DAIRY CATTLE 



m 



The head is short, the horns turned 

 inward somewhat and a little upward 

 The loins are broad, the legs short and 

 fine. The color of the cows is usually 

 black, black with a yellow stripe on the 

 back and around the muzzle, or brown 

 with black points; while the males are 

 almost uniformly black, or occasionally 

 with yellow stripes. 



Holstein — The black and white cattle 

 of Holland, or the Holsteins, are one 

 of the very oldest of dairy breeds. Ac- 

 cording- to some of the champions of 

 the Holsteins, this breed can be traced 



no large well-known importations took 

 place until about 1S50. The character- 

 istics of the Holsteins are the large size 

 and the contrasting colors, jet black and 

 pure white. 



The weight of Holstein cows ranges 

 from 1,200 to 1,500 pounds, and the bulls 

 often weigh 2,500. The black predomi- 

 nates in some animals and white in 

 others. The color of the animal, as a 

 whole, may therefore be either white 

 spots on a black background or black 

 spots on a white background. In Amer- 

 ica, breeders show a tendency to favor 



Fig. 2S0 — A PROUD AYRSHIRE BULL 



back for 2,000 years in the territory 

 where it originated. Holland has long 

 been noted for its dairy industry, and 

 the Holsteins and Dutch Belted are its 

 two famous dairy breeds. Holsteins 

 have also been referred to as Holland 

 cattle, North Hollanders, Dutch cattle, 

 Dutch Friesians, Holstein Friesians and 

 by other names. The large frame, rela- 

 tively heavy bone, silken coat, remark- 

 able docility and enormous milk yield of 

 the Holsteins are commonly referred to 

 as due in part to their origin in the 

 fertile plains of Holland. It appears 

 that the early Dutch settlers in America 

 brought their cattle with them, but 



black rather than white. The arrange- 

 ment of the spots varies in different 

 animals, but the black and white are 

 never mixed. As just indicated, the 

 Holsteins are the largest of all dairy 

 cattle. The neck is long and slender, 

 the back line level, the hips broad and 

 legs relatively long. The udder is large 

 and frequently of phenomenal size, with 

 prominent milk veins and cone shape 

 teats. 



Both cows and bulls are exceptionally 

 gentle and docile. This breed shows 

 great constitutional vigor. The calves 

 are large at birth and grow rapidly, 

 maturing at an early age. Holsteins 



