BREEDS OF DAIRY CATTLE 125 



cows, as well as for market milk where quality secures a relatively 

 high price, and they are noted for rich production combined with es- 

 pecial economy in feeding. They posesss great power of assimilating 

 food and converting it into milk, yet are delicate feeders rather than 

 gross, and will not generally bear much forcing. The grades, off- 

 spring of a Guernsey bull and well-selected cows of no particular 

 breeding, usually make very satisfactory dairy stock. Guernsey 

 cows average 1,000 pounds in weight, or a little more, and thus, being 

 heavier than Jerseys, they are expected to give more milk. In 

 Guernsey, the average cow is expected to produce 5,000 pounds of 

 milk and 300 pounds of butter in a year without high feeding. In 

 this country these cows are fed higher and produce accordingly. 

 Large herds have made records above the island standard just stated. 

 The fat globules in the milk are relatively large and the cream sepa- 

 rates easily. 



On the island of Guernsey the beef of the native cattle is highly 

 prized, and young animals are said to fatten easily at a profit. In 

 the United States the friends of the Guernsey have laid no claim to 

 its being a beef producer, and yet when an animal of this breed, if 

 not too old, ceases for any reason to be profitable for the dairv, it is 

 converted into beef without loss to the feeder. The American Guern- 

 sey Cattle Club was organized in 1878. 



HOLSTEIN-FRIESIANS. 



Origin and Development. The strongly marked black-and- 

 white cattle of North Holland and Friesland constitute one of the 

 very oldest and most notable of the dairy breeds. Historians claim 

 that it can be traced back for two thousand years, continuously occu- 

 pying the territory named and always famous for dairy purposes. 



These cattle have been known by several different names, in 

 both Europe and America, Holland cattle. North Hollanders, Dutch 

 cattle, Holsteins, Dutch-Friesians, Netherland cattle, and Holstein- 

 Friesians are all the same. There was sharp contention in this coun- 

 try before the last name was agreed upon and generally accepted. 



The large frame, strong bone, abundance of flesh, silken coat, 

 extreme docility, and enormous milk yield of the Holstein-Friesians 

 result from the rich and luxuriant herbage of the very fertile and 

 moist reclaimed lands upon which the breed has been perfected, the 

 uncommonly good care received from their owners and the close 

 association of people and cattle. "The preservation of the Friesian 

 people and their continued adhesion to cattle breeding for more than 

 two thousand years is one of the marvels of history." 



The early Dutch settlers in America undoubtedly brought their 

 favorite cattle with them during the seventeenth century, and there 

 are definite records of three or four importations prior to 1850; but 

 the credit of first introducing this breed to America and maintaining 

 its purity here is due to Winthrop W. Chenery, of Massachusetts. He 

 made three importations between 1857 and 1862. The Messrs. Gerrit 

 S. and Dudley Miller, of New York, followed in 1867, and soon there- 

 after numerous others brought animals of this breed in considerable 

 numbers to the United States. They have increased rapidly by im- 



