466 CATTLE 



incline to be distinctly beefy, and the legs are short and strong. 

 The cows have large udders, frequently long, wide, and deep, with 

 well-placed teats of convenient size. The milk veins and wells 

 average medium in size, comparing fairly with dairy breeds. The 

 quality, from the standpoint of an American, averages rather 

 below medium, as is very commonly seen in the thick, none too 

 elastic, deep-yellow skin, rather coarse hair, large joints, and heavy 

 head, neck, and fore quarters. In temperament cattle of this breed 

 are superior, being especially quiet and docile. 



The color of the Brown Swiss, as indicated by the name, is 

 brown, varying in shade. The color as approved by the Swiss 

 breeders is given as follows ^ : 



The color of the animals of this race goes from dark brown and gray (the 

 color of coffee and of chestnuts) to light brown and light gray. The opposite 

 colors are mostly found among the animals of minor weight. At the present 

 time the gray color prevails in all the different tints from light to dark. . . . 

 According to the different parts of the body the color is more or less pro- 

 nounced. All the animals have a muzzle of the color of lead, with a lighter 

 rim all around. The underlip, the interior of the ears, the interior part of the 

 limbs, especially the fore limbs, the udder, and the escutcheon are also lighter 

 than the rest of the body. Generally these cattle have a stripe more or less 

 light or broad on their backs, going from the withers to the tail, but this line 

 is sometimes broken. 



At one time white spots occurred on Brown Swiss cattle, but since 

 the middle of the nineteenth century animals with spots have been 

 barred from exhibition unless the spots are on the lower part of 

 the belly. The horns, which are comparatively short and curve 

 forward and upward, have black tips. The hoofs are black and the 

 tongue and muzzle are very dark. 



The size of Brown Swiss cattle varies according to t)'pe, whether 

 light or heavy. The Swiss Union of Cattle Breeders gives the 

 following as average weights at maturity: bulls, 1870 to 2090 

 pounds; cows, 1320 to 1430 pounds. E. M. Barton, in a pam- 

 phlet relative to his own herd, states that the average cow in a herd 

 in milk weighs 1300 to 1400 pounds and 1500 fat. He also states 

 that bulls in good condition weigh from 1700 to 2500 pounds. 

 The latter weight, however, is rather exceptional, and mature bulls 



1 The Bovine Breed of Switzerland. A pamphlet published about 1906 by the 

 Swiss Union of Cattle Breeders. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



