DEAUX. The cost of introduction, stabling, keeping, &c, of the imported ani- mals from the day of their arrival to that of their sale to the butcher, is as follows : Customs dues, per head, $2.89, if imported direct. Town dues, 4SJ cents per 100 pounds' weight. All animals intended to be slaughtered must be sent to the official pens, where it costs for oxen 29 cents per head, and for cows 19 cents per head for the first twenty-four hours, food, litter, and attendance not included. If the owner or purchaser does not provide food, litter, and attendance, these are given ex officio by the establishment at the following rates: Nine pounds of hay (half a day's ration), 10 cents ; litter, 2 cents ; attendance and water, 4 cents. If the animals remain more than twenty-four hours in the pens the charges for each succeeding day are the following : Stabling, oxen or cows, 4 cents per head ; food (eighteen pounds of hay, litter, and at- tendance), 27 cents. When sold, it costs 77 cents per head for slaughter- house dues. This latter charge is at the expense of the butcher or purchaser. If, instead oflive stock, the importations consisted of fresh meat pre- served in ice the expenses would be as follows : Per 100 pounds. Customs dues §0 29 Towndue3 1 9G£ Total 1 2^ CATTLE CENSUS OF THE BORDEAUX CONSULAR DISTRICT. The total number of cattle in this consular district amounts to G5G,000 head, viz : Oxen and bulls 157,500 Cows 330,900 Calves 1C7,C00 With the following proportion of the different hreeds : Garonnais ." 190,000 Bazadais 32,000 Bordelais 6,000 Limousin 149, 100 Pyrencan of various breeds 238,900 Luudais 40,000 Total G56.000 GEO. W. EOOSEVELT, Consul. United States Consulate, Bordeaux, , 1883. 282 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. NORMANDY CATTLE. REPORT BY CONSUL GLOVER, OF HAVRE. WORKING- CATTLE IN FRANCE. In some portions of France oxen are still extensively employed in various kinds of work, and particularly on the farm. Many persons contend that for such uses, and in certain localities, they can perform a given amount of work at less expense than horses. To me this seems improbable. Still there may be some kinds of rough ground where oxen can be very advantageously employed. They walk more slowly than horses, and are more even in their gait, so that in u new ground," or in stony lands, they may be very desirable. But it is not necessary to pur- sue this branch of the subject further, inasmuch as cattle, in the United States, are esteemed chiefly on account of their qualities for the dairy or the butcher. The cow that produces the largest amount of milk and butter — other things being equal — is the best cow, and the bullock that furnishes the most beef of good quality, in the shortest time, is tbc best ox. It is not my purpose to attempt a full description of all the various breeds of cattle in France, but to give as complete information as I can in regard to the races in the northern part of the country, and particu- larly those in Normandy. NORMANDY, ITS SITUATION, SOIL, CLIMATE, ETC. This province is bounded on the north by the English Channel, and lies on both sides of the river Seine. It is composed of five depart- ments, viz : Seine Infeneure, chief cities Eouen and Havre ; Eure, chief city Evreux; Calvados, chief city Caen; Manche, chief city St. Lo; Orne, chief city Alencon. Although Normandy is situated between the 49° and 50° north latitude, the climate is temperate. The mercury rarely rises above 75° in summer, and ice is not often formed to exceed half an inch in thickness in winter. Snow scarcely ever falls to any considerable depth, and generally disappears in a few hours at most. Such a climate is well adapted to the raising of cattle. In parts of the province some kinds of grasses remain green the year through. The surface of the country is rather uneven, being intersected by many streams, which flow into the channel. Still much of the "up-land" is of good quality, while the bottom land is wonderfully productive. Taken as a whole, Normandy is a very fertile country, but all portions of the province are not equally favorable for cattle raising. The depart- ments of Calvados and the Manche, which lie on the west side of the Seine, are very remarkable for their fine cattle, and especially for but- ter-producing cows. In these departments are to be found the purest Norman types. ' CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NORMAN BREED. OfthoNciuiau race there are two varieties which are.particularly distinguished, viz, the Cotentin and the Augeronne, the former being the more highly esteemed. . The following are some of the peculiar characteristics of this race: Size large and often not very handsome, PLATE 122 V*- ^i*-^-- **£> Julius Bien A CoJjith. NORMAN COW PLATE 123 HO LLAND COW » FRANCE. 283 largo bones, with head rather heavy and long, the mouth large, horns crumpled and white as ivory. They are of many colors, but most of them are what we would call "brindle cows." I inclose a cut, which will aid in forming a just estimate of their form and general appear- ance. In my judgment, there are few better cows for dairy purposes to bo found in any country than this Cotentin variety. THE NORMAN CATTLE PREFERABLE TO THE JERSEYS OR ALDERNEYS. The very best cows of this breed are to be found between Caen and Lisieux, where they are sometimes called "vetches de pays," that is to say, cows of the country. I am of opinion that some of these Norman cows could be imported into the United States and advantageously crossed with certain American breeds. They aro most excellent milk- ers, of good disposition, and their milk is both abundant and rich. All things considered, they are certainly to be preferred to the English Jerseys or Alderneys. NORMANDY BUTTER. Probably no other country iu the world, of like size, produces more good butter than the department of Calvados. Small villages in this region export to Paris largo quantities of butter annually. The town of Isigny alono sends nearly 6,000,000 pounds every year. Gournay also sends 3,000,000 pounds. :esh vs. salted butter. We always have the Calvados butter on our own table, and find it excellent. The French do not use salt in butter, which seems rather strange to an American, but I am inclined to think that our people use too much salt in butter, as well as in many other articles of food. MILKING QUALITIES OF THE NORMAN COW. An ordinary Norman cow will give about 20 quarts of milk per day, while in some cases extra fine ones have been known to give 36 quarts in the same length of time. I think it will be safe to say that an average Cotentin cow will pro- duce 40 pounds of butter per month. This butter is probably worth in per pound the year through. The accompanying cuts will give a better idea of the shape and gen- eral characteristics of this breed than any written description I could I »ly give. This race is sometimes crossed with the Durham, which certainly im- proves the appearanco of the stock ; but many of the French people believe, that for dairy purposes, the Cotentin cows cannot be improved by the admixture of any other blood. However, ihere are those who contend that such crossing does not dee: quantity or the quality of the milk. Some of these young Durham -Norm an cows with the first calf have been known to give more than 20 quarts of good milk per <1 DING AND HOUSING CATTLE IN NORMANDY. In summer these milch cows feed on various kinds of grasses, includ- ing red clover. They do not run at la the custom in the United States, but I d out in row \K, and earl only graze to the end of theif t< ; vo eaten everything within reach they are moved to a new position. This process requires 284 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. a little more care than we are accustomed to, but it is very important io economize in every way in a country where land is so valuable. In winter they are fed on hay, beets, turnips, carrots, cabbage, &c. A good cow is worth about $75, NORMAN BEEF CATTLE. The Norman race is esteemed for the boueherie, but I am sure that it is greatly improved by crossing with the Durham stock. The half breeds mature more rapidly, are larger, and of better form than the pure Norman. Bullocks for the market are chiefly fattened in the summer on the excellent pastures which abound in this province, and especially in Calvados and the Manche. This part of France pro- duces abundance of beef for home consumption, and bullocks have been sometimes exported, principally to England. The upland has a clayey, marly soil, and is well adapted to the vari- ous grasses. In the hilly regions we. find abundance of flint, but the soil is quito productive. VALUE OF BEEF AND BEEF CATTLE IN NORMANDY. A good bullock on foot is worth about $130. Fine specimens will sometimes sell for 8200 or more ; but such animals are not often sold in this market. Beef cattle are worth about 10 cents per pound, on foot. This with the addition of octroi and other taxes, of course makes our sirloin steaks rather high priced. For choice cuts from extra line bul- lock's we sometimes pay from 3G to 40 cents per pound. Good beef can be had, however, at from 24 to 30 cents per pound. FRENCH VS. AMERICAN BUTCHERS AND BUTCHER SHOPS. The French butchers handle their meats with the greatest possible care. 1 think our American dealers might learn something from the French in this regard. As a rule they are more careful in their selec- tions of animals for the boncherie, and tire result is that the beef is more uniformly good. Their shops are perfect models of neatness, and always as clean as they can possibly bo made ; cleanliness is next to godliness, especially in the dairy and the butcher shop. The French butchers allow their meats to hang much longer before cutting than our Ameri can butchers. I note this custom from the fact that I think it greatly im- proves the texture of the meat. Our American housekeepers ought to be a little more sparing in the use of salt. A new steak, well salted before broiling, is almost sure to be tough. FRENCH VEAL. It is not the custom in France to slaughter very young calves. They are rarely killed before they are three or four months old, and many of these weigh from 140 to 200 pounds net. Veau is always to be found in the markets, and is greatly esteemed by the French people. • IMPORTATION OF AMERICAN CATTLE INTO HAVRE. Very few, if any, American cattle have been imported into this part of France. The chief difficulty in regard to the business is cost of FRANCE. 285 transportation. Can this obstacle be removed'? is the question. It would seem that powerful and swift steamers specially arranged for the trade ought to be able to carry beef cattle at such a rate as would leave a profit for the dealer. A Calvados bullock, weighing 1,500 pounds, is worth in this market about $145. A like animal in Galveston, Tex., would probably be worth about $60. This would leave a margin of $85 for transportation, shrinkage, profits, &c. This does not appear sufficient to induce capitalists to engage in the trade. Still I am of opinion that the time is coming when Europe must receive a large part of her beef cattle direct from the United States. We have an unlimited quantity of the very best beef in the world, and a large portion of it ought to find its way into the mouths of the hungry millions on this side of the Atlantic. I think, however, as indicated above, that freights must be considera- bly reduced before our live bullocks can be shipped at a profit from the Great West to any of the French ports. But the time will come. EXPORTATION OP NORMAN CATTLE TO THE UNITED STATES. So far as exportations from this country to the United States are con- cerned, it is not probable that they will ever be very large. A few choice Norman cows, strictly for breeding purposes, will be all that can be expected in this direction. Accompanying this report will be found cuts of the various French breeds, especially those of the Northern part of France. These will bo useful in comparing the different races, showing their form, &c. JOHN B. GLOVEK, Consul. United States Consulate, Havre, November, 1883. CATTLE PRODUCTS IN THE DISTRICT OF THE MAHIJE. REPORT EI CONSUL FRISB1E, OF RIIEIMS. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Department's circular dated July 18, 1883, requesting information relative to cattlo breeding, for the use and benefit of the stock breeders of tho United States. Immediately on receipt of said circular I began an investigation of the subject presented, with the hope that I should bo able. to preparo a report of some interest and benefit to the Department and to the stock breeders of the country; but in this I am sorry to say that I have not been successful, from the fact that the material out of which to make such a report does not exist in this district. This condition arises from the fact, first, that tho soil is light and chalky, and not suitable for growing grasses for pasturage, thus render- ing stock-raising, unprofitable; and, second, in the champagne district, of which Iiheims is the center, the great industries are the cultivation of the vine and the manufacture of its product, and the manufacture of woolen goods, which leave little room for other enterprises of a less profitable nature. So far as I am informed, there does not exist a single cattle market in this district. Beef is brought to this market already killed and dressed, 286 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. from Paris and other places at a distance. Butter for table use is brought from Normandy and other places, while the little which is made in this vicinity is fit only for cooking purposes. Milk is largely brought to this market by rail from out-lying districts, that which is produced in the vicinity of Eheims being of an inferior quality. JOHN L. FEISBIE, Consul. United States Consulate, Eheims, France, October 18, 1883. CATTLE IN THE DISTRICT OF NICE. . REPORT BY VICE-CONSUL YIAL. The ordinary breed, Taurus, is the single one to be found in the dis- trict of Nice. Neither beeves nor bulls are bred or fed in this part of France ; cows alone receive the best care in the dairy for milk purposes, inasmuch as the milk' is the chief food of a great many foreigners com- ing here during the winter. The beeves arriving in this town from Piedmont (Italy) are all reserved for the butcher. The best cow, the preferred, is called " Bergamase." This name refers to the town from which it is drawn, viz, Bergamus (Italy). It is a very stark cow, thick- set, dark chestnut, fine-haired, 4 feet high, always hollow-backed, with two large veins near the paps, one on each flank ; giving an average daily quantity of 3 or 4 gallons of excellent milk. When wanting cows, the milk- men of Nice get the Bergamases from Lombardy (Mouza, Milan, Berga- mus), and they choose them in the third year of their age, having just had their first calf or being still in calf. As Nice is surrounded by hills and as there are no large plains or meadows the plow is quite useless, and consequently no labor is required from oxen or cows. The best milk- men estimate that there are from 2,000 to 2,500 cows in the district of Nice. When bought in Lombardy a cow costs $80 to $90, but its trans- portation to Nice raises this cost to $85 or $95. Cows are conveyed hither by railway express, in wagons containing seven or eight. Six gallons of water and 18 pounds hay are their daily food in a journey of eighteen hours. The same ratio of food would be sufficient for the pas sage across the Atlantic, provided they be kept in appropriate stalls, G feet wide, 6 feet high, and 9 feet long. The daily food of a dairy cow is estimated at 44 cents. No exportation takes place from Nice ; the cattle crossing over this country is directed to a few small towns of the department of the Alpes Maritimes. They are generally driven on foot, unless long distances require railway express. From time to time Nice receives beeves for butchery either from Sardinia or from Algeria (Africa), but in small quan- tity and only when the importations from Italy become very scarce- Such animals give, however, but a middling quality of meat which can hardly be sold on the market, where the Piedmont cattle meat is always preferred. A. VIAL, Vice-Consul. United States Consulate, Nice, October 16, 1883. SWITZERLAND. 287 SWITZERLAND. SWISS CATTLE. REPORT BY CONSUL MASON, OF BASLE. THE TWO PRINCIPAL RACES AND THEIR SUBSIDIARY BREEDS. Switzerland, whose seventeen different kinds of cheese are nearly all exported, in greater or less quantities, to most civilized countries, pos- sesses two distinct and noble breeds of cattle, each of which maybe fairly said to be, in respect to certain essential qualities, unsurpassed, if indeed they are equaled, by any other bovine races in Europe. They are, re- spectively : (1) The Spotted race (Fleckviek), which has its origin hi the valleys of the Simme, the Saane, and the Kander in Canton Berne, and is known by the nameof " Berner spotted," or " Simmenthalor Saanenthal cattle." The principal off-shoot or subsidiary breed of this race is the " Freiburger Schwarzvieh," from the adjacent canton of Friburgh, which is marked similarly to the Berners cattle, except that its spots are black instead of yellow or red. (2) The Brown Schwyzer race, the origin of which is traced to Canton Schwyz, from which its name is also derived. This race is bred in its greatest purity in the central cantons of Schwyz, Uri, and Zug, and is distributed throughout the whole of Appenzell, Eastern and Central Switzerland, and as far west as the Canton of Argau. A few are also kept in the high valleys of the Jura and among the adjacent foot-hills, so that this breed must be included in any adequate account of the cat- tle of this consular district. As to the approximate date at which these two principal races of cat- tle were first introduced into Switzerland, opinions differ. By many their presence here is believed to be coexistent with that of the present race of people, and there have been found among the remains of the prehistoric lake-dwellers skulls of oxen bearing horns and other marks peculiar to the brown Schwyzer cattle of to-day. It is generally believed that the Spotted breed of cattle, on the other hand, was derived orig- inally from the Netherlands, and a resemblance is found between the Bernese animals and certain breed of Dutch cattle. But, whatever their origin, the essential fact is that the Spotted and Brown cattle races of Switzerland have been refined and improved by many centuries of careful treatment and intelligent breeding, and have become during the mod- ern period of international expositions two of the most valued and im- portant breeds in Europe. SWISS IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF CATTLE. By reason of the limited area of this thickly peopled country, and the high values of its meadow and pasture lands, the cattle product of Switz- erland is inadequate to its needs, and the animals which are annually imported for meat exceed in number, though not in value, the Swiss cattle which are exported in constantly increasing quantities for dairy and breeding purposes. There were in Switzerland, at the last census, 1,030,000 horned cattle, of which about one-half were milch cows. 288 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. The statistics of 18S3 are not yet at hand, but the exports and im- ports of horned stock for 1881 and 1882 were, respectively, as follows : IMPORTS. From Franco 44,515 From Germany 42,703 From Austria 20,135 From Italy 3,082 Total neat cattle 110,500 Calves, all countries 1,159 Total for 1881..' 111,659 Total for 1882 116,000 EXPORTS. To Franco 13,181 To Germany 20,188 To Austria 4,004 To Italy 19,865 Total .... 60,333 Calves , 9,861 Total for 1881 70,199 Total for 18S2 76,000 There were exported during 18S1 and 18S2 a few choice Brown cattle to the United States for breeding purposes, but as they were f hipped via Antwerp, and therefore crossed the Swiss frontier into Germany, they are probably included in the registered exports from that country. The beef cattle which are now imported into Switzerland from Ger- many, Austria, and Italy are mostly large, raw-boned, and rather coarse- looking animals, rough-haired, long-horned, and wanting in most of the essential points of highly bred stock. PRICES AND EXPORTS OF CHOICE SWISS CATTLE. The export of line dairy and breeding cattle from Switzerland to ad- jacent countries, as well as to England and the United States, is in- creasing so rapidly that prices have advanced largely during the past two years. At a cattle fair in Sargans early in October of thi year, I was told that the sales showed an average advance of 50 francs per head for all classes, as -compared with values a year ago. As early as August buyers from Italy and other countries appear in force in the mountain districts, and many of the choicest animals are picked up by them before the cantonal fairs of September and October begin, and it is claimed by good authorities that this increasing popu- larity of Swiss cattle in foreign countries and the growing practice of selling the milk from many dairy farms directly to large milk-condens- ing establishments is having a pernicious effect upon the cattle and the people of the rural cantons- On the one hand, the sale and export of so many of the choicest animals tends naturally to check the improve- ment of the stock; while, on the other hand, the daily sale of milk for a liberal cash price tempts the thrifty Switzer to work for immediate re- sults rather than use part of his daily milk product in raising calves. So that while the outflow of fine stock to other countries is iucreas- ingj the supply of such animals has not increased in duo proportion. SWITZERLAND. 289 Whether the Spotted or the Brown Schwyzer race of cattle is superior, and, on the whole, most profitable for the Swiss farmer, is a long dis- puted and still unsettled poiut, concerning which the inquiring visitor who consults cattle growers aud dealers in the various cantons will re- ceive some very positive and adverse opinions. This much appears to be clear and beyond dispute, the Brown race is best adapted to the hill and mountaiu districts, and the heavier Spotted race to the valleys. The reasons for this will be readily apparent from a description of the two races. DESCRIPTION OF THE BERNESE (SIMMENTIIAL) CATTLE. I. The cattle of this species prevail throughout the whole of Western Switzerland, from the valleys of the Bernese Obcrland, where the purity of the stock is best preserved, to the slopes of the Jura, along the front- ier of France. It is among the largest and noblest of European breeds, the average weight of the oxen ranging from 2,000 to 2,500 pounds, and a cow exhibited at Lucerne in 1881 having attained a weight of 2,494 pounds. This was, of course, an exceptional case, the average weight of thoroughbred Simmenthal and Saanenthal cows being about 1,400 pounds, though many choice herds average 1,700 pounds, and cows of 1,900 aud 2,000 pounds weight are not uncommon. The color is white, marked with large, irregular, and sharply defined spots or bars of red, yellow, or. drab color. The color of these spots is a matter of fancy among breeders, in respect to which, the mode changes from time to time. At present the light, yellowish-red tint is most pre- ferred, and animals so marked command the highest prices. The other distinctive marks of this species are a small, well -formed head, light- red or white nose, large nostrils and mouth, small white or yellowish horns with brown tips, and gentle, kindly eyes. The neck is tine, that of the bull having a marked upward curve between horns and shoul- ders. The back is straight and broad, the tail long and thin, the legs round and well formed, small in proportion to the size of the animal, but muscular and strong, with white or yellowish-brown hoofs and dew- claws. The skin is smooth and the hair fine, glossy, and soft. In char- acter this species is gentle, tractable, and easily manarged, not over fas- tidious as to its food, but it requires good care, kind treatment, and warm stabling to develop its best capacities for milk, labor, or flesh- making. THE BERNESE AS WORKING CATTLE. As a working animal it is asserted by good authorities that the Bernese stands first among the cattle breeds of Europe, and it is easy to accept this estimate as fully justified by the facts. Its powerful frame, alert, active temperament, tractable disposition, and great en- durance make it a model working ox, and most of the farm draft- labor of Central and Western Switzerland is performed by cattle of this breed ; even the cows being used for such light work as hauling hay, bringing milk to market, drawing manure, &c. THE BERNESE (SIMMENTHAL) AS MILKERS. As milkers the Spotted cows stand in the front rank. At Roseck, the iusane asylum of canton Soleure, I have seen a herd of twenty choice cows, kept by the cantonal government to supply the asylum with milk. From careful records, kept by Superintendent Marti, it appears H. Ex. 51 19 290 CATTLE AND DAIRY- FARMING. that these cows average 21 pounds of milk daily, or 7,665 pounds each during the year. This is a maximum record for an entire herd, and re- quires liberal winter feeding on grain, roots, &c, which is rarely prac- ticed by the rural farmer. It will also be noted that these cows are stabled throughout the year, and, except during a few days in October, after the last grass is cut, they never graze. The records of several well-conducted dairies in the wide basin be- tween the Jura and Bernese Alps, where three hundred milking days are counted to each year, show an average yield of 23 pounds 14 ounces of milk per day from each cow, or 7,162 pounds for the year. These statistics have been carefully collected, confirmed, and published by Mr. B. Baumgartner, member of the cantonal council of Soleure, and president of the agricultural association, whose long and intelligent labors for the improvement of Swiss stock and the general advance- ment of agricultural interests make him a high and recognized author- ity on such subjects. In richness of milk, the Spotted race also ranks well. In the Alps, where the grass is savory and richest, 25 pounds of their milk yield a pound of butter 5 in the valleys, the quantity required for the same purpose varies from 28 to 30 pounds. Ten pounds of milk yield a pound of cured cheese, and besides this, in mountain dairies the herdsmen usually skim enough cream to make 1 pound of butter from each 100 pounds of milk without sensibly affecting the quality of the cheese. This so- called "Vorbruch butter n has, however,. a strong animal flavor, and sells usually for 2 or 3 cents per pound less than ordinary butter from the same district. Something, of course, depends upon the quantity and the quality of grass upon which the animals are fed, but the above figures may be accepted as standard for well-bred Bernese cows kept on farms where meadows are manured, and irrigated in dry weather. THE BERNESE (SIMMENTHAL) AS BEEF CATTLE. As beef cattle it will be accurately inferred from the foregoing that the Bernese race holds the first place among the breeds of this country. They grow rapidly and are mature in their fourth year. They are of enormous size, compactly and cleanly built, and their flesh is fine- grained, tender, and savory. As such it is readily distinguishable, either in the butcher's stall or at table, from the coarse-grained, stringy beef which is produced by most of the imported " scrub " cattle with which Switzerland supplies the deficit in her meat product. Finer beef than is produced here from the stall-fed Simmenthal oxen I have never seen, either in England or the United States, and it may well be doubted whether better exists anywhere. PRICES OF FINELY BRED BERNESE CATTLE. The present market values pf finely bred Bernese cattle, such as would naturally be selected for export, are indicated by averages of sales at several fairs during the present autumn, as follows : Calves, six months old, $40 ; yearlings, $80 to $100 ; cow (four to five years old), $130 to $145; bull (two to four years old), $130 to $150. A competent buyer, familiar with Swiss dialects and methods of " dickering," could go among the farmers and buy equally good cattle at perhaps 10 per cent, less than the above prices, which are the values current among dealers. SWITZERLAND- 291 BERNESE CATTLE SUITABLE FOR EXPORT TO THE UNITED STATES. For export to the United States, the six-months-old calves are recom mended by experts here as being cheaper at first cost, easier and less costly to transport, and more likely to acclimatize readily than older animals. BLACK-SPOTTED FREIBURG CATTLE. There are several off-shoot breeds derived from the pure Bernese, known as the Freiburg, the Frutiger, the Illiez, and Ormcnd breeds, but they are all more or less inferior to tbe pure original race. As a prin- ciple, cross-breeding lias failed in Switzerland, and the best results have always been obtained by in-breeding from the pure original stock. Of these minor spotted breeds the only one which deserves notice here is the Freiburg, which originated in the canton of that name, and is still bred there in great purity, although even there it is gradually giving way in the best herds to the light-colored Saanen and Siminen- thal variety. The distinctive mark of the Freiburg cattle is found in the fact that their spots are black. Many examples are seen in which the entire ani- mal is black, except perhaps the head and a stripe under the belly. It is fully as heavy as its Bernese rival, but has larger, heavier bones, coarser flesh, and is in other respects inferior to it in the technical points which characterize a perfect stock. As working animals and as milkers the Freiburgers rank next to the Bernese, but for reasons stated they are less valuable for either the home market or export. SIZE OF BERNESE AND FREIBURG CATTLE AT MATURITY. Thoroughbred animals of both Bernese and Freiburg breeds attain at maturity the following dimensions : Length, 83 to 87 inches; height of shoulder, 55 to GO inches ; girth behind shoulders, 87 to 90 inches j weight, 1,G00 to 2,500 pounds. THE BERNESE— DURHAM CROSS-BREED. For meat-producing purposes, a cross between the Swiss-spotted cat- tle and the English-Durham breed has been found excellent, but it is inferior for dairy and working purposes to the pure bred Simmenthaler and is comparatively little known. BROWN SCHWY1ZER CATTLE. As already indicated, the one other breed of Swiss cattle which chal- lenges the supremacy of the Fleck race is the Brown Schwytzer, which has been bred for many centuries in the cantons of Schwytz, Uri, and Zug, and has spread thence throughout the whole mountain region of Switzerland. Its renown as a milker, its gentle disposition, and its ready adaptation to varying conditions of food and climate, have made the Schwytzer the better known, as it is no doubt the more largely ex- ported of the two pure breeds of Swiss cattle. As milkers. — The milk-producing records of choice herds of these cows have been carefully kept for centuries by the monks at Einsiedeln, and later at the milk-condensing establishment in Cham, both of which 292 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. will be so fully reported by the consul at Zurich that they may be omit- ted here. DESCRIPTION OP THE BROWN SCHWYTZER CATTLE. The Schwytzer cattle vary greatly in size. Some are nearly as large as the average animals of the spotted race, but there are other varie- ties which are kept in the high alpine districts, and which do not aver- age more than 1,000 pounds in weight. The standard Schwytzer cow has, however, a weight of 1,200 to 1,300 pounds, and is a remarkably perfect animal. The color most highly esteemed, as indicative of pure blood, is a dun or mouse-color, fading to gray upon the back, and a strip of light gray or nearly white along the belly. The udder should be white, with large lacteal veins, the horns white two-thirds of their length, with tips of black. The ears are large and round, lined inside with long, fine fawn-colored hair; the tongue and nose are black, the latter ringed with a circlet of light- colored hair, approaching nearly to whiteness on the lower jaw. The body is plump and compact, the back straight, the legs round, firmly set, and well muscled, with small black hoofs. The mountain-bred Schwytzer cattle climb like goats, and thrive throughout the year upon grass and hay alone. These cattle have been exported to the United States and to all Euro- pean countries, including even Russia; and they have proved entirely successful everywhere except in Spain. They work well under the yoke, but are smaller and less powerful than the spotted race, and for the same reasons they are likewise inferior to that race for the butcher. They are, in fact, bred principally for their milking qualities, and in that respect they are unsurpassed in the quantity and quality of milk wilich they produce from a given quantity of food. MILKING QUALITIES OF THE SCHWYTZER CATTLE. Trustworthy statistics show that a well-kept Schwytzer cow, fed on cut grass or hay, with plentiful pure fresh water, will yield an average of 10 quarts of milk daily during the entire year. At Cham, the 6,000 cows, whose milk is condensed by the Anglo-Swiss Company, yield 5,315 pounds, or 9T8F quarts each per day during the milking season, and tbise are only ordinary animals of the brown Schwytzer race, Choice herds, carefully kept, average at the best milking age, during April, May, and June, 12 quarts daily and even higher. The milk is of excellent quality, from 25 to 30 quarts of it yielding a pound of butter, and from 9 to 10 quarts a pound of cheese. PRICES OF BROWN SCHWYTZER CATTLE. Comparisons of sales at several fairs in Eastern Switzerland during the present autumn show the following prices for well-bred brown cat- tle of various ages: Calves, six months old $40 Yearlings $80 to 100 Two-year olds 100 120 Cows, four to six years old 120 140 Bulls, three years old 120 150 Oldcows 60 100 The prices charged by peasants at their farms would be 10 per cent, less than these figures. SWITZERLAND. 