BRITISH AND FRENCH AGRICULTURE. 173 



It is estimated that the number of cattle of this breed is 

 1,600,000. It was the first French breed for which a 

 Herd Book was established. This was started in 1884. 

 The Normande is essentially a dairy breed, and it is 

 reckoned that a good cow fed on the rich land of its own 

 province will give from 616 to 660 gallons of milk during a 

 lactation period of eight months. The breed which ranks 

 next in importance is the Charolais, which is estimated to 

 number 1,026,000 head, and is found chiefly in the depart- 

 ments of Allier, Sadne-et-Loire, Nievre, Loire, Cher, and 

 Yonne. It is the draught breed -par excellence, and is a 

 poor milker, but hardy, and for furnishing working oxen 

 it has probably no equal, its size and strength admirably 

 adapting it for this purpose. Although not in any sense 

 what could be termed " a good doer " it appears that its 

 aptitude to fatten is in comparison superior to that of 

 other draught breeds. The breed next in importance, 

 which is estimated as being represented by nearly 

 1,000,000 head, is the Parthenaise, which is found in the 

 west of France, mainly in the departments of Vendee, 

 Loire Inferieure, Deux Sevres, Vienne, and Charente 

 Inferieure. Its area of influence is, however, decreasing, 

 the reason apparently being that, although it is excellent 

 as a draught breed, the oxen are slow to develop and hard 

 to fatten when they have done working. The Flamande 

 breed, which is found mainly in Picardy, is estimated at 

 670,000 head, the departments of Nord, Pas de Calais, 

 Somme, Aisne, and Oise being practically monopolised by 

 it and its crosses. Near Montreuil we passed through a 

 small village, where a farmer was just rounding into his 

 yard his herd of about a score of handsome dark-red 

 Flemish cows. We pulled up to let them pass and had 

 some talk with the farmer. He was evidently proud of 

 his herd, and was pleased to hear them praised. He was 

 emphatic in his opinion that there was no better dairying 

 breed, and that the Flemish cows gave more and better 

 milk than the Normandy^cows. The breed has been 



