SECRETARY'S REPORT. 125 



of milk, of a very good quality, full of butter. This is the poor 

 man's cow, the pet of small farms and hard pastures, hardy, 

 docile, living and yielding a good product longer than most 

 other breeds, satisfied with little, and with that little coarse, 

 willing to shirk for itself around the house or along the high- 

 way. I saw fine specimens in the stalls of the agricultural 

 college at Grignon, near Versailles, but they were stall-fed the 

 year round, like all the other stock, and looked as plump and 

 round as any of tiiem. The color is generally black and white. 

 The head is small, the hide soft, flexible and yellow, the hair 

 short and fine, the horns small, slender and smooth, the tail 

 fine. They get into such a habit of yielding milk that they 

 continue often till twelve or fifteen years to milk well. It is 

 said they lose only about a quarter of their greatest flow at the 

 age of sixteen to eighteen, and retain more than half till 

 eighteen or twenty. In countries where the soil is poor or 

 exhausted, they do well and prosper, and are good to prepare 

 the way for a larger kind of cattle, which on good soils it would 

 be more profitable to keep. But they would not be worth 

 much for heavy work. 



There were a few of the large brindled Normans, strongly 

 contrasting in size with the little black and white Bretons by 

 their side. These come from one of the most fertile departments 

 of France. Normandy has rich pastures, and rich pastures, 

 especially if over a limestone formation, rapidly build up the 

 form and structure of the stock that feeds on them. There are 

 two divisions of these Norman cattle, one called the Cotentin, 

 and the other those of the Auge. The former are the largest, 

 and make excellent beef, well marbled, but they do not arrive 

 at maturity till five or six years of age. They have all the 

 magnificence which belongs to size, yet they are not so remark- 

 able for milkers in proportion to size as some other breeds. 

 They are almost invariably brindled, having alternate long black 

 and red lines extending up and down over the body. These 

 cattle furnish a large proportion of the best beef of Paris. 



The latter, the cattle of Auge, are not quite so large but are 

 equally beautiful. They are dairy stock, not good for much for 

 work, but easily fattening, and that too, young. At three and 

 a half or four years they may be sent to the butcher. The 

 cows have made the fortune of Normandy by the quantity and 



