DOMINION OF CANADA. 571 



PROVINCE OF QUEBEC. 

 CATTLE-RAISING IN QUEBEC. 



REPORT BY COXST7L PARKER, OF SHERBROOKE. 

 INTRODUCTORY. 



I have the honor to transmit herewith such answers to the inquiries 

 made by the Department of State relative to the various breeds of 

 cattle, amount and quality of products, and the methods of handling 

 and disposing of the same, as I have been able to glean from the breed- 

 ers and dairymen and stock-growers of this portion of the province of 

 Quebec. I am aware that in many particulars the report is incomplete, 

 and that in others results are only approximated. But I have found 

 considerable difficulty in securing even the limited information thus 

 compiled. 



A few general observations will, I think, serve to give a better un- 

 derstanding of the cattle industry in the Eastern Townships of the prov- 

 ince of Quebec, and of such features thereof as maybe of interest to the 

 herdsmen and farmers of the United States than any tabulated state- 

 ment can do. 



THE NATIVE OR FRENCH CATTLE. 



The native, or French cattle, as these are called, form the basis upon 

 which the various crosses with the imported breeds are made. These 

 cattle ;are not large, but they are hardy, light eaters, and yield fair 

 quantities of%ood, rich' milk, well calculated for profitable use in the 

 manufacture of butter and cheese. Cattle-breeders who have given the 

 subject careful attention are of the opinion that these native cattle, 

 which were introduced by the^ early French colonists, belong to the 

 great Channel family and are nearly related to the Jerseys and Guern- 

 seys. 



THE BEST DAIRY CATTLE. 



Senator Cochrane, who owns and operates at Compton, near Sher- 

 brooke, the best appointed cattle-farm in Canada, possibly, excepting 

 the great Government establishments at Guelph and Eougemont, has 

 found by long experience with the best-known breeds that the Jerseys 

 are by far the most profitable and best suited to this climate of any of 

 the highly -bred cheese and butter producers. The offspring of Jerseys 

 crossed upon the native Canadian stock are better for ordinary farm 

 use in places where good shelter and thorough care in winter are not 

 always attainable. But good results can only be secured here by prop- 

 erly housing and feeding stock during the long, cold winters. 



CLIMATE OF QUEBEC. 



In a climate where the mercury often sinks to 25 and 30 degrees be- 

 low zero, and occasionally to 40 degrees below, the importance of proper 

 Shelter and food must be fully realized. 



CATTLE FODDER IN QUEBEC. 



The seasons being too short for corn to mature other food products 

 must take its place. Among these hay and roots are the principal. 