293 BERNESE AND BROWN SCHWYTZER BREEDS. The collection of official photographs which accompanies this report exhibits first-prize cattle of the Bernese, Freiburg, and brown Scliwyt- zer breeds at the national exhibition held at Luzern in 1881. These pictures represent in sufficient variety the most perfect specimens of the two races, and will folly justify and confirm the high estimate in which the pure-bred Swiss cattle are held by stock-breeders of all coun- tries. As to which race is best for transplanting to the United States^ experience only can determine, for even in Switzerland the palm of superiority between the two is still in dispute. The dairymen at Appenzell, the clever monks at Einsiedeln, and Mr. George Page, the capable American manager of the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company, prefer the brown race. President Baumgartner, whose experience and observation include many choice herds of both races in various cantons, as well as the famous dairymen of the Emmenthal, and a number of cantonal gov- ernments which have made elaborate experiments upon farms attached to public institutions, all these unquestionable authorities prefer de- cidedly the spotted race. In respect to size, the merits of two races will be accurately shown by the following figures, which represent the average measurement of the premium cattle at a recent fair in Langenthal. The figures given are the mean result derived by measurements of from eleven to twenty- eight animals in each class : Animals. Height of sLouldor. Girth be- hind shoul- ders. . Inches. 53J 51* Inches. 79* 75$ 55 52 81 77 B2J 40| 77* | 72 1 Length. Bulls : Bernese spotted Brown Schwytzor Cows : Bi rnese spotted Brown Scliwytzer , Heifers before milking age Bernese spotted Brown Scliwytzer Inches. 82 77J 84 Length in these measurements means from the base of horns to the root of tbe tail. HOW SWISS CATTLE ARE HERDED, HOUSED, AND FED. It has been stated in former reports from this consulate that dairying and cattle-growing are each year becoming more imi)ortant in Switzer- land and supply a constantly increasing percentage of the gross income which is earned by the agricultural population. The reasons for this are : First. By reason of uncertain seasons the small percentage of arable land in this country and its consequent high value, added to the com- petition of cheap breadstuffs from Hungary, Kussia, and the United States have made wheat-raising much less profitable than dairying and stock-growing. Second. The present improved methods which prevail in the Swiss cattle industry enable the farmer to utilize every rood of accessible soil from the rich valleys to the highest pastures of the Alps and Jura, and the industrious care which he devotes to the feeding and raising of cat- tle enable him to realize the largest financial result from the smallest area of salable land. 294 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. The Swiss have not only two distinct breeds of the finest and most economically valuable cattle in the world, but they probably surpass every other people in the unwearying care and intelligent economy with which their animals are housed, milked, and fed. Whether the farmer of the lowlands lives in a village or upon his land his dwelling and his stable are usually under the same roof. Great, roomy, and homely, but picturesque, structures they are, those houses and barns, covered by the same steep and projecting roof of red tiles, under the spreading eaves of which are stored the wagons and other farm machinery when out of use. That end of this building which shelters the family may be of v ; quarts daily, or about 10 quarts each, year in, year out, not counting the milk retained at home for the use of the families owning the cows. In July, 850 quarts daily are sent to the dairy. The milk is sold at 10 centimes, or 3.2 cents, the liter at this place, when not made into cheese. The Cham Condensing Company pay the farmers 134 centimes, or 2.6 cents, per quart or liter of 2 pounds. A fair average for Schwytzer cows in Canton Zurich would be about 10 quarts daily for three hundred and sixty-five days in the year. Of course this average differs in the different districts of the country, and especially in tho mountainous cantons, where the product is less, though the quality is considerably richer, owing to the sweeter grass. So much for the Brown Schwytzer as a milker. CHARACTERISTICS OF BROWN SCHWYTZERS. In appearance, the Brown Schwytzer is not really brown at all, but mouse-colored, and the nearer she is to the mouse color the more likely is the stock to be pure. She is round and plump in 'form, with very straight back; has sleek hair, large, mild, black eyes, smooth, white horns, tipped one-third their length with black. Ears large aud lined with an abundance of white or cream-colored hair. The neck is rather short and powerful ; breast deep and broad ; the head is finely shaped ; nose black with white ring about it ; tongue also very black and rough. The udder is large, well shaped, and quite white, milk veins very prom- inent. Owing to her general plumpness of figure, she looks somesmaller than she really is, as she is in fact a large cow. Her ordinary weight will average 1,300 to 3,400 Swiss pounds, and often more. Altogether, she is as handsome a cow as exists anywhere in Europe. The accom- panying cuts and photographs give a fair representation of her form and appearance. Ordinarily, though there are single exceptions, the Swiss cows are fed only grass and hay, summer and winter, and this, in the valleys at least, is always carried to them in the stalls. The Swiss cattle stalls are usually low stone houses, with little or no ventilation, and are almost dark. They are kept very clean, however, and the cattle are cared for almost as wTell as Americans care for fine horses, many being even cur- ried and cleaned daily. Every pound of manure is saved in a reservoir and put into the meadows in liquid form. FEEDING AND CARING FOR BROWN SCHWYTZERS. By extreme care of meadows in the way of manuring, draining, water- ing, and preventing stock trampling them, large and excellent grass crops are secured; and, aided by a moist and temperate climate, three grass harvests are obtained yearly. In Canton Zurich grass land is valued at $300 per acre, and good Schwytzer cows at from $125 to $150 apiece ; and yet, by their unusual care of both meadows and cattle, Swiss farmers earn from 8 to 10 per cent, on the investment, and sell milk at cheaper rates than are demanded anywhere in the United States. Naturally, the query is repeated, What profits might Western American farmers make on milch cows, with land at $50 an acre and cows at $40 302 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. apiece, were the same care taken of cows and meadows in America as is taken in Switzerland ? Only two items in the list are against us, viz, dearer labor and "scrub" races of cows. The former is outbalanced by the dearer land in Switzerland, and as to the "scrub" cows, it is our own fault if we continue milking them. They cost as much to feed and to breed and to milk as good cows, and the profit on them is not nearly as much. BROWN SCHWYTZERS IN THE UNITED STATES. It is worthy of remark here that certain Americans in the Eastern and New England States have been trying these "Schwytzer" cows on Yankee soil for the last ten years, and, as I am informed, with the most satisfactory results. Otherwise, some of these same breeders would not have been in Switzerland in this year 1883 adding to their stock of Brown Schwytzers. There is at Worcester, Mass., I think, a society called the " Brown Swiss Breeder's Association," and a "record" or "herd-book" of the Swiss cows bred and owned by them has been published. As this so- ciety is increasing its herd of Schwytzers, it would seem conclusive proof that this race of cattle takes well to the climate and the soil of the United States. The first Swiss cattle breeder and dealer to send Schwytzers to the United States was Landammann Btirgi, of Arth, Canton Schwytz. He is still in the business, and breeders and importers of cattle cannot do better than to correspond with him directly. Mr. John Bruppacher, of Eiischlikon, Canton Zurich, is also engaged in delivering Swiss cattle to foreign countries. Still another dealer and breeder is Mr. Berg, at Schwytz, who owns .a fine herd on the Erohn Alp, by Lake Lucerne; also Mr. Giger, of Ragatz, who breeds and sells cattle. THE BROWN SCHWYTZERS IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. Within a few years the sale of the Brown Schwytzer cow to other countries has been on the rapid increase, and prices have gone up from 50 to 60 francs on a cow in a single year. The principal countries im- porting these cows have been Italy, Germany, and Russia. Small numbers have been taken to England, America, and Spain. With the exception of Spain, I have heard only satisfactory reports as to the results of these importations, even where climates and soils dif- fer so widely. MARKET VALUE OF BROWN SCHWYTZERS. A year ago I reported to the Department that Brown Schwytzers were being exported quite largely to Italy, Germany, and elsewhere, and that the prices for the same were rapidly rising. Within a few days, by attending cattle markets at Ragatz, Sargans, and points in Appenzell, I have collected material as to prices obtained at absolute sales, and I find the average market value constantly rising, though checked at present, of course, by approaching winter and rainy days at the market towns. The prices demanded varied immensely, regular dealers demanding 20 per cent, more than did the farmers for the similar stock. SWITZERLAND. 303 In the neighborhood of Kagatz, Vason, Mayenfeld, and down towards Canton Zurich, prices for Brown Schwitzer cattle average about as fol- lows : Francs. Yearling steers 300 to 600 Two-year-old steers 500 700 Yearling heifers 200 300 Cows with calf • 500 900 Young cows 500 800 Old cows 300 400 Yearling bulls 700 800 One and a half year old bulls, 900 to 1,200. Good six months old calves, about 200 francs. At a Sargans market this month I found prices considerably lower than those quoted above; they vary in fact in the different valleys materially, and at different seasons of the year. I purchased for Americans, last August, in Canton Zurich, a number of fine four and live year old cows, at (350 to 800 francs each, and for a year and a half old bull, 1,000 francs was paid. They were all select cattle. HOW TO EXPORT SWISS CATTLE. The freight from Zurich to Antwerp per car load is about 300 francs. The freight on cattle per "White Cross line'7 from Antwerp to ISTew York, or to Boston, is as follows : Per head. For grown cattle £8 For yearlings 7 For calves 6 The foregoing includes water and feed on shipboard. The men ac- companying the stock have free passage. If no men accompany the stock the ship company provides hands for the purpose, and an extra charge of 4 shillings per head is made. In short, the cost of transporting full-grown cattle from Zurich to New York may be reckoned at very nearly $50 per head, and for yearlings, $40. S. H. M. BYERS, Consul, United States Consulate, Zurich, October 23, 1883. SWISS CATTLE AND DAIRY PRODUCTS. REPORT BY CONSUL BEAUOHAMP, OF ST. GALLE. GOVERNMENTAL ASSISTANCE TO SWISS CATTLE-BREEDERS. Switzerland claims for herself one of the first positions among the European states with regard to her cattle, milk, and the products thereof. The principal breeds are widely known in Europe and their origin dates with the beginning of Swiss history. As breeders they are much sought after. When a farmer or cattle-raiser in Germany, Italy, or France wishes to improve his breed he generally makes a selection from a Swiss herd, for experience has long since been made that Swiss 304 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. cattle, reared and grazed on Alpine grass, with plenty of fresh running water and pure air, are the healthiest and hardiest known to the herd- book. The Swiss breeder pays great attention to "pure bloods," and is very careful that no "cross" occurs, which accounts for so many "pure- bloods " one sees in the Swiss herd-book. As a rule only the finest formed and best marked animals. are kept for breeding purposes, and the result is that the quality of Swiss cattle is yearly improving. To encourage farmers and breeders in this respect the various cantonal and district governments in Switzerland offer premiums in stipulated sums to be awarded at the county and district fairs, which are held in the spring and fall of each year. This system of governmental recog- nition and assistance is a great stimulant to breeders of pure bloods, and beyond cavil a proved success. In the award of premiums the greatest care is taken by the judges in considering all points, and the least defect as to color, form, size, &c, often proves disastrous to the exhibitor, and the consequence is that the farmers and breeders are always on the qui vive that their pure-bloods reproduce themselves in their offspring. I am informed by reliable cattlemen that this gov- ernmental assistance has had a marked effect in the cattle improvement of Switzerland, and that it is confidently expected that within the next half century the Swiss breeds would not only be a pure line of blooded stock, rich in the product of milk and the products thereof, but excel- lent in meat, and a perfect show animal, beautiful in form and color. About three years ago the federal authorities ordered experts to make an examination into all pedigreed cattle in Switzerland, giving names, ages, degrees, &c.; which was done, and the report condensed into a herd-book, where all the pedigrees of pure-blooded cattle in this country may be found. Switzerland contains but two distinct original breeds, as follows : (1) The Spotted or Fleckvieh race; (2) the Brown Schwytzer orBraunvie race. There are, however, several offshoots from the two principal breeds, which will be considered further on in this report. THE SPOTTED BREED. The Swiss Spotted breed belong to the heaviest of the European races. In evidence of this fact a case is cited where a Sim men thai cow of this breed, which was premiumed at a cattle show held at Lucerne in 1881, weighed 1,134 kilograms. Out of other cattle premiumed at the same fair the following measure- ments, showing proportions, &c, are given in centimeters (1 incli= 2.5400 centimeters), to give some idea of the "size of these animals : Description. Height, top of withers. Circum- ference be- hind shoulders. Length from horns to root of tail. Bulls (average of 28 head) . . Cows (average of 27 head) . . lleifers (average of 21 head) 137 140 135 202 205 196 213 205 The " Freiburg" cattle represent the heaviest and coarsest animal of this breed j is usually white, with large black spots; big honed; rather heavy head; long body; large loose barrel, and traditionally known SWITZERLAND. 305 as a sort of gluttonous, fat-making machine, more particularly suitable to produce gross meat for the markets at great expenditure for artificial food. The above measurements represent the Simmenthaler Spotted cattle. They are a trifle smaller than the Freiburg cattle and are better formed, with deep shoulders, powerful forearm; long, straight back; long from shoulder-blade to hip-bone, Jong from point of hip to root of tail; wide, square buttock, with round, close barrel; they are usually of white color, with pale red or yellowish spots; white face; nose milk color, with wide, open nostrils. They are highly recommended as milkers. The size of these animals varies very much with physical features, the fertility of the country, and the more or less advanced state of its agri- culture. In the high Alp districts, where the farms are small and the food poor in quality and not very plenty in quantity, the cows are smaller and do not sell for more than $50 or $60, while in the richer grass-land districts, where the artificial manuring is largely resorted to, the cattle are worth much more, and bring from $80 to $125, and sometimes more. Their weight is from 1,500 to 2,500 pounds, and some have been known to reach 3,000 pounds, live 'weight. Their fattening capacity are said to be very great, but they require good food, careful attention in their handling, and perfect cleanliness about their stalls. The Simmenthalers, or, as they are somtimes called, "piebalds," are considered the best milkers among the Spotted cattle. The better class cows are reckoned and averaged on reliable experiments to give from 11£ to 13J- quarts per day, counting three hundred milk days in the year, and the second class from 9 to 11 quarts. At this rate the better class cows would produce on an average 12 quarts per day, or 3,000 quarts in the year, which, at 3 cents per quart (a low average), would make the milk-yield of one cow reach the sum of $108 per annum. These cows are of a kind and gentle disposition, and it is claimed they can do a large amount of work without lessening either the quantity or quality of the milk. 1 am informed that while the larger and middle sized Brown Schwytz- ers are perfectly healthy and feed well when grazed on the open mount- ains, yet they do not fatten readily; but when brought down in the lower districts or valleys and grazed and stabled, they not only fatten much faster, but take on more flesh than the animal bred in the low lands. In consequence of this fact the German breeders prefer for fattening purposes the Swiss cattle bred in the middle mountain regions. When these cattle arrive at maturity and are butchered in their own homes they seldom weigh over 1,000 pounds gross, but when taken down into the lower valleys, or over into Bavaria or Baden or Nassau, they can be made to weigh 1,600 pounds gross at the age of three years. OFFSHOOTS OF THE SPOTTED BREED. From the original Spotted breed there are several offshoots ; among them are — (a) The Berneroberlander breed, which is a shorter and lower built animal than those before mentioned. It has powerful shoulders, rather narrow buttocks, and is well adapted for grazing the high mountain sides. (b) The Jurrischer, or half-piebalds cattle of the Jura, with less form and size, but very hardy, and easily satisfied with the hard, dry food of the Alps. H. Ex. 51 20 306 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. (c) The Ornionds, Illiez, and Lotschen breeds, whose homes are in the high mountain dales of the cantons of Freiburg, Yaud, and Valais, and only weigh from 400 to 700 pounds. The Swiss breeders hope in the near future to entirely wipe out these inferior offshoots of the principal Spotted breed under the governmental system of assistiug in the improvement of agriculture. THE BROWN SCHWYTZER BREED. The Brown Schwy tzer is considered the dairy breed par excellence of Switzerland. When pure they are more or less light or dark brown, with muzzle quite black, and ringed with cream color; horns white, with black tips, and medium size ; and a very distinguishing light-gray streak running from the horns down the back to the root of the tail. They are some- what smaller than the Spotted breed, but are of beautiful formand com- pactly built, as the following measurement will show : Measure in centimeters. Height. Length. Girth. Bull (average of 11 head) . . Cow (average of 11 head) . . Heifer (average of 11 head) 130 132 126 192 195 182 196 201 195 In judging this breed the color plays a far more important part than in the Spotted breed. The color most desired is the very dark brown, which indicates the purer blood. The hide, hair, and bones are much finer, and the milk organs much better developed, than in the Spotted breed. The flesh is also of a much finer fiber, and, consequently, sweeter and tenderer, than the larger breed. It is claimed that the Brown Schwytzer not only gives more milk, but that it is richer than that of any other European breed of cattle. They are estimated to produce from 1J to 2 quarts more milk per day than the large Simmenthal cow. I have just returned from a visit to the stables of Mr. Kiihn, of Degersheim, the largest pure-blooded breeder of the Brown Schwytzer in Switzerland, and he tells me that his herd of forty cows average from 17 to 20 quarts of milk per day. Of course this is"an exceptional case, but it demonstrates fully what this breed is capable of under good treatment. The original home of the large Brown Schwytzer was in the cantons of St. Gall, Schwytz, Zurich, Glarus, Lucerne, Unterwalden, Graubiin- den (lower part), and Appenzell, but they are now largely distributed all over Switzerland, and in portions of Germany, Italy, and France. Many of the best young cows of this breed are bought up by Italian farmers and drovers, through their agents in this country. They pay from 400 to 800 francs per head, and for extra fine ones as high as 1,200 francs is often paid at the central cattle markets at Ohur and Schwytz. MISCELLANEOUS SWISS BREEDS. In addition to the .large Brown Schwy tzer every valley and neighbor- hood in East Switzerland has its own small cross-breed, generally from the Brown Schwytzer. SWITZERLAND. 307 The Toggenburg breed is distinguished by its dark-brown color, long slim neck, shapely head, round, close barrel, and outstretched form, and is reputed to give very rich milk. The Appenzell and Einseidelens have short thick necks, blackheads, rather short bodies, and are of coarser fibercd flesh. The high Alps of East Switzerland, like the Berneroberland, have a very small breed, which in some parts of the United States would be considered of the " scrubbiest" order. They have short stubby legs, small round barrels, thick coarse hair, and easily stand the cold bleak winds and deep snows of the high Alps. They climb like goats, and "grub" for subsistence on the. mountain sides and peaks where the heavier cattle could not go. These ugly little animals are also reckoned as crosses to the Brown Schwytzer, but some writers place their origin as distinct and anterior to all other bieeds in Switzerland. They are known as the Bundner, Le>iner, and Herens breed. They give very rich milk and weigh from 400 to 500 pounds. There has of late years been introduced in the Engadine Mountains a new and still smaller breed to take the place of goats j their weight is from 250 to 300 pounds. CANTONAL PRIZE SHOWS. The custom of all cantonal governments is to offer yearly and half- yearly premiums for the improvement of the cattle breed of this coun- try, and I only desire now to speak with special reference to my own consular district. The canton of St. Galle makes a yearly appropriation of 20,000 francs for the purpose of awarding premiums to the breeders of pure-blooded cattle. The sum is classified as follows : Francs. Balls 14,000 Milch cows 5,000 Miscellaneous (handling cattle) 1,000 20,000 As a rule, the large Brown Schwytzer carries off the prize. The Tog- genberg breed, however, is a good show- animal, and it often becomes a victorious competitor. The canton is divided into ten show-districts. The judges take into consideration and decide on the following points: SCALE OF POINTS FOR BULLS. Points/ 1. Head, fine and tapering 2. Forehead, hroad 3. Cheek, small 4. Muzzle, fine black, and ringed by light-gray color 5. Nostrils, wide, high, and open G. Horns, smooth, clean, and not too thick, with tapering black tips 7. Ears, light-gray, rather large and thick, with orange-color within 8. Eyes, clear, full, and lively 9. Throat, clean, neck powerful but not too heavy 10. Chest, broad and deep 11. Barrel, hooped, broad and deep, but little spaco botween last rib and hip . 12. Back, straight from withers to top of hip, thence straight to setting of tail. 13. Tail, hanging down to hocks 14. Ilide, mellow and movablo, but not too loose 15. Hide, covered with fine, soft, dark-brown hair 16. Fore-legs, short and straight, powerful fore-arras 17. Hind-legs, short, straight, and not to cross in walking * The consul failed to supply the points in detail. 308 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Point*. 18. Hind-quarters, from hock to the point of rump, long and well-filled 19. Hoofs, hard, black,;/ adnot too small 20. Growth, general appearance, and condition Perfection 100 | SCALE OF POINTS FOR COWS. Same as bulla, except— 2. Fore-head, narrow, with rather long face 6, Horns, small, turned-up, with tapering black tips 9. Eyes, full and placid 10. Neck, straight, fine, and placed lightly on shoulders 16. Fore-arm, swelling and full above knee 21. Udder, large in form and standing well out behind, but full in line with belly 22. Teats, large and squarely placed, behind wide apart 23. Milk-veins, very prominent 24. Hide, deep yellow-orange color Perfection 114 In the heifers the scale of points are the same as cows, and they are considered perfect at 111 points before they have dropped a calf. The greatest importance is attached by the judges to the beautiful form and purity of blood in bulls for breeding purposes, and as most of the peasants and small farm is are unable to keep one of the pure- bloods on account of the dearness of the animal, one is generally owned and kept at the cost of the various districts or townships ; and by this means the cows belonging to the peasants and small farmers are served, and the pure-bloods are continually on the increase. Cattle shows or fairs are considered as a sort of public holiday by the peasants, aud they are attended in large numbers. The exhibition is sometimes free and sometimes not. The premiumed animals are usually decorated with wreaths and garlands, and receive the dye or stamp of the fair by hav- ing the same burned into the horn. I have seen prized cattle with their horns almost branded full from the impressions made by the dif- ferent society brands. Brown Schwy tzer bulls generally serve cows at the age of sixteen to eighteen months, but some of the best breeders and cattlemen say this is too early, and that they should not be allowed to serve before two years old, as they are then fully developed and give more strength and better constitutions to their offspring. OLD AND NEW SYSTEMS OF STABLING CATTLE. The old Swiss system of feeding and caring for cattle is fast giving way to new developments which are being made in the improvement of the various breeds, and experience is teaching the people that it is as necessary to the good health of cattle and other animals that they have plenty of light, air, and commodious quarters as it is to human beings ; and the consequence is that whenever a new stable is built or an old one is remodeled, great care is taken that the stalls shall be so con- structed as to give the animals more room, better ventilation, good light, and opportunity for cleanliness. During my visit to many dairy farms and peasant stables in quest of information for this report, I have been absolutely astounded to see the sort of places cattle are kept in SWITZERLAND. ^UL> in some parts of the canton of St. Galle. I visited one stable where fifteen cows were kept. The stable proper was about 25 feet long by 15 feet wide, and not to exceed 6 feet high in ceiling ; there was no win- dow in the wall, except a hole, low down to the iloor, about 1G inches in diameter, by which the stalls were emptied of the manure. The stench was simply unbearable, and yet I was told that this was the "old way "of stabling cattle in Switzerland, and it was thought by many that the cows produced more milk than if they had more air and room. The cows stood eight on each side, with scarcely room enough for the peasant to push himself through behind the cows to clean the stable, and so close together that it seemed impossible for them to lie down, certainly not with comfort. Advanced dairymen and expe- rienced breeders take the common sense view that, while heat greatly assists in the milk secretion, yet impure heat and air cause disease in cattle, and consequently cause the milk to sour and taint more easily. • HANDLING AND CARE OF CATTLE IN THE ST. GALLE DISTRICT. In the cantons of St. Galle, Appenzell, Graubiinden, &c, the cattle are handled through the year as follows : Caring through the tcinter. — Through the winter, from the middle of November until the end of March or April, the cattle are continually kept in the stables, and are fed almost entirely on dry hay, which has been made on the meadows which lie in the valleys, and which are mown two, three, and four times a year, owing to the quality of the soil and the manner of manuring. These meadows are drained by open ditches when necessary, and arc well manured twice a year, and some- times three times a year, with stable and artificial dungs. The cattle are fed three times a day. Milch cows are sometimes fed a small por- tion of corn-meal or turnips in addition to the hay. They are watered twice a day by being led out iu the open air to a running stream, or to the tank of an artesian well. The young cattle do not receive much fat food, and are often fed the whole winter through on the wild grass* of the high Alps, which, however, is said to contain highly strengthen- ing qualities, consisting of large quantities of very nutritious and aro- matic herbs, said also to be very good for milch cows. The conditions under which agriculture is followed here are so pecu- liar that it would be hard to compare Switzerland with either England or America. The higher the altitude the more* herbs and the more the grass is filled with spices ; in fact, one might say the middle and higher alpine pastures of my consular district consist almost entirely of herbs, as they are situated from 3,700 to 3,000 feet above the level of the sea. Only in the lowlands and valleys are the cultivated grasses grown, and even about the towns and villages in this part of Switzerland the * This grass grows on tho highest (vegetation altitude) Alps, and is very difficult to cut and take care of. Tho mode of harvesting is as follows : In the haying season the peasants go up on the mountains, and begin mowing on the almost precipitous mountain sido with sickles or short scythes. The peasants, before beginning their day's work, however, make themselves fast by means of ropes tied about their bodies, and securely fastened to a stake driven in the ground or tied to the rocks. When tho hay is cut and ready for transport, a long rope is mado fast on tho mown ground and continued down the side of the mountain until the valley is reached. Tho peasants tie largo bundles of hay. togother, and placing them on their backs and shoulders begin their dangerous descent by taking hold of tho rope with one hand and using it as a sort of banister or "hold-back" until the perilous journey is at an end. It often happens that the rope breaks or gives way under tho pressure of several peasants at a time, and tho result is breakage of limb or loss of life. 310 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. grasses are about 25 per cent, herbs, and in conseqence of which the hay will always bring one-fourth more in the markets than if grown in the lowlands. To continue with the stable treatment, it is correct to state that the cattle are thoroughly curried and rubbed once and often twice a day, the trouble and time being fully repaid by the loosening of the hide on the calves and those intended for fattening, as they grow much faster and accumulate flesh more readily. In well-kept stables great care is taken that the stalls are kept dry and clean, the custom being to rebed the cows each day, with an armful of either fresh straw or hay litter, which also adds largely to the stable-dung supply. The stables are usually cleaned twice a day. The manure is either packed up in small ricks some distance from the barn or shoveled into sinks, made espe- cially for the purpose, just outside the stalls, and is either put through a distilled course or doctored with water into a liquid state and drawn off through pipes, or dipped with a long-handled bucket into a very long tank on wheels (somewhat resembling a street-sprinkler) and driven to the fields with either cows or oxen and thoroughly distributed over the ground, the cost and labor of which is more than doubly repaid by the soil producing two or three times the quantity, and a much better qual- ity, of hay th'an the ordinary dry-manuring or old turf-sod. CATTLE GRAZING- ON THE ALPS. On the loiv Alps. — With the spring begins different treatment ; the cows and fine breeding animals generally receive half dry and half green food. As soon as the grass has grown a little, may be in April or at the beginning of May, cattle are grazed on the lower meadows, usually tethered or herded by old men, small boys, or girls. This grazing period only lasts ten days or a fortnight, as the grass must not receive too great a chock, as the result would be a small hay crop on which the herd must depend for its winter food. From this low meadow grass a move is made on to the first mountain step, which is called the " Maisass," or May seats. Sometimes we have the "Aprilsass," but not often. On the high Alps. — The " Maisass ,} runs from the middle or end of May until the middle or latter part of June, when another move takes place, as it will not do to imperil the hay crop which is also expected from these lands. By the end of June the cattle are up to the high Alps, 11 Hochalpe," where they remain lintil October. In this part of Switzerland the Alps consist of three stations or table-lands, the highest of which can only be grazed about three weeks in the middle of summer. At this station open sheds are sometimes put up to protect the cattle from sudden snow-storms or cold rains, which often occur. On the second station a more substantial structure is built and is not only used as stables but as a milk and dairy station. The alp is usually owned by a commune, and young cattle and milch cows are taken on pasturage at so much for the season (about $6 or $7), in which case the cows or heifers are sent directly to the " Hochalpe " in May or June, where they remain until the end of October, when the grass begins to get short and the weather cold, and they are brought directly to the valleys. It has been thought proper to minutely describe this system of graz- ing in order to explain the large flow and the excellent quality of milk obtained in the Alps. The results are, cows fed on dry hay in winter, calves timed to come, if possible, in February or March j green feed SWITZERLAND. 