Chapter XXII. 



HOLSTEIN-FRIESIANS. 



To trace the early history and establish the origin of this now firmly 

 settled and improved breed, it is necessary to go back over the much 

 disputed ground, until recently bitterly contested by the Holstein and 

 the Dutch-Friesian Associations. The Friesians, or North Hollanders, 

 from the earliest history have dwelt along the shores of the North Sea, 

 and have possessed abundance of cattle ; their history dates as far back 

 as 300 B. C., and their cattle at that time are supposed to have been 

 pure white. Tradition intimates that the progenitors of the breed came 

 from India, but we have no authentic records to that effect. Two hun- 

 dred years later the Batavians appear in history. They settled near the 

 Friesians, and it is supposed that the cattle which they brought with 

 them were black. From the crossing of these two breeds, then, might 

 easily have arisen the black and white color of the present breed. 

 However vague this theory of their origin may be, it is certain that these 

 two tribes or provincial nations were afterwards known in common, and 

 together celebrated for the excellence and great number of their cattle 

 so much so, indeed, that when present Holland came under Roman 

 authority, the Friesians were required to pay an annual tax in hides, 

 horns and cattle ; the Batavians chose rather to furnish soldiers, and 

 from this time on they seem to have relegated to the Friesians all the 

 responsibility, labor and emolument arising from the cattle industry. 



As to whether the cattle of Friesland or North Holland were origi- 

 nally obtained from the province of Holstein lying in the northern part 

 of Germany, along the border or the exact reverse ; or, indeed, as to 

 the truth of either assertion, it is not now necessary to consider ; time 

 has only made certain what all candid breeders of either Holsteins or 

 Dutch-Friesians never denied that the cattle of Holstein and those of 

 Friesland or North Holland are, and for many years have been, practi- 

 cally identical. The Holstein Breeders' Association was organized and 

 the name adopted in good faith. What more suitable name for a breed 

 than that of the country in which it has reached perfection ? But 

 gradually the cattle of Holstein were culled of the best specimens, and 

 importers began to secure choice animals from North Holland, calling 

 them and having them recorded as Holsteins. Possibly this fact may 

 have hastened the organization of the Dutch-Friesian Association. Be 



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