470 CATTLE ANl) DAIRY FARMiiSfG. 



Another cause was the poor crops. The fattening of the oxen com- 

 mences after three to four years. They fatten very easily ; the back, 

 the loins and the shanks are very fleshy. The meat, especially of ani- 

 mals which were not used for labor, is soft, succulent, and of excellent 

 taste. The weight of the meat in proportion to the live weight is 60 per 



The Baar cattle are much used for labor, for the Baar district consists 

 mostly of small farms and the farmers prefer oxen to horses for plowing 

 the fields. The bony, strong, and stout constitution, the strong back 

 and muscular legs, together with its safe gait, make the Baar cattle 

 very useful for labor. Two oxen usually suffice to draw a plow. 



The Baar cattle have been exported to dififerent sections of Germany, 

 where they have thriven well. They require less food and attendance 

 than the Swiss cattle from the Canton Bern, from which the Baar cattle 

 descends. For instance, trials having been made to keep Baar cows in 

 the Black Forest have had good success, while the same trials made 

 with Swiss cattle have entirely failed. 



NUMBER OF CATTLE IN THE BAAR DISTRICT. 



The number of cattle existing in the. Baar district is 27,000 head. 

 The percentage of the live stock as to age and sex, is as follows: 



Per cent. 



Cows 39.7 



Young cows over IJ years 9.2 



Oxen over IJ years Vt.Ti 



Cows from 3 to r.i months - 13.0 



Oxen from 3 to 12 months 11.6 



Calves loss than 3 months old i ^ 9. 



Bulls over 1^ years ,. 0.8 



Balls less than IJ years 0. G 



PRICES OF BAAR CATTLE. 



Cows are worth from $57 to $120 ; pregnant cows from two to three 

 years, $00 to $100; oxen from three to four years, $70 to $120; bulls, 

 $60 to $90. , 



THE BLACK FOREST CATTLE. 



The Black Forest variety exists all over these mountains, and can be 

 called the proper original Baden cattle, except in a few districts contig- 

 uous to Switzerland, where they have been mixed with Swiss cattle. 

 The first impression these animals make is not a good one. They are 

 small, from 3 feet 4 inches to 3 feet 8 inches in length, and 3 feet to 

 3 feet 8 inches in height. The animals of the pure breed are light 

 yellow; face and skull white; the shape is fine; the head broad, the 

 same as to the snout; the horns are thin and not long; the back is short 

 and .s,traight ; the flanks are strongly built ; the shanks are muscular, 

 but meager ; the legs are vigorous, but often crooked ; their gait is light 

 and swift. As to^haracter, these animals are very good-natured and 

 tame. The buUs'are very docile. Although the cows do not require 

 much food, they produce about 450 gallons of milk in 300 days of the 

 year. The meat of the Black Forest cattle is not as good as that of the 

 other varieties of Baden. In summer the oxen and cows are driven to 

 the mountain pastures ; in winter they get hardly anything but chopped 

 straw and hay to eat. • 