311 in early spring starts the milk secretion ; later on, when the good effects of this are on the wane, the milk production gets a fresh stimulus from the nutritious grasses on the "Maisiiss." Further on there is another change to the hue short grass and aromatic herbs of the " Hochalpe," where the milk is richest in flavor and contains the most milk-sugar. Its delightful sweetness and flavor is unattainable by any other feeding in the world, and this is imparted to the butter and cheese, which, when well made, are in the highest state of perfection. It should be understood, however, that high alpine grazing is not generally followed by the larger farmers or dairymen where several cows are kept, for in such cases the herd is stabled and grazed in the valleys in the neighborhood of the towns and villages where the milk is sold. The high Alps are grazed by herds of young cattle and cows owned by the peasants, which are picked up by ones and twos all over the neighborhood of the alp. The herd, when made up to the number which the alp is by law registered to graze for the season, is driven up to the " Alphiitte," " Sennhutte," or chahSt, where the cows are milked and given a little salt and bran boiled in whey with a little hay, after which they are allowed to rest a few hours in the stables. They are then taken out to the pastures, where they remain until the evening, when they are driven to the " hiitte" to be milked and sent out again directly afterwards. On very hot days they are kept in the stables during the hottest part of the day, also in cold rainy weather they are stabled, especially if there is no woods on the alp. DAIRYING ON THE HIGH ALPS. The " Sennhiitte" is usually intended for summer occupancy. It is a long low and rudely constructed slied, mainly built out of roughly hewn pino logs with one end mortised into the rocks of the mountain side, and the others laid across each other, and fastened together with long beech-wood nails. The solid roof covering consists of heavy beams of 1£ feet in diameter, with boards 1 inch thick, 12 inches wide, and about 3 feet long laid on top. These are fastened down by having several long poles stretched across them and weighted down with a lot of heavy stones weighing from 50 to 100 pounds to keep the roof from being blown off. The site selected for the stables must have near it plenty of fresh running water, necessary for the cattle and important in the care of the milk and butter. At one of these stations on the high Alps the milk and butter retain the sweetness for weeks without the least taint. The " Sennhutte " is residence, cow-shed, milk-house, and butter and cheese manufactory all together. The milk-house, butter and cheese department is generally in one room. The cow-sheds, where the milking is done, adjoins and is connected by a door with the milk, butter, and cheese room, and tho room occupied b\ the tenders of the herd. The services of two people are generally required to attend to the dairy properly, and are usually a man and woman ; they are called the u senn " and " sennerin." The cows are milked twice a day, and the product of each milking is weighed and placed to the credit of the owner of the cow separately, and at the end of the season a balance-sheet is made out showing exactly what has been the product of the cow during her stay at the u hiitte." Alpiculture in Switzerland is of very old stand- ing. It is said that some alps have declined within the last half century 50 per cent. Some have increased slightly of late years on account of cantonal and central government premiums being offered for tho im- provement of alpiculture. 312 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. PURITY OF ST. GALLE MILK. The milk product of ray consular district is important. Much of it is consumed, both in its natural state and its various forms of manufact- ure ; but Swiss statistics are so very meager that it is difficult to arrive at any approximate amount of either the product or consumption. As a rule farmers and dairymen prefer to sell the milk in its natural state on the grounds ; it seems to them that there is more money in it than by converting it into cheese and butter. The custom, therefore, is for those in the neighborhood of towns and cities to deliver the milk directly to the consumer at so much per quart, say 3 J cents. Chemical analysis of milk at St. Gallc. [From tho cantonal chemical laboratory.] Per cent Dry substance 18.5 Fat 3.4 Caseino and albumen 4.0 Milk-sugar 4.35 Milk-salt 75 The local laws protect the purity of the milk, and a dairyman or milk- man detected in falsifying milk or selling skim-milk for unskimmed-milk is liable to both fine and imprisonment. MILK-CURE ESTABLISHMENTS. There is a dairy in the suburbs of St. Galle where the cows are fed on nothing but dry food the year round. The milk is recommended for infants and aged people, is delivered by the dairyman from wagons at 7 cents per quart, and is claimed to be of considerable sanitary impor- tance. There are also several "molkenkuranstalen" — milk-cure-estab- lishments— in the neighborhood of St. Galle, which have existed for many years, and where people are treated for various diseases entirely with milk. EXPORTS OF SWISS CONDENSED MILK. From the most reliable source I can find, it- appears the amount of condensed milk exported from Switzerland during the last eight years was as follows: Kilograms. 1875 4,261,750 1S76 5,610,100 1877 5,499,100 1878 6,419,700 1879 7,813,800 1880 9,229,300 1881 11,591,400 1882 , 11,621,500 CONDENSED-MILK MANUFACTURE IN SWITZERLAND There are three milk-condensing factories within my consular district, one at Gossau, one at Eomanshorn, and one at Utweil. Each of these factories condense milk according to its own method, but none of them use sugar. The condensing apparatus used is similar to that used by condensing factories in the United States. The milk is condensed down to one-third of its original volume. SWITZERLAND. 313 The greatest possible care is taken to use none but good, clear, pure milk, produced from healthy cows if possible, pastured on high or un- dulating well-drained ground, with plenty of clear, sweet, running water, and every quart of milk is tested before it is put into the boiler. These factories rent the milk products of a certain number of cows the year through, and require the milk to bo delivered at the factory twice a day, where it is paid Soy by weight at from 2 J to 3 cents a quart, the highest price being paid in the winter season. The most scrupulous cleanliness is observed in every detail. In the first place the peasant, in milking his cow, is requested to take partic- ular pains in having the cow's udder and teats clean, and to see that no filth drops into the milk, and the milking utensils are perfectly cleansed after each milking. When the milk is brought to the factory it is strained through a double hair-sieve from the scales into a large tin or zinc tank, from whence every detail of n.anipulation is guarded by cleanliness ; for it is an es- tablished fact that not only the cows should be fed on good, sound, healthy food, with kind, gentle treatment, but that unless the building is well ventilated, plenty of pure running water, and an entire absence of all taints and ferments, the process of condensing milk which will keep will prove a sure failure. The Swiss Milk Company of Gossan has the reputation of being one of the best (without sugar) condensing factories in Europe, as their milk has been tested in hospitals, in armies on the march, on the sea for weeks at a time, and in the hot climes of India, and has proved itself in every instance perfectly condensed, pure milk. The milk is packed and sold in pint and quart bottles, with the American patent wire cork- ings. Zinc and tin cans, holding from 3 to 15 gallons, are also being used now; the advantage, it is claimed, is in the saving of the cost of bottle, the cost of packing, and weight. The following analysis of the pure milk was made %y Dr. Hehner, of London : Per cent. Fat 8.35 Milk-sugar 11. 46 Albumen 12.85 Asksalfs 1.82 This milk is sold by wholesale at 2 francs per quart, and is considered the beginning of a most formidable rival to the famous Angelo Swiss Condensing Milk Company at Cham, where sugar is largely used and which increases the cost and makes the milk no better. This Gossau company has only been established a little over one year, and the shares are at a premium of 20 to 30 per cent., which goes to show that there must be fair returns for the money invested in it. CONDENSED-MILK FACTORIES IN THE UNITED STATES. The condensed milk is so easily portable, the natural facilities are so great, the necessity in the near future for an outlet to our dairy prod- ucts so important, that it seems tome the country par excellence for the manufacture of condensed milk should be the United States. Every- thing is in ourfavor — country, location, climate, natural facilities, cheap grass, cheap cows, inventive genius, native application, and all the qual- ifications necessary to a formidable competitor. If our factories will make as good condensed unsweetened milk as is made in Switzerland it is almost absolutely certain that we can supply Great Britain, her 314 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. colonies, and the South American States with this, for the future, im- portant staple. BUTTER-MAKING IN SWITZERLAND. The Brown Schwytzer cow is peculiarly adapted to butter-making, because of the cream-globules being unusually large in the milk, which rise more easily to the surface, and the cream is churned more easily and quicker into butter. It is known that the fatty substance — butter — is not in solution in the milk, but exists in the tiny drops, or globules. One pound of milk con- taining 40 per cent, of butter should hold about 40,000,000 globules. Every one knows that when milk is left to stand for a length of time the cream rises to the surface and is easily separated, leaving the " skim- milk 77 beneath. The largest of these little globules is estimated (in cream) to weigh about .00000004 milligrams. These globules of fat being lighter than milk, naturally seek the position which their special gravity entitles. The larger globules rise the quickest and first, the medium ones next, and so on. The average gravity of milk is about 1.030. The difference between this and .985 briDgs the cream to the surface under a slow process ; the very small, globules never come to the surface. In different breeds of cattle, with different kinds of food and treatment, the quantity and size of the globules vary very much. In visiting the Centrifugal Butter Factory at Wyl, in my consular dis- trict, I saw milk being tested in a glass tube about 15 inches long and 4 inches in diameter ; after twenty -four hours' standing the cream ap- peared to have risen perfectly, leaving a clear and blue line of " skim- milk," but on an examination of the u skim-milk77 there were found glob- ules still in it, of the size upwards of ^ of an inch in diameter, show- ing a wonderful richness of the milk of the Brown Schwytzer cow. As a rule, the Stoviss dairymen hold to the old system of setting milk shallow as the best and quickest mode of getting the cream. The ves- sel generally used is made of wood, and is from 16 to 20 inches in cir- cumference at the top and 8 to 10 inches at the bottom, with sloping sides. Some advanced dairymen, however, disagree w^h this, especially as regards wood, and are using the ordinary American milk-pan, claiming that they can be kept cleaner and are not so easily impregnated with taints, &c. The milk under ordinary circumstances stands from twenty-four to forty-eight hours, when it is "skimmed77 and turned into the churn. Sometimes the Holstein barrel is used, and sometimes the old upright piston churn with perforated holes at the end of the piston ; but the churn generally used throughout the country is the revolving barrel, with stationary dashers on the inside, very wide or large circumference, anc1 revolves on its axis like a grindstone. The churn is filled about half full of cream, at a temperature, more frequently guessed at than tested, of near 56° to 58° F., and churned at from 30 to 40 revolutions per minute, according to the season. The butter comes in twenty or thirty minutes. The churner should be care- ful to listen to the slightest alteration in the sound, and when detected, the churning should at once cease, and if, upon examination, small par- ticles of butter, no larger than a pin7s head, are found, the churning is properly finished. The buttermilk should be drawn off through a hair sieve. After the buttermilk has been drawn off the particles caught in the sieve should be emptied back and the churn filled .about half full ofi SWITZERLAND. 315 pure water, when after a few revolutions -of the churn the water and buttermilk should again be drawn off, and this process continued three or four times until the water comes out of the churn as clear as when it was put in. This process of washing and cleansing not only takes out the buttermilk entirely, but consolidates the butter, so that very little working is necessary to make it pack properly. The butter is made up into small rolls of one pound and one-half pound each, and is sold to dealers at from 30 to 35 cents per pound, and to the consumer at about 45 cents per pound. Most of the Swiss butter is made from sweet cream, and salt is never mixed with it unless specially so ordered. SWISS IMPORTS AND EXPORTS OF BUTTER. The following table will give an idea of the approximate amount of butter (including other fats) imported into and exported from Switzer- land during the five years of 1878 to 1882, inclusive : Tears. Imports. Exports. 1878 Kiloqrams. 5,1*11.700 5, 821, 700 5, 052, G00 5,180,200 4, 223, 2C0 Kilorjrame. 44") 700 1879 .. jii ™n 1830 CO © 1881 1882 The Swiss butter when properly made is of a deep yellow color, fine nutty flavor, and delicate sweet taste. The home demand is about equal to the supply, and if any difference, hardly sufficient. CENTRIFUGAL BUTTER-MAKING IN SWITZERLAND. The new system of making butter by means of centrifugal force is being introduced at Wyl, in my consular. district. The discovery is German, and was first introduced at the International Dairy Show at Hamburg, in 1877. The complete separation of the cream from the milk as taken fresh from the cows occupies about 35 minutes. The Centrifugal Butter Company of Wyl claim that they can not only make better and cleaner butter by centrifugal force, but that they can make 15 per cent, more butter from the same amount of milk than the old mode of setting the milk and churning in the usual way. This butter is sold in the market at St. Gall, and gives general satisfaction. CHEESE-MAKING IN SWITZERLAND. Cheese-making in Switzerland is a very old industry, but only during this century has it developed so as to take a position of importance in the world's markets. On the high mountains, during the summer seasons, considerable attention has been paid to the manufactory of cheese by the peasants for many years, but not until about 1830 were associations formed for this purpose. From that period, then, one might say, Switz- erland dates as a cheese-making country. The best-known kinds of cheese made in this country are as follows: Emmcnthaler, Gruyere, Spaleu, Saanen, Fromaggio della paglia (in the Valmagia Tessino), Urseren, Beilelay, Vacherin, Schabzieger, Bat- 31 G CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. telmatt. The most important of these cheeses is considered the Em- inenthaler, which is generally made of whole milk (Fettkiise), that is, miik which has not been skimmed. These are of the largest-sized cheese made in Switzerland, and weigh from 75 to 125 pounds; the diameter is from 3 to 4J feet. In some of the very large factories cheese is made in the morning and in the evening from fresh milk. The usual custom, however, is to make but once a day, in the morning, and for this purpose the evening's milk which has been set is skimmed in the morning and poured into the large kettles. To this cream is sometimes added the fresh morning milk, and the whole heated up to about 107° to 112° F., during which time it is well stirred until no more flakes of cream can be seen on the surface. At the highest temperature the evening skim-milk should be added and the heating stopped at a tem- perature of 8G° to 98°. The rennet used is sometimes milk-vinegar, and sometimes pieces of calve's stomachs, steeped for twenty-four hours in whey, which is thor- oughly mixed with the milk. In thirty- five or forty minutes the milk gets thick and is coagulated, when it is cut up into squares with a wooden knife, after which a shallow wooden bowl with a handle is used to break the curd evenly into pieces about the size of small apples. At this stage a curd-breaker is used^ to break the curd into small pieces about the size of peas, when the breaking is stopped and the curd allowed to settle for ten or fifteen minutes, after which a fire is again started under the ket- tles and the whole stirred until a temperature of about 140° is reached, when the kettle is taken from the fire and the stirring continued until the curd is ripe. The mode of testing differs among the cheese-makers. Some squeeze between their fingers and others bite the curd. Curd to be properly " ripened" should be stirred from an hour to an hour and a quarter, and a minute or two before the stirring ceases it should be stirred so rapidly that a sort of funnel to the bottom of the kettle is formed, which makes the curd settle more compactly and be more easily taken out with a cloth. The cake is formed by the curd being placed in a cloth, incased with a hoop the width it is desired that the cheese to have depth. Sometimes regular cheese presses somewhat like the American press is used, and sometimes a weight or derrick press ;• about 17 or 18 pounds of pressure to 1 pound of cheese for twenty-four hours is employed, when the cheese is taken out and put in the cemented cellar to cure. During the process of curing the cheese is rubbed daily with salt for two or three weeks, when the cheese is taken from the cellar to the cheese room above ground, where the salt rubbing is resumed every other day for a few months, when the salting is less frequent. For large cheese often a year and sometimes a longer period is required before it is ripe or may be used. From 4J to 5J per cent, of salt is required. Good Emmenthaler cheese, when ripe, should be a compact mass with- out cracks, but when tested on the inside should contain round small holes about the size of peas, which must contain a little liquid. These holes should be evenly distributed all through the cheese. The cheese ought to melt on the tongue without leaving any small crumbs and have an agreeable, sweet taste. Magerlcclse, or skim-milk cheese, is generally made in the winter when little milk is at disposal, and the process is similar to the Emmenthaler, except the milk is skimmed and more rapidly cooked without the but- ter substance, which makes it harder and tougher. Gruydre cheese is also made very like the Emmenthaler except the rennet is added at a lower temperature, say 86° F. SWITZERLAND. 317 Battelmatt cheese is made entirely for home consumption, as it will not bear transport. It is made from fresh milk directly coagulated with rennet and boiled for forty-live or fifty minutes, stirred for one- quarter of an hour and then hung up in a cloth for the whey to drip off, when it is put into wooden bowls and salted daily until consumed. Vacherin cheese is a kind of cream cheese, and is only made in the winter, but as a smeary cheese is considerably used and is very palat- able. Saanen is a skim-milk cheese and is so hard that it is easily grated ; it is used much in soups throughout Switzerland ; it is made in cakes of 15 to 25 pounds. TJrseren cheese is made mostly in the canton Uri ; the cakes weigh from 50 to 60 pounds. It is also made of skim-milk. Schabzicger, or Krauter cheese. — This is a very important manufacture in this and the southern parts of Switzerland; the number of pounds made yearly is said to be several millions. The process of making is as follows : The milk is thoroughly skimmed after sitting as long as possible, when it is poured into a kettle and heated up to a boiling point, and about 20 per cent, of cold fresh buttermilk is added ; after which the heating is continued, but not at such high pressure as before, and sour whey is added and the kettle is taken from the lire. After it has coagulated, the curd is put in large, strong hemp sacks or boxes, the bottom of which is perforated with holes, and presswl with large stone weights or beam pressure. The ziegcr then undergoes a kind of fermentation at about 62° F., which lasts a month and a half or two months. If the temperature is too high the zieger is apt to be readily decomposed, while if the tem- perature is too low it will get blue and tough. When the ziegcr has been put through a proper fermentation, it is put in a special mill and thoroughly ground, during which process 5 per cent, of salt and 2J per cent, of dried Meli-lotus cwrulea, Lam., is added. This clover gives the cheese its bluish color and peculiar taste. The next process is to stamp the curd into small wooden forms, lined with cloA, which are about 5 or G inches high and 3 or 4 in diameter. The cheese "cures" for about one year, but is frequently used after being kept in cool, dry rooms for six months. The small forms are emptied by scraping with a knife- When the cheese is to be eaten it is first grated to a fine powder, and either used alone on bread or mixed with butter. Skim-milk cheese is sold in the markets here at G cents, and the cream cheese at about 20 cents per pound. Cheese factories are supplied with milk in a similar manner to the condensed-milk companies, and pay about the same prices. From good, rich milk 8 to 11 per cent, of cream cheese can be reckoned to the weight of the milk. The whey of milk is still boiled down into sugar in this part of Switzerland. The whey is boiled until only a brown sirup remains in the kettle, which is poured iu fiat wooden dishes and left to stand for twenty-four hours, when it'becomes like crystallized yellowish sand. This is washed in cold water and sold for medicinal purposes. EXPORTS OF SWISS CHEESE. The amount of cheese exported from Switzerland during the last ten years is estimated as follows : Kilograms. 1854 : 5,356,150 1660 7,339,450 318 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING Kilograms. 1866 12,556,300 1872 19,271,600 1877 17,799,000 1878 -..-: 19,579,900 1879 - 21,017,400 1880 .1 ". 21,718,900 1881 *. 24,039,700 1882 26,025,700 To every condensed-milk factory, butter and cheese factory, should be attached or connected pig-sties, as the waste milk is large. This waste at some factories I have visited is sold at 1 centime per quart or liter. PERCENTAGE OF CATTLE BREEDS IN SWITZERLAND. The total number of cattle in Switzerland is reckoned at 1,100,000 head. Out of this number three-fifths are said to be of the Spotted breed and two-fifths of the Brown. In my consular district the Brown Schwytzer stands at about 95 per cent, and the Spotted breed at about 5 per cent. The total number of milch cows is estimated to be about 552,427 head. If these cows averaged 10 quarts per day, the daily yield would be 5,524,270 quarts, or 1,657,281,000 quarts in the year, counting 300 milk- ing days. Mr. Charles Kuhn, of Degersheim, has had the kindness to furnish me with a copy of his dairy book for the last year, which gives a very good insight as to the mode of conducting dairies here, and is herewith in- closed, marked A. SWISS CATTLE IN THE UNITED STATES. From the general observations made during my residence in Switzer- land, I am convinced that the Brown Schwytzer is a very desirable ani mal to import to the United States, and would do better with proper handling there than here. In searching for information on this point I applied to Col. G. Burgi, of Arth, in the canton of Schwytz, a very large pure-blooded breeder and exporter, and he informs me that the first shipment of the Brown Schwytzer breed to the United States was made in the month of September, J 869, from his stables. Quotiug his words, he says: I sold to Mr. Henry M. Clark, of Belmont, Mass., 7 heifers and 1 bull, first quality. Soon after their arrival in the United States they were resold to Mr. D. (i. Aki- rich, of Worcester, Mass., and Mr. David Hall, of Providence, E. I. To judge from the result:, it appears the herd fell into the right hands, for Mr. Aldrich must bo a practical man in breeding blooded animals and. believes in seeing that the line is kept pure. The very excellent quality of these animals, in milk, flesh,, form, color, and working qualities, were so marked that they soon became knowu, and the result was that a number of intelligent farmers formed themselves into a society for importing and raising theso pure-blooded animals, and a herd-book was begun. I am informed that from this 8 head imported in 1869 the number had increasedin 1881 to 169 head. Without going further into details about this first shipment, what other remarks I may make on this subject are based on the reports of this society, as made public (Metcalf, publisher, Worcester, Mass.), referring to the Brown Schwytzer race. This very interesting publication contains the statutes of the society, gives the pedigree, name, and line of breed, and from whence originally imported, &c. I observe tha,t the climate, grass, feeding, Sec, in the United States agree with tha imported ani- mal amazingly, and that the change of soil and handling is entirely to their good j SWITZERLAND. 319 that fcbey are equally as healthy, give more milk, and become larger in stature than among their native mountains. Milk trials of these animals have been made in the United States which for quan- tity has never been equaled in this country. A cow known as Genevena gave in seven successive days 19fi quarts, weighing 415 pounds, or averaging 28 quarts daily. Since the first shipment in 1869 the export of the Brown Schwytzer breed to the United States has been about as follows : 1862: U heifers (two years old) and 1 bull (two and one-half years old) shipped to Messrs. Scott & Harris, Massachusetts. 1883 : 10 heifers, same firm. 1883, July 20 : 5 heifers (two years old) and 1 bull (fifteen months) shipped to Will- iam Thoch, New York. 1883, August 5 : 1 three-year-old cow, 10 heifers (one and one-half years old), and 1 bull (eight months old) shipped to Messrs. Rider & Eldrego, Middle Falls. For importation the Americans prefer the young cattle that have been raised in the mountains, as they are hardier, stand the' voyage better, and become acclimated sooner than the older animal. In considering the results of the importation of Swiss cattle to the United States, the committee of the Boston Exposition in 1875 reported as follows: "This herd of European cattle, with their offspring's from the farm of Mr. D. G. Aldrieh, and present an important exhibition of themselves ; they surjjasa the Devon, Jersey or Guernsey for butter and milk product." A sample of butter from these cows was furnished by Mrs. Aldrieh and compared with that of the Guernsey cows by Professor Motley, and was pronounced in every respect equal to the Guernsey butter, and this is rated as the best butter in the world. At a butter show in the city of New York, Mrs. Aldrieh competed with butter made from the Brown Schwytzer, and, although competing with the Jersey and Guernsey, re- ceived the prize. That the American handling, soil, and climate have a great and good effect on the Swiss cattle there can be no doubt, for the same committee says : "Bulls and heifers weigh at the age of two years from 1,000 to 1,400 pounds." Mr. Eldrege, the geutleman who received the last shipment from Switzerland, wrote to Colonel Burgi as follows : "As you know, it is another new breed in America, and it is pronounced by all who have seen any of them the best for meat, milk, and butter of any other known breed, and there is a largo and growing demand for them." The best route of shipment is via Antwerp. The freight from this locality via Antwerp over the sea, with good pressed hay and meal, with attention, is: Heifers, from 200 to 250 francs; cows, 350 to 400 francs. The purchase of heifers (or bulls) a year and a half old is recom- mended, as they are not only cheaper to send, but stand the voyage much better. EMOEY P. BEAUOHAMP, Consul. United States Consulate, St Galley October 20, 1885. A millc-boolc of Charles Ktihn, Dcgorslieim, from July, 1882, to June, 1833.* [Explanations : M., morning; E., evening; J liter =1 pint; 1 liter = 1 quart. Name of the cow. July 15. July 30. Aug. 15. Aug. 30. Sept. 15. Sept 30. Oct. 15. Oct. 30. M. E. M. E. M. E. M. E. M. E. M. E. M. E. M. E. 9 11 6 9 10 9 10 G 9 10 9 12 8 10 9 9 12 7 10 9 8 10 7 9 9 8 10 7 9 9 7 9 7 9 8 7 10 8 9 9 4 8 8 10 9 3 7 9 9 9 4 8 9 10 9 2 G 8 9 8 B 8 9 9 5 8 8 8 6 8 7 8 10 6 *> "Woltli 0 7 8 14 7 13 6 10 ff *The cows were tested on the 15th and the 30th of each month in half liters. 320 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. A milk-book of Charles Ruhr}, Degorsheim, $-c. — Continued. [Explanations: M., morning; E.,ovening; & liter =1 pint; 1 literal quart.] Name of cow. Nov. 15. Nov. 30. Dec. 15. Dec. 30. Jan. 15, Jan. 30. Feb. 15. Feb. 30. M. E. M. E. M. E. M. E. M. E. M. E. 17 16 4 6 5 7 M. 17 16 6 7 5 9 9 12 5 E. 15 14 4 5 3 7 8 10 3 M. 16 16 6 7 4 8 11 12 6 E. 19 20 G '8 7 8 16 17 5 7 5 7 17 16 6 8 6 10 15 14 4 G 4 9 20 19 G 7 7 9 14 Bethli 14 6 7 7 8 5 6 G 7 G 7 7 9 5 6 G 8 6 8 7 8 5 7 G 7 5 "Wolfli 6 2 7 Klotzli 8 10 6 0 5 12 6 11 G 12 6 11 5 12 6 10 5 12 6 10 4 12 6 10 4 11 4 Name of cow. Briine Bethli Daihsli ... ■Wolfli .... Porher ... Hirschli .. Klotzli ... Bristhopf . Klupp Schimrcol. Jungferli . Name of cow. Mar. 15. M. E Mar.! M. E Apr. 15. M. E IS Apr. M. E 12 May 15 M. E. May 30. M. E. June 15 M. E. 12 Juno 30. M. E. Briine .... Bethli .... Daihsli ... WolUi .... Porher — Hirschli. Klotzli ... Bristhopf Klnpp — Schimmel Jungferli Number of trial days. Total quantity of milk during trial days. Half liters. 454 489 281 353 315 23° 159 389 1G3 210 35 Average quantity of milk for each milking day dur- ing the year. Liters. 11.617 12.425 5.917 7. v,;a 8.3 G.82 7.95 10.8 4.528 13. 125 8.75 Total number of milking days dur- ing the year. Milk days. 290 305 S05 365 290 257 150 273 273 120 30 Daily av- erage of eacli cow's milk dur- ing the year — 365 days. Total product of each cow's milk dur- ing the current yoar. Liters. 9} 10. 4 5. 9 7. 3 G.G 6.8 8.0 10.8 4.5 13.1 8.7 Liters. 3, 465 3,805 2, 160 2, 684 2, 407 1, 753 1,192 2,948 1, 236 1,575 SWITZEKLAND. 321 CATTLE IN THE COJTSULAE, DISTRICT OE GENEVA. REPORT BY CONSUL ADAMS. I. have collected the following information in reply to the cattle circular of July 18, and the memoranda added August 25. Cattle census. — According to the Swiss cattle census taken iu 1876, the number of cattle in this district was 193,104, distributed as follows : Geneva - 6,949 Tessiu 44,188 Valaia 05,024 Vaud 77,243 From 1SGG to 1876 there was an increase for all Switzerland from a total of 998,29 L head to 1,035,850 head, which is supposed to have been maintained at the same rate siuce, owing to the rise in values and en- couragement given by the local governments. Breeds. — The different breeds are so intermingled that it is impossible to give the percentage of each, or the percentage bred for the dairy and the batcher. Tessiu alone has a distinct and uniform breed, known by its brown and even color. ME AT- CATTLE IMPORTS. In the four cantons named, constituting this district, cattle aro only fattened for the butcher when they cease to serve for the dairy and re- production. The supply being unequal to the consumption, there is no exportation save of choice individuals pure bred, but a large importa- tion of cows and oxen from Baden and Austria and of beeves for the butcher from Italy. Nothing comes from tho United States, whether cattle or products of the dairy. American butter and cheese for Switzerland. — A suggestion made in one of my previous reports that American butter and cheese would find a ready sale here if put upon the market at certain prices was rather ridiculed by tho Swiss press, but was certainly true, and perhaps is worth renewing, for Swiss butter is not of tho best or the cheapest, and the cheese eaten by the people is bad. American preserved meats. — Preserved American meats are already sold here in large quantities. Live cattle aud fresh meat must wait for better communications with the seaboard. Tho tunneling of the Alps, and the new lines of through traffic north and south and east and west, aro likely to make of Switzerland a great international entrepot and to change all the conditions of the market. RESULTS OP BREEDING FROM IMPORTED CATTLE. The cattle imported into Switzerland are never bred pure, and soon disappear as distinct breeds on crossing with tho native breeds. These are of uncertain origin, and perhaps of high antiquity; at any rate must bo treated as practically indigenous. No comparison can be made with their character and condition in their native countries, nor can one Bay what has been the effect on the breed by domestication here. Nor have I any information as to the extent and effect of their introduction into other countries. Whether they would produce in the United States n. Ex. 51 21 drj& CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. offspring superior to the production here can only be known upon trial, but their superiority is so largely due to the excellence of the Swiss grasses that it may be doubted. The result suggested might very likely be realized in the later generations, after the breed had been thoroughly acclimated. It is certainly not worth while to import any of the small mountain breeds, such as are found around the Gothard, in the cantons of Tessin, the Grisons, the Valais, and Uri, as the very peculiar condi- tions of soil and climate under which they thrive at home could hardly be found east of the Eocky Mountains, if there, and they would not bear so long a journey well. CHARACTERISTICS OF SWISS CATTLE. The original of all the Swiss breeds is perhaps the race found in the primitive cantons. Two races are generally spoken of, the Spotted and the Brown, of even color, which again are subdivided into varieties according to origin, habitat, color, &c. I have added in a table all the details available of four breeds which have been selected as the fittest for domestication in the United States. It is to be said of them all that they have reached their excellence through the abundance and richness of the food-supply, and careful breeding and management, which have been carried to great perfection in the regions where they are found — the cantons of Bern, Zug, Lucerne, Schwytz, &c. The foregoing information is drawn principally from a report made to me by Mr. E. Schatzmann, director of the Station Laitiere Suisse, at Lausanne, the author of several publications and probably the most competent authority in my district on the subject. The annexed table is entirely filled up by Mr, Schatzmann. LYELL T. ADAMS, Consul. United States Consulate, Geneva, November 21, 1884. Statistics of Siciss cattle suitable for introduction into the United States. Kame of breed. Annual average pounds of milk. Milk to pounds of butter. Milk to pounds of cbeese. Cantons where found. Pounds. 