334 



CATTLE AND DAIRY FARMING. 



nines of secondary and tertiary formation, four- tenths ; (3) hills of a late tertiary 

 formation, three-tenths ; (4) plains of quaternary and alluvial formation, two-tenths. 



Temperature: The climate, mild in winter and temperate in summer, is, notwith- 

 standing, subject to chilly weather in the autumn and white frost in the spring. The 

 yearly average temperature in Tuscany is between 14 and 16 centigrade ; the mer- 

 cury seldom falls below 7 below zero at Florence, 5 at Arezzo and Sienna, 3 at 

 Lucca, and 2 at Pisa. Snow seldom falls, and never^lasts long. The Apennines are, 

 however, often covered with snow, and sometimes until the spring. 



Soil: Alluvial. The soil is mountainous, the ground somewhere excessively stony, 

 and in other regions refractory to good culture, owing to the abundance of clay. 



Substratum. Florence: Secondary, late tertiary, and quaternary formation. Pisa: 

 Late tertiary, quaternary, and alluvial formation. Sienna : Secondary and tertiary 

 formation of Cretaceous period. Volterra : Secondary and eruptive formation. 



WHITE CATTLE OF TUSCANY.* 



REPORT BY CONSUL CROSBY. 



I have the honor to submit the following report regarding a very 

 fine breed of Italian cattle, with the hope that it may prove useful in 

 inducing some of our cattle breeders to introduce them into the United 

 States. 



For many centuries the Val di Chiana (Tuscany) has been celebrated 

 for its whire cattle, large in size, docile, and easily managed, capable of 

 enduring great amount of work, and making excellent beef, they being 

 very easily fattened. I have visited many of the estates and poderi for 

 the purpose of examining these cattle, and certainly agree with the 

 proprietors and farmers in their opinion that for working purposes and 

 beef they are far superior to the Durham and Shorthorn breeds so popu- 

 lar in England and America. For milk and butter I do not recom- 

 mend them. Bulls begin to serve heifers and cows from the age of two 

 years up to four or five years, when they are slaughtered. Heifers are 

 taken to the bull when twenty months old, and are usually bred to until 

 eight to ten years old. Oxen, and heifers as well, are put in yoke when 

 twenty months old, and are fit for work at the age of two years, and, 

 unless injured, stand five years more of hard work, when they are usu- 

 ally stall-fed and slaughtered. About the same food and fodder are used 

 for fattening as in the United States. 



The following tabular form will show interesting details as to age, 

 weight, and price: 



* Republished from Consular Reports, No. 17. 



t Calves selected for working purposes are castrated at two months of age. 



T Bulls four years old are kept apart for one month to fatten, and may increase 140 pounds weight 

 and be sold at from $16 to $18 per cwt.* 



Cows eight or ten years old, no longer used for breeding, are kept three months for fattening, and 

 are susceptible of 250 pounds increase in weight. Price, from $8 to $14 per cwt. 



