HOLSTEIN-FRIESIANS FOR BEEF. 143 



by a bull that the writer once owned. They were fed till they were two years 

 old and shipped to Chicago, and brought within ten cents per hundred pounds 

 of the top of the market. Every experienced shipper knows that it takes 

 choice steers to bring them within ten cents of the top of the market, especially 

 after they have been shipped over 200 miles. This entire carload was purchased 

 by an exporter and shipped to England. 



William K. Gittings, a neighbor to the writer and a large farmer and stock 

 breeder, says that he never fed a steer of any breed that gave any better 

 satisfaction than a three-fourths Holstein that came from my herd. I could 

 name many other reliable men who have fed Holstein steers with splendid 

 results. The butchers in this vicinity claim that they never slaughtered better 

 beef animals than some grade Holsteins that I sold them. 



Now of course some Holsteins are much better formed for beef than others, 

 and some strains of families will fatten better than others. 



I have seen some Holstein cows that were as well formed for beef as the best 

 quality of Shorthorns, in fact the writer owns a few such, and my observation 

 and experience is, that they are as deep milkers as those of the so-called milk 

 form. 



This assertion may provoke some discussion as the popular opinion is, that 

 a cow of superior beef form cannot be a deep milker. 



There are a great many theories and opinions advanced as to deep milkers 

 that are not true, and this is one of them. It is true, however, that a great 

 many deep milkers are of inferior form for beef, but all deep milkers are not of 

 this class. My plan and advice is, to breed for beef as well as milk, and I find 

 that it can be done without injuring in the least the milk and butter producing 

 qualities. My experience and observation is that the shape of a cow has very 

 little to do with her dairy qualities. There are other points that figure more 

 than form, such as good constitution, good appetite, good digestive powers, large 

 paunch, well developed udder and milk veins. 



A cow may possess all these points and yet have a splendid form for beef. 



In 1880, Judge William Fullerton of New York, writing on the subject of 

 Holsteins for beef, in answer to a Mr. Wright, said: 



Those who have seen these splendid cattle, either in this country or in 

 their native polders, would readily conclude upon reading Mr. Wright's article 

 that he had never had the good fortune to see one of them. I have seen tens of 

 thousands of them in Holland, and if they were to be judged by their appear- 

 ance alone, they would compare favorably with the general average of Short- 

 horn, either in England or this country. I spent one whole day in examining 

 the cattle at the late Paris Exhibition, and in general appearance the Holstein 

 divided the honors with the best specimens of Shorthorns which England could 

 produce. In size they excelled them; in capacity for taking on flesh they 

 seemed to be quite their equal, and for milking qualities were unapproachable. 

 The owners of the best Shorthorns exhibited were among the principal admirers 

 of these Holsteins. The Hollanders seemed to be quite satisfied with them in 

 every respect, for while London has large daily supplies of beef from Holland, 

 I failed to find a single Shorthorn in the latter country. 



For making veal the Holstein stands without a peer. It is very seldom that 

 a calf will consume the milk that a dam gives. The result is that the calves 

 grow rapidly and fatten quickly. If Mr. Wright could stand on the wharf at 

 Flushing in Holland, as I have done, and see a steamboat depart for the Lon- 

 don market loaded with veal calves, which for size and condition surpassed 

 anything he ever dreamed of, he would conclude that the English people had a 

 better opinion of the Holsteins than he has. And if he will take the trouble to 

 visit a herd of Holsteins of which I could tell him in this country, numbering 

 now about one hundred head, he would see a number of cows, each of which 

 will turn the scales at 1,600 Ibs., and the bull that will do it quickly at 3,000 

 Ibs. He will acknowledge that their hides are no insignificant item in their 

 owners' balance sheet, and he will be forced to conclude from manipulation 

 that there is an ample supply of beef and tallow within them. It is of no use 

 to decry the Holsteins, for they are a very valuable breed of cattle, and will 

 inevitably make their mark in this country. When a cow will give from 

 twenty to forty quarts of milk daily, and when too old for the dairy will yield 

 as much beef and tallow as a Shorthorn, she is not to be despised. 



In 1896 the first prize in the beef class at the State Fair of Minnesota was 

 taken by a Holstein. The first prize beef cow weighed 1,965 Ibs. 



