514: BOARD OF AGinccT/ruEi:. 



The government has granted subsidies for the importation of foreign 

 breeds to improve the stocli of the country. No country is so well situated 

 to pass judgment on the various breeds. Tlie dairymen of this country 

 have been acting the part of a great jury. Their suffrages are shown in 

 the reports of the Consuls accredited to its provinces. Says Consul Stew- 

 art, of Antwei-p: "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 is paid to other products. The cow is valued only for her 

 milk-giving qualities, and for this purpose the Dutch are much the best." 

 Says Consul Wilson, of Brussels: "In the Province of Antwerp the 

 production of milk and butter and the raising of vegetables for the Lon- 

 don 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 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." 



IS THIS BREED A GENERAL, PURPOSE BREED? 



If a general purpose breed is one that is equally valuable for each 

 and every leading purpose, for which cattle are used, it is not such a 

 breed. This breed excels in milk production. It is superior for veal pro- 

 duction, and valuable for beef production. If this combinatiou of qualities 

 defines a general purpose breed, it is such a breed. For generations the 

 natural conditions under which these cattle have been developed have 

 been most favorable for this combination of qualities. Looking upon one 

 of its model cows, the broad loin and rump seems just the place for the 

 growth of the finest quality of beef, and the fit support of the capacious 

 udder; the straight quarters and well-rounded body can not detract from 

 milk production. Her calves are large at birth, and they grow and fatten 

 with great rapidity. 



In Holland and Belgium this combination of qualities and uses is uni- 

 versal. The cows, no matter how good, are seldom kept until they be- 

 come old and worn-out shells, valueless for beef, and not fit to propagate 

 their kind, but are sold for beef while they are vigorous enough to put on 

 flesh, profitable alike to producer and consumer. This is the element 

 that produces endurance under great strain of any sort — in the i*ace 

 horse, under the strain of tei'rific speed; in the milk coav, under the strain 

 of enormous production. The presence or absence of this element is espe- 

 cially manifested in the growth and development of the young of the 

 different breeds. Observe the calves of two different breeds: Of one they 

 live and grow without special care or attention; of the other they perish 

 easily if they do not have the best of care. The difference is simply in 

 constitutional vigor or vital force, born in the calves of the one, and not 

 born in the calves of the other. This difference continues throughout the 