5,100 5,100 5,840 5,840 Pounds. 28 to 30 Pounds. 11 to 12 Argovie, Basle, Bern, Soleure, Zurich. 30 to 32 12 to 13 [Size in eentimeters at maturity.] Name of breed. Cow. Bull. Ox. Height. Girth. Height. Girth. Height. Girth. 160 to 162 160 to 162 140 to 150 136 210 210 to 216 205 to 210 200 to 210 160 to 165 160 to 165 165 130 240 240 202 200 180 to 190 180 to 190 170 to 180 140 250 2CD 230 230 MALTA. Statistics of Swiss-cattle, DAlLlY FAl&litttt. ITALY. CATTLE AND DAIRYING IN LOMBAEDY. ItEPORT BY CONSUL CEAIN, OF MILAN. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the circular of the Department dated July 18, 1883, which, however, did not reach this consulate until the 1st instant. SWISS CATTLE IN LOMBAEDY. There exist in Lombardy only milch cows of Swiss breeds. They are yearly imported in large numbers from Switzerland, to supply the place of those which have become unprofitable for the dairy. In tho irri- gated districts grass is cut during eight months of the year, and on the winter meadows (marcitorio) during ten months. This fresh grass, sup- plemented with oil cake, meal, &c, is fed to the cattle, so as to produce the largest quantity of milk. Such a nourishment continued through so many months in stables, and in a mild climate, naturally soon ex- hausts the milking properties of cows, and necessitates the annual sub- stitution of about 15 per cent, of the herd. The loss by this is more than met by the large product of milk, which averages yearly from •3,000 to 4,000 liters per head. Dairymen having 100 or more head ordinarily find it to their interest to send the calves, when a few days old, to the slaughter-house. This state of things having existed for a long time, it is evident that scarcely a trace remains of original Lombard breeds. The so-called Bergamasche and Brescian races are only a reproduction of Swiss stock. The foregoing applies to the large stationary dairies of the Lombar- dian plain. In the irrigated district, bordering tho river Po, there are large dairy herds, which are driven in summer to the rich pastures of the Alps, and which remain there until autumn, when they are taken back to the plain. There are also small dairymen in the mountains, who drive their cattle to the plain in winter. In these migrations are also included oxen, being raised for labor or beef; and the proprietors both of the plain and mountain districts supply themselves with dairy cows of Swiss breeds and oxen from the Tyrol. In the Alpine districts there are small races which take the name of the valleys in which they arc raised, but they are a Swiss stock. Large breeds taken from the plain to high mountain districts, and there propagated, undergo in a few gen- erations a decided change, from the effect of a different climate, soil, and diet. They become smaller, more hardy, and nimble of foot, and other- wise adapted to the requirements of their habitat. Lombard dairy- men import their cows principally from the canton Schwytz, but some are brought from the cantons of Unterwalden, Zug, Appenzell, St. Gallen, and Glarus. They are preferred in the order named, and if breeds of these stocks are required they should be brought from those cantons. The Tyrolese oxen above mentioned are first brought while young into the province of Brescia, and thence scattered over the plain under the name of Brescian oxen. They are short horned, of a grayish-white color, have the characteristics of the Podolico race. They are tall, ITALY. 325 heavy, white skinned, and easy to fatten. If breeders of this race are desired they should be obtained from Merano and Lana, in the Tyrol. Some oxen are brought from Emilia to the provinces of Cremona and Mantua, but those of the Tyrol are preferred. Although there are no indigenous Lombard breeds, I would strongly recommend the breed of the canton Schwytz as well deserving the at- tention of American dairymen and stock-raisers, if the same has not already been tried in our country. Dairymen and stock experts here represent it as decidedly superior for the dairy to other Swiss breeds, and it is eveu claimed by many to be the best in Europe. The opin- ion of these persons should have some weight, when it is considered that the dairy industry is probably as strong in Lombardy as in any part of Europe, and that the butter and cheese product is so large that farmers find it to their interest to renovate their herds exclusively by importations from abroad. The magnitude of the industry may be better understood when I statcthat in the province of Milan, which con- tains 1,155 square miles, there are 132,928 cows, according to the last statistics. The butter known as Milan butter is largely exported and is highly prized in London, Paris, and other capitals. The several kinds of cheese known as Gorgonzola, Brintz, Gruyera, Formaggini, and Par- migiano are well-known in the great markets of the world. The Schwytz cow is ordinarily of a dun color, weighs from 900 to 1,100 pounds, has short horns, which are black and white, and costs in the can- ton about $130. She is a hearty feeder, and, if well nourished, gives milk a longer term of years than any other cow known here. A peculiarity of the Schwytz is the long, light, coffee- colored hair growing from the in- terior of the ear, which is a conspicuous object in contrast with the dark coat of the head and neck. Great attention has been given to the milking breeds of other coun- tries by the Lombards, and their comparative merits are well understood ; but at an important exposition of cattle held at Lodi in September last, the committee in charge of the subject unanimously recommended dairy- men to replenish their stock from Switzerland, and the Schwytz breed received the first mention. The form of the Schwytz does not present the smooth and delicate out- line of the English breeds. It is thick and ox-like. I inclose a cut of one exhibited at the Milan National Exposition of 1881, and which secured the gold medal. The best route for the transportation of Schwytz breeders to the United States would bo by the St. Gothard Railway to Genoa, and thence by steamer to New York. The railway expense is about $5 per head. CATTLE BREEDS OF NORTHERN ITALY. There arc in other parts of Northern Italy types of cattle which are native or acclimated from time immemorial. Such is the breed of Pied- mont, known as the Piedmontese or Carmagnolo race. This is a dis- tinct type, tall of stature, short horned, grayish-red color, and with a conformation, especially the cranium, closely resembling the Garonne breed of France. It is essentially a stock for beef or farm work, aud is rationed and largely exported to* France, where, as beef, it is rated as inferior only to the beef of the best French stock. Cattle of this breed, or of Bitbraces closely allied to it, are found in every part of Piedmont. Emilia, in its northern part, about Piacenza, has a specific type of oxen called Bardigiana, red or mottled with white, and long-horned. 326 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. In the plain toward Parma is the race known as Beggiana or Par- mense. This has been bred with much care, by selections from the best, and is considered excellent tor mixed uses, i. e., for labor, fattening, and milk. In form, fineness, stature, and weight these animals are re- garded as the type of the large races bred on the central plains of Europe ; but the uniformity of the red coat, without marks, and the thick, short-limbed body are considered proof of the acclimation of this breed in Emilia in remote ages. Zoologists assert that it is descended from the ancient hue Italico. South of the Taro, and extending beyond Bologna, are cattle known as the Pugliese breed. PORTRAITS OF ITALIAN PRIZE CATTLE. I inclose cuts of animals exhibited at the national exposition held at Milan in 1881, as follows : Bull Jupiter, belonging to the agricultural committee of Savigliano, of Piedmontese breed. Bull Pertinace, owned by Mr. Manara, of Asti, of Piedmont breed. Bull Adams II, one and a half years old, of the Chianina (Tuscany) breed for work.* Young bull Napoli, exhibited by the agricultural committee of Lendinara, and of Pugliese breed, for farm work. Bull Ghinassi, three and one-half years old, Pugliese breed, for work oxen. Bull Tigro, of Freiburg-Fruilana labor breed, two years and nine months old. Bull Maestoso, of Mantua labor breed, exhibited by the Agricultural Society of Mantua, and awarded medal. Cow Mantova, of the Freiburg (Swiss) breed, eleven years old, from the estate of S. Rossore, belonging to King Umberto. Heifer An versa, Holland breed, exhibited by the Agricultural School of Brescia, and awarded gold medal. Fausta, five years old, Pugliese breed, exhibited by the Agricultural Society of Len- dinara (Rovigo). Cows Minerva and Cole, of Brittany breed, awarded silver medal. DUNHAM J. CHAIN, Consul. United States Consulate, Milan, November 30, 1883. BUFFALO CATTLE OF TERRA DI LAV0R0. REPORT BY CONSUL HAUGHWOUT, OF NAPLES. I have the honor to submit to the Department of State a report upon the breed of cattle within this jurisdiction, in compliance with the re- quests contained in the circular of the Department of State, dated July 18, 1883. The area of country included within the limits of this consular juris- diction furnishes a race of cattle peculiar in its characteristics. By far the largest and most important portion thereof is domiciled on the plains lying to the north and east of the province of Naples, the so-called " Terra di Lavoro," once called the " Campagna." This tract of land is a vast plain of trachytic tufa, overlying beds of clay deposits, which, in turn, rest upon a substratum of limestone. It is about 100 feet above the level of the sea, and enjoys the same degree of mildness of climate as the near province of Naples, that is to say, the mean temperature in ♦Transferred to report by Consul Crosbey, of Florence, concerning this particular breed. \ ■ . .__ if*:*SS ■ E ^oH • :' ... ' • ■ /£ Jmj**» ; r¥T<*^^^ '?**'' 5 ' '.••'■ *m*zL. V ■:. fi- ■r^/ N^^^wSjb^1"- ,-r • ^JHiwi ^flflll 1 t ■*!'}■ f" in i j~i ■ i .-y~^*^3^^:W ^^sp iv-^r" f <» iml^^^ t, ^9r^ & E •? 6 * ? b s- .. H • |H y^" -'* m H iSf* A H 1 ;^|3 ^B JffiE&B 1 'j^^H -j- Bp&si" , J,;. v * .";' Rs£'" / "*•> '.''.*"- |W> v: /Hw <^K POET- 13??/ 3aJM 1 ■ - 1 j 1 y • . * WL M M ^? Bp^^ PSgS L^'-5.f*«*v'' .. 4§^ TO!., r^K^ ' -jff^a^ tf*» t^^mim Mataftt* \'SSk\i WS£&m ' ^i,-' P^' |p|; ■' : ■ .<=■ | ^ mSPV^"'' %2y':> | ;- !v § *> :. S J *& i ITALY. 327 summer is from 18° to 23° Reaumur, and in winter about 8° Reaumur, rarely falling to 3° Reaumur. The tufa referred to varies in thickness from 100 to 300 meters in depth, is rich in potash feldspar, and is cov- ered with a luxuriant growth of wild grass. Over this tract of land cattle of the buffalo race, the origin of which is unknown, roam in a semi- wild state. This race has never, to any extent, been crossed in breeding, but retains many peculiarities that render it exceedingly hard to manage. In color the cattle are black, or reddish black ; are shaped somewhat like an ordinary cow, not so evenly, however, with short, round necks, large and curving horns, and with the rump somewhat larger and heavier than that of the ordinary cow. The " Terra di Lavoro" contains about 12,000 of these cattle, bred mainly for the purpose of yielding milk for cheese-making. During the period of their milk-giving, and after they become useless for this pur- pose they are used before the plow or for other purposes which have in view the development of the soil. When they become unfit for such purposes they are turned over to the butcher. This occurs when they are about fourteen years old. Some are in the first instance fed for the butcher, and in such cases the meat is of the first quality, but in the majority of cases the meat of cattle whose lives are passed in the manner in which these buffaloes live is neither very tender nor very desirable. The cheeses made from the milk of the buffalo cows are called u lat- ticini.,' They are close and heavy in consistency : are sweet, and are consumed entirely within the limits of their production, being in no wise adapted for exportation. There has been during the past ten years a slight increase in the stock of cattle referred to, an increase due in a measure to the increase in the demand for cheese and meat. In the section of the country to- wards Rome there has been a diminution, due to the cultivation of the soil, by reason of which the cattle have lost their natural food and have decreased in numbers, as, I am informed, multiplication depends very much upon the character of the food they receive. As a race the buffaloes have never been closely studied. Within the memory of the present proprietors of the cattle lands no improvement has been made in the breed of the animals, and none have been ex- ported, except a few to Sicily yearly. The question of exportation is deemed to be full of difficulties, and the proprietors do not deem it of advantage to them to attempt to send these cattle abroad. They are at times exceedingly wild, and consequently difficult to manage. In spite of this they are productive, and the result is remunerative. In some cases there have been crossings with a breed of Swiss cows from the neighborhood of Bern, Switzerland, which are best adapted to the furnishing of milk for butter-making. These cattle are found in the Piano of Salerno, and are, I learn, exported yearly in large numbers. The buffaloes arrive at maturity when about three years of age ; then the size of the buffalo bull is about 1 meter and 80 centimeters; that of the ox the same, and that of the cow about 1 meter and GO centimeters. The weights thereof at maturity are about as follows : Bull, 2,000 pounds ; ox, 2,000 pounds ; cow, from 1,000 to 1,700 pounds. The yield of milk averages about 14 liters a day from each cow, when the buffalo calf does not draw7 upon the mother for its supply of nourishment. About 15 liters of milk make 3 kilos of cheese, containing all the butter from the milk and being very rich and exceedingly heavy. The buffa- loes require little care, and in fact they get but little. They are never 328 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. fastened, and are not housed except in very severe weather, and in such event the protection is such as only a heavy shed will afford. Their food is the wild grass of the " Oampagna" or " Terra di Lavoro," together with a little hay at times, which is thrown upon the bushes that it may not be trampled under foot. It is thought best that the calving should oc- cur in the autumn rather than in spring, as the supply of milk is needed for the winter cheeses, during which latter season the manufacture and consumption thereof are the largest. The method of packing the cheeses for consumption is exceedingly simple. They are worked into forms of convenient size, generally weigh- ing from 2 to 3 pounds, and then packed in leaves and placed in strong wicker baskets. The buffalo bull and cow when young are estimated to be worth about 600 francs j when full grown, from 800 to 900 francs. EXPORT TO THE UNITED STATES. In case of their shipment to the United States, the best method would be by direct steamers to New York, a voyage of about twenty days. I am informed by the management of oue of the steamship lines be- tween Naples and New York that the cost of shipment would be $75 per head, which would include boxing, watering, and feeding during the voyage. I submit herewith a sketch of the buffalo bull, drawn from life. It gives a fair idea of the animal, although not in itself a work of art. It is the best that could be done under the circumstances. FHANK G. HAUGHWOUT, Consul. United States Consulate, Naples, February 2G, 1884. Special statistics concerning Italian buffalo cattle. [Name of breed : Buffalo. J Animals. Size at maturity. Live weight. Cow Meters. l.CO 1.80 1.80 Pounds. 1,600 to 1,700 2,000 Bull Ox 2,000 Average quantity of milk : About 14 liters per day. A liter equals about 2£ pounds. Milk to pounds of cheese: Fifteen liters of milk niako 3 kilograms, or 6£ pounds, ol cheese. Xame of country : Terra di Lavoro, Italy. Age at maturity : Three years. Weight of meat at maturity : As near as can bo ascertained, the meat when fully pre- pared by butcher weighs 450 to 500 pounds. Color : Black or reddish black. Description : Shaped liko ordinary cow ; short, round neck ; large and curviog horns ; rump larger than ordinary cow. Product. — Labor: Farm work to slight extent. Meat: Not generally good for meat market. Milk: Used for cheese making. Cheese: Entire amount of milk used to make heavy, rich, white cheese. Altitude: About 100 feet. Temperature in summer : 18° to 20° Rdaumur ; in winter, 8° Kdaumur. Substratum : Clay resting on limestone bed. ITALY. 329 Methods of housing : No special method used. In case of severe weather the cattle have the protection of a heavy shed. Feeding : Wild grass of Campagna. Occasionally a little hay. Breeding : No special method used. Cows calve in autumn. Handling products : Cheese packed in leaves and in wicker haskets and consumed at homo. CATTLE IN PIEDMONT. REPORT BY YICE-CONSUL DEZEYK, OF TURIN. Detailed description of such domesticated animals as have proved by long experience to have been profitable in Piedmont, Italy, with information about the topography of the country and the composition of the soil. cJ o 5 n B O 05 a Kj 1 X a £ «* O m 9 ■*• O 9 o 3 Size at maturity. Live weight. Karuo of breed. Cow. BulL Ox. Cow. Bull. Ox. 5,000 5,000 8,000 15 15 12 a 7* Large do Medium .. Large do Medium .. Large ...do Medium .. Lb*. 1,200 1,000 1,000 Lbs. 1,800 1.300 1,300 Lb*. 1,700 1,100 1,100 Mixed breeds Mountain breed Piemontese. — Five years at maturity ; weight of moat, 60 per cent, of live weight; color, light gray; meat, good; milk, middling; cheese, good. Mixed breeds. — Five years at maturity ; weight of meat, 60 per cent, of live weight ; color, light gray ; meat, milk, and cheese, good. Mountain breed. — Five years at maturity ; weight of meat, 60 per cent, of live weight; color, hrown, black, and white spotted ; meat, milk, and cheese, good. Topography. Altitude. Temperature. Mean. Summer. "Winter. Piedmont, 200 meters above tbe level of thesoa °C. 14 to 15 10 to 12 °C. 25 to 32 20 to 25 oC. 10 to 12 Mountains, 300 to 1,000 meters above the level of the sea 15 to 10 Soil. — Alluvial : Piedmont. Loam : Collina. Clay : Monferrato, branch of Appe- nines. Sandy, $c. : Valley of Po. Substratum. — Limestone: Tho Piedmont hills in general, and those of Turin in par- ticular. Sandstone : Tho district of Asti. Clay : Monferrato. Gravel, 4c : Tho valleys ofPo, Tanaro, Dora,&r. Granite : Tho mountains. Cultivated grasses : Timothy, none; clover, abundant; rye-grass, 1 1 iMfl'4' "'■ HP : r ro portioned, and not too straight ; tail quite short, and black at the end. This black and silver color extends over the muzzle, along the back to the rump, when it ceases and appears again at the end of the tail. The color of the hair is a silver white, very thin, and abundant. The principal markets for these white cattle are Arezzo, Castiglione, Fiorentino, and Tojano del la Chiana in the province of Tuscany. An- nual fairs are held, beginning after harvest time, about the middle of August, and generally increasing in importance until December. I have made inquiries as to the cost of transportation by steamer from the nearest port, Leghorn, to New York, and in reply the agent of the Anchor Line informs me that $50 per head is charged, the shipper pro- viding all fittings, stalls, boxes, fodder, and attendants, the ship only providing water. This line of steamers is very good and the cattle can be well accommodated on the upper deck. The length of voyage is about twenty-six days. J. SCHUYLER CROSBY, United States Consulate, Florence, May 20, 1882. Consul. CATTLE IN VENETIA. REPORT BY CONSUL NOTES, OF VENICE. GEOLOGICAL FORMATION OF VENETIA. The Venetian territory would seem at first glance specially fitted by nature for a grazing country. The large proportion of its surface oc- cupied by hills and mountains of moderate elevation, the abundance of its water courses, the nature of its soil, often of superior fertility, and everywhere good for forage, are all in its favor. These advantages, however, are subject to a serious drawback in the dry heat of the cli- mate, unless the want of moisture be supplied by a generous irrigation to combat the danger of destructive drought. Without this the pros- perity of live stock will always be uncertain and its multiplication lim- ited. An idea of the general character ot the region is suggested by the fact that it contains a large part of the southern water-shed of the Alps, and several of their loftier peaks, together with the delta of the great north Italian rivers. Few portions of Europe offer such extreme con- trasts of scenery and situation, and though the Italian climate and the community of an ancient civilization do much to soften the discordances of local influence, so completely opposed, there must still remain a great diversity in the conditions of life. Geologists agree that the Alps were among the last upheavings of the primeval sea, and that their enormous masses are little else than the fossilized remains of its animal life. They also tell us that this upheav- ing was the result of intermittent volcanic action continued during the Tertiary period, and underlying the whole area of Italy ; gradually sub- Biding to the north as the surface fixed into its present form, but show- J^G CATTLE AND DAIRY L'ARMrNO, ing its last extinct craters in the Roman Campagna, and its last erup- tions at Vesuvius and iEtna, Toward the close of the Tertiary and at the commencement of the Quaternary, the Venetian Alps presented very much the aspect of the Fiords of Norway — the sea washed their bases and penetrated into every opening to the foot of the great glaciers which, descended between their precipitous spurs. The melting of these glaciers, with the altered tem- perature of the region, left in the deeper cavities the masses of impris- oned water which now form the Italian lakes, and with the dispersion. of their abandoned moraines commenced the formation of the Lombard and Venetian plain. -> The composition of this alluvion shows everywhere the material of the mountain sides from which it is derived. Its arrangement depends on the capricious action of the streams which transported it, as well as of great inundations, which have changed its whole surface at inter- vals. At its eastern limit, where the margin of plain grows narrower and slopes more rapidly to the sea, the variations of soil and suriace be- come more frequent, as the rapid torrents change their course and deposit their coarser detritus in fresh localities, carrying their hue sediment to the lower levels, still half submerged by the Adriatic. THE PROVINCE OF UDINE. This naFrow seaboard, with the broader region of the Carnic Alps stretching north and east to the Austrian frontier, forms tbe province of Udine, still known as the ancient Friuli. It is composed, in the plain, of tracts of barren clay, passing iutc more fertile mixtures with calcareous matter, everywhere sown witl gravel, beds of which occur constantly in the surface as underlying it at various depths. At a distance from the water courses the soil, with a smaller admixture of gravel, becomes more fertile. Along the lowest border are small tracts of rich alluvion, soon sinking into salt marsh, liable to inundation from the sea with the unusual persistence of a strong southeast wind. The mountainous portion of the x>rovince or Carnia is a confusion of narrow and sinuous valleys and irregular hi1 sides, with a considerable surface of vegetable earth in broken mass mostly of schist and limestone, with rare apparitions of granite a tufa, affording tolerable pasture in nearly every part. A few of t summits of the region approach a height of 9,000 feet. Gemona, t principal town, stands at 932 feet above the sea, and villages are foui at 2,100 feet. The medium temperature is 18° to 20° O. in summer, 2° to 3° O. i winter, with a minimum of 15° O. in the last thirty-eight years. Rai and hail are frequent, and grow more so with the destruction of forests MOUNTAIN AND PASTURE LANDS OF UDINE. All reports concur in stating the cultivated meadows at about one- sixth of the arable land in the plain, planted with lucern principally, and, unmanured or cared for, they givo an average of forty quintals to the acre. These meadow grasses, lucern and clover, were only intro- duced here toward the beginning of the century, and their cultivation seems little understood. In the more fertile soil of the sea-side a better quality of forage and a more careful cultivation is found on the estates of a few large proprietors, and here the improvement of the stock has been pursued with growing interest. Some remarkable products are shown ITALY. 337 as the results of experiments commenced early in the century by the Princess Hacciocchi. In the mountains the cultivation of forage is much more extensive, embracing about 30,000 to 40,000 acres, besides natural pasturage every- where, in the valleys and lower hills excellent, of inferior quality iu the heights. The whole of this region is full of busy pastoral life, but of the most primitive description, and far from prosperous as it should bo with such facilities and more improved methods. Irrigation is rare, con- fined to cases where some mountain brook can be turned in a few fields, vnd manure all reserved, where it is possible, for the scanty plantation jf cereals. HERDING AND DAIRYING IN UDINE. During the summer months some 25,000 head of cattle graze on these pastures, partly belonging to the district and partly to the plain below, the best tracts of pasture being rented by speculators, who make a bus- iness of conducting them to these heights, combining with this indus- trv a considerable fabrication of dairy produce, receiving half the milk and product as the price of pasture and fabrication. The cheese is said to be excellent, and is of three kinds: Grasso fresco, di couserva, and curd or magro for consumption on the spot. This, with the butter, is largely demanded in the low country, where no production of the kind exists, and finds its way in smaller quantities to Venice and Trieste. The last official reports state the commercial aspect of their industry to be discouraging. In only one or two districts is there any satisfactory sale or demand. It is impossible to ascertain the proportions of milk nd product, the proceeds being entirely primitive and rustic, with no attention to any system. The yield of milk is stated at 0 pounds per ^ow at the highest limit, and, with fresh pasture ; later in the season or in advanced gestation, it descends to 7 and to 4 pounds. Tor cows without milk the price of pasture for the season (fiom June 1 to Sep- tember 1) is $1.40 j if under three years, $1; for calves, GO cents. CATTLE OF UDINE. The cattle of these mountains are an indiscriminate mixture of all the es of the neighboring pastures— Tyrolese, Styrian, Cariuthian, Bel- icse — grafted in the domestic animal, vulgarly known as ihefriulana, ^gely represented here, but belonging more properly to the lower tin, and one of the numerous varieties of a race of animals now pre- uninant in every part of Italy. The Polisine, Reggian, Pugliese, Ro- an, Tuscan, &c, all bear the persistent stamp of the same great family, modified by influences of climate and situation. Professor Keller, of Padua, citing an authoritative work of Pabst, : Instruction and Guide to the Breeding of Horned Cattle," says : u Ex- ending from the steppes of Eastern Europe and Asia, there is found in Podolia, the Ukraine, Yolhynia, Hungary, Moldavia, Wallachia, Transylvania, and Southern Russia, a typicalYace, widely diffused, ex- tremely apt for labor, fairly capable of fattening, yielding in particular abundant and excellent suet, but little milk. Spreading into regions so extended and various in soil, forage, and other conditions, one meets many gradations of this race differing in weight, physical constitution, &c. The essential differences which remain constant indicate two sub- divisions, the Hungarian-Transylvanian and the Podolian-Moldere. The former is among the heaviest of existing races ; the second is lower in stature, with shorter horns. As a rule, there is no worse race for H» Ex. 51 22 338 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. the production of milk, but though in small quantity their milk is ex- tremely rich, and in Hungary are occasionally found excellent milch cows, This deficiency may be explained by the fact that in their origi- nal home the animals are rarely or never milked. On the other hand, this race gives the best of animals for labor and is valuable for slaugh- ter, not only for the superior quality of its flesh, but the abundance of suet in comparison with other races." The defects of this animal, more or less persistent in all modifications, besides the scarcity of milk, are: head too heavy, with a neck excessively long, depressed ribs, the back narrow, and the limbs long and ill furnished with muscle. This is the original type of most of the Italian races, and, more or less altered by long domestication and indiscriminate mixtures, it is the prevailing element of the stoc^ of this region. Another and less numerous group is found only here and in certain parts of the provinces of Parma and Piacenza, smaller than the above, with a uniform coat of red or reddish-brown, amber-colored horn and hoof, rose-tinted lip and nostril, and white eyelids. Showing no affinity with any of the Alpine or Podolian types, it is generally conjectured to be a relic of the aboriginal race, the bos italicus described by Latin authors and figured on ancient monuments. The animal at present is said to be inferior for fattening, fairly good for labor, with a tolerable yield of milk. Specimens were presented at the Universal Exhibition of Vienna in 1873, but were reported to possess no special merit of any kind, while open to objection for disadvantages and diversities of form and under size. These animals seem to answer the present requirements of the country ; with the broken and difficult nature of a large portion of its surface, the want of irrigation and the imperfect cultivation of the remainder, the region seems suited for animals of general usefulness, indifferent to hardships and privation. IMPROVING UDINE CATTLE. The spirit of improvement, however, is active and growing. The agricultural community are earnest in seeking the best means of im- provement, and the essays so far made have been attended with a suc- cess which attracts general attention and interest. Independently of private experiments, the provincial administration has expended $10,000 during the last few years in the acquisition of choice reproducers, bulls and cows, afterward transferred to .private breeders. The cross con- sidered most successful so far is with the Swiss race of Freiburg. The province just described is one of the largest in the kingdom, embracing all varieties of surface and a large portion of the Alps, Which form its eastern extremity. It is mostly a pastoral region, but in the proportion of cattle to its surface ranks only sixth in the Venetian group, possessing 21.2 to the square kilometer, while the average is 25, with the same inferiority in the character of its races, and a greater variety of bastard and nondescript mixtures. CATTLE IN TREVISO. The adjoining inland province of Treviso falls below it both in num- ber and quality of stock, offering only a wider field for the propagation of the same nameless medley of subraces, generally variations of the Podolian, which always seems to displace other animals in the hot and dry plains by a sort of natural survivance. This region, lying almost ITALY. 