328 ELEMENTS OF AGRICULTURE 



They are good grazing, hardy cattle, a little slower to 

 mature than are the Angus. 



There are a considerable number of Red-Polled cattle 

 in the United States, and some Devons and a few Brown 

 Swiss, but none of these breeds has gained the prominent 

 place that is occupied by the preceding ones. The Ameri- 

 can demand seems to be for either dairy or beef breeds, 

 and not for dual-purpose animals. 



Holstein-Friesian cattle are spotted black and white 

 in color, which distinguishes them from most other breeds. 

 They are probably the most widely distributed dairy 

 breed, and are the leading dairy breed in northern Europe 

 and in America. They are larger than the other dairy 

 breeds, and can consume more rough feed. They are the 

 most popular breed for supplying milk for our large cities, 

 because they give more milk than any other breed of cattle. 

 The milk is light in color, and contains a lower percentage 

 of fat than that of some other breeds. But some individu- 

 als in the breed give rich milk. The milk is high in per 

 cent of solids not fat. The large size of the Holsteins 

 makes them of more value for beef than are the other 

 dairy breeds. They cannot compete with the regular beef 

 breeds, but their veal calves make a valuable by-product. 



The New York Agricultural Experiment Station tested 

 the milk from a large number of animals with the follow- 

 ing result: 



Per cent of fat 



Holstein-Friesian 3.4 



Ayrshire 3.6 



Shorthorn 4.4 



Devon 4.6 



Guernsey 5.3 



Jersey 5.6 



