CONTAGIOUS DISEASES OF DOMESTICATED ANIMALS. 187 



exhibition. la fact no stock from France, so far as I could learn, ex- 

 cept French merino sheep. 



The feature of the cattle show was the dairy stock, and in this i never 

 saw anything that could approach it. Hundreds of the Friesian or Hol- 

 stein cows were there, with their grand udders, and every indication of 

 milk-producting' capacity of the highest order. I could not help remark- 

 ing to some American friends who were with me that I feared our im- 

 l)orters had not yet taken across the waters any of the best of the race, 

 for I certaiidy never saw such dairy cows in any show-yard in America 

 as I saw at Hamburg. I am now more than ever convinced that, all 

 things considered, the Dutch cow is the general dairy cow, par excellence, 

 of the world. 



I was also very much interested in the Oldenburg cattle, a race that 

 in color closely resembles the Holstein or Friesian breed; rather darker 

 in color, not quite so good, I should say, for the dairy, but very much 

 better for beef. In fact, the very best beef cattle on exhibition, in ray 

 opinion, were these same Oldenburgers. They are smooth, rather fine 

 in bone, handle fairly well, and bear every indication of good feeding- 

 quality. If it were possible to combine the beef-making quality of the 

 Oldenburg cattle with the great milking capacity of the Dutch cows 

 it would come very near making the model cow for the average farmer. 



xVnother class of cattle that interested me much was the Augeler, a 

 race that seems to be peculiar to Schleswig-Holstein ; little fellows 

 rather smaller than the average Jersey; very dark red, bordering on 

 brown in color, very fine in the bone, and evidently deep and very rich 

 milkers. Mr. H. Chandos-Pole-Gell, one of the delegates from the 

 Koyal Agricultural Society of England, remarked to me that to him this 

 class was the most interesting one in the show; but while I freely con- 

 cede to them great milking and butter caijacity in proportion to size, I 

 could not help thinking of "Uncle Billy Smith's" 6o?i mo*, anent the 

 Jerseys, at the Illinois State Fair two years ago: "They will do for a 

 man who is too poor to keep a cow and who is ashamed to keep a goat." 

 They are too little to be of much practical use, but they are evidently a 

 very pure race, pnd good machines for making milk and cream, in pro- 

 portion to their size. 



There were some short-horns on exhibition, but they were, with the 

 possible exception of one or two cows, miserable specimens of the breed. 

 There were also a few Ayrshires, and one or two Polled-Angus, of very 

 ordinary merit. The Swiss cattle were out inconsiderable force, and, 

 from their uniform gray color and the immense bells that accompanied 

 them, attracted a good deal of attention. They were of fair size, pretty 

 good on the back, man^' of them, but coarse and bad handlers, evi- 

 dently lacking in what cattle breeders usually denominate "quality." 



As a matter of curiosity I was interested in the little cows from 

 Norway. They are little things, much smaller than the Augeler cows 

 above alluded to, with remarkably tliin, flat bodies, on very short legs, 