33 i) entirely in the plain, is in high cultivation. Its norther border, includ- ing the last foot-hills and slopes, and sheltered by the Alps, which here reach greater elevations, is specially suited by soil and southern expos- ure for vine growing. This is at present the prevailing interest of the province4, and absorbs public attention to the prejudice of other im- provements; so that cattle- breeding, which had never received much attention before, seems likely to receive still less in the future. It is complained that the present stock is not sufficient for manure, and hardly for tillage. CATTLE IN THE PROVINCE OF 13ELLTJNO. The province of Belluno, extending north of this to the ridge of the Alps, is of more interest. Here nature has made pastoral industries a necessary resource for a large proportion of the inhabitants ; and, pursued with increasing zeal and intelligence, they are gaining impor- tance as a means of prosperity for a region proverbially destitute. With- out the great summits or lofty plateaus of the central Alps, it belongs to that zone below the limit of eternal snow attached to the flank of every great mountain range, where the ridges become broken and tormented, and the torrents lose themselves in deep gorges, often more inhospita- ble than the broader elevations above. This region, known as the Dolo- mite Alps, is celebrated for the violence of its dislocations and the rav- ages of its streams and ancient glaciers, aided by the destructible ma^ terial of its rocky masses. Nineteen of its peaks rise to a height of 9,200 feet, more or less; eleven surpass it, reaching an extreme of 10,266 feet. Vegetation ceases at 5,800 feet, human habitation at about 4,575, and cultivation at 4,000. Deposits of vegetable soil are rare and inse- cure, being always liable, even in the most favorable localities, to bo swept off or buried under masses of gravel by the frequent inundations. Only about one-thirteenth part of the surface is capable of any kind of cultivation, the rest being largely occupied by forests, and, leaving out of calculation spaces of totally barren rock, five-sevenths of the whole is pasture land. The lower and more cultivated valley, particularly that around Belluno and Feltre, the principal towns, offers a soil of moderate fertility, argil- laceous calcareous, reposing on a varying substratum of marls, con- glomerates, and coarse glacial detritus. In the rest of the province the calcareous element prevails more generally than in other parts of the Venetian territory, from the immense masses of dolomite limestone which crown all the mountains of the region, exposed in cliffs and walls, and which give it its striking character. These easily disaggregated masses, interrupted occasionally by volcanic irruptions of porphyry and beds of tufa, more rarely by deeper-lying masses of green and red sand- stone or schist, form the geology of the mountains. The climate, though softened by southern exposure and by the ab- ■e of great accumulations of snow during part of the year, has not the mild and equable temperature of the Venetian plain— the average ranges o degrees lower in the southern valleys, and in the higher dis- tricts has all the severity of alpine nature, with a medium temperature of 6.92° O. and snowfall of 146.4 O. All these data suppose a rude pastoral life, merging into that of the neighboring Tyrol, of which the province is indeed but the southern ex- tension, and the animals of the region bear the same stamp of relation- ship. The resemblance is so close that it is an unsettled question whether the type known as the Bellunese \8 not a simple modification 340 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. of the Tyrolese. Both aro of middling stature, with the coat of uniform color and short-curved horns ; both are very much inferior to the Swiss as milk producers, with excellent qualities for labor and fattening ; and the meat of both, with the same forage, has the same texture and flavor. Add to this the effect of contact and intermixture for so many cen- turies, and their present affinity hardly admits a doubt. The special traits of the Bellunese are a shorter head, with the ear much smaller, and the eye more prominent and vivacious, the chest broader, and the ribs more open and rounded. He is more short-coupled, with limbs shorter and thicker at the knees ; his coat is more decidedly gray, while that of the Tyrolese is tawney and whitish, with a thicker and more porous skin, and the horns less robust and of a lighter tint of black. The Tyrolese cow gives rather more milk, but both races are docile and enduring for labor, while the Bellunese has a special tendency to fatten, and a remarkable precocity of development, attributed to the abundance of terrous oxides furnished by the rocks (dolomic and calcareous car- bonates) of these mountains. At two years the bull is apt for pro creation; many assert that he is so at eighteen months; at the same age (two years) the ox is capable of hard labor, and at three years commands the highest price for slaughter ; it is rarely the case that heifers are not impregnatecl before the end of the second year. It is quite possible that this precocity may not persist in the race when removed from its native locality, and it is liable to entail a corresponding tendence to early de- cline. Some breeders assert this animal to be superior to the Tyrolese, and propose to adopt it as the type best suited to the region, improving it by selection, without further mixture of foreign blood, unless perhaps with the view to obtain a better yield of milk in certain districts. A bull of this race has been installed as official reproducer by the agri- cultural board of Conegliano and the surrounding region in the neigh- boring province of Treviso, and others are to be found in Padua and Vicenza. In the meanwhile the commercial importance of the stock is attested by the growing demand both for labor and slaughter in various parts of Italy, and the sale and exportation of nearly all the annual pro- duction of beeves and bullocks, together with a sixth of the cows. The whole subject of breeding and treatment is becoming the domi- nant interest of the community. The provincial administration maintains four veterinary stations at different points, where competent specialists not only superintend the management of animals and report on their condition, but hold a school for instructing the population in the best modes of care and management. Private proprietors are paying more attention to the improvement of their stock, and reproducing stations, maintained by communal authorities, are becoming frequent. The Gov- ernment in Italy does not implant such statious directly, but encourages their creation by prizes and subsidies to the ingrative of individuals or associations. The same zeal is shown in the construction of stables on a better system to replace the pestilential hovels where the animals and the peasant family formerly sought shelter and warmth together, at the expense of health in the long winters, as well as of sheds necessary for protection in the bleak mountain pastures. An indication of the progress made is found in the expressions used in an inquest formerly made on the subject under the Austrian Govern- ment, speaking of the cattle of Belluno; " These animals in four or five years' time reach only a middling size, and are not susceptible of further growth without choice and costly food. The traders of the department of the Tagliamento (Udine) buy both oxen and cows, which, transported ITALY. 341 to a region of more succulent forage, resume their growth, and give a large profit to the purchaser. In consequence the district, although possessing an inferior race, is always sure of a ready sale for it." Under the title "forage" occurs the following: u Some few farmers have commenced the cultivation of lucern (medica). The peasants find great difficulty in drying this grass so as to prevent the pulverization of the leaves, a difficulty they cannot surmount for waut of an acquaint- ance with the proper method of proceeding in the case." These short quotations comment each other j at present lucern and clover are cul- tivated wherever cultivation of any kind is possible, though the product is still far from large. In elevated regions they are replaced by natural forage so wholesome, nourishing, and aromatic as to render the exten- sion of artificial meadows almost useless. The plants which occur most frequently in these mountain pastures are, Phleum alpiwum, Alopecurus gerardi, Agrostis canina, Sislesia cce- rulea, Poa alpina, Festuea duriuscula, Kceleria grandiflora, Trisetum fla- vescens, Aira flexuosa, Agrostis vulgaris, Nardus aristata, and in still more elevated positions the Agrostis alpina and rupestris, and the Arena sehcuclizeri. The arable surface of the province is 30,000 acres, and that producing forage of all kinds, 175,000 ; of which temporary cultivated meadows take up 3,000 : permanently cultivated, 42,000 ; natural pastures, 124,000. Finally it may be said that the cattle of this province appear to be assuming the consistent and distinctive character of a special race, sought and imported as such into the surrounding region. Whether it will supplant tho Tyrolese, so generally resorted to for breeding and slaughter, is doubtful. Whether it possesses merits sufficient to make it desirable for importation into the United States is more doubtful still, in presence of the pure Tyrolese, which seems to preserve in a higher degree its special race qualities. DAIRYING IN BELLUNO. Another effect of the same progressive impulse has been the intro- duction of a better system of dairy industry. The prevailing accounts from every quarter of this Venetian territory represent this class of production as being everywhere more or less neglected, or, at best, fab- ricated by the most antiquated methods to suit the rough taste of the couutry consumer, in most cases for family use only, and not of a quality to find a market abroad where there was a surplus to export. The modest export from the province of Udine has already been mentioned, and here, with the moderate product of milk and the scarcity of other resources, something more could be added to the economy of the region. This is now taking a practical form, thanks to the intelligence and energy of a parish priest of the valley of Agordo, who, in imitation of the Swiss "chal6ts" and of the "fruiteries" of the French Jura, founded the first associated dairy, "Latteria Sociale," in his village in 1872. The idea was simple, and immediately realized a sensible advantage, and it has since extended as rapidly as could be expected in this iso- lated and difficult region. A community or a neighborhood contribute the modest means at their disposal for installing a boiler, a store-room, and the few necessary implements, the most improved possible, and employ an experienced practician to carry on the industry. They then bring in their surplus milk daily, of which a strict account is kept, U42 tJATTLE AND DAIRY FAKMING. and, at the end of the season, receive in exchange a proportionate share of the product, or, at choice, a credit on the establishment, which under- takes to dispose of the merchandise. The advantages are the profitable employment of much surplus milk, which would otherwise be lost or wasted, a more economical fabrication, and a better disposal of the prod- uct by the agency of the establishment. A recent account estimates the gain thus realized on a hundred kilo- grams of milk about as follows : One hundred kilograms of milk would give : Articles. Handled at home. At the associated dairy. Quantity. Value. Quantity. Value. Kilog. 3.00 7.00 3.00 Kilos. $1 41 1 24 40 Cheese % 1 05 | 7. 30 30 J 3. 300 Curds Total...... 2 28 3 05 Supposing the quantity of milk disposable to be about 24,000,000 of kilograms in the province, the product, amounting in the first case of home fabrication, to $547,200, would be increased by the "dairy" system to $735,360, a gain of $188,160. In 1880 there existed forty of these dairies, in more or less prosperous operation, and public opinion favored their multiplication. It is sup- posed that at least two hundred and fifty of them would find advan- tageous conditions in the province. Some stress is laid on them here as representing the first introduction of co-operative industry of this kind in the region. It is contested in some quarters, however, whether their products can ever compete for quality with those of Lombardy and Switzerland, on account of the inferior nature of the forage, and this drawback is appre- hended by their promoters ; but even if this be so, they will always find a large home and regional demand. Operations and results of some associate dairies in the province of Bclluno, for eight months, from October 1 to May 31. Commune. Apordo Falcado Catiale Valacla Volta-o I. a Vallo.... Harenzo Uurenzo . ... Ilurenzo .... Ilurcnzo JSosperolo. . gorno Zoldo olmegge.. jPieave j Number Number of of cows. days. 215 1G5 63 193 122 267 17 90 104 ISO 115 293 187 108 49 140 98 180 188 187 11 60 72 31 208 183 95 210 Quantity of milk brought in. Kilos. 112,519.000 42, 400. 000 81, 655. 000 6, 432. 000 78, 750. 000 93, 889. 100 114, 749. C'O 2G, B30. 850 50, 447. 250 119,947.450 4, 057. ( 0 ) 7, 049. 600 152, 084. 000 78, 155. 150 Total product obtained. Butter. Kilos. 3,613.000 1, 401. 180 2, 962. 000 197. 000 2, 575. 000 3, 293. 700 3, 281. 7S0 744.710 1,794.550 3, 058. 6C0 238. 709 3, 390. 270 1,844.850 Cheese. Kilos. 7, 9G0. 000 3, 184. 800 6, 080. 000 499. 000 6, 206. 000 6, 795. 000 9, 457. 803 2, 078. 680 4, 575. 050 9, 655. 770 277. 000 527. 000 11, 378. 080 5, 882. 550 Curds. Kilos. 2, 820. 000 1, 273. 800 2, 539. 000 174. 000 2, 362. 000 2, 485. 500 4, 608. 000 1, 126. 320 2, 388. 700 4, 677. 850 86. 000 250. 500 5,111.000 2, 875. 050 ITALY. 3.43 Operations and results of some associate dairies, $c — Continued. Commune. Soiling price*. Total value. Product per 100 kilo- grams of milk. u ©' in " J do "OS* Butter. Cheese. Curds. Butter. Cheese. Curds. 9 53 h 4j i) oj "2 Lirt. 2.05 2,00 2.00 .1.70 2. 12 2.07 2.00 2.00 2.00 2.00 1.90 1.82 1.90 2.00 Lire. 0. 98 0.95 1.40 1.00 0.95 0. M 1.60 1.60 1.60 1.30 1.00 1.00 1.50 1.35 Lire. 0.60 o.7:$ 0.70 0.70 0.60 0.53 0.70 0.75 0.70 0.70 0.70 0.70 0.60 0.55 Lire. 16, 660. 65 6, 757. 80 17, 065. 00 955. 70 12, 770. 05 14, 387. 80 24, 921. 64 5, 660. 06 12,681.27 21, 944. 31 581. 35 1, 136. 56 26, 500. 23 13, 171. 92 Kilos. 3.200 3. 300 3. 500 3. 000 3. 3C0 3. 510 2.860 2.780 8.180 2.550 3.160 3. 387 2 220 2.300 Kilos. 7. 110 7. 500 8.000 7.700 7. 900 7. 240 8.242 7. 720 8.007 8. 050 6.830 7. 475 7.430 7.500 Kilos. 2.500 3.000 3.000 'J; 700 3.000 2. C48 °c. 7.5 8.0 8.0 7.0 7.0 5-1 5 36 Falcado 36 30 Vallada 42 ';6 LaValle 30-24 4. 000 1 3-5 4. 190 5-6 24-12 24-12 4.200 8.900 2 118 3.350 3.680 7.0 n 8.0 20.0 "io.'o" 24-12 11 18 22-11 12 20 Note.— By substituting pounds for kilograms in the columns of quantities, the relative results will be more speedily realized by the American reader. PROVINCE OF VICENZA. The region just described, embracing the valleys of the Piave and its confluents, is the only wholly Alpine and pastoral province of the ter- ritory. The Austrian frontier, now advancing suddenly southward to embrace the disputed Trentine valley, crosses the Brenta only 1C miles from entrance into the Venetian plain at Bassano, leaving the last mount- ain spurs to form, with the broad terrace at their feet, the province of Vicenza. The Brenta and the Astico, in close proximity at their sources, diverge immediately and inclose between them the Alpine portion of the province, the peculiar district known as the " Seven Communes," assigned by tradition as the refuge of the Cimbri, defeated by Marius, and inhabited at present by a population speaking an ancient Suabian dialect, a bleak plateau of about 48,000 acres, with a nearly uniform elevation of about 3,200 feet, girdled by mountains of from 0,000 to 7,000 feet, and its chief town, Asiago, 2,900 feet above the sea. Exposed to the prevailing northwest wind from the snows behind, the mean annual tem- perature is 7° C, with a maximum of -f-26°.l and a minimum of — 18, while the meeting of this cold current with the equally prevalent moist sirocco from the plain below causes an abundance of rain, unknown to any other part of Italy, a medium rainfall for three years of 1,703.9 millimeters toward the center, and of 2,019 at its southeastern border. This remarkable humidity and the excellent soil derived from the cre- taceous and dolomitic masses, tufa and red sandstone of the surround- ing peaks, produce a luxuriant growth of forest and pasture, and make this the grazing region of the whole province. MOUNTAIN HERDING AND DAIRYING IN VICENZA. The cattle of the lowland are driven here in great numbers to pass the summer months, and the irregular fabrication of dairy products during this " montication," as it is called, represents nearly all its in- dustry of the kind, the plain being taken up with the cultivation of cereals. This mountain industry recalls that of Belluno, but in better conditions. 344 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. The pastures are excellent for air, topography, and herbage. The breed of cattle, not native, but a long-domesticated race of Tyrolese and Swiss, the cows of the district being Swiss and the best milkers in this part of Italy, the lowland cattle, an old stock crossed and recrossed with Tyrolese till the race has become general throughout all the northern part of the province. They are strong, thick-set animals, with small horns, short, thick neck, and muscular limbs ; enduring, but slow and heavy in their movements j the coat whitish or light gray. The Swiss cows are much lower in stature, a darker gray in color, or spotted black and red according to their origin ; not more than 4Jfeet in height, with delicate limbs and voluminous dugs. Along with" these domesti- cated Swiss cattle are numbers of more recent introduction belonging principally to the district of Vicenza, and modified from their primitive type by long residence there. Of a peculiar breed from the Val Ken- dana, where they are bred expressly for milking, they are known here as the cow of Schwytz. With a soft and pliable skiu they have a coat spotted with brown and black; around the eyes, inside the ear, the line of the back, and the dugs, white ; with the hinder part larger and heavier than the shoulders, and a height little over four feet; light-boned, with a small head and short horns. These cows have an extraordinary milk- ing capacity, but very variable with the quality of their forage. In Switzerland they are said to give as much as 27 liters, or 7 gallons, per day. Here the same animal gives only 5; and her descendants 2 to 2J at most. Of these and the migratory herds from below, some 10,000 cattle are collected here during the summer months, of which 5,500 belong to the district, with 1,500 calves. They are guarded by the proprietor or ten- ant of the lajid, who undertakes their keeping either for a rate in money or a share in the products of a dairy attached to the pasture, which makes a part of the speculation. The milk of the herd is col- lected here twice a day, and being operate.! on in the best conditions of freshness and temperature, gives a large yield of butter and cheese much esteemed in the neighboring provinces. Ordinarily the price of pasturage, when taken in kind, is one-half of the milk and product; for cows without milk, $5 to $0, according to abundance and quality of forage. The yield of milk varies with the state of Ihe pasture and of the animal, better and more abundant at the outset with grass un- cropped and diminishing as the season advances. Averaging this dif- ference, an ordinary cow is supposed to give 4 to 4£ liters of milk per day. BUTTER AND CHEESE MAKING IN VICENZA.. In 107 of these mountain dairies are made three kinds of cheese. For the " Grasso dafrutta" the milk is used unskimmed and entire, and in the early season produces 33 pounds to the hundred liters=26£ gal- lons ; later, 20-22. In one of these pastures, celebrated for the quality of its products, a small portion of butter must be removed, the exces- sive richness of the milk making the cheese difficult to keep. After this the " pecorino n — half cream — and the " inagro," of skimmed milk, are made for the use of the neighborhood. Of "magro" a hundred liters of milk give about 22 pounds; each pound of butter taken from the milk lessens the yield of cheese by 2 pounds. In full season the same quantity of milk gives 9J pounds of butter, more or less, according to the quality of forage. The methods of fabrica- tion are those of the farm-house, without a thermometer or other rational instrument, depending entirely on the tact and experience of the dairy- ITALY. 345 %, man, but the material is so good and so liberally employed that these products furnish most of the lowland consumption, and are beginning to be sought iu its markets for exportation. This district contains about 44,000 acres of natural pasture, with little cultivation oi any kind, the rest of its surface being covered by forests. DAIRYING IN THE LOWLANDS OF VICENZA. Here and in the lower province the cows, during the autumn, winter, and spring, give little more than a half ration of milk, and the insig- nificant production of half-skimmed mezzo-magro cheese is consumed at home. They are kept, in the lowland districts, mostly in the stable by the proprietor or by an industrial, who follows up his trade in the mountains, rents the cow-house and buys forage of some farmer short of cattle on a singular traditional contract, which gives him right of pasturage after the first cutting, straw at discretion, about a cord of wood and 150 faggots for every 12 loads hay he buys, and 1 liter of wine every holiday. In return he gives all the manure at the end of the seasou, 1 j pounds of cheese, and "the same weight of butter for each load of hay. The cows are not fed on straw stubble or Indian corn leaves, as are beeves, but on grass and hay from natural meadows. These cow-houses are mostly contined to the district of Yicenza, and are all very much on the same plan, a long, low construction, with a tile of animals on each side, separated by low partitions of wood 3 feet 2 inches high and 5 feet 8 long, leaving between them a stall 6 feet G wide for two animals, with a flooring raised G or 8 inches from the alley of 5 feet wide down the middle ; grated windows over the heads of the cattle, sometimes glazed in winter. The calves are tied up promiscuously at one end of the stable in a space left for the purpose. All this lower section of the province, the summer residence of wealthy families from the neighboring cities, and containing an unusual number of their large estates, shows at once the benefit of such a class of pro- prietors, many of whom occupy themselves with the breeding of cattle, so that by their example as well as their immediate agency the breed of the country has been nearly transformed. The climate of this region is one of the best tempered of the territory, free from the excessive humidity of the plateau above and less subject to the long droughts of the lower plain. The difference from that of the mountain district just described is strongly marked by the advance of from fifteen days to a month in the harvests. At Yicenza the medium temperature is 54° F. for the year, with an ordinary cold of 20.1 at the lowest in winter, and an average heat of 87.1 for midsummer, and a very regular transition of seasons; injurious droughts rare, except in the most southern districts. In the valley of the Brenta, the soil, mostly calcareous, is only of middling quality, but there is considerable cultivation of forage, and the breeding of cattle is followed with a caro and intelligence that make Bassano, at the opening of the plain, an important cattle market, and the interest in this industry increases in descending to the neighbor- ing province of Padua, whichis its principal center for Venetia. West of the Brenta the torrential impetuosity of the streams which traverse this intermediate region between plain and mountain, and par- ticularly of the Astico, has accumulated a deposit of the glacial detritus of the upper valley, making the subsoil of this central portion of the province little more than a bed of stones and gravel, sometimes varied 16 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. by a rough conglomerate of 1 he same materials thinly covered by a laye* of vegetable soil rarely reaching the depth of one half yard, sterilized by the porous nature of the mass below, and by the frequence in cer- tain localities of springs .and subterranean streams. This quality of soil permits a considerable growth of forage, and the district of Thiene sup- ports a number of cattle little inferior to that of districts more generally fertile. The territory remaining to the west of this and forming the more ele- vated portions of the province of Verona offers the same general char- acter, and may be regarded as an extension of the same region. Its alps show much the same broken stratification, with a predominance of cretaceous rocks, and more frequent irruptions of prismatic and amor- phous basalt and basaltic tufa. Beyond the Adige the transition to the Lombard plain is formed by the moraine of the great glacier which once occupied the bed of the lake of Garda, through whose confused masses of gravel and bowlders of all sorts and dimensions the emissary stream, theMincio, has worn its bed, often deeply incased, toward the lowland of Mantua. FROM MOUNTAIN TO LOWLAND STOCK-RAISING. The soil of this province, a portion of the same alluvion, with the western part of that of Vicenza, formed by the confluents of the Adige, an elevated and rather undulated plain, is generally fertile, and being deposited by smaller streams, presents less broadly marked differences of composition in neighboring localities, always subject, however, to the general law that its materials are coarser and less mingled on higher levels toward the points where the streams, issuing from their mouutain valley, deposit their heavier burden, carrying their finer sediment to form a deeper and richer soil below. A chemical analysis of the soil found at base of the hills, at nearly equidistant points of this region from east to west, will give an idea of the material which enter into its composition. Ingredients. Xear £onca to the east, basaltic. Xear Ve- rona, cal- careous. parts.. 70 5 4.50 3 2 1 45 28 do.... 8 do.... 7.5ft do... 6 do.... do.... do... 1 do.... 2 do.... 1.50 2.50 Total 100 100 The same races already described are still in presence here, less mingled and incorporated than in the regions further east, partly because breed- ing has been less active and thorough, partly because the province of Verona extendiug farther into the bottom valley of the Po, the specially Italianized race of the "Pugliese" seems the only animal that holds his ground and still prevails almost exclusively. lt\ toei I „.-or.^hout the territory the whole subject of crossing and improving breeds is still disputed and uncertain. Some years since the provincial administration established several reproducing stations, but the results did not correspond to the considerable expense incurred, and ITALY. 34? the intervention of the anthorities was transformed into a system of annual prizes for the encouragement of private enterprise, to be adjudged to the proprietors of the best bulls and their products at the regional cattle shows. This system seems to have answered better, and each year the animals offered for competition are more numerous and de- serving. The annual migration to the heights is practiced, but without system or regularity and in all other respects this region has no special feature of pastoral industry to command attention. All this tract of country is occupied by an extensive cultivation of cereals often without intermission, the least possible space being allotted to forage, which is generally planted along with the grain. The extent of natural or permanent pasture is insignificent, and but a small pro- portion of the surface is allowed for temporary and artificial meadows by the more intelligent proprietors for the purpose of special breeding, or for the necessity of rotation, never exceeding one-fourth and averaging more generally one-tenth. In the lower districts of Verona from 5 to 8 per cent, of the surface is irrigated, an improvement much more rarely found further east. In this exclusive cultivation of grain, which has been the fixed idea of Italian agriculture for some years past, cattle are only taken into ac- count for the needs of labor and manure. As a food supply the ox has had, until recently, no practical importance, costing too much for the consumption of the labor alike in town and country, and finding but a limited demand for the few who could afford such luxury in the towns. By the rural laborer it was used at rare festivals only, and cases are cited of contadini who asserted that they had never tasted meat. The growing international demand shows its effects so far only in those dis- tricts where cattle production is a necessary resource, and there is found in passing from the highlands to the bottom valley a regular decrease of stock for a given area, four oxen being the average in the one case on a farm of 15 to 30 acres, while in the lower plain the same number serves for one of 40 to 55 acres. Here the only commercial product looked for is the sale of the calves, each cow bringing in this way an average gain of 120 lires=$21, and the calf, if not sold at the teat, must get his living on roadsides and ditches; if sold younger he brings only $15, and if better fed he is still less profitable, so that the average re- mains about the same. In the same transit from north to south, and from hill to plain, takes place a gradual change of races, the Tyrolese, Swiss, and all their mix- tures giving way to the Podolian, which here balances other types, and further on along the lower rivers and coast, ami it may be said in the rest of Italy south of the Po, is the exclusive race of the country. CATTLE IN THE PROVINCE OF PADUA. This province is in every way the heart of the Venetian terra-firma, and its agriculture best represents the state of progress in the region. Its situation between plain and mountain gives -an excellent average of soil. Superior wealth and culture render it more open to tin1 possibil- ities of improvement, and the agrarian interests of the country at large gravitate here as to their natural center. The city of Padua is the prin- cipal cattle market of the surrounding provinces, and their breeding in- terests owe their prosperity in part to its neighborhood. The province is the best stocked of the territory, possessing 37 head to the square kilo- meter, while the general average is but 25. In the northern part of the province breeding and fattening for slaughter is pursued as a special 348 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. industry, and to a degree of system and perfection not attempted in any other part of the country. The district of Cittadella in particular is reputed for its products, and uses every art to maintain their quality. Mention has been made of the improved character of the cattle industry in the valley of the Bren ta as it descends toward the province of Padua, from Bassano, which is already a center of some importance ; here, beyond the confine, is its culminating point. The district is not exceptionally fer- tile, and portions of it toward the west are wasted bj; the gravel of the Brenta. Around Gittadella, in the center, it is calcareous, argillaceous, with n calcareous subsoil, is tolerably well irrigated, and produces good forage. The western border, argillaceous, calcareous, silicious, is more perfectly irrigated, and the forage is considered superior. The remaining surface to the north and east is fair vegetable soil for every cultivation, but with a rather porous substratum. To the extreme south and south- west, where clay predominates both above and below, the laud is espe- cially good for rice and forage. The latest statistics give 11,2G2 head of cattle, with a rate of 1 animal to 2.G acres; 2 in every 10 are reserved for slaughter. From 400 to 1,300 animals are fattened here annually, out of 3,000, the estimated number for the province. HOW CATTLE ARE FATTENED IN PADUA. The number of cattle enumerated as belonging to the district are here of no moment, as a certain quantity are purchased for fattening from abroad. The treatment adopted most usually to attain the result in the shortest and most economical way is thus described: It should be premised that all practicians do not make it a point to bring their prod- ucts to a point of extreme obesity, and notable differences in this re- spect may be seen among animals offered in the market. With this qualification, the following is the method adopted by the most skillful and experienced breeders to arrive at a moderate result of weight and volume : In winter, when fresh forage is wanting, the animals, with an average of 300 kilograms (pounds G60), after several days of entire repose, with ordinary treatment, are bled, in case their coat, by its want of softness and luster or any other symptom, should indicate the necessity. This being done, they are submitted to a regular and special regime, being fed with line rich hay, clover, or the like. This is continued from one to two months, as the animals show more or less readiness to gain flesh. After this they are served with a ration of Indian corn shucks, softened in boiling water and sprinkled with linseed meal, in quantity, 11 to 13 pounds a day. During four months of this treatment two beeves con- sume about 3,520 pounds of choice forage and 1,100 pounds of linseed oil-cake, and attain a weight of 1,870 pounds. In the summer much the same method is followed, using, however, fresh forage, such as hay, grass in general, clover, medic, and the like, the oil cake being omitted. Use is also made of the green tops of Indian corn, and of mulberry leaves, provided these last have not been touched by frost, and thus rendered unwholesome for the animals. This summer treatment lasts nearly as long, with about the same cost and the same economical re- sult, as the winter treatment. To obtain beeves of still higher quality the whole secret consists in prolonging the above treatment, and those who desire extra fine prod- ucts keep the animals on regime as long as six or seven months or more. In such cases a pair of beeves will consume as much as 5,280 pounds of forage and 3,300 pounds of oilcake, reaching a weight of 2,420 pounds. ITALY. 