292 CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 



will be so fully reported by tho 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 atrip of light gray or nearly white along 

 the belly. The udder should be white, with largo 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 tho 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 

 which 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 9 T 8 F quarts each per day during the milking season, 

 and thise 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 840 



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. 



