CHAPTER XXXV 



THE DUTCH BELTED 



The native home of Dutch Belted cattle is Holland, where they 

 are known as Lakenfelds, Lakenvelders, or Veldlarkers. The word 

 laken means a sheet or blanket of white about the body. 



The origin of Dutch Belted cattle is quite obscure. F. R. Sanders, 

 long a prominent breeder of these cattle in America, made a trip 

 to Holland in 1907 especially to investigate the early history and 

 present conditions of these cattle in that country. He states^ that 

 from conversation with several of the oldest breeders in Holland 

 it is their opinion that these cattle began to flourish about 1750 

 in the vicinity of Haarlem, North Holland. Dutch noblemen 

 owning large estates conceived the idea of breeding different kinds 

 of farm animals so that they would have white sheets or belts about 

 the body, with black ends. From this effort came these Dutch 

 Belted cattle, Lakenvelder fowls, and the Lanche swine of Holland 

 and Germany. There are but few herds of Dutch Belted cattle in 

 Holland, and these are mostly in the provinces of Utrecht and 

 North Holland. 



The introduction of Dutch Belted cattle to America dates back 

 to 1838, when D. H. Haight of Goshen, New York, made the 

 first importation, followed by a second in 1848. P. T. Barnum, 

 the famous showman, and R. W. Coleman also made importations. 

 General Grant is said to have owned a herd at one time on a 

 farm near St. Louis.^ About 1900 several head were imported to 

 America, since which time none have been brought to this country. 

 The early development of the breed in the United States was 

 largely in southern New York, in Orange County. 



Characteristics of Dutch Belted cattle. In general appearance 

 these cattle are rather distinctively of the dairy type. The best 

 of the breed, according to Mr. Sanders, has a highly developed 



1 Dutch Belted Herdbook, Vol. VIII, 1907. 

 ^ Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican^ September 3, 1908. 

 428 



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