349 I Lave alluded to tbo race of aniraafs preferred hero for fattening; generally and constantly the Tyrolese are thought, beyond comparison, better both for labor and slaughter in this region. The so-called Fel- brini or Bellonisi are purchased, but relatively few, while the native stock, Pogliese, stand lowest; without doubt there are reasons for this, drawn from long experience. It is worthy of note that in general here, in opposition to the usage of other parts of the province, neither in the forage r.or otherwise is the least particle of salt ever given to cattle; that they are curried and cleansed of every kind of filth, and their coats kept as lustrous as possible; that the stable is never entirely closed even in winter, in the belief tn at a constant supply of fresh air is indis- pensable to the animals. It is remarked that they succeed better in winter, as well in t lie quantity cf ilesh as in its flavor. The usual practice of speculators in this industry is to content them- selves with the moderate result of four or live months of tbo above treatment, the profits of the operation diminishing with a farther out- lay ; there exists, however, asortcf ambition with certain individuals to carry their products to the utmost perfection, even with lessened gain, and this emulation has done much, doubtless, to maintain the singular reputation of the locality, due in part also to the special quality of the forage. This is generally asserted, though no explanation is iound of the superiority claimed. A report from the intendant of one of the great proprietary families of the region makes a higher estimate. After stating the methods prac- ticed in his neighborhood (sometimes much the same as those mentioned above) he continues: The animal to be fattened sbould bo neither too young nor to old, say from six to eight years ; bis live weigbt at tbo moment of putting under Ireatment is commonly from 1,100 to 1,320 pounds. In tbreomoutbs bo is at balf-ilesh. but to put him in full condition, after these tbreo mouths on green food, three months more are necessary on dry forage. During the three months of green feeding no dry forage is given; grass alone with tops and shucks of Indian corn, &c, and two daily drafts of warm water, with 1 kilogram of oil cake (2.2 pounds). After- ward he receives about 33 pounds of dry forage divided into. three rations, changing the quality at each meal; the hay should be of the first mowing; the oil-cake drafts to bo continued with an addition of 17 J pounds of oil-cake. The shucks in these last three months should be peeled and dried and given morning and evening, about 4A pounds at a time. An animal well fattened gaius an addition of about one-half his orig- inal weight, attaining to from 1,G50 to 1,080 pounds ; the dead weight is calculated at about 30° less. Attention should be paid to the habits and temperament of the animal, perfect cleanliness of animal and stall, abundance of litter, and constant ventilation, however cold the weather, regular carrying after each meal, and after the draft, fresh water to his thirst. Differences of opinion exist among specialists in regard to the neces- sity of salt as an element of diet; practically, it seems immaterial here, owiug, perhaps, to the nature of the forage, which in certain situations is known to absorb a considerable quantity of salt in its growth. A strong prejudice exists, among peasant breeders principally, against currying the animals while in process of fattening, under the persuasion that every disturbance of the cuticle interferes with their digestion, and particularly with the formation of suet; the substitute being to brush the back and head, around and between the horns, with a broom or 350 CATTLE AND DAIRY FABMING. coarse wisp of straw, an operation supposed to be specially agreeable to the animal, and thus to improve his appetite and digestion. The story is told of an illiterate proprietor, noted for his excellent -products, often found in his stable extended between a pair of beeves and indus- triously scratching their backs to excite their appetites. Together with, or in substitution for, the linseed-cake, the refuse of various other oily plants is used, especially the colza, said to be very nearly equal to linseed as food for cattle. Other plants of the same na- ture are hemp, poppy, cotton, sesame, &c. ; they are all valuable for manure and often so used. It is asserted that after serving as food for animals they are no less useful, the fertilizing elements passing through the animal after serving their purpose of nutrition. (Liebig.) Little or no recourse is made to roots for cattle- feeding in this district, and the extremely scanty production would hardly furnish the supply. The linseed cake is considered equivalent as food to rather more than twice its weight of hay. While the general practice of breeders gives the preference to this particular plant, it is supposed that cotton seed, if available, might surpass it. Mention has also been made of mulberry leaves as a favorite article of food. Primitive ensilage. — In the vine-growing districts, together with the fallen vine leaves, is commonly used the refuse of the wine press, the considerable residue of alcohol remaining being an excellent stimulant for fattening, though injurious in ordinary food. The mode of prepara- tion is as follows : A round excavation in the earth, about 2 meters deep and wide, is filled with alternate layers 20 centimeters (==S inches) thick (on a bottom layer of leaves) of " graspa" or press refuse, and vine and mulberry leaves, pressed down as tightly as possible, and covered with a u capello * or conical mass of earth, care being taken to draw a ftdge of earth around the brink to prevent rain or snow from penetrat- ing. The mass is then left to ferment, and watched, to fill any crevices. in the cover of earth as it dries. In about forty days fermentation is completed, and the product is then given to the animals, which, after a first hesitation, become extravagantly fond of it, and the dose has to be regulated. FOOD ANALYSES. It is always observed that an animal fattens in longer or shorter time according to the origin of his forage ; for instance, with the hay mowed here at Bolzonella, eight months are required for full flesh j with that of Citadella, six months ; with that of Belvedere and Rosa, four months suffice, A rough analysis of the hay grown near Citadella gives for one hun- dred parts of hay: Azotatecl substances, 8.14, or digestible matter, 58.23. Carbonated substances, 43.63, or indigestible matter, 27.13. Ashes, 6.16, or water, 14.19. The composition of colza compared to linseed is as follows: Constituents. Colaa. Linseed. Proteinic substances 28.08 9.5 24.3 15.8 7.4 15.0 28.0 10. o Hy tlrat ed carburets 31.0 Wood liber * 11.0 Ashes 7.0 Water 14.7 ITALY. 351 HOUSING CATTLE IN PADUA. Breeders complain that the principal obstacle to fattening cattle up to the highest point is the impossibility of obtaining remuneration, the meat 'finding no sale beyond a certain price, which varies little for all classes of product, while in England every quality has its price, thus gratifying the fastidious taste of the rich, and bringing animal food within the reach of a large population to whom in Italy it is now for- bidden. It is the construction and management of stables which seem most in need of improvement here at present. Where there is any solid construction it is a model of centuries gone and often dates as far back. In the southern part of this and in contiguous provinces this may be tolerated, with the dry and equable climate, and the race of cattle proof to hardship and capable of living in the open air without injury, though with more care they gain at once in appearance and condition, and in reality the stall is here more a convenience for purposes of order and special regimen than a, necessity for shelter. So that improvement in this respect will be slow in spite of the exportations of progressists, with whom it is rather a favorite theme latterly. A few wealthy proprietors have constructed stables with all the modern requisites, but there is^o instance of any such improvement for industrial purposes. As might be expected the best general average is found in the neighborhood of Padua and Cittadella, The usual plan is that described above in speaking of the cow-houses of Vicenza. DAIRYING IN PADUA. The dairy industry is entirely insignificant; in some districts it is wanting altogether; elsewhere it is confined to the needs of the house- hold or village. In the districts of Cittadella alone statistical reports mention, besides six associate dairies, three families as producing small quantities for commerce ; they prepare principally soft cheeses for the daily consumption of Padua. The climate of the province is gentle and equable ; separated from the lagoon only by the narrowest portion of that of Venice, it is in the same atmospheric conditions, with only the slight difference that, being entirely inland, the moderating effect of the sea is less sensible, the summer heats and the cold of winter being rather more marked. The elevation of t he city observatory is 93.6 feet above the sea. The temperature rarely exceeds 3IP or 33° C. or falls below 3°C, with a me- dium of 148.° C. This is the ordinary year and a fair average for the province. Its lower portions sink into the tfeep valley of the Brenta and Adige, and assimilate in character to the adjoining province of Kovigo. CATTLE IN THE PROVINCE OP ROVIGO. Lying between the parallel courses of two great rivers, the Adige and the Po, probably the latest of all alluvial formations, still disputed by the water courses and the sea, this province forms a broader region set apart by nature from the districts which it divides, with a topog- raphy and an agriculture of its own. With most of its surface be- low the level of the rivers, which intersect it in every part, and liable also to invasion from the reflux qf the tides driven by contrary winds, it must therefore he defended with constaut vigilance. In portions drainage is almost impossible, and these are still left for salt marshes and meadows, in parts well reclaimed and defended; the soil, a deep 352 CATTLE AND DAIKY FARMING. alluvion, interrupted by intercolated beds of sand, peat, and gravel, is of exuberant fertility, and is occupied by an unsparing cultivation. Tbis exclusive attention to plant products, with the prolonged heats that scorch neglected wastes of meager pasture between the frequent inundations, offer poor "conditions for pastoral industry. Rovigo, one of the most elevated spots of the region, is 27Jfeet above the sea; the medium temperature is 15° 0., with a maximum of 33° .7 0., and a minimum of 3.7 and a rainfall of 0.80. Nature has furnished a race of cattle suited to such congenial conditions, and provided for their sub- sistence on the tracts of undrained land covered with canes, rushes, and marsh grasses along the sea-side and tide- water canals. The Pugliese exists and thrives here to the exclusion of other races, as well as in the lowest districts of the provinces of Padua and Venice. The noted agronomic, Professor Zanejli, mentions this type of animals as follows : Along both banks of the Po, descending from Mantua to the plains of Padua, and Polesine (Rovigo), we find a race of animals of labor, domesticated in ihe region, which it is impossible to confound with other types — oxen of tall and middle stature, more thick-set than the ordinary Hungarian breed, and distinguished by some with the name of Pugliese. Their special marks are the coat of gray or light grayish, with small black lines on the eyebrow, lips, and edge of the ear; long and sharp projecting horns give them rather a savage aspect. The shoulders aro extremely developed in comparison with the haunches, with the point of the shoulder abnormally high and pronounced, a conformation well suited for a draft animal. This race has the ad- vantage of being perfectly acclimated in these low and marshy plains, where the pasture is often of the most inferior quality, is robust and tenacious at work, for which cows and oxen are employed without distinction. So that this animal, descending: with the barbarian invaders from the steppes of the ancient Sarmatia (Bos primigcnus), and now, by the con- sent of all authorities, diffused throughout the country from Lombardy to Sicily, is the proper Italian ox. He has been mentioned above as the inhabitant of Friuli; it is equally certain that the great oxen of Eomaqua, the half savage herds of the Koman Campagna, and the cream-colored cattle of Tuscany, are of the same stock with the Pugliese of the Lower Po. The race in Piedmont attains extraordinary dimensions. In a report to Government are cited measurements of cattle three years old existing there ; oxen of 6 feet 4 inches and 6 feet G inches, and a cow of 5 feet G inches in height. Here their height rarely exceeds 5.6 to 6 feet, and their yield of meat is always inferior to that of races bred for slaughter, as well as of the Tyrolese which, besides, fatten more readily. On the other hand the type is susceptible of great improvement under favorable conditions, and a certain number of breeders here and in Eomaqua maintain that it is the one best suited to the country. This may be true for the region now under consideration as well as for the rude husbandry and burning climate of Southern Italy, but under ordinary conditions of climate and cultivation in Europe, the controversy is practically decided by the choice of the breeders of Oittadella and wherever else superior cattle are required for industrial profit. There can hardly be said to exist any management deserving atten- tion after the elaborate methods followed in more advanced regions and described above. The ordinary practice is to leave the animals to tiud their subsistence on the coast lowlands, or otherwise to feed them on the indifferent products of these same pastures, at most shutting them in for the night in the huts of cane and thatch, which serve for stables in many localities. When fattening is required they receive the choicer forage grown promiscuously with the corn on small spaces of the arable land of the region. ITALY. 35 a In the western and slightly more elevated division of the province, toward Lendinara, where forage cultivation is somewhat more extended, occupying from one-fifth to one-tenth of the surface according to locali- ties, with a yield of 70 to 80 quintals to the hectare, the animal improves greatly and is reported to give, without taking into account the cost of land and forage, 10 to 12 per ceut. on his purchase price; in the low- land of Eovigo never more than 5 per cent. Here there is also a trifling fabrication of cheese and butter for do- mestic use, limited, however, by the fear of stinting the calves, which are the principal care and reliance of the farmer. In this region some steps of improvement are made in the construc- tion of stables, a few of a better description having been introduced by the wealthier proprietors to replace older ones fallen into decay. The greater number, however, are still reported to maintain the pre- vailing aspect of neglect and rusticity. CATTLE IN THE DISTRICT OF VENICE. Of the region in the immediate dependence of the city little remains to be said ; its various districts form so many appendages to the dif- ferent provinces which incircle it and share the character of their rural life. Extremely fertile to the north, where it consists of the finer sedi- ment of the Piave, it is stocked with the mixture of Austrian and Friv- lona cattle which stock the adjoining districts of Udine and Treviso. The portions bordering the lagoon in the immediate neighborhood of Venice are occupied by cows kept expressly for the milk supply of the place, almost entirely of the Bellunese breed; indifferent milkers, but hardy and not fastidious in their nourishment. Some attempts have been made to introduce Swiss cows into this group, but on account of the objectionable quality of the water and forage they did not answer expectations. The lower border of the lagoon, including Chioggia, is for all agricult- ural purposes a part of the low land of Eovigo, the Polesine just de- scribed, and contains the same exclusive stock of Pugliese cattle, though in number insufficient for the extended tracts of natural pasturage now utilized by large herds of mountain cattle from Belluno, which find here a cheap subsistence for the winter. In all this region no dairy in- dustry is ever attempted, the native cows being used only for labor, and the scanty supply of milk and butter needed for home use fur- nished by the few cows of other races bred or imported for the purpose. EFFECTS OF THE ITALIAN CLIMATE AND HERBAGE ON IMPORTED CATTLE. It is significant for the object of the present inquiry that in every part of Northern Italy the fabrication of dairy products as an industry is only carried on with the aid of imported races. The Bellunese aro a domesticated branch of Tyrolese, the milch cows of Vicenza and the seven communes are almost entirely Swiss, and both groups are such in- different milk-givers that it would be impossible to bring their product into general or even local commerce without the advantage of mountain pastures at trifling cost. The Lombard dairymen, it is said, find it more profitable to import Swiss cows directly than to depend on crossing the breed, and it has been seen that the animals imported fall off immedi- ately, so that the yield of milk never approaches that of a Swiss pasture. All these facts point to a radical difference of local conditions, and the effect of this difference may bo traced progressively. In leaving H. Ex. 51 23 354 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. the moist climate and fresh pastures of England and Scotland every one may observe the dryer and more concentrated quality, as well as the darker color, of French beef and mutton, though not interior in fla- vor. The verdure of the country shows the same variation ; both have felt the long dry summer. In Italy this change is exaggerated; prolonged heat in summer and dry cold in winter are the rule. Luxuriant pastures in hill or valley are rare, and keep their freshness but a moment. Mountain ranges and spurs occupy much of the surface; land is divided into the smallest parcels ; horses too few and precious to be employed in cultivation ; in- tensive agriculture is little known, and its introduction can only be the work of many years. Until then the race of cattle must be adapted to all uses, principally to labor, and subsidiarily to slaughter or dairy production ; and even then it is doubtful whether the climate and vege- tation could offer a congenial home for the ultra-refined and developed animals of more favored regions. Attempts to naturalize them, made with all the precautions and liberality of scientific experiment, have not so far succeeded. THE OX OF THE COUNTRY. In the Podolian ox the country possesses a type capable of support- ing its mediocre conditions of existence, ancf answering its principal re- quirements; sober, robust, and nearly equal to the horse in the rapidity of his pace in labor or journey, he demands neither care nor shelter. To correct his defects of form and temperament the other half-Italian- ited race of the Tyrol seems specially fitted ; indolent, slow, and massive in his native region, he loses the excess of these characteristics in chang- ing his habitat, while retaining his precocity and readiness to fatten. The influence of climate is singular manifested in its effects in these ex- tremes of race character, which, gaining and losing, respectively, by the change, tend to a common medium of good qualities. The Podolian, however, is the proper and universal Italian ox, and in view of the extra- ordinary modifications already noted of the same type, it is difficult to assign a limit to his capability of amelioration. SUITABILITY OF ITALIAN CATTLE FOR THE UNITED STATES. Whether one or other of these races would be desirable for importa- tion to the United States would depend on the character and the ag- riculture of the region in which the animals should be implanted. Neither possesses the highly developed special qualities that are sought for in the improved cultivation of the older States. If, however, the precocity and solidity of the Tyrolese were considered an acquisition, these are found at their strongest in the valleys of the Upper Adige, toward Meran, the native home of the race. The type should be chosen there, and for these qualities alone ; neither this nor any other race of these regions having any value for dairy purposes to merit attention. The hardy and indefatigable Podolian or Pugliese might render use- ful service in the trying climate and difficult cultivation of less fertile and less advanced parts of the country, as, for instance, in the lowlands of the Gulf States, in the wild-sage region of the great plains, or the barren stretches of Lower California and New Mexico, and, according to the special requirements of the situation, there would be large room for choice among the several varieties of the race which stock the different regions of Italy. ITALY. 355 PRICES OF ITALIAN CATTLE. In regard to the quantity of cattle at present in the country and their price, they are reported to be scarce and dear in all parts of Italy and Venice, as well on account of the recent inundations as of the increasing demand, foreign and home. France and Germany require a constant supply, and for several years the Parisian market has been largely supplied with Italian beef. Beeves of superior quality, live weight, cost from $15 to 810 the quintal, and this price is general throughout the region. The animal generally averages six quintals, and yields 50 per cent, net of meat. Cows bring about the same price,.and never less than $14; at half-flesh the price is 55 to CO francs, which equals $11 to $12. TRANSPORTATION OF ITALIAN CATTLE TO THE UNITED STATES. It is difficult to obtain data as to the cost and facilities of transport to the United States, the case never having before occurred. The best route would be by sea altogether, as I am assured that animals suffer more in the railway journey to Havre than in crossing the Atlantic. The General Navigation Company (Italian), with a line to New York and transshipment at Palermo, make their voyage from here to New York in twenty-five days, and state a price (approximate) of 180 francs ($90) per head, but better terms could be made according to number of animals. Each animal would require about 22 pounds of hay per day, and for the passage 550, which, at 71 cents per quintal, equals $3.50, which with $00 for transport, equals $99.50. The passage of the neees- sarv keepers would be gratuitous. McWALTER B. NOYES, Consul. United States Consulate, Venice, November 24, 1883. Size, iveight, and product of homed caiile in the Venetian territory. Manic of 1' Ual.itat. Annual averages pounds of milk. Milk to pound of butter. Milk to pound of Sizo at maturity. Live weight. eheeso. Cow. Ox. Cow. Ox. Paglic&o Udino, Hovigo.Padua,Vicenza, i:i, Venice. Feline, \ "iccuza, Padua, Yorona. Pelluno, Padua, Udinc, Tro- viso. Vicenza Lbs. £te Ft. 4.10 4.8 4.8 Ft. H H 5 Lbs. 935 990 950 Lbs. 1 400 3,000 2,850 3,«00 *7A 27i70 25 m i3a ha J, 650 1,500 Uellunese ^chwytz Montunina Udine 356 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Breeds of horned cattle in the Venetian territory, and their products. Name of breed. < Weight of meat at maturitj'. Color. Description. YrS. 4 3 21 Poundx. 710 823 775 440 A sli -gray, -whitish, tipped with black. Thin, high-shouldered, long- limbed, long-horned ; paeo, rapid. Heavy, slow, back straight, rump thick, head small, neck short, horns short. Thick-set, horns short, limhs short, breast broad, depres- sion behind shoulder, preco- cious. Low, head small, rump high and large, horns short, bones light, thighs largo, skin soft. Undersized, horns and hoofs Bollunese Gray, tipped with black Red, brown, or black spotted. . . amber-color, light, rapid, used for transport. Name of breed. Pugliese .. Tyrolese . . Bellunese - Schwy tz . . Montanina Origin of breed. Steppes of Etissia . . Austrian Tyrol , Bellunoand Tyrol.. Val Ilendana, Tyrol Italy , Labor. Rapid Slow Good, middling. Middlicg rapid Product. Meat, fat tened. Lbs. 1,100 1,050 Milk, Cheese, per year, per year. Lbs. 3,000 2,350 3,000 Lbs. 210 207 Climate and topography of the Venetian territory. Locality. Altitude. Mean annual temper- ature Summer. Winter. Mean. Extreme. Mean. Extreme. TTdino : Meters. 200 30 °C. 11.1 14.8 o'C. '20 24.5 33.8 °C. 2.8 °C. —15 Belluno : 404 10.3 10.1 6.9 13.3 7 12.7 14.2 20.6 31.9 —11. 9 900 35 996 129 64 16.6 24.7 29.6 35.1 26.1 33.2 35 -1.6 — 17.5 Vicenza : — 5 —18 3.3 3.9 6.1 Verona : — 6.4 Padua: 11 46 14.3 36.7 4.9 11.1 Rovigo: 9 2 1 Venice : St. Dona 3 1.1 12.1 24.4 36.7 3.1 - 5 ITALY. Climate and topography of the Venetian territory — Continued. 357 Locality. Soil. Character. Composition. Udino : Alluvial and gravel . Gravel, argillaceous, calcareous. Argillaceous, calcareous, gravel. Bell u no : Alluvial Mountain shelves do Calcareous, argillaceous, sand. Calcareous, argillaceous. Vicon za : Alluvial and grovel.. Mountain platoan Cretaceous, siliceous, calcareous. Verona : Siliceous, argillaceous, calcareous. Patina:" nittailolla AUnvhn Argillaceous, calcareous, sand. Argillaceous, siliceous. Argillaceous, sand, calcareous. Ro vitro: Alluvial and saml . .. do Argillaceous, sand, peat. Do. do ^ en ice : >sc Pona do Argillaceous, sand. Argillaceous, sand, peat. do Notf..— 1 meter point. 3 feet 3.1 inches. Dogrco ccntigrado = 1° Fahrenheit. O centigrado is at freezing 358 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Sub*trafrnu and cultivated (jrasxcs in the Venetian territory. Locality. Substratum. Ph o Cultivated grasses. Udino : Gomima Pordenoue Cividalo Belluno: Belluno Agordo Auronzo "Vicen^a: Vicenza Asiago Bassano Verona : Verona Sanguinetto Pudua : Padaa Cittadella Piava- Rovigo: Lendinara Adria Ariano Venice : San Dona Venice and Dolo Chioggia Limestone; in higher parts, granite and schist. Gravel, moraino Limestone and gravel, higher granite. Limestone, green sandstone, marl, and conglomerates. Limestone, red sandstone, chalk, scagMa. Dolomite, arenaceous and cal- careous schist, quartz por- phyry. Metamorphic lime and sand stono, dolerito and basalt tufa, gravel. Dolomite, red sandstone, chalk, basalt tufa. Glacial detritus, tertiary lime- stone, basalt, tufa, chalk. Numolite limestone, chalk, tufa, ligneto, moraine. San ', limestone, conglom- erates, • Sand, gravel, trachyte, lime- stone, and conglomerates. Gravel, conglomerates Alluvial, sand, clay, peat. Gravel, recent conglomerates, clay. Deep alluvial, sard, clay, peat alernating. Delta ; clay, gravel, peat Delta ; clay, argillaceous and cretaceous marl. Sand, clay, marl, indurated clay. Gravel, clay, sand, peat Medic and clover, most in mountain grasses. Medic, clover, rye-grass. Eye-grass, medic of late years, Medic, clover, rye-grass. Bye-grass, clover, medic, native grasses. Pastures of Phliune alponum, agrostis, alopeeurus, poa, fea tuca, avena scheuchzin, &c. Clover, red and white, medic. Insignificant, fu in mountain pastures. Medic, lucern, timothy, clover, vetches. Medic and clover, mostly nat- ural pasture. jflq irrigated, medic, clover, sain frin. Timothy, medic, clover, many native grasses, phlium, poa, agrostic, many species of vetch. Do. Lucern, medic, clover, vast bot- tom pasture. Medic, clover, insufficent for consumption. Mixed with other crops, medic, clover. Insignificant, mostly salt marsh. Very fertile, medic, clover, and bottom pasture. Little cultivation, waste pas- ture, bad water. Insignificant, waste and bot- tom pasture. BELGIUM:. 359 BELGIUM. CATTLE IN BELGIUM. REPORT BY CONSUL STEUART, OF ANTWERP. In reply to t^ie circular and memoranda calling for information relative to breeding cattle that would be of value to stock-breeders in the United States, I have to regret that my efforts, both by personal inquiry and by correspondence, to obtain some points of value bearing on the subject have been attended with indifferent results, some of my letters remaining unanswered. Belgium offers no cattle for export, first, because the home demand is far in excess of the supply, and then because there is no race here suffi- ciently prominent or meritorious to attract the attention of the pur- chasers from the United States, who are almost always present in the neighboring kingdom of Holland seeking the valuable cattle in which that country is so rich. From an official report published this year by the bureau of agricult- ure in the department of the interior at Brussels, we learn that for some years past the cattle in Belgium have shown great improvement, owing to the great care taken in the selection of the breeding stock brought into the country from England and Holland, and to the great attention paid to the offspring. They are well housed, carefully fed, and every care taken in order to produce the best results. The Durham bulls from England are the most valued and most in use, and the cross from this race are very successful, and becoming more and more numerous every year. In some places an effort has been made to preserve and breed the Durham stock pure, but the result was a failure. After two or three generations they degenerate so greatly that the infusion of new blood is necessary ; thus, whilst the cross is a great success, the pure race will not thrive in this country. The province of Antwerp prefers to improve her stock by the introduc- tion of the Dutch race, because the dairy is the result aimed at, and but little attention paid to the other products. The cow is valued only by her milk-giving qualities, and for this purpose the Dutch are much the best. In the province of Flanders the great proportion of the cattle are of the Oassel breed, or, as it is called in France and in all the markets, the Flemish breed. In many of the districts more than half the cows are of this breed, whilst in other districts the Durham is used to cross with the native cows, or with those brought in from Holland. In the province of Brabant the Durham is held in the highest esti- mation, but in the weekly market held at Diest, which is a very im- portant center for the cattle trade, the Holland cattle take a very im- port ant pnrt. As the home product falls far short of the demand for consumption, the Government has interested itself greatly, as it does in all matters affecting the material interests of the Kingdom, in order to secure the increase needed, and at the same time to improve the breed as much as possible. To this end an appropriation is made yearly and expended by agents appointed by the department of the interior for the purchase and importation of the best pure-blooded animals suitable for the pur- pose 5 the purchases are generally made from the Durham and Holland 360 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. stock, and these animals are distributed among the different provinces and sold to the stock-breeders. The result is carefully watched and rewards are offered to those who are able to show the best specimens arising from judicious care and attention. Professor Leyder, of the Boyal Agricultural Institute, sends me a pam- phlet written by himself upon the animals at the national exposition of 1880, and in his written reply to my inquiries he says : None of our races have sufficient merit to attract the attention of stock-breeders ; also that our statistical documents are silent upon the subject of the distribution of cattle races among the different provinces. In his pamphlet he states that the demands for home consumption, which the product is far from covering, call for large importations of cattle. Since a dozen years the excess of importations over exporta- tion has been about 50.000 head yearly. Holland contributes most largely to this number, partly of cattle ready fattened for the market, of others coming to be fattened, and also of some reserved for breeding purposes. Of the 123,201, 121,138, and 142,480 head of cattle imported, respectively, in 1878, 1879, and 1880, there came from Holland 107,008, 100,933, and 113,808 head. TRANSPORTATION OF CATTLE TO THE UNITED STATES. Although Belgium has no cattle of her own to export for breeding purposes, she offers the best route of export from this part of the world to the United States. The White Cross line of steamers, sailing from Antwerp to New York, Boston, and Quebec, are fitted with the proper accommodations for the transport of cattle, and they carry a great many, principally coming from Holland, some from Switzerland, but more from Belgium. The cattle are brought to Antwerp by rail or water, are inspected by the veterinary surgeon, and then placed on board of the steamers. COST OF TRANSPORTATION TO THE UNITED STATES. The agents of the line here furnished me with the following as the rates of transportation, namely : £8 per head for cows, £7 per head for yearlings, £6 per head for calves, including installations, water, and feeding for twenty days. The men accompanying the cattle for attend- ance have free passage. If no men accompany the cattle the steamer provides attendance at the rate of 4s. per head. If shippers provide feed the price is £2 less per head. JOHN H. STEUART, United States Consulate, Consul Antwerp, December 29, 1883. BREEDS OF CATTLE IN BELGIUM. REPORT BY CONSUL WILSON, OF BRUSSELS. In a country where the subdivision of property is so great and the population so dense as in Belgium, the raising of stock and the im- provement of breeds, of necessity, cannot constitute an important branch of agricultural industry; nevertheless, within the last few years there has been amongst agriculturists here a strong and persistent effort BELGIUM. . oGl made to improve all animals that either furnish beef or dairy products for the people; as a result of this effort, it is doubtful whether there now can be found any purely indigenous breeds in this country. There are, however, several distinct varieties bred here, each generally con- fined to a particular district of the country, characterized by some peculiar quality of