Report on the Dairy-Farming of the North-west of France. 289 
about (not exactly) 2i acres English, fattens two oxen. Such rents are known 
as 200 liv. (3^. 17s. per English acre), but they are extraordinary: the propor- 
tions here are rather greater, and more profitable than in the former minute. 
They buy some beasts before Christmas, which tliey keep on the pasturage 
alone, except in deep snows ; these are forwarder in spring than such as are 
bought then, and fatten quicker; they have also a few sheep. There are 
graziers here that are landlords of 10,000 liv. (437/. 10s.), and even 20,000 liv. 
(875/.) a year, yet 100 acres are a large farm. 
Bayeux. — The rich herbages about this place are employed in fattening 
oxen of the Poitou breed, as before ; bought lean, on an average, at 200 liv. 
(8?. 15s.), and sold fat at 350 liv. (157. 6s. 3rf.). Their cows are always 
milked thrice a day in summer; the best give 12 pots a day, or above 4 galls., 
and sell at 7 or 8 louis (6/. 2s. Qd. to'l.) each. 
Isigny to Carentan. — Much salt marsh, and very rich ; they fat oxen ; but 
I was surprised to iind many dairy -cows also on these very rich lands. A cow, 
they say, sometimes pays 10 louis in a year ; giving 8 lb. of butter a week, at 
20 sous to 30 -sous (lOjd. to lof'i.) a pound at some seasons, but now (August 
25) only 10 sous, which they say is ruinously cheap. All are milked thrice 
a day. Others informed me that a cow gives 10 lb. a week, at the average 
price of 15 sous (nearly 8tZ.). These cows resemble the Suffolk breed in size 
and brindle colour, round carcass and short leg ; and would not be known 
from them but by the horns, which are of the short Alderney sort. The 
profit on fattening a cow here they reckon at 72 liv. (3Z. 3s.), and an ox of the 
largest size 300 liv. (13?. 2s. C(i.). They have also a common calculation that 
dairy cows feed at the expense of 8 sous (4c£.) a day, and yield 20 sous (lOjt/.), 
leaving 12 sous (more than Qd.) profit. It is remarkable, and cannot be too 
much condemned, that there are no dairies in this country ; the milk is set and 
the butter made in any common room of a house or cottage. 
Carentan. — Many oxen are bought at Michaelmas, and kept a year. They 
eat each in the winter 300 bottes of hay, or 50 liv., but leave 150 liv. 
(C?. lis. Sd.) profit, that is, they rise froni 300 liv. (13/. 2s. (id.) to 450 liv. 
(19/. 13s. 9c/.). Cows pay, on an average, 100 liv. (4/. 7s. 6c/.), and are kept 
each on a verge of grass, the rent of which is from 30 liv. (1/. 6s. 3c/.), to 
40 liv. (1/. 14s.). As the verge is 40 perches of 24 feet, or 23,040 feet, it is 
equal to 96 English square perches, which s] ace paj's 100 liv., or jier English 
acre, 11. 5s. Zd. ; but all expenses are to be deducted, including what the win- 
tering costs. Here they have milk-rooms. They work oxen al! the way 
from Bayeux in yokes and bows, like the old English ones, only single instead 
of double. 
Advancing, cows sell so high as 10 and 12 louis (8/. 15s. to 10?. 10s.). Many 
are milked only twice a day; good ones give li lb. or Ij lb. of butter a day. 
They remark that cows that give the largest quantity of milk do not yield the 
largest quantity of butter. Fat cows give much richer milk than others. 
Again ; a good cow gives 6 pots of milk a day, which pays in butter 24 sous 
(over Is.). 3000 liv. (131/. 5s.) profit has been made by iattin^ thirty cows. 
A great number of young cattle all over the country, especially year-olds. 
As an appendix to the foregoing very interesting extract, 
written at the end of the last century, it may be useful to state that 
several years ago the farmers of the beautiful pasture-land around 
Livarot objected to dairy-cows, because they poached the land 
so much in winter; whereas feeding-beasts, being on the land 
during the summer months only, did little or no damage. The 
Count de Neuville told me that he had great difficulty with his 
tenants on this score, although dairy-cows have of late years paid 
VOL. XV. — S. S. U 
