BREEDS OF CATTLE 19 



This breed is probably one of the oldest among those in 

 general use. Holland has been famous for its cattle since 

 the time of the Romans. The best part of Holland is below 

 th< level of the ocean, which is* kept back by great dikes. 

 The land is level and very fertile and especially adapted to 

 grt ss. The cattle kept in Holland are given the best care of 

 an 7 cattle in the world. Attention is given to proper feed- 

 ing, gentle handling of the animals, and to good sanitary con- 

 dil ions. As a result Holland exceeds all other countries in 

 the average yield of milk and butter-fat per cow. Nearly 

 all of the Holsteins in the United States are descended from 

 about 10,000 head which were imported between 1875 and 

 1835. This breed ranks first in the number of animals now 

 being recorded. 



Holsteins are the largest of the dairy breeds, the cows 

 reaching an average weight of 1200 pounds and the bulls 

 1800 to 2200 pounds as a rule. The color is always black 

 and white in any proportion but never blended. Cows of 

 this breed are gentle and quiet in disposition. The breed- 

 ing qualities are excellent, as is indicated by the rapid in- 

 crease in numbers of recorded animals. The calves average 

 95 pounds at birth, the largest of any breed except the 

 Bi-own Swiss. 



Holsteins produce more milk on the average than any 

 other breed. In percentage of fat they rank the lowest. The 

 figures in Table 6 give the averages of cows in experiment 

 station herds. It is quite certain that these cows, on the 

 average, do not produce any more than well-kept private 

 herds. 



On a farm where good conditions of management prevail, 

 a herd should average at least 8000 pounds of milk per year. 

 A high average would be 10,000 pounds per year. The milk 



