110 



BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



predominating. A few are red and gray spotted, some almost 

 all black, and a few almost all white. 



This cut gives an accurate idea of the form of a Dutch cow. 



^Pi::^^Mmt^- 



Dutch Dairy Cow. 



The most striking characteristic of this race is its milking 

 qualities, though the milk is thinner and more watery, on an 

 average, than that of the better highland or mountain races. 

 The cows bring very heavy calves, and the young stock on suffi- 

 cient nourishment, rapidly attains great weights. But it requires 

 rich feed to do it, and without it, it does not justify its other- 

 wise distinguishing qualities. I saw some specimens of this 

 race that had been bred for thirty or forty years away from its 

 native home on the lowlands. Their forms had grown rounder, 

 and the hip less sloping. 



The Dutch formed a prominent and marked feature in the 

 show, the number of animals about a hundred and thirty, 

 many of them from the finest herds in Holland. 



But there were hundreds of black and white cattle that filled 

 the neighboring sheds, that did not come from Holland! They 

 swarm on the marshes to the east of the Dutch border, extend- 

 ing along the coast as far as the Weser, especially in a division 

 of the kingdom of Hanover called East Friesland, and in Olden- 

 burg, lying a little to the westward of Bremen. The general 

 appearance is strikingly similar to the Dutch, but on careful 

 examination, it will be seen that the neck is generally stronger, 

 the rump less sloping, the bony structure proportionably some- 

 what heavier. The prevailing color is black and white, and the 



