COUNTRY I^IEETIXG. 37 



fulfil its mission. We are glad to welcome you as the 

 representatives of other similar societies ; we are glad to " 

 welcome you as the highest authority of the State in all 

 agricultural matters. We thank you for coming here, and 

 trust we shall mutually enjoy this meeting. 



The Chairman. Mr. Miller, who is announced on the 

 programme to deliver a lecture on " Holstein Cattle in 

 America," is not present, but the Secretary will read his 

 paper. 



Secretary Russell. I very much regret, gentlemen of 

 the Board, that Mr. Gerrit S. Miller of Peterborough, 

 Madison County, N. Y., who was one of the earliest im- 

 porters of Dutch cattle, could not be here to-day to read his 

 own lecture, and to answer such questions as j^ou will, 

 perhaps, wish to ask at the conclusion of the reading ; but 

 there are others here to-day who are very much interested 

 in the breeding of Dutch cattle, and who will be able to 

 answer such questions. 



HOLSTEIN CATTLE IN AMERICA. 



BY GERRIT S. MILLER OF PETERBOROUGH, N. T. 



The cattle known in this country as Holsteins, Holstein- 

 Friesians and Dutch Friesians, all come from that ancient 

 and world-wide renowned dairy country commonly known 

 as Holland. 



Americans would do well to give these cattle their right 

 name and call them " Holland cattle " hereafter. 



There is probably no breed of imported cattle that has 

 maintained its color, form, dairy and beef qualities through 

 as many centuries as the Holstein, and for the purpose of 

 fixing this fact in our minds it may be worth while to spend 

 a few minutes in reviewing the history of this breed in its 

 native land. The following extracts are taken from a trans- 

 lation of an article prepared for the ' ' Nederlandsch Randou 

 Stambook" (Netherland Cattle Stock Book), published in 

 1875, the first herd book published in Holland : — 



It maj' be settled as a fact that the pedigree of the Netherland 

 cattle dates back farther than two thousand 3'ears ; that they 



