grass from the range. The advent of cheap feed brought on trucks from the 

 Central Valley led practically all of the dairymen to abandon their fields. 89 



The Shatters stocked their ranches with Durham and Devon cows, but 

 experience proved that cross-breeding increased a cow's value as a milker. 

 Popular early thoroughbreds included the American shorthorn (introduced in 

 1858), Ayrshire, Devon, Alderney, and Jersey (a favorite family cow giving milk 

 high in butterfat, introduced in 1874); by the 1880s Holstein-Friesian cows, with 

 origins in Europe, were imported in increasing numbers and became, and 

 remain, most popular. Holsteins were reasonably rich milkers, more gentle, 

 and hardy; they were also more expensive. In 1870 a "good" milk cow could be 

 bought for $40 a head. Today, Holsteins are bred to produce large quantities of 

 milk with a lower butterfat content, reflecting the diets of modern Americans. 90 



By 1870 about 500 heifer cows were raised every year on Point Reyes, 

 with most sent to other stock-raisers or to market in San Francisco. Up to 300 

 cows and beef-steers were sold during the late 1860s, as well as more than 100 

 horses. Hogs, a staple of the dairyman's enterprise, were fattened in the ranch 

 pigpens on grains and skim milk left from the separating process, then shipped 

 live or dressed to market on the schooner or train. Livestock from the Point 

 Reyes area was typically high quality, boosting the prominence of California as 

 a stock raising region. The Secretary of State reported in 1887, "few countries 

 produce cattle that are superior in any respect to those now being raised in 

 California, notwithstanding her youthful existence." Popular beef cattle 

 included Hereford, Poll-Angus, and Galloway. The native Spanish cattle, raised 

 primarily for hides and tallow, were never considered very good for beef. 91 



The milking season lasted from December through August. The best 

 milk was obtained in the spring and early summer, after which the cows 

 gradually dried up. In the 1860s a buttermaker averaged 175 pounds of butter 



Q9 



per cow per season. 



89 Sneath, "Dairying in California," p. 391; DeGroot, "Dairies and Dairying," p. 357; Arthur R. 

 Briggs, "Dairy Industry of California," California: Its Products. Resources. Industries, and Attractions. T. 

 G. Daniels, Ed. (Sacramento: Superintendent of State Printing, 1904), p. 134. 



90 Peter J. Shields, "Cattle Raising in California," in Daniels, Ed., California: Its Products, pp 

 128, 130; DeGroot, "Dairies and Dairying," p. 360; Sue Abbott, North Bay Dairvlands. (Berkeley: 

 Penstemon Press, 1989), p. 34. 



9 'DeGroot, "Dairies and Dairying," p. 358; Sneath, "Dairying in California," pp. 387-388. 

 92 DeGroot, "Dairies and Dairying," p. 359. 



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