pasturage, soil, or climatic condition. THE FURNES-AMBACHT BREED. On the rich plains and pbulders of East and West Flanders the pre- vailing type of cattle is that known as the "Furnes-Ainbacht" breed, distinguished by handsome and well-proportioned forms, short legs, moderately large, crooked horns, and usually of a red and white pie- bald color. They are renowned for both the quantity and quality of their dairy products throughout the Kingdom. THE ARDENNAISE BREED. Farther east and west, on the slopes and valleys of the foot-hills of the Ardennes, where the soil chiefly consists of decomposed schist- quartz and affords a less abundant yet nutritious herbage, there has been bred, almost from time immemorial, another variety known as the "Ardennaise" stock. This breed is characterized, when not crossed with any other, by its red color, small size, clean, smooth limbs, and long, sharp horns pro- jecting forwards and surmounting a head carried well up, as though always on the alert against surprise or danger. These animals are not usually good milkers, but produce rich and well -flavored meat, doubtless more or less resulting from the character of the herbage upon which they feed in this mountainous district. THE CHARLEROI BREED. In the nerve and Condroz districts, touching the German frontier on the northeast, there formerly existed a variety of cattle much resembling the Ardennaise, excepting that they were almost uniformly of a black aud white piebald color ; but within the last few years the introduction of the Shorthorns into these districts has greatly changed both their form and color, so that the pure Condroz race is now rapidly disappear- ing and the present stock of that region, known as the Charleroi breed, taking its place. FOREIGN AND CROSS BREEDS IN BELGIUM. These three varieties of cattle are all that can now, with any degreo of propriety, be denominated native breeds, and of them and their crosses with the Shorthorn Durham, the Dutch Piebald, and a variety from Cassel, almost the entire herds of the country are the progeny. Attracted by the rapid growth and splendid forms of the pure blood English Shorthorns, the farmers, in almost every district of this King- dom, have attempted to cultivate them to the exclusion of their native stock, but with variable and by no means uniformly satisfactory re- sults ; for they overlooked the facts that the valley of the Tees, the true home of the Durham, abounds in rich pasturage and other cattle food to a degree greatly exceeding most of the cattle-growing districts of this country, and that the rapid growth and quick maturity of this 362 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. stock demands a proportionate amount of special care and nutritious food. Many of the stock-growers of this country, after having spent largo sums of money themselves, and having received handsome subsidies from the Government in experimenting with these cattle, have been forced to abandon them and fall back upon crosses with their native stock, as more hardy in constitution and better adapted to the food prod- uce and climatic conditions of their districts. The crosses with this stock, however, are now found in every district in the Kingdom, and have to a large degree supplanted even the famous Dutch breed so long and highly esteemed here. I may add here that the importance given in this country to any one variety over the others above mentioned, chiefly depends upon the kind of pasturage and other food the department where they are found pro- duces, in connection with its peculiar agricultural interest. In the province of Antwerp the production of milk and butter aud the raising of vegetables for the London and Antwerp markets are found so much more profitable than the growing of beef cattle, that the farmers of that district will have nothing to do with any but such cattle as produce the largest amount of milk upon the smallest amount of food, and for this they prefer the pure Dutch cow or her crosses with the Flemish animal. In the province of Brabant great efforts have been made to introduce the pure blood Shorthorn Durham, and for awhile it was thought that this stock would drive out all others, but the increasing "demand for milk and butter in Brussels and its populous environs, with the profitable market they afford the farmer for his root and vegetable crops of various kinds have here, also, arrested the introduction of Durhams and to a large degree substituted for them the small, hardy Hollands and their crosses, which, under a more moderate quantity of truck food, yield a larger amount of rich milk and butter. In the province of Hainaut all efforts to introduce the pure Durham have failed to succeed. In a report of the agricultural commission of this province now before me the commission says: "It is impossible to believe that the prejudices for old habits and routine is the sole cause of this result; we are therefore forced to believe that this so perfect breed of cattle neither suits our exigencies nor our wants, and that wo must content ourselves with a cross with the native stock instead of the pure Durham." This, I have no doubt, is the opinion of all stock-raisers in this prov- ince, for, with the exception of a few fancy breeders, the farmers of the entire province cling to the pure native or its cross. In the province of Liege a number of pure blood Shorthorn bulls and cows of a variety celebrated for its milk and butter producing qualities have been recently imported from England, with satisfactory results thus far, and it is thought that this variety of exotics may yet be found better adapted to this district, both as a profitable animal for the shambles and as a good milker, than auy other breed ; but this I very much doubt from the conflicting testimony I receive. The farmers of Limbourg and Luxembourg are more devoted to the raising of beef cattle for the markets of the country than to milkers, and in these provinces the Durham crossed with the native stock gives entire satisfaction. The province of Namur, from its topographical features aud the char- acter of its soil, is chiefly adapted to pasturage and to the raising oi beef cattle for the market, but the pure Durham, though in repute BELGIUM. 363 amongst some of the farmers, requires a higher degree of nurture than the soil affords aud is giving way to a cross with the Ardennaise stock. CATTLE FEEDING- IN BELGIUM. Although, as before stated, Belgium is not to any considerable degree a cattle-raising country, the amount of care and labor the small farm- ers and dairymen bestow upon these animals is very great, and as a result they have succeeded, in many cases, in bringing their milch cows up to the highest degree of milk and butter producing qualities. Many of these cows are stall-fed all the year ; plenty of good water and the food best adapted to the production of rich milk is supplied them with great punctuality. They are combed and brushed and their skin kept perfectly clean ; their stables are also models ot? cleanliness, and nothing is left undone either in the way of kind treatment, abun- dant food and water, or good shelter, to bring these animals up to the highest degree of perfection. Their food from May to October con- sists chiefly of an abundant supply of clover; from October to January turnips and carrots boiled are added to the fodder, and from January to May beets, and malt when it can be had, are fed. Clover and malt are here regarded as the best milk-producing articles of food. YIELD OF MILK OF BELGIAN COWS. From the most reliable information I can obtain a good, average fresh Flemish cow will yield from 28 to 30 liters of milk daily ; a Flemish and Ardennaise cross, from 18 to 24, aud a pure Holland about the same quantity. All the crosses with the Shorthorns may be set down as giving a fraction less than these figures in quantity; as a rule their milk is richer in cream and consequently in butter, but after the sepa- ration of the cream the milk is left proportionately poor. MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS. The cows of all the native breeds and crosses in this country are considered at maturity when three years old, but bulls and steers, par- ticularly of Durham crosses, will grow until they are four years old. In the subjoined table, marked A, will be found, as nearly as I can as- certain it (in the absence of any statistics on the subject), the live weight of these animals at three years old, and the average price paid per kilo- gram, live weight, for them fattened for the market. The table marked B, giving their size, is a transcript of that published here on the occa- sion of the great national exhibition of 1880, and is the only reliable in- formaion I have been able to obtain on this subject. IMPORTS OF CATTLE INTO BELGIUM. As no census of the horned cattle in this Kingdom has been made since 1875, I am unable to give a reliable answer to the questions in your circular as to the present number, the percentage of breeds, and the proportion bred for the butcher and dairy; but official documents furnished me show that the importation of cattle into Belgium in 1881 amounted to 121,000 head, whilst the exports only amounted to 42,911 head, thus showing a deficit in the home supply for that year of 78,089 head. Of the total number imported Holland supplied 91,080, and the United States 355 head. 364 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMLNG PRICES OF BELGIAN CATTLE. There were sold in the markets and fairs of the country in 1881, 186,« 262 milch cows, at a mean price of 300 francs per head ; 74,065 heifers, at a mean price of 185 francs ; of steers, there were sold 71,014, aver- aging, per head, 366 francs; and of young bulls, 33,431, at a mean price of 165 francs. BELGIAN CATTLE FOR THE UNITED STATES. It will be necessarily inferred from the prices paid for the animals ot these various classes in the open markets of the country that they could not have been of a superior quality, and indeed this is the fact with regard to all horned cattle bred in this country. So far as my own per- sonal observation has served me, I am convinced that the farmers of the United States have nothing to learn from this country in the mat- ter of selective breeding and the production of valuable stock either for the shambles or the dairy, and I do not hesitate to say that moro fine bovine specimens of pure and crossed bloods may bo seen in a d.iy amongst the farmers of our Middle and Northwestern States than can be found within the entire limits of this country. As before stated the small farmers and dairymen have lavished a great amount of care upon their milch cows, and thus secure from them a largo daily yield of milk ; but I doubt not that on every well-man- aged farm or dairy in the United States there can be found cows that in this quality will equal the best of this country. Finally, as a result of my personal observation and all the informa- tion I have obtained from other sources, I am convinced that no impor- tation of milch cows from this country could greatly improve our present stock, and as to beef cattle, I have seen in the fields and stables of the farmers of the United States, both Durhams and Devous, not only far surpassing anything found in this country, but equal to the finest herds bred in England, their native home. If, however, notwithstanding these facts, any of our farmers feel inclined to test the improvement expatriation will produce on any of the stock of this country, I would recommend the Flemish cow as possessing qualities capable of a larger and moro immediate improvement than any other of the native breeds, and now that there is a fine line of steamers plying between New York and Antwerp the experiment need not necessarily be an expensive one. THE EXPORT OF AMERICAN BEEF AND BEEF CATTLE TO BELGIUM. Whilst, however, I do not believe our stock growers can derive much benefit from the importation of Belgian cattle, I am convinced that, with proper management, an enterprise for the exportation to this country direct, of both live cattle, beef, and mutton would pay a large profit. In the herewith inclosed table, marked C, I have given the sell- ing price of meat in the markets of the principal cities of this country, which will serve as a basis of calculations from which the profits of such an enterprise may be calculated, and I cannot but think that with the now regularly plying steamers between Antwerp, New York, and Philadelphia, a large and profitable trade of this character could be secured. JNO. WILSON, United States Consulate, Consul. Brussels, November 9, 18S3. BELGIUM. 365 A. — Average weight and price of three-year-old cattle in Belgium. .Name of breeds. Livo weight. Price per kilogram. Cow. Bull. Ox. Cow. Bull. Ox. Kilos. 550 to GOO 600 lit 700 Kilots. GOO to 800 500 550 GOO 700 GOO 800 Francs. 0.88 0.60 1.00 •1.00 Francs. 0.95 0.60 0.90 0. 90 to 0. 95 Francs. 1.05 to 1.15 400 BOO 450 550 500 GOO . 550 G50 550 650 G.'iO 750 0. 90 1. 00 DUtCD 1. 00 1. 10 1. 00 1. 10 Crosses with the Shorthorns have slightly increased tho weight of nil the native breeds above given^ but, as will be soon, tho Flemish ox coiuunmd.s tho highest price per kilogram iu tho market. B.— Measurement of cattle exhibited at Brussels in 1880, and which received premiums. [Iu ccntimoters.] Description. Height. Vortical depth of the breast Length of tho head Height of hock. Length of buttocks. Length of wholo body. Bulls over three years: 144. 2 145. 2 140.0 135.0 138.0 141.0 141.3 124. 7 141.5 138.0 13ft o 129. 7 134.4 130.3 185. 8 130.7 81.7 84.0 80.5 77.0 78.0 78.3 80.3 C'J.O 77.0 78.3 77.3 71.3 72.3 74.8 72.0 67.0 58.5 58. 3 58.0 54.3 55. 0 55. 6 57.0 50.7 56.0 52.1 5G.3 50.3 50. 6 49.0 50.3 49.0 55. 5 53.6 55. 0 75.2 45.0 54.3 54.0 53.0 54.5 53.1 53.0 52.3 54.0 49.3 51.0 51.3 62. 7 G2. 0 57.5 53.0 58.0 G2.0 60.7 45.0 59.2 59. 7 56.0 53.3 54.3 53.3 51.7 49.0 188 7 181 7 183 0 167 G Bulls from one to three .years : 179 0 178 0 Dutch 179 7 150 0 Cows : 180 5 172 7 Dutch 169 3 1G3 0 Hoifers from two to three years : 165 0 1G3 3 Dutch 164 7 101. 0 -Average price per kilogram of the whole carcass of animals hilled and dressed for the markets in the principal cities of Belgium. I In francs.] Antwerp Brussels. Bruges .. Ghent... Mons Liege ... Husselt . Arlon ... Uamur .. Ox. Bulls. Cows. Veal. 1.C2 1.39 1.49 2.00 1. G5 1.42 1.50 2. 05 1.80 1.40 1.70 2.00 1.66 1.38 1.50 2. 14 3.85 1.50 1.75 1.90 1.60 1.31 1.50 1.45 1.70 1. 50 1.60 1.80 1.60 1.30 1.G0 1.20 1.82 1.59 1.70 1.77 Mut. tou. 1.82 1.60 2.00 2.91 1. 75 1.55 1.90 1.80 L81 366 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. CATTLE AHD CATTLE BREEDING IN BD'CIUI, RETORT BY CONSUL TANNER, OF LIEU E. DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF SECURING CATTLE STATISTICS. I can appreciate the desire on tlie part of tlie Department to make an effort to elevate the standard of American cattle ; and it would afford me pleasure of no ordinary degree should it be in my power to aid in this important matter. The inquiries contained in the cattle circular are far-reaching and very comprehensive. In a small country like Bel- gium, where at least three distinct languages are spoken, where weights and measures are so different from our own, one encounters difficulties (in ascertaining facts such as are sought for by the circular) of such a nature and from so many different quarters as to almost discourage one in pursuit of them from all efforts. Most farmers in this part of Belgium speak Valoonish, those near Antwerp or in the western part of Belgium speak Flemish, while the better classes speak French. The laboring classes not only cling tenaciously to their ancient language, but they manifest absolutely no interest in imitating what is called the higher class in speaking French. The consequence of this is that, as they must come in contact with the laboring classes, and as all the servants are from the Valoon class, the mountain must go to Mohammed, the better classes must know enough Valoon to speak and understand it. This being the case, I hope the efforts of the Department in a field so difficult to get at facts will be appreciated by our stock-raisers. BELGIAN CATTLE BREEDS. So far as the different breeds of cattle in Belgium are concerned they are as numerous as there are localities of different names, and there has not been that general and universal effort to retain purity of breed in Belgium, such as has been the case in England. There has been effort, however, to this end in a few cases of families of rank, who have been very particular about the pedigrees of their cattle, and therefore in this way there are several breeds that have retained their untarnished pedigrees most faithfully. The breeds to which I allude present now, in outward appearance and in results for both the dairy and for beef, cattle that cannot be surpassed in the world. This is more particularly true of the breeds known here as the Hollandais or Dutch cow and the Flamande or Belgian cow. There is a strong likeness between these two breeds that suggests unmistakably to a judge of cattle a common origin. Of this there is not a question in my mind. I will not take spaco to explain why I am so thoroughly convinced of this. ASSUMED ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH SHORTHORNS. Professor Hengeveld, a Dutch authority of great repute on cattle, says that the Shorthorns of England had their origin from the cattle of North Holland in this way : u When William, Prince of Orange, was called to the British throne, he missed greatly the line flavor and rich, creamy milk of his native laud, and had a#siiipload of them imported from Holland to England, and from these sprang some of the now most famous breeds of cattle in England." If that is true, I am glad to call the attention of the Department to it, as it seems to answer one of tlte BELGIUM. 367 inquiries of the cattle circular, as to whether the breed of cattle are improved by migration $ as the Shorthorns which sprang from the Hol- landais seem to thrive better in England, and seem to be greater favor- ites than any other breed of cattle in the world. CATTLE CENSUS OF BELGIUM. Statement showing the different breeds and number of cattle of different breeds in Belgium. Ifamo of breed. Hollandais, Dutch, orllolonateins . Fluiinin'l or Belgian, three types: Boulonuais Bourbonuo 1'icardy Danois Flcchet Charleroi Contentino (Korman) L'Oldenboui g D arli am Ayreshire Jerseys . . . „ AU. others © o A © £5 $118 to $180 Total cattle in Belgium 195 118 118 110 60 60 60 55 65 65 60 252ft 148.J 148ft 135 100 Ft. 4i 4| 4& 41 4| 4k •ft 44 i\ •A Ins. 32 - 33.3 34 34 30 27.3 30.3 30.3 33.3 82. 2 80. 2 28.1 Ft. 6i 5|i Ojfc 0 i i Ft. 7* 7A 7^ 7f li 0i Ins. 25 24 24 24 Ins. 32i 26.9 80ft 30ft 28 25 23ft 821 22ft 25. 9 SU 25 22. 9 Mo Lbs. 2,204 1,999 1,678 1,670 1,050 1. 290 1,713 1,740 1,735 1,800 1,300 1, 200 S ci 109, 000 210, 000 80, 000 10, 000 80, 000 50, 000 122, 000 50, 000 15, 000 10,000 850, 000 1, 556, 000 THE FAVORITE BREEDS IN BELGIUM. As before stated, there has not been that general effort in Belgium to retain purity of particular breeds which has been the rule in Eng- land. There are many distinctive breeds here, but this is more in con- sequence of the customs of the people, who care little for change. More effort has been bestowed on the perfection of the material on hand than in trying to accomplish such results from foreign stock. Each breed has its advocates as to its superiority, and if an equal assemblage of the representatives of all the breeds should meet to determine which was the best, it would be difficult to arrive at a decision. I believe, on the whole, that the contest would be reduced to three breeds, viz, the Flemish, the Dutch, and the Flechet. Between these three the con- test would be very close, with many advantages in favor of the latter, the principal being the richness of the milk and the cheapness of the cattle. THE HOLLANDAIS. The Hollandais, or Dutch, cattle, on the whole, I think are generally more esteemed than any other, though the Flemish, which belong to the same family, hold almost equal rank. The two cuts below will rep- resent, though in an unsatisfactory manner, the Holland cow as she exists in this section. The color is black and white, but it often varies, as it does also in the Flemish, to a brindle-reddish or dun color, varied with spots of white. 368 CATTLE AND DA1KY FARMING. THE FLEMISH COW. The cat below will represent the Flemish cow with tolerable ac- curacy. This breed of cows ranks almost equally with the Dutch, even in North Holland, aud, in France, Germany, and Switzerland, are esteemed above any English breeds by all those who know cattle. That which this breed lacks in quantity of milk it makes up in quality, and that which it lacks in size for beef is compensated in the same way. These two breeds are as gentle and kind in disposition as it is possible for cat- tle to be. A child can walk up to them anywhere or at any time, and lead them or play around them, without any fear of harm. THE FLECHET BREED. The Flechet breed is a very remarkable breed of cattle. They are small, as will be seen by the table, and of a red and white color. The products of this breed are better known here than the breed itself. Le heurre de Herve (butter from Herve) brings in this market from 15 to 20 cents more per kilogram than that of any other butter, and milk and cheese from this breed of cattle are equally valuable. I am told that the King of the Belgians sends all the way from Brussels and draws his supply of butter and cheese from the dairymen of Herve. The home demand for the butter and cheese of Herve is greater than the supply at 15 to 20 and even 25 per cent, more per pound than any other cheese or butter, but for all this it finds its way through intermediaries into Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, and Aix la Chapelle for the best restaurants and hotels. This breed of cattle shows perhaps more than any illustration that I could point to that the theory advo- cated by me in this dispatch is a good and rational one, and causes me to advocate it with the more confidence. The farmers of Herve know absolutely nothing about the genealogy of this breed. They only know that the same cattle have grazed on the same pasture during the life of their fathers, or grandfathers, and that they yield good, rich milk, and that they must take good care of them. If you were to talk to them about pedigree you would not be understood ; they have none — only that they are good cattle. They are not even known by name, and I have therefore taken it upon myself to name them after Chevalier F. Flechet, the well-known authority on agriculture, who has done and written so much and so ably for the agricultural interest of his section. Through the urbanity of Mr. Flechet I am enabled to send the photographs of this breed. I would take this occasion to offer a word of warning to Americans who may read that which I have said of this breed of cattle, and who may be desirous of possessing them, and that is, to profit here by their English experience, and if they buy do so quietly, so that the price will not be run up on them here as it has been by the shrewd cockney. IMPORTS OF BUTTER INTO BELGIUM. The percentage of cattle bred for the dairy in Belgium would reach 20 per cent. The remainder would go to the butcher and for breeding and draft purposes. Artificial butter is extensively used and man- ufactured in Belgium and is imported from Holland as well as the gen- uine article. The total importation of butter into this little kingdom amounted to nearly 9,000,000 kilograms for 1881, being, however, more gc. i^w ' : MrSUm? %jfe HHrv i »^*« pp IP ■■•"•'v ' » compen- sate for outlay. If the cattle-breeders of the United States could have seen the herd of cows at this exposition, as I did, they would have been impressed, as I was, by the great size of the cows and. the desire to use them in the manner suggested. There were 372 cattle entered for exhibition, nearly every one being milch cows, for the exhibition related exclusively to the milk industry. The races represented were the Dutch or Holland cattle, the Belgian or Flemish cattle — both of pure blood — and some Durhams crossed with these. The first two are indigenous to their respective countries, very much alike, and doubtless sprang from the same stock. 1 am not suffi- ciently expert to give an opinion, but I believe them to be the same, or nearly the same, breed known in the United States as Holstein cattle. Although these cattle may have no standing in the English and Ameri- can herd-books as blooded cattle, I am constrained to believe it is rattier a fault to be charged against the books than against the cattle, for it can be demonstrated that they have an ancestry many centuries old, from which, and through which, they have had a pure and unbroken descent, breeding in and in, without admixture or deterioration, preserving and perpetuating the characteristics and distinguishing marks of their race with a great certainty, definiteness, and exciusiveness as the best blood known. Motley speaks of them as noted nearly three hundred years ago for their size and general good qualities. The agricultural society of the Netherlands has within a few years published a herd-book containing the pedigree of their cattle as far back as it can be traced. Their examination shows the existence of this, as a distinctive breed of cattle, in possession of this country as far back as the thirteenth century. The color of the Belgian cattle is most frequently black and white, while the Hollanders are the same, but sometimes with a sprinkling of corn or tan color, something like that of the Alderneys. Sometimes this gets to be almost red, like the Durhams. But in both the domi- nant colors are black and white placed in large spots over the body ; so also are the other colors, though smaller and sometimes running off into flecks. Their colors are somewhat known by the celebrated paintings of Paul Potter, of Amsterdam, made in the seventeenth century. A tolerably correct idea can be obtained of a Holland or Belgian cow from the accompanying photograph ; not taken for, nor presented as an entirely correct representation, but the nearest I could easily procure. The landscape illustration herewith gives a better idea of these cat- tle ; and when the traveler by rail or canal lookiug down, as he does, • 1 Wsii v i. V\ BELGIUM. o i o on the low level lauds of these countries, beholds a landscape, broad and deep, of rich green meadow, set in a frame of distant timber, each field bounded by one, sometimes two, rows of tall sentinel trees which look like a skirmish line, farm houses and barns with red-tile roofs, wind- mills throwing their giant arms about, apparently proud of their strength, while dotted over tho grass, lighting up the scene with their large black and white spots, as something to attract and rest the eye, are to be seen, some standing, some browsing, some lying down, all quietly chewing their cud, a thousand of these cattle, immense in their size, with their sleek smooth coats, he says, "This is a land of richness; here are the evidences of prosperity." SIZE AND WEIGIIT OF BELGIAN CATTLE. I give in tabular form the size of these cattle, and I ask any breeder or farmer to compare these sizes by measurement with his own cattle, and see if my conclusions are not correct. Description. s *5 00 I 1 * P. ,2 lM o A a 1 o o a . i* h E '6 I a o to 1 a ►3 00 00 o M 2« oj p, •3 9 2 a '© P o B 2 B > < I < Flemish or Belgian bulls Ft. In. 4 8J 4 7| 4 7i 4 62 Ins. 32.2 33. 8 31. 5 30.3 Ft. In. 6 2 5 10. 9 6 0.8 5 6.5 Ft. In. 7 8.5 7 1.8 7 4.5 0 10.2 Ins. 24.8 23.2 22.8 22 In 8. 23.2 34.8 23.6 23.2 Lbs. 2, 200 1,650 1,875 1,450 $120 to $140 200 240 Holland three-year-old bulls Holland three-year-old cows 100 120 1G0 200 It must not be understood that these figures represent the size, weight, or price of all Belgian or Holland cattle as they might stand in a herd ; neither do they represent the exceptionally large ones. They are ob- tained by taking the average of the prime first-class cattle as they have been exhibited at the various exhibitions in Belgium. The following table represents another class of cattle, those for beef or milk, not the finest, choicest cattle, such as are described in the foregoing table, but such first-class, prime cattle as can be bought in market every day, giving the average for each item. It gives the weights, both alive and dressed, the prices per pound for each, the percentage of clean beef after slaughtering, and the price of each animal : Description. Weight, alive. Weight, dressed. Percent- age after slaugh- tering. Price perpound, alive. Price perpound, dressed. Price per animal. Beef, three years and over : Pounds. 1,325 to 1,540 1,200 to 1,4.-0 1,200 to 1,450 1,100 to 1,250 Pounds. 750 to 1,000 600 to 825 C 56 to GO > 60 to 65 53 to 57 Cents. ' 8* to 9? 9"tol05 8 to 9 Cents. 14 to 15 15 $125 to $150 Cows 80 120 80 120 Heifors, two to three .\ears. 60 80 C 30 40 \ 50 60 374 CATTLE AND t)AUit FARMING, MILKING QUALITIES OF BELGIAN COWS. I might content myself with giving results, but many farmers and dairymen would desire the formula, may be for their satisfaction, may be for their use. The cows were divided, by numbers, into groups, and one or more members of the jury assigned to each group, so as to give his personal attendance and supervision whenever anything was to be done. The exhibition lasted four days. At six o'clock of the evening of the third day, at a given signal, each cow was milked clean and dry, pre- paratory to the test of the morrow. The hours for milking were first fixed for 6 o'clock a. m., 12 m., and G p. m., but some complaints were made that the cows would not be able to hold their milk for twelve hours, and the first milking was advanced to 4 o'clock a. in. Every owner provided his own milkers, with whom his cows were acquainted. The milk being taken from the cows was weighed, not measured, this being considered more accurate — each one separate, of course — and after being thoroughly stirred, samples were taken for tests of cream and for specific gravity, and the rest returned to the owner for his use. 'The samples for cream were then examined, each one being made the same quantity and height in the glass, and being immersed to the neck in a large pan of ice-cold water, were set aside for the cream to rise. All samples were subjected to exactly the same treatment under the same conditions. Many methods and machines, scientific and otherwise, for determining the quantity of cream were considered, but none were believed to be so fair and equal as this. Such was tb/ treatment after each milking, and at every step an accu- rate record was made by the member of the jury in charge. The specific gravity was taken at 15° centigrade, 58^° Fahrenheit. The samples for cream were allowed to remain until the next morning at 9 o'clock ; so the duration of their stay was twenty- six, eighteen, and twelve hours, respectively. The water in the pan then marked 12 0., 53 F. The samples being taken out, the height of the cream was accurately measured and weighed, and all recorded on blank forms prepared for the purpose. The result will be given further on. (See Table No. 3.) Butter is the principal product from within this province, and there- fore the interesting question was, which cow's milk would have the most cream and consequently be the richest in its butter- making qualities. The amount of milk and of cream given by each cow for one day being determined, that would determine the relative value of the cows in these regards on that day. But these cows may have been giving milk for different periods 5 one cow calved one month, and another six months previous ; then the conditions will have been so changed that the amount of milk or cream given on that day is no true test. And this change of condition is inevitable unless all the cows could be induced to calve on the same day. As this could not probably be done, and would n#t be desired if it could, some arrangement must be made by which thi's dif- ference can be equalized. This was done by the adoption of a table of experiments and tests, made and prepared during the past two years by Mr. Tisdall, of the Holland Park and Horton dairy farms in England, at the request of the Dairv Association of Great Britain, and used at its great exhibition in 1880." (Agricultural Gazette, February 21, 1881. Table No. 1.) P LAT E 164 A FLEM ISH MILKMAID PLATE 165 A BRAEANT MILKMAID PLATE 166 AN ANTWERP MILKMAID P LAT E 167 A DUTCH MILKMAID BELGIUM. 375 Table No. 1. — MiUc given by sixty English coius during twelve months. [In quarts.] i i Karnes of cows. § a £ A "a 0 B | 0 § 4 % a H A a 1 f a 2 A a 0 a 1 is; 4 a 0 a i .a* § a .a a B > 17.5 18.0 15.8 19.0 19. 0 16.0 16.0 19.0 25.5 20. 0 17.0 21.0 19.0 14.5 19.0 20.0 16.0 17. u 15.5 14. 6 15.5 16.6 15.0 14 5 16.5 16.5 14.0 17.5 19.0 18.0 20.0 17.5 22.0 19.0 19.5 19.0 14.0 22.0 16.5 16.0 18.5 16.0 16.0 19.9 16. 5 15.5 19.0 16.0 13.5 13.0 20.0 21. 5 17.0 21.0 16.0 12.5 16.0 15.5 13. 6 15. 5 10.0 17.5 15.5 17.0 15. 5 15.5 14.5 18.0 17. 5 25.0 16.5 22. 0 18.5 17.09 11.0 17.0 16.0 14.0 14.0 14.0 12.5 11. 5 12.5 13.0 15. 0 16.0 15.0 12.0 14.0 17.0 14.0 18.0 17.5 19.0 17.0 18.0 18.0 13.0 22.0 17.5 13.0 17.5 15.0 15.0 17.9 15.0 13.0 18.0 16.5 12.5 12.0 17.0 21.5 15.0 18.0 19.5 11.5 14.0 12.5 10.5 13.5 14.0 11.0 13.0 14.0 14.0 13.0 13.0 12.0 12.0 13.0 11.5 13.0 15.0 13.5 10.0 11.0 14.5 12.0 15.5 14.5 17.0 14. 0/ 16.0 18.0 12.0 18.0 15.0 11.0 10.5 12.5 12.0 15.5 15.0 10.5 12.0 15.5 12.0 12.0 14.5 15.5 14.0 14.0 18.0 10.5 11.5 12.0 9.5 13.5 11.5 9.5 11.5 11.0 12.5 11.5 12.5 10.0 11.0 12. 5 10.5 12.5 15.0 8.0 11.5 11.0 9.0 u.o 11.0 9.0 10. 0 12.0 9.5 10.0 11.0 7.5 9.5 8.5 9.0 11.0 12.0 7.0 11.5 12.0 9.0 10.0 10.5 10.5 8.0 8.5 12.0 9.0 11.0 9.5 12.0 10.0 14.0 11.5 9.5 11.0 10.5 7.5 4.5 12.5 10.5 12.5 10.0 8.5 12.5 12.5 7.5 8.5 9.5 8.0 12.0 7.5 11.0 7.0 9.5 9.0 5.5 7.0 7.0 10.0 5.5 10.5 10.0 9.5 6.5 10.0 11.0 14.0 5.5 15.5 11.0 9.72 7.0 8.5 4.5 7.5 9.0 10.0 6.0 10.5 9.5 S.5 9.0 9.0 9.0 6.0 8.0 11.5 9.5 9.0 8.0 9.0 5.0 8.0 10.0 7.5 12.5 8.5 8.5 6.0 8.5 5.5 8.5 5.0 6.0 ,5 7.0 8.83 11.54 12.87 12 12 8 ,1 3.0 7.0 8.0 6.0 8.0 8.5 1.0 8.5 7.5 7.0 2.0 7.0 8.0 7.5 5.5 3.0 9.5 0.5 4.0 6.0 7.0 12.0 8.5 7.5 2.0 5.0 3.5 i'o' 1.0 10 3 in --, 10 63 11 g ltcu Cheeks 7 10 38l 9 g 8.0 8.0 7.5 7.5 6.0 7.0 9 0 16 0 9 0 'l7 10 1 tastier lo!5o| 0 11 8.5 7.0 6.5 7.0 7.5 6.0 6.0 6.0 5.5 10.83|12 10 0616 12 13 1 1 Jones 12.0 11.0 9. 