728 CATTLE AND DAIRY PAEMINa. 



Animals belongiug to this family are distingaishable by their light bony frame, their 

 graceful, well-proportioned body, small head with broad flat forehead, and handsome 

 well-directed horns, which are always brilliantly black. The eye is well placed, ani- 

 mated in expression, and the general aspect docile. 



The oxen are capital workers, and when fattened their meat is considered second to 

 none on the Paris market, where it is known as Chollet beef. 



The cows are good milkers, and are used exclusively for milk production, never being 

 put to draught work. On the rich pastures of Loire, along the coast from Loire to 

 Qharente, cows of this breed are often met with, which can hold their own as milkers 

 with the finest animals known. 



THE TABENTAISE OK TAKINE BREED. 



The small-sized breed, originally from the mountains of Tarentaise, is quiet, hardy, 

 patient, and distinguishedforits working power, and above all for its quality as a milker. 



The coat is light gray, the extrelnities jrnd the natural apertures black. In the 

 bull the coat is more frequently badger gray, black on the neck, cheeks, and 'lower 

 parts; in the cow it is tawny, or of a gray wheat color, observable in no other breed. 



The trunk is compact, the leg short, the sides rounded, the head short, the forehead 

 broad, the horns well set on, the eyes large and mUd. i 



These animals are eminently fitted to replace sheep on the Alpine pastures, and yet 

 maintain their fitness for the Mediterranean littbral, despite the heat of the climate. 



THE BEETONSTE BEEED. 



The Bretonne breed, which would appear to have originally come from the depart- 

 ment of Morbihan, is met with in the five departments forming the ancient province of 

 Brittany, with the exception of a portion of Loire-Inferieure, where the Parthenaise and 

 Nantaise breeds are kept, and the confines of lUe-et-Vilaine, where Normandy stock is 

 preferred. 



Bretons are hardy, docile, and good workers. 



The cow, which has been justly described as the mUker 'par excellence of poor districts, 

 is small and squat, the limbs are short and rather slim, and the extremities particijlarly 

 slender; the head short, the eye vivacious, the muzzle black, occasionally mottled, and 

 rarely white; the horns thin and white ab the base, but occasionally dissimilar; the coat' 

 generally pied black, the skin fine, lissome, and readily detached, the gait quick and 

 decided, and the disposition mild and sociable. 



In the more fertile and better cultivated parts of Brittany animals of the Bretonne 

 race are more developed and exhibit a better shape generally. 



On the north coast, and in Finistere especially, pied chestnut animals are met with, 

 having some resemblance to the Channel Islands breed, so specially remarkable as milk- 

 ers. Most of these are the result of crosses with bulls other than those of Brittany, the 

 objfect in view having been to increase the size of the Bretonne breed. 



DTJEHAMS AND DUEHAM CEOSS-BEEEDS. 



The Durham breed was introduced into France in 1838 by the "Administration de 

 1' Agriculture, " ably seconded by MM. Aug. Yvart and Lefebvre de Sainte-Marie. 



It was at first located at the Pin Stud Farm, but since 1861 the experimental breeding 

 station has been transferred to Corbin, in Calvados. The foundation of this establish- 

 ment has had a great influence on the progress of French agriculture, by showing stock- 

 owners the advantages of early maturing breeds. 



The distinctive qualities of Durhams are their extraordinary aptitude for putting On 

 flesh, and their great precocity which allows of their being slaughtered at three years 

 old, or a little more, and always at less than four years. The shape of the Durham ox, 

 called in England the "Shorthorn improved," is perfect from the butcher's poifltof 

 view. 



Durhams are less difficult to rear than might be supposed, and they succeed perfectly 

 well under favorable conditions. They have increased largely in the departments of 

 Maine-et-Loire and Mayenne, where they are maintained pure, and are met with here 

 and there in all parts of the country. Numerous breeding stations have been established, 

 and are answering well, in Cote-d'Or, Finistere, lUe-et-Vilaine, Loire, Orme, Sarthe, 

 Seine- Inferieure, and some other departments of Central France. 



The French "Herd-book," eight volumes of which have now appeared, shows that 

 more than 19,000 Durham bulls and cows have been used for breeding purposes in France 

 since 1838, and that the bulls especially have contributed much towards the creation of 

 a considerable number of desirable crosses. 



