1819. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



207 



HOLDERNESS COW. 





Impvowa Stock. 



COWS FOR THE DAIRY. -HOLDERNESS BLOOD. 

 BY ARKWRIGHT. 



The question has recently appeared on the pages 

 of this journal, " What kind of cows shall the farmer 

 keep V It will doubtless be expected that an answer 

 to this inquiry should suggest, what breed of cows 

 may justly be considered most profitable for the 

 dairy. We have many excellent cows of the native 

 breed; and by persevering and intelligent culture, 

 such as was devoted to this object by Mr. Bakewell 

 in England, we might unquestionably have, in all 

 respects, a superior breed of native stock. But such, 

 at present, is not the fact. Our native cows, to a 

 great extent, are in many respects, an inferior breed; 

 and instead of improving our own, we have resorted 

 to foreign stock. 



There was a time when the Devons were all the 

 rage. Their color, a rich mahogany red, was cap- 

 tivating: and their neat and finished forms — their 

 beautiful horns — their sprightly, active spirits — con- 

 ciliated great favor. But they were generally rather 

 small; and, as a breed, often not deep milkers. To 

 these the Short-horn Durhams succeeded, and have 

 borne the palm for several years. During this period, 

 a man would almost have been thought beside himself, 

 to have said aught to their disparagement. But the 

 homage paid to them has, in a measure, subsided. — 

 And the fact, becoming evident in the experience of the 

 farmer, that the object for which they were first culti- 

 vated in England — "profit for the butcher's stall, 

 rather than for the dairy" — has diminished their value 

 as dairy stock; the disappointed and dissatisfied now 

 venture to urge the inquiry, " What kind of cows 

 shall farmer's keep ?" 



In the hope, or at least, in the desire to obtain 

 something better than was already possessed, impor- 

 tations from England have been made, within a few 

 years past, of other breeds considered to be valuable. 

 But I have yet to learn, if any thing has been ob- 



tained, that promises great and general benefits. The 

 question still recurs, and with increased interest, 

 " What kind of cows shall the farmer keep V 



Now, I have no expectation of answering this 

 question, to the satisfaction of any whose interest 

 and partialities are already enlisted in behalf of some 

 favorite blood. With such persons, I have no con- 

 troversy, no argument, although I may advocate a 

 different breed. I have neither the design nor desire 

 to disparage their favorite stocks; but cheerfully con- 

 cede to them, whatever of excellence and value they 

 possess. And I readily accord to others, that which 

 I also claim for myself, a perfect right to entertain, 

 each his own preferences. We are respectively, 

 both ready and willing, of all such preferences, to 

 abide the results. I propose, merely, to make a few 

 plain statements, in regard to a breed, with which I 

 have been long acquainted, and which I highly prize; 

 and to state a few, out of many facts, within the 

 compass of my own knowledge and experience. The 

 farmer then can draw his own conclusions. I allude 

 now to the "Holderness" blood. And here I take 

 the liberty to remark, that I have seen in this county, 

 and in some counties east of us, a breed of red cattle 

 called " Holderness," which I do not consider to be 

 even remotely allied to that blood; not, indeed, ever 

 to have proceeded from that blood, at all. 



In addition to their color, a striking characteristic 

 of this stock is, to be exceedingly thick and full built 

 in the hind quarter; especially the upper part of the 

 thighs, and around the rump; so as often to exhibit 

 a very singular appearance. I have known this stock 

 for more than twenty years; have taken pains to 

 ascertain its origin; and so far as it had any alliance 

 to foreign blood, have, satisfactorily to my own mind, 

 traced it back to stock in no way connected with the 

 Short-horned blood. 



Now the Holderness are pied cattle, generally a 

 deep red and pure white, the same as the Durhams: 

 although, as among the Durhams, occasionally one 

 may be entirely red, or entirely white. But the leading 