5 1 9. 5 9.0 10.5 13.0 13. n 8.64 17 9 77 9 15 in Looseley 4.0 10.0 6.5 3.5 3.0 9.0 0.5 2.0 i'.o 5.0 10. 18 11 12 1513 17 IS Sandwich Meadow Flower, 14 (first prize at Chip- penham). Hereford (Cox's) Blossom 10.5 13.5 14.0 16.0 14.0 13.0 15.5 11.5 16.5 14.0 9.5 14.5 12.5 10.5 13.5 12.5 13.0 12.0 11.5 13.0 11.0 16.0 12.5 10.0 12.5 13.5 10.1513 11.8611 12 94 9 20 "1 8.0 1.5 4.0 7.0 5.5 13. 83 12 11.8 110 oo Cherry Hereford (Cornish's) ... Tiphorn Hereford (old) Noble 12 8 10 23 14.61! 9 21 2.'. 26 7.0 8.0 5.5 4.0 .... 10. 36 11 15.0 11 13.33 9 27 OQ Fair Maid (second prize at Croydon, 1880). 6.5 4.0 .... 10.0411 14.71 7 "0 Darling 10.5 12.5 13.5 8.5 10.0 9.5 11.5 11.0 8.5 9.0 9.5 6.0 9.5 12.0412 30 11 Lily.... 10.5 10.0 14.6 14. 0 13.5 13.5 10.5 io. r 10.5015 14.4 |10 w 13. 0 7 Ti 7.0 10.5 14.5 7.5 5.5 10.0 7.0 9.5 7.0 10.5 5.5 9.5 8.0 4.5 6.0 5.0 7.0 11 56' 8 34 13.5 15.0 11.5 10.0 15.0 8.5 13.5 13.0 17.0 7.5 10.5 11.5 9.0 10.5 11.0 14.0 10.5 14.0 12.0 12.0 12.0 14.5 13.5 20.5 10.5 20.0 15.5 13.5 14.5 8.5 8.5 11.5 6.5 13.5 8.5 15.0 7.0 10.5 11.0 7.5 8.5 9.0 11.0 9.5 12.5 12.0 11.0 9.5 13.0 12.5 20.5 9.5 17.5 12.0 11.34 10.0 11.5 6.5 4.5 9.5 10.5 6.5 7.5 9.0 5."6' 13.0911 35 SO 87 Peasant .... Pearl, JO Henrietta, 17 Cornish Shortlcgs 13.20 10.25 10.0 14.68 12 1 12 10 9 Bfl 8 39 6.0 9.0 6.0 8.0 5.5 8.5 7.5 4.0 5.5 4.5 6.5 5.0 2.5 5.0 6.5 6.5 in 4'i 6.5 3." 5 4.5 2.5 8.0 10. 09 16 41 42 4:: 41 4f, 4*; Infanta Bailey Ariel, 3 Venus, 3 Sandy 12.0|10 13. 65 10 8. 3511 11.0411 10.0411 8.88 9 47 4- Brownie 4.0 2.5 .... 9.36 11.37 10.37 11.57 10. 0 11.0 11.2 10.81 12.55 13.31 17.0 11.06 14.14 10.92 11 8 4!) •in • v white Ruby 15.0 14.5 13.5 11.0 15.0 15.0 12.0 12 0 18. 5 |13. 0 12.0 13.0 15. 0 114. 0 17.5 15.5 25.0 23.5 14.0 12.0 22.0 ,22.0 15.0 15.0 5.5 5.5 3.5 4.0 12 7 61 . 2 9.5 5.5 8.0 3.0 7.5 11.0 12.0 3.5 12.5 9.0 5.5 1.0 7.0 2.5 ..... .... 10 9 54 6.5 10 Star 8 Dumpling Infant 6.5 U.O 12.0 3.0 7.5 11.0 7.*6" 12.5 8.' 6" 10 11 57 ier (first prize at Islington, 1879). 12 8 56 00 Sta* Fancy 10.0 8.0 8.5 6.5 7.0 8.5 7.5 5.5 14 14 Average for sixty cows. 18.07 15.03 13.75 12.55 7.94 6.01 4.67 3.05 1.85 1L5 10.81 If the cow, at the time of calving, gives milk to he represented hy 100, she will give — In tho second month 5.424 less* In the third month 16.823 less- In tho fourth month 23.907 less- In tho fifth month 30.548 less- In tho sixth month ' 37.285 lesa. •In the seventh month 46.209 less. In the eighth month 58.060 less 376 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Example. — A cow gives an average of 20 quarts per day in the second month after calving. How much did she give at the time of calving? Represent the amount or quantity she gave by 100, and we find by the table that she now gives an average of 5.424 per cent. less. 100 — 424 = 94.576 = the percentage she now gives, q\% % ¥ = 1.0573. In order to facilitate the work and to render it more accurate, giving the coefficients not only by months but by weeks, the following table was prepared by Monsieur Coilpo : Table No. 2. Description. First month. Second month. Third month. Fonrth month. Fifth month. Sixth month. Seventh month. 1. 0000 1.0137 1. 0270 1. 0428 1.0573 1.0902 1. 1251 1. 1624 1. 2023 1. 2284 1. 2558 1. 2843 1. 3142 1.3435 1. 3741 1. 4062 1. 4398 1. 4754 1.5128 1.5521 1. 5935 1. 0525 1. 71U0 1. 7847 1.8591 1. 9482 Fifteen to twenty-two days . . Twenty-two to thirty days . . . 2.0465 2. 1551 Example. — A cow having calved five months and twelve days ago, gives now 8.75 quarts per day. How much did she give at the time of calving ? She is in the sixth month of her lactation. Seek the intersection ot the perpendicular column of that month, and the horizontal line of " seven to fifteen days," and we find the coefficient 1.6525 ; that is, she gave at the time of calving If §£$■ more milk than she does at the end of five months and twelve days. Multiply the coefficient 1.6525 by the amount of milk she now gives, 8.75 quarts, another auswer will be what she gave at the time of calving in 8.72 x 1.6525 = 14.46 quarts, the answer. These tables do not pretend to mathematical correctness — that cannot be attained by any table or formula. They only pretend to give from the test of experience the probable rate of decrease or " taper" which may be expected in the milk-giving qualities of cows. When the calculation is sought to cover a long period of milking, like ten or twelve months, it becomes uncertain. The jury did not apply it for a greater period than seven months. I now give the result of the competitive examination, being the table presented by the jury. I have continued the weight in kilograms and the measure in liters. The law of the United States has legalized the metric system and al- lows it to be used (Rev. Stat., sec. 3570). A kilogram is equivalent to 2.2046 pounds avoirdupois, and 1 liter is equivalent to 1.0567 quarts. Roughly stated, a kilogram is 2 pounds, and a quart and a liter may be taken as synonymous. Any one interested can easily make the calcu- lation to his own satisfaction. Twenty-two of these cows in the table gave over 20 liters, twelve gave over 24 liters, three gave over 28, two over 30, while one gave 34.3 liters, or over 8 gallons of milk, as her daily yield. Twenty gave over 2 liters of cream, five gave over 3, while one gave 4.7 liters. BELGIUM. 977 o i ( Calculating by the table aforesaid, the jury decided the amount of cream given by the eight highest at the time of calviug to be as follows, and awarded the prizes accordingly : Number. Liters of cream at calving. No. of prize. Description and amount of prize. 23 0,113 5,554 4, 934 4, 142 4, 10G 4,148 4. 132 3,682 1 2 4 5 • 0 7 8 62 67 7.{ 68 52 30 22 Some of these cows had calved more than seven months previous, and the rule was not applied to them, but special prizes were given. Six cows from eight to nine months previous ; four cows from ten to eleven months previous : four cows from thirteen to fourteen months previous; three cows from seventeen to twenty-two months previous. One of them had calved more than twenty-two months previous, yet she gave as her daily yield 20.54G liters of milk, from which was taken 1.36 liters of cream. The jury awarded her a prize, as they say, "for her remark- able persistence." It must not be supposed these were the only cows tested, or that these were the only prizes awarded. Subdivision or groups were made according to residence of owner, age of heifer, &c, and this of which I have been speaking is only the report of the jury on milk or cream. There were several others. The milk of some cows contained three times as much cream as others. One gave 15.80 per cent, of cream, while another gave but 4.74 per cent. In the majority of cases the morning milk was superior to that of the midday or evening. The specific gravity varied between 1,020.3 and 1,038. Of the one hundred and sixty-eight samples of milk tested for specific gravity, twenty five fell below 1,029. 378 CATTLE ANU DAIRY FARMING. Table No. 3.-— Showing quantity and quality of milk of cows of thj Dutch and Flemish hreeds and their crosses. O 0 e u £> £ Proprietors. o 1 00 O 00 •+J r-l It ©■" 2 H . Hour of milking. to 1 3 .3 1 o § 1 0 r*« OO 3 M 1 0 | 1 ft .2 3 *L B 3 «a s a a c 0 __^ 0 S Pm3 .9.3 Sw §.9 'o'a ©j II a a> 0 ^ e.3 * 3 CD s£ 3 ss.s > 3£ ?te3 0 1 (1) J. Talboom, of Haesdonck. L. Van Peteghem, of Saf- felare. J. Piers do Ravescboot, of Olsene. J. Vercauteren, of Heus- den.1 J. P. Schollier, of Leerne St. Martin. do...„ A. Claus, of Meirelbeke. . . F. Tollens, of Lovendeg- hem. J. VanHaelst, of Water- vliet. L. "Van Ongeval, of Steen- huize-Winhuizen. C. Bouckaert, of Looten- hulle.8 (2) Mos. Dys. 10 4 5 1 13 5 2 9 23 9 2 1 26 4 29 3 1 '(?) 5 (3) • Morning . . Noon ..... Night Total . . (4) 8.800 5.925 5.100 (5) 1030. 0 29.5 28.9 (6) 8. 544 5.755 4.957 (?) 0.709 0.576 0.580 (8) > 9.68 > 8.85 \ 9.94 > 8.08 > 12.91 . 11.43 « 7.95 > 9.77 I 8.73 > 11.92 J > 14.75 (9) 19. 256 1.865 2.161 2. 652 3.219 Morning . . Noon , Night Total.. 4 5.545 3.C30 3.170 28.4 28.3 28.9 5.392 3. 530 3.081 0.609 0.399 0.348 1. 5935 12. 003 1.856 Morning.. Noon Night Total . . 5 10. 350 7.735 7.130 31.7 31.4 29.5 10. 032 7.500 6.926 0. 803 0.750 0.880 1.0902 24. 458 2.433 0. 800 0.660 0.554 Morning.. Noon Night Total . , 7 11.320 7.900 G.5G0 32.5 31.4 30.6 10. 964 7. 66u 6.365 1. 5935 24. 989 2. 020 Morning . . Noon Night Total . . 8 4.540 3.375 2. 815 30.1 80.3 29.5 4. 407 3. 276 2. 734 , 0. 573 0.436 0.336 10.417 1. 345 Morning . . Noon .:... Night Total .. 1/760 3.790 3.165 9 27.7 28.9 28.3 5. 605 3. 684 3.078 0. 729 0.368 0.317 12. 367 1.414 1.418 2.837 3.179 3.682 Morning . . Noon Night Total.. 10 6.620 5.095 4.105 31.9 31.1 31.4 6.415 4.941 3.980 0.513 0.361 0.346 1. 1624 15. 336 1.220 Morning . . Noon Night Total . . 11 6.832 7.100 5.350 31.6 30.0 30.0 6.623 6.893 5.194 0.510 0.710 0.608 1. 5521 18. 710 1.828 0.892 0.873 0.710 Morning . . Noon Night Total.. 1G 12. 020 9.640 7.560 33.0 30.3 30.1 11.636 9.356 7.339 1. 2843 28. 331 2.475 Morning . . Noon Night Total . . 17 8.360 5.820 4.445 •30.7 30.0 30.0 8.111 5. 650 4.315 0.865 0.716 0.575 18. 076 2.156 Morning . . Noon Night Total .. 22 7.620 5.290 3.670 32.2 31.1 31.4 7.382 5.134 3.558 1.058 0.804 0.510 1. 5521 16.074 2.372 1 Honorable mention. 2 Eighth prize. BELGIUM. 37£) Table No. 3.— Showing quantity and quality qf milk ^c—Contiuued. Proprietors. 24 25 26 27 29 30 81 (1) F. Van Hecfce, of Baey- gem.1 Ch.DeMul, ofSinay ... E. Vanhoorzcclc, of Saffe- lare. F. Martens, of La Tint© J. Do Sloovere, of Save- ncecken.2 Ch. Neyt, of Slcidinge. 34 do* B. Veyt, of AYaerschoot. . , C. Devos. of Zwynaorde . . Ang. Van Loo, of Dcstel- bergeu. J.Vergauwen, of Boveren- Wftos. •ITiret prize. O i. S3 "2 >* j ITonr of milking. 09 .9 6 O 4§ ft o ot M 1 i 1 1 a I 9 s . «s o u ft 43 o ^ la 1 IS b|sj or* c~ a ° ^ < tl.C = S 0 43 O of «£^ O 3 if* 111 (2) Mos. Dy8. 6 17 (3) Morning.. Noon Night Total.. Morning . . Noon Night Total . . (4) 11.020 7.730 6.175 m 30.1 29.5 29.2 (C) 10. 698 7.508 6.000 (7) 1.391 0.976 0.620 (8) ► 12.34 ► 10.64 ► 6.01 ► 8.18 - 14.24 ► 13.77 - 12.03 ► 4.74 • 9.92 • 6.62 . 11.60 Bnth prii (9) 6.113 2.0465 24. 206 2.987 8 27 10. 490 6.930 6.805 29.3 29.2 28.9 10.19l| 0.815 6. 733 0. 830 6.613 0.860 23. 537 2. 505"1 Morning . . Noon Night. Total . . 4 27 5.090 3. 570 2.925 31.5 30.3 31.1 4. 934' 0. 296 3.465: 0.219 2.836 0.161 11. 235 0.676 Morning ... Noon Night Total . 8 30 4.920 4.385 3.322 31.6 30.0 29.5 4.769 4.257 3.226 0.302 0.411 0.290 12. 252 1.003 3.435 Morning . . Noon Night .... Total . 1 S| 8.680 5.147 4.237 28.6 30.3 29.5 8.439 4.995 4.115 1.378 0.682 0.439 1. 3741 17. 549 2.499 Morning.. Noon Night Total 8 2 5.150 4.265 3. 880 26.6 27.0 27.3 5.016 4.152 3.777 0.702 0.526 0.555 12. 945 1.783 4.132 1.403 Morning.. Noon Night Total.. 4 27 loTioo 7.557 5.000 29.5 28.0 27.3 9.907 7.351 4.867 1.090 0.955 0.617 1. 5521 22. 125 2.662 Morning . . Noon Night Total Z 4 10. 820 8.142 6.402 33.610.468 30.61 7.902 30. 6| 6.211 0. 523 0.395 0.248 1. 2023 24.581 1.166 Morning . . Noon Night Total (?) 9.287 6.722 5.285 31.5 30.3 30.0 "g7oo3 6.524 5.128 0.720 0.7S3 0.547 20. 655 2.050 Morning . . Noon tit Total 22 Teio 6.4no 5.140 29.7 29.5 28.3 9.331 6.216 4.999 0. Ml 0.435 0.366 20. 546 1.360 so. Morning.. Noon Night Total 4 15 2. 535 1.700 1.365 29.5 28.3 29.5 2.462 1.653 1.325 0.270 0.198 0.163 5.440 0.631 •Ninth prize 5. "Sev 380 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. Table No. X—SJwicing quantity and quality of mine, $c— Con tinned. 1 o o h E 1 >5 Proprietors. o fr'. fcf hi . ® flOO <1) flj *-> £ •*> q^ a a ~> ° -,•** £.2^ O si ' "Ha ^■2 2 g£ « III ovv M ^ -HO, •a 37 (1) M. Dobbelaere-Hulin J. Van Dammo, of Saffe- lare. D. Vincent, of Leerne St. Martin. H. Ilaeltcrman, of Oultre.. P. Vanlangenhaeke, of Appelterre.1 F. Martens, of La Pinte . . S. Dossche, of Melle L. DeWilde.of Moortzeole2 J. Van Impe, of Semmer- zako. J. Vandevoorde, of Er- veldo. MM. De Beer, frdres, of Gand. (2) Ifos. .Zfys. 1 5 (?) 3 34 6 27 1 2 1 26 5 3 5 10 7 11 9 1 13 (3) Morning . . Noon Night Total (4) 3.120 2.170 1.730 Co) 31.7 32.7 31.6 (6) 3.024 2.101 1.677 (7) 0.171 0.111 0.112 (8) • 5.79 ) > 7.30 > 8.12 > 8.34 ) > 12.86 • 10.60 - 9.53 > 10.20 1 - 13.72 > 10.82 . 9.30 0) 6.802 0. 3941 Morning.. Noon Night Total ■ 39 3. 865 2.542 1.410 32.1 32.2 32.5 3.745 2.461 1.365 0. 273 0.172 0.118 7.571 0.563 2.413 3.172 3.333 Morning . . Noon Night Total.. 42 8.950 7.460 6.350 30.4 30.0 29.5 8.686 7.242 6.168 0.608 0.651 0.536 1. 3435 22. 096 1.795 Morning . . Noon Night Total. 43 7.880 5. 990 4.350 33.5 33.6 32.8 7.C24 5. 795 4.211 0.587 0.463 0.421 2.1551 17. 630 1.471 Morning . . Noon .1... Night Total.. Morning.. Noon Night Total 44 11. 550 8.650 5.000 32.2 29.7 32.2 11.189 8.401 4.902 1.342 1.318 0.490 1. 0573 24.492 3.150 45 3.560 2.850 2.360 34.4 33.6 33.4 3.441 2.757 2.283 0.344 0.275 0.280 8.481 0.809 3.170 4.148 2.050 Morning . . Noon Night Total. 51 9.380 G.800 5.320 31.5 31.4 30.6 9.093 6.593 5.102 0.700 0.705 0.583 1. 5935 20. 848 1.988 Morning.. Noon Night Total.. 52 11. 140 7.970 6.260 32.4 29.2 30.6 10. 790 7.743 6.074 0.863 0.875 0.772 1. 6525 24. 607 2.510 Morning . . Noon Night Total. 53 5. 960 4. 853 4. 632 33.8 33.3 32.8 5.765 4.C96 4.485 0.768 0.564 0.718 1.0000 14. 946 2.050 0.1l78 0.547 0.552 Morning . . Noon Night Total.. 57 5.477 5.280 4. 262 30.9 31.1 29.5 5.312 5.127 4.139 14. 578 1.577 Morning . . Noon Night .... Total.. 58 7.620 7.300 5.859 34.1 32.2 31.7 7.369 7.072 5.679 0.639 0.684 0.549 20. 120 1.872 1 Honorable mention. 'Sixth prize BELGIUM. 381 Table No. 3. — Showing quantity and quality of milk, Sic— Continued. rf. K 5 Q u a 1 2 a to Proprietors. <8 >> at . ^^ ooo fctCl" 'Pi? Cm +s" o ©a- a o o os a p *^ o> a.2^ < fi hi £+-> Z 8*3.5 1*8 •— »"H« ^a^ p B C3"3 o B-53 O 02 (1) T. Van Wontcrghem, of Meyghem.1 J. De Ruyte, of Belcele. . . B°" G. Delia Faille, of Hu- ysse.2 P. F. Bolangier.of Mehel- beke.$ E. Verdegen, of Backte- Maria-Leerno. Veuve Ilanitrlinck, of Wynkel. Ilospiccs of Moerbeko 4. . . Veuve Dollaert, of Saffe- lare.6 Venvo et enfants Vando- voorde, of Ertvcldo. G. Woltors, of Mont St . Amand. (2) M08. Ih/8. 27 23 4 2 3 3 10 4 3 15 3 20 6 27 10 2 10 (3) Morning.. Noon Night Total.. (4) 13. 900 12. 56M 8.907 (5) 31.4 33. G 32.8 (G) 13.525 12.152 8.624 (7) 1.713 1.944 1.121 (8) 1 h 13.93 > 12.25 ■ 12.94 > 10.28 > 12.42 > 7.20 > 11.72 f 15.80 * 10.60 I 8.37 (9) 5.554 1. 1624 34. 301 4.778 Morning . . Noon Night Total.. eo 10. 205 8.042 6.063 34.1 34.7 33.9 0.955 7.771 5.864 1.195 0. 933 0.762 23. 590 2.890 1.461 1.087 0.879 4.934 4.196 Morning . . Noon Night Total.. G7 11.319 8. 852 7.155 32. 5 31.7 31.7 10. 9G2 8.580 6.935 1.4398 26. 477 3.427 Morning.. Noon Night Total.. 88 11.810 10. 070 9.480 30.6 29.5 26.3 11.459 10.364 9.237 0.840" 0.907 1.386 1.3142 31. 060 3.193 Morning.. Noon Night Total.. 09 4.919 3.907 3.137 33.6 32.5 32.8 4 759 3.784 3.037 0.571 0.504 0.364 1.439 11.580 2.023 4.442 3.393 Morning.. Noon Night Total., 72 8.825 0.600 5.410 31.5 29.5 30.0 8.555 6.411 5.252 0.456 0.534 0.482 1.3741 20. 218 1.472 Morning . . Noon Night Total.. 73 11. 930 8.640 7.835 30.4 30.0 27.8 11. 578 8.383 7.624 0.964 0.922 1.347 1. 3741 27. 585 3.233 Morning . . Noon Night Total.. 74 4.435 3.035 2.815 31.9 31.4 31.4 4.297 2.941 2.728 0.675 0.450 0.450 2. 1551 9.966 1.575 Morning . . Noon Night Total.. 80 9.790 8.260 6.875 35.5 32.2 31.2 9.454 8.002 6.667 0.866 0.880 0.810 ••••■• 24. 123 2.556 2.334 Morning.. Noon Night..... Total.. 82 11.180 8.770 8.460 33.0 33.3 33.4 10. 822 8.487 8.186 0.830 0.721 0.751 1.0137 27. 495 2.302 Second prize. 2 Fourth prize 3 Fifth prize. * Third prize. 'Honorable mention. 382 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. TRANSPORTATION OF BELGIAN CATTLE TO THE UNITED STATES. The intent of this dispatch would fail if I said nothing about trans- portation. The law and regulations in force in the United States concerning tariff", inspection, and entry can be better determined there. Cattle cannot be carried across the Atlantic with either safety or profit in sailing vessels. Steamships do not always take them. They must be offered in lots large enough to pay the expense of fitting up stalls for their accommodation. It may be recognized as the rule that steamships which carry passengers, either saloon or emigrant, will not carry cattle. There, doubtless, are exceptions, but not many. The au- thorities at New York object. The White Cross line of steamers, Steinmann & Ludwig, Antwerp, agents, carry all the cattle from Belgium (and I believe from Holland) to the United States. They run to New York and to Montreal. These shipments have been (to New York) in summer of 1880, 169 cattle ; in summer of 1881, 230 cattle. Two shipments have been made this present season to Montreal. The prices are as follows : Per head. Bulls and cows on dock £5 Yearlings ~ 4 Calves 3 Under deck, additional * 1 The ship puts up the stalls and supplies the water; feed and men to care for the cattle are for shipper's accouut. French, Edge & Co., of New York, are agents for this line. Canada has been interesting herself in the manner suggested to Americans in this dispatch. She has imported, for breeding purposes alone, from Belgium during the past year 62 head of cattle, and from England 32 bulls, 336 cows, and 21 calves, while her exports for beef have been, during the year 1880, to England alone, 50,905 head. As to transportation : Mr. John C. Moosily, agent Red Star steamers, Antwerp ; Steinmann & Ludwig, agents White Cross steamers, Ant- werp; Wambersie & Son, ship-brokers, Rotterdam. EXPORTATION OF AMERICAN HORSES TO BELGIUM. Of course no recommendation of mine or indeed of any consul could be accepted upon our judgment solely or without examination and trial, but I venture to express my belief that a good business man — a judge of horses and cattle — could make a profitable business by the importa- tion of cattle to the United States, as I have suggested, and, for a return cargo, exporting horses for use in Belgium, Holland, and France. The prices are high here, and for light driving and riding horses I think remunerative prices could be obtained. This trade is already commenced, but is in its infancy. I hope my notice of it will attract the attention of those concerned. A cargo of 60 American horses (mares) were landed within the past month at Bruges, in this consular district, and sold there at auction, bringing fair and satisfactory prices. BELGIUM. 383 AUTHORITIES AND SOURCES OF INFORMATION. I have been a personal witness to many of the things I have de- scribed : but I have received material aid in my examinations from the following gentlemen, to whom I tender my acknowledgments : Profes-. Bor Leyder, of the Royal Agricultural Institute at Gaubloux, Belgium ; Louis Tydgadt, esq., secretary of the Agricultural Society of Flandre Orientale, Ghent; Mr. P. F. L. Waldeck, secretary Holland Society, Loosdianen, near The Hague; Professor Bonar, agricultural engineer; Selzaete, director of abattoir, Brussels; Mr. Edward Minne, inspector of abattoir, Ghent; report of jury on quantity and quality of milk, prepared by Professor Chevron, of the Royal Agricultural Institute at Gaubloux. THOMAS WILSON, Consul United States Consulate, Glientj October 27, 1881. 384 CATTLE AND DALEY FARMING. SPAIN. CATTLE IN ANDALUSIA BEPOBT BY CONSUL OPPENBEIM, OF CADIZ. In pursuance of instructions given in Department circular of July 18, 1883, 1 transmit herewith certain tables bearing upon the grazing inter- est in this district. Stock-breeding, properly so-called, meaning thereby the improvement of cattle on a large scale by selection and crossing, may be said not to exist here. Individual experiments of crossing for- eign cattle with the native breed have occasionally been made, but the results are said not to have been encouraging. Some years ago English Shorthorn cows were imported into the district of Jerez and crossed with the native bulls, but the experiment was unsuccessful, the breed deteriorating rapidly and tending to revert to the original native type. In thedistrict of Puerto do Sta. Maria, there are now some cross-breeds, produced by crossing Swiss and native cattle (native bull and Swiss cows); the milk product of the cross-breed cow is much superior to that of the native, both in richness and in quantity, but the animals lose their hardiness, do not stand the heat well, and require shelter and arti- ficial feeding almost the whole year round. These experiments, and probably many other similar ones unknown to me, have created an im- pression that the native stock of this district does not lend itself readily to improvement by crossing. The interest of this inquiry to our dairy- men and cattle-breeders must further be lessened by the patent fact that the Andalusian cattle, outside of a good appearance and endurance of heat, do not seem to have any prominent points of excellence. They are not good milkers, and produce beef which, at its best, is only medi- ocre. On the other hand they are very cheaply kept, requiring hardly any shelter or care of any kind. That American breeders should import Andalusian stock is only conceivable in the somewhat remote contin- gency of our people developing a taste for bull fighting. The fierceness and the mettle of the Andalusian bull are indisputable, and these traits are sufficiently developed even in some of the cows to make them some- what undesirable as inmates of a dairy. Whilst the above considera- tions undoubtedly detract from the practical value of this inquiry to our stock-breeders, yet many interesting facts and data bearing upon the meteorology, the topography, the flora, as well as on the economical situation of this district may be included within its frame-work. Such of these data as are contained in the accompanying tables have been gathered in every case from the best available sources, and as far as they go are undoubtedlv trustworthv. ERNEST L. OPPENHEIM, Consul, United States Consulate, Cadiz, October 25, 1884. SPAIN. Topography of the province of Cadiz. 385 Locality. San Fernando, (Bay of Cadiz) Puerto Real (Bay of Cadiz) Puerto de Sta. Maria (Bay of Cadiz) Areos Jerez Utrera Altitude of liipli- esL point in meters above sea level. 29.5 S) 5 8.5 141- 50- 43- Locality. Sierra do Gibraltar Medina Chiclana Olvera , Grazalema Altitude of higb- est point in motors above sea level. 410- 250- 360- 1,121- 1,750- Note.— The annual rainfall at tbe observatory of San Fernando is given at G56.03mm (about 2G inches) this being tbo mean of ten years' observations. * During tho last two years tbe temperature of tbo soil lias been taken daily, giving moan of temperature : At a depth of 0.63'° — 17.6° centigrade ; at a depth of 1.301*— 18.8° centigrado. Mean temperature, 17.2° C. Summer, 23.1° C. Winter, 12.0° C, being results of teu years' observations at tho San Fernando Observatory, and believed to bo approxi- mately correct for tho coast districts and tho lands whero altitude does not exceed 50 meters above sea-level. In tho central districts, and up to an altitudo of about 250 meters above sea-level, tho mean annual temperaturo is 15° contigrado ; on the highor uplands, from 250 to 1,000 meters above sea-level, it is 12° centigrado. Soil. — Alluvial: Thero is some alluvial pasture on tho Guadalote, tho Guadal- quivir, and other minor streams ; this represents, howovor, but a very small percent- age of tho total pasturage. Loam: Thero is but littlo of this kind of soil in the province; tho district of Olvera includes some largish tracts of "clayey loam" de- voted to pasturage. Clay and chalk : These soils are frequently met 'with in natural meadows, especially in tho higher pastures, probably representing from 35 to 40 per cent, of total grazing area in this province. Sandy, $o. : A largo portion of the nat- ural pastures of this province has sandy or gravelly soil ; 40 to 45 per cent, is a fair estimate of the percentage having 6uch soil. Pasturage of Western Andalusia— species most aoundant in natural pasture. Order LcGuaiiNiE. Trifolium pratensis: wild clover, red and white. Lotus corniculatns. Hedymrium coronarium : French honey-sucklo. Hcdy8arium honobrichus. Lathyrus silveslris: wild vetch. Medicago sativa : lucerne. Medicago lupulina. Order Graminejc. Avena fatua : wild oats. Poa trivialis : meadow grass, chiefly the rough-stalked variety, Lolium multijlorum: Italian rye-grass. Festucas : fescue grasses, many varieties. Bromus : brome-grass. Triticum repens : couch-grass. Phalaris canariensis : canary-grass. , Carlina acaulia : carline thistle. Cultivated Grasses. Artificial pasture is very uncommon in this district, though here and there experi- ments have been made in that line ; such pasture here seems to require very damp situations. In such spots clover (from American seed), with giant Italian rye-grass (from English seed), have given very good results. A natural meadow, situate on undulating ground, near the river Guadaleto, is es- timated by its owner (a lifo-long agronomist) to have the following composition: Wild clover, (Trifolium pratensia) about 10 per cent.; couch-grass (Triticum repens) about 60 per cent.; wild canarj'-grass (Phalaris canariensis) about 5 per cent.; Italian H. Ex. 51 25 386 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. rye-grass (Lolium temulentum) about 10 per cent; leaving about 15 per cent, for mis- cellaneous grasses and weeds, and this is believed to be a fair type of the natural pasture of the coast districts and less elevated lands. The upper pastures (from 250 meters above sea-level upwards) covering, probably, 60 per cent, of the total in the province, have a smaller proportion of LeguminjB than the low-lying tracts ; wild clover is absent, and lucerne (Medicago sativa) takes its place ; the French honey- suckle is very abundant, especially on chalky hill-sides and table-lands. Amongst the Gramineae, the fescue grasses, wild oats, brome and the meadow grasses (Poa) thrive most luxuriantly in the higher pastures, and those species undoubtedly furnish a large proportion of the upland herbage. Statement showing the area of pasture lands in the province of Cadis. [Total area of province 7.275 kilometers.] Locality (judicial districts).' Natural pasture, treeless Natural pasture, tim- bered. Totals. Altitude of highest • point in each district above sea- level. Hectares. 30, 174 8,947 62 9,139 24,245 13, 419 21, 447 3,334 7,758 257 6,315 13, 818 Hectares. 11, 405 1 6, 862 ""67 058' 5, 982 40, 990 35, 359 10,525 1,919 Hectares. 41, 579 15, 809 62 18, 197 30, 227 54, 409 56, 806 13, 859 9,677 257 6,873 48, 745 Meters. *410 141 t6 Jl 750 360 50 250 §1'12£5 29.5 Sanlucar 558 34, 927 tio San Roque 1400 138, 915 157, 585 296, 500 * Sierra de Gibraltar, t Altitude estimated, not measured. J Cerro del Pinar. § Pico del Algibe. Note.— The hectare = 2.47114 acres. Statistics of cattle of Western Andalusia. Size at maturity. Cow. BulL Ox. Height Ft. In. 4 4 6 7 1 8 10 1 6J Ft. In. 4 10 7 4 2 3 1 4 2 6 FLIn. 4 7ft Girth • 6 10 Length of head 2 2 Breadth of head -. l 24 ?, 3 Name of breed : Andalusian. Yield of milk : Milk is rarely collected j quantity of dairy yield of a fair cow is esti mated at 7 kilograms per day. Milk to pounds of butter : Unknown ; butter-making as a regular industry does not exist. Mill: to pounds of cheese : Unknown ; very little cheese is made. Live weight.— Cow : 255 kilograms ; bull: 380 kilograms ; ox: 335 kilograms. Age at maturity : Four and a half to five years. Weight op meat at maturity.— Ox : '225 kilograms ; bull : 260 kilograms ; cow : 170 kilograms. Color : Pure black and pure red cattle are the most abundant ; next common are spotted black and white, then spotted red and white. Description : The Andalusian cattle are fairly proportioned animals, neither high nor low on the leg j rather deep-chested and clear-limbed. The contour of the back SPAIN. 387 is level, what is called in English grazier parliance "square-cut." The horns as a rule spread at right angles from the head, ends being curved slightly upwards. The head is of normal shape, tapering, however, a good deal towards the muzzle. How long bred pure : From time immemorial very few foreign animals have ever been imported for cross-breeding purposes, and those few only very recently, so that the practical results of cross-breeding are not definitely established. Labor : Oxen work up to about nine years of age, thus giving about four years' plow- ing or hauling; the usefulness of a good steer at either work is considered equal to that of a mule, whilst cost of feeding the steer is only estimated at about half. Milk: But rarely collected. Cheese : Hardly any made. Methods of housing : Are of the most primitive character ; as dairying is not prac- ticed, there aro but very few cow stables. On most farms rough, open sheds are pro- vided, under which animals seek shelter during inclement weather. Feeding : It is the general custom to turn all animals but working oxen loose on the natural pasture ; working oxen are fed during the three or four winter months on lleros (tares) and chopped straw, the rest of the year on grass only. Breeding : Very little attention is paid to breeding, unless in the case of breeding bulls for tho "Plaza." The desirable points in these animals being fierceness and mettle, only cows exhibiting these traits are used as dams; tho process of selection is by having the animals lightly goaded by a man on horseback (el tentador) and those that turn upon the horse and exhibit most bravery aro reserved for breeding. Handling products : The production of cow's milk, butter, and cheese is very small; tho local consumption of tho two latter articles is supplied by other districts, and goat's milk is in general use. Henoe it may be said that the products of the grazing industry in this province are beef and labor. Statement showing the number of domestic animals in the province of Cadiz {year 1880). Locality. (Judicial districts.) Horses. Mules. Asses. Neat eattle. Sheep. Goats. Hogs. 1,379 3, 653 526 g)Q 1,0*5 5,552 1,753 912 496 58 420 1,021 85 867 110 153 366 307 442 654 144 45 78 118 505 1,679 304 251 646 1,205 1,133 1,265 1,146 50 207 387 8,033 6,557 20 2,068 7,017 17, 079 9,227 3,210 1,815 100 785 4,182 6,953 29, 404 8,677 6,280 5,397 2,625 Cadiz 4,817 6,529 11, 876 14, 534 5,527 768 11,704 4,719 4,881 14, 071 7,716 2,018 1,369 3,074 *741 3,061 3 909 400 58 1,695 5,391 298 9,184 150 1,340 Total 17, 150 3,369 8,778 60,053 87, 494 69, 553 22, 124 ♦The numbor of hogs in the district of Jerez is known to exceed considerably tho figure given hero CATTLE IN CATALONIA. Catalonia is not a stock-raising province, with the exception of mules in the northwestern portion, near the Pyrenees. The province of Cat- alonia is almost entirely an agricultural and not a stock-raising one. Only one-fourth of all cattle for the market is raised in the province, while three-fourths are imported as follows : Beef.— "During the winter from the Basque provinces and Galicia; during the summer from ArgeliaJ Africa. Milch cores.— Entirely from Switzerland at high prices. Sheep. From the De la Mancha, Spain, and Murcia. Pork. (The sale of which is prohibited during the six months of sum- mer) from Estremadura and France. 388. CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. All live stock for consumption is of very inferior class, as Catalonians feel no interest in stock breeding, but are entirely absorbed in the cul- tivation of the grape, almonds, nuts, and vegetables, besides general manufacturing, especially of cotton and woolen fabrics. Respectfully, FEED'K H. SCHEUCH, United States Consulate, Consul. Barcelona, December 12, 1883. CATTLE IN GALICIA. REPORT BY CONSUL CARRIOARTE, OF CORUNNA. I have the honor to forward the following statement respecting the cattle of this province : The name of the cattle bred is Galician ; annual average pounds of milk per head, 2,555; live weight per cow, 8 hundred-weight ; live weight per ox, 14 hundred- weight ; age at maturity, eight years ; weight of meat at maturity, 7 hundred-weight ; color, yellow ; origin of breed, Spain. Topography. — The altitude of the grazing country vary between 10 feet and 260 feet. The mean temperature as recorded at the capital, Corunna, is 56° Fahrenheit. The soil is of the most varied description and embraces every quality. The substratum is most generally porous ; limestone found in the east and centre of the province, and granite around the western coasts. Cultivation by rotation of crops is not practiced. Clover and rye- grass are but little sown. On the wheat stubble (in July) oat3 or barley and turnips are sown to serve as green crops*for winter. Methods of housing, — Common dark stables; manure usually cleared out twice or thrice a year. Feeding, — Almost all manger feeding as respects oxen, and pasture for cows; much wet meadow land. Breeding.— Selections of sires little attended to and consequent de- generation as shown in lightness of hind quarters of the beasts. Handling products. — Hand labor being cheap but little machinery is used, and the methods are primitive in the extreme. Stock. — The stock of cattle is in excess of home demands. The sur- X>lus is exported to England and may be calculated to reach 40,000 oxen annually; the medium price per head being $75. HOW TO EXPORT GALICIAN CATTLE TO THE UNITED STATES. The best method for transporting cattle to the United States is via Liverpool or Plymouth, England; and the freight paid to either of these ports is $S or $10 per head. The class of beasts for exportation to the United States should be young oxen from sixteen to eighteen months old, the price of which varies from $30 to $50 per beast. The inclosed photographs are taken from animals belonging to a cargo for England, the price and age of each being noted. J. DE CARRICARTE, Consul. United States Consulate, Corunna, March 31, 1884. raivEKsiir]