324 CATTLE AND D Alii Y FAK 



ITALY. 



CATTLE AND DAIRYING IN LOMBARDY. 



REPORT BY CONSUL CHAIN, OF MILAN. 



I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the circular of the 

 Department dated July 18, 1883, which, however, did not reach this 

 consulate until the 1st instant. 



. 



SWISS CATTLE IN LOMBARDY. 



There exist in Loinbardy only milch cows of Swiss breeds. They are 

 yearly imported in large numbers from Switzerland, to supply the place 

 of those which have become unprofitable for the dairy. In the irri- 

 gated districts grass is cut during eight months of the year, and on the 

 winter meadows (marcitorio) during ten mouths. This fresh grass, sup- 

 plemented with oil cake, meal, &c., is fed to the cattle, so as to produce 

 the largest quantity of milk. Such a nourishment continued through 

 so many months in stables, and in a mild climate, naturally soon ex- 

 hausts the milking properties of cows, and necessitates the annual sub- 

 stitution of about 15 per cent, of the herd. The loss by this is more 

 than met by the large product of milk, which averages yearly from 

 3,000 to 4,000 liters per head. Dairymen having 100 or more head 

 ordinarily find it to their interest to send the calves, when a few days 

 old, to the slaughter-house. This state of things having existed for a 

 long time, it is evident that scarcely a trace remains of original Lombard 

 breeds. The so-called Bergamasche and Brescian races are only a 

 reproduction of Swiss stock. 



The foregoing applies to the large stationary dairies of the Lombar- 

 dian plain. In the irrigated district, bordering the river Po, there are 

 large dairy herds, which are driven in summer to the rich pastures of the 

 Alps, and which remain there until autumn, when they are taken back 

 to the plain. There are also small dairymen in the mountains, who 

 drive their cattle to the plain in winter. In these migrations are also 

 included oxen, being raised for labor or beef 5 and the proprietors both 

 of the plain and mountain districts supply themselves with dairy cows 

 of Swiss breeds and oxen from, the Tyrol. In the Alpine districts there 

 are small races which take the name of the valleys in which they are 

 raised, but they are a Swiss stock. Large breeds taken from, the plain 

 to high mountain districts, and there propagated, undergo in a few gen- 

 erations a decided change, from the effect of a different climate, soil, and 

 diet. They become smaller, more hardy, and nimble of foot, and other- 

 wise adapted to the requirements of their habitat. Lombard dairy- 

 men import their cows principally from the canton Schwytz, but some 

 are brought from the cantons of Unterwalden, Zug, Appenzell, St. 

 Gallen, and Glarus. They are preferred in the order named, and if 

 breeds of these stocks are required they should be brought from those 

 cantons. 



The Tyrolese oxen above mentioned are first brought while young 

 into the province of Brescia, and thence scattered over the plain under 

 the name of Brescian oxen. They are short horned, of a grayish-white 

 color, have. the characteristics of the Podolico race. They are tall, 



