SOME AMERICAN BREEDERS. 251 



fairly started in breeding the stock, occurred the pleuro-pneumonia panic in 

 Massachusetts. The State Cattle Commissioners, claiming that some of Mr. 

 Chenery's stock had been exposed to the contagion, ordered the entire herd to 

 be slaughtered. On the same day when this order was executed, Mr. Chenery 

 seat to Holland for another lot of cattle. 



One of the early criticisms on the breed was that quantity of milk was pro- 

 duced at the expense of quality. Mr. Chenery took some pains to refute this 

 charge, claiming that they excelled not only in milk but in butter and cheese 

 production. Probably the first butter test of a Holsteiii cow ever made was 

 his test of the cow Texelaar, in which she produced 17 Ibs. 14 oz. of butter in 

 six days. 



Mr. Chenery was a frequent contributor to the agricultural press on mat- 

 ters connected with live stock, and his pen was always ready to promote the 

 interests of the Holsteins, or defend them from any aspersions. An article on 

 Holstein cattle which he contributed in 1864 to the Report of the United States 

 Department of Agriculture probably did more than anything ever published to 

 disseminate a knowledge of the race in all parts of the country. 



He early recognized the importance of keeping a record of the pure-bred 

 stock in this country, and kept such a record of his own stock from the begin- 

 ning. Upon the formation of the association of breeders of thoroughbred Hol- 

 stein cattle, he was authorized to prepare the herd-book of the society. The 

 first volume was published in 1872 (the small beginning of the present bulky 

 volumes) a book of sixty-seven pages, of which forty-two pages were devoted 

 to a sketch of the Holstein race of cattle prepared by Mr. Chenery. In 1875 he 

 published the second volume, and was engaged in the preparation of the third 

 volume at the time of his death in July, 1876. 



Mr. Chenery was a man of commanding presence, standing over six feet 

 four inches, and weighing upwards of 300 pounds. His qualities of mind and 

 heart corresponded to his physical proportions liberal in his views, generous in 

 disposition, upright in life, having the respect of all, and most highly esteemed 

 by those who knew him best. He was possessed of an excellent memory and 

 keen powers of observation. He not only brought to his work great zeal and 

 enthusiasm, but, like his friend, Prof. Agassiz, had the rare gift of imparting 

 this enthusiasm to others. In fine, he seemed to be peculiarly fitted for the 

 task which he undertook the introduction of a new breed of cattle, in the face 

 of opposition arising as well from ignorance and apathy as from prejudice in 

 favor of other and well-known breeds of stock. The Holsteins were fortunate 

 in having just such a man to present their claims. 



MR. J. W. COLEY of New Woodstock, N. Y., a member of the Holstein- 

 Friesian Association of America, was born May 17, 1836, upon the farm where 

 he now resides in the town of Cazenovia, Madison county, New York. The 

 farm, consisting of 200 acres of fine farming land, is devoted to the rais- 

 ing of wheat, corn and clover, and carries about fifty head of cattle, forty of 

 which are pure-bred Holstein-Friesians. 



Mr. Coley has been a dairyman for forty years. During part of that period 

 he has been a breeder and admirer of Shorthorns, among which he found some 

 fine milkers, but too many of them were failures for the dairy and he found 

 their strong tendency to take on flesh a disadvantage. Mr. Coley also had a lim- 

 ited experience with Jerseys, but concluded that the breed lacked constitution . 



Passing through these experiences, he decided to buy some Holsteins, which 

 he finds to be very hardy and yield a large quantity of milk and of good quality, 

 and are presistent milkers. 



Mr. Coley's herd of registered cattle now numbers upwards of forty head 

 and are of the great butter families of the breed. Prominent in the blood lines 

 are to be noted the Pauline Paul, Mechtchilde, Colantha, Parthenia and Pieter- 

 tje strains. The herd is at present headed by Sir Ononis Netherland, a son of 

 Soldene 2d's Netherland out of the famous Ononis. This bull has strong resem- 

 blance to his famous prize-winning sire and is a half-brother to Sir Henry of 

 Maplewood, and unquestionably of high breeding. 



