410 



THE GARDEN AND FIELD. 



February, l9j 



The Holstein-Friesland 

 Breeders. 



The history of tlie Holstein- 

 Friesland cattle has frequently been 

 told, but it is ever a subject of 

 interest and value to all stock- 

 raisers, and one which does not 

 sufier much by occasional repeti- 

 tion. It is said that the Holstein- 

 Friesland breed of cattle was es- 

 tablished by the ancient tribe of 

 people which dwell in the two pro- 

 vinces of the Netherlands, North 

 Holland, and Friesland, 300 years 

 before the commencement of the 

 Christian Kra. These people were 

 described by the early Roman 

 historians as peaceable cattle- 

 breeders. This tribe was constant- 

 ly in danger of attacks from ad- 

 joining tribes, and also to prob- 

 able conquest by the Roman army, 

 hence a treaty was made with the 

 Romans in which the tribe was 

 guaranteed protection and political 

 autonomy on payment of a tribute 

 to the Roman Empire of ox hides 

 and horses. The ])resent breeders 

 in these two provinces • are lineal 

 descendents of that ancient people, 

 and their cattle in the main are 

 lineal descendants of those ancient 

 cattle. It is very doulotful if there 

 has been much change either in the 

 character of these breeders, or, of 

 their cattle, in the 2000 odd years 

 during which they have been 

 known 'in history. There was once 



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a theory that the peculiar charac- 

 teristics of these cattle were the 

 result of the climate, and the soil 

 of the lowlands, and highlands, 

 but this seems to be rather lame. 

 So far as is known, the introduc- 

 tion of them into other climates 

 and to other soils has not changed 

 these catt.e in the least, although 

 it is a favourite theory of the high- 

 land breeders on which they base 

 a hopeful conclusion, that constant 

 resort to their herds must be made 

 by foreign breeders if they hope 

 to maintain the excellence of the 

 breed in their country. 



— Good Citizens. — 



These breeders are considered to 

 be among the noblest class of 

 people that strangers are brought 

 in contact with, although in their 

 own country they are counted as 

 peasants of third-class community. 

 Intelligent \'isitors have found 

 them to be physically, morally, 

 and intellectually superior to the 

 so-called first and second classes 

 of those provinces. In dignity 0/ 

 manner these breeders are the 

 equal of any class, and in truth- 

 fulness are superior to the com- 

 mercial class. They very rarely 

 own the farms which they occupy. 

 More often they pay rent ranging 

 up to £-4 an acre. All their agri- 

 cultural afiairs are very Ijroadly, 

 mentally, and skilfully organized, 

 the whole province of Friesland, 

 being, in fact, a huge experimental 

 farm. The soil is far less fertile 

 than most people would imagine, 

 and does not lyear the luxuriant 

 luscuious pasturage that most 

 people suppose. Over the rough 

 l)ortion of Friesland butter and 

 cheese-making, and \eal and beef 

 ])roduction, are combined, and car- 

 ried on by each individual farmer, 

 breeder, and dair3nnan. All these 

 functions are closely systematized. 

 There is only one building of im- 

 portance upon one farm. Its wide- 

 .spread roof covers everything that 

 requires ])rotection at any season 

 (jf the year. The manner in i whLch 

 these cattle are housed (luring the 

 winter is an ob-ect lesson in neat- 

 ness and sanitation. Tut into their 

 stalls in this huge structure late 

 in the autumn, the cattle are 

 never turned out in the open air 

 for a single hour until the grass 

 is well started in the fields in the 

 spring. Usually there are win- 

 dows which are repeatedly opened 

 in front of each stall, which con- 

 tains two cows, a washing room, 

 and then the hall inter\enes be- 

 tween the rooms and the cow 

 stable. The stable is often visited 

 day and night, and the strictest of 

 sanitary conditions is n^aintained. 



These clean, plain Dutch folk 

 have reduced to a science the 

 economical production of milk, and 

 if anywhere on the face of the 'globfll , 

 there exists a race of imiformly 

 good milkers it is to be found 

 among these Dutch. It is very 

 seldom that a traveller will meet 

 with either a poor cow or an old 

 cow. These people are occupying 

 land which is rarely sold for less 

 than £ioo per acre, and more fre- 

 quently £200 an acre, and always 

 produicing butter and cheese and 

 placing it on the Ivuropean market 

 in succe(sful competition with that 

 produced on land of less than half 

 that value. 



— Breeding. — 



Few bulls^ are kept, and these 

 but for two or three years at most, 

 when they are sold to the butcher. 

 These bulls are selected with the 

 utmost care, and are invariably 

 the cahes of the choicest milkers, 

 all other bull calves, with scarcely 

 an exception, being sold for veal. 

 In like manner the heifer calves 

 are sold as veal, except about 20 

 per cent., which are carefully se- 

 lected, and raised on skim milk 

 The age of a cow is usually de 

 noted by the number of her calves, 

 and in no case does one meet with 

 a cow which has had more than 

 six calves, the more general aver- 

 age being four or five. The rule 

 is to breed so that the cow's first 

 calif is droj^ped before the dam is 

 two years old, the main object 

 gained by this method being that* 

 should the heifer fall • below the 

 extremi'ly high standard set, she 

 usually goes straight to the butch- 

 er before another winter. In these 

 dairy herds there is a threefold 

 nietnod of selection — first in the 

 sire, second .in the young cdlf, 

 judged largely by the milking 

 qualities of the dam, and lastly by 

 the greatest of all test — perforlm- 

 ance at the pail, and not until a 

 cow answers this satisfactorily is 

 she accredited a prominent place 

 in the dairy. The cows, no mat- 

 ter how good, are seldom kept un- 

 til they become old, worn-out 

 shells, valueless for beef, and not 

 fit to ))ropagate their kind, but 

 are sold for beef whilst they are 

 still able to put on flesh, profitaWe 

 alike to all concerned. 



— Rearing. — 



The jieculiar method in vogue of 

 rearing the cows and calves at 

 the time of calving has some influ- 

 ence on the market production of 

 the cow. j\fter birth the calf is 

 immediately removed, and the cow 

 rarely ever sees or hears iit jiiake a 

 noise. It is remo\ed to some 



