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," "Femeline," and "Bres- 

 saue.' ? 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 Gomtoise, although, for reasons shown above, the 

 Tourache is fast disappearing; the Bressane is formed of variable 

 elements ; the Femeline alone presents a satisfactory type of a race. 



THE FEMELINE BREED. 



The race Femeline 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 Femeline 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 3 000 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 Femeline 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 marked 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 



