DAIRY CATTLE 



435 



improvement until lately. From Ire- 

 land they have been exported to various 

 parts of England, Canada and the 

 United States. The Dexter cattle orig- 

 inated from crossing the Kerry and Dev- 

 on, and they are somewhat larger than 

 the Kerry breed. Kerry cattle are the 

 smallest of our dairy cows, averaging 

 from 600 to TOO pounds in weight, and 

 have not been widely tested in this coun- 

 try. They yield a moderate amount of 

 milk and are capable of thriving under 

 very adverse conditions. The fat content 

 of the milk is relatively high. The breed 

 is slow in maturing, but the cows are 



8,000 pounds of milk annually, and the 

 fat content is satisfactory. Only a few 

 of this breed have been imported into 

 the United States. 



Normandies — A few representatives 

 of this breed have been imported from 

 France. The animals are rather large, 

 cows weighing up to 1,500 pounds, and 

 bulls 2,200. The color is brindle, with 

 spots of red, reddish brown or a very 

 dark brown. The milk yield ranges 

 from 4,000 to 7,000 pounds annually 

 and the breed is considered good for 

 beef as well as dairy purposes. 



The above list, in connection with the 



Fig 282 — A GROUP OF" AYRSHIRES 

 (Courtesy of C. M. Winslow) 



excellent grazers and ratten readily. They 

 are vigorous, but their chief defect is 

 small size. As described by Shaw the 

 color is black, with a streak of white 

 along the back and under the belly, and 

 sometimes an admixture of brown. 



Simmenthalers — These cattle come 

 from the canton of Berne in Switzer- 

 land, and are an old breed. The cows 

 average about 1,400 pounds in weight, 

 while the bulls weigh from 2,200 to 

 2,500 pounds. The color is a creamy 

 white, or white with large irregular 

 patches of light yellow or cream color. 

 This breed is gentle, easily managed and 

 much used in Switzerland for draft pur- 

 poses. The cows yield from 6,000 to 



breeds mentioned under beef cattle, con- 

 stitutes the most important types of 

 dairy cows in the United States. Among 

 the numerous other breeds which have 

 been developed in various parts of Eu- 

 rope, a few representatives are occasion- 

 ally imported into this country, but they 

 are not of enough importance to merit 

 consideration in this connection. 



FEEDING DAIRY COWS 



"While there are numerous details 

 which must be learned in connection 

 with successful dairying, the problem 

 of feeding is by far the most important 

 and may well be considered first. The 



