CHAPTER XV 



DAIRY CATTLE 

 By Prof. John McXutt, B.S.* 



The dairy cow occupies a very important place in American 

 agriculture to-day. Her ability to convert coarse feed into 

 palatable, nutritious human food, more efficiently, than any other 

 animal places her in the first rank among the domestic animals. 

 Fortunately, the dairy industry received an early start in this 

 country and it has grown steadily until at the present time it is 

 one of the most important lines of our agricultural industry. 

 Originally the industry was largely centered in the eastern 

 states; but with the development of the farming lands of the 

 middle west, south and far west the industry has spread all over 

 our country. Fine dairy herds are being kept at present where 

 it would have been thought impossible to interest people in 

 dairying fifty years ago. The opportunities for development of 

 the industry, in the south and west, are almost unlimited; and 

 no doubt the greatest growth will occur in those sections in the 

 future.' In the more thickly populated sections the product is 

 handled and consumed as fresh milk; whereas, in the remote 

 sections butter and cheese are made. These can be shipped great 

 distances to market. The possibilities of marketing dairy 

 products makes the industry adaptable to a variety of 

 conditions. 



Breeds of dairy cattle. — The four leading breeds of dairy 

 cattle, found in the United States, are the Jersey, Guernsey, 

 Ayrshire, and Holstein. In addition there are a few Dutch 

 Belted, French Canadian, and Kerry Cattle. It is also neces- 

 sary to mention some of the Dual-purpose breeds because of 

 their value and importance in milk production. The most im- 

 portant are the Milking Short-horn, Brown Swiss, Red Polled, 

 and Devon. 



The Jersey breed. — The Jersey breed had its origin on the 

 Island of Jersey. This island is one of the group known as the 

 Channel Islands in the British Channel off the coast of France. 

 Other islands in the group are Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark. 

 Jersey is the largest of the group and it contains about 40,000 



* Professor of Animal Husbandry, Massachusetts Agricultural College. 



