1880.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
95 
Swiss Dairying—The Simmenthal Cow. 
Switzerland is essentially a dairy country. The 
;grass grows greener upon the sides of the Swiss 
mountains, and in the elevated valleys than else¬ 
where, not excepting even the noted meadows and 
pastures of Ireland; the “Emerald isle,” so-called 
from its luxuriant verdure. These verdant pastures 
have helped to produce some of the best Short¬ 
horns, as those of Switzerland have produced the 
Swiss cows, probably the most prolific of milk and 
butter of any race of dairy animals. Pastures make 
cows ; time and breeding of course being indispen¬ 
sable elements in the process, but no length of 
time or system of breeding can build up a race of 
excellent dairy cows without the feeding. The 
Swiss grass lands are favored with special advan¬ 
tages. The winter’s frosts loosen from the granite 
rocks the most important elements of fertility, of 
which potash is the chief one, and the spring thaws 
and summer rains wash these down the hillsides 
and over the valleys and supply perennial sources 
of mineral food to the grass. Nowhere else is this 
natural process of fertilizing going on continually 
on a grander scale than in that country, where 
mountain side and sheltered valley alternate with 
surprising frequency. The rich verdure; the pure air 
and water; the freedom from restraint; the gentle 
and familiar tending ; in short, the perfect adapta¬ 
tion of condition and circumstance to the develop¬ 
ment and comfort of the Swiss cow is such that it 
is noticed as a general thing that these animals, 
when taken from their homes, suffer from a sort of 
“ home-sickness”; they lose their contented dispo¬ 
sition, they seem to fret, and rarely fail to depreci¬ 
ate in excellence during their enforced banishment. 
It is only when their progeny become acclimated 
and used to the new circumstances, that the race 
recovers its historic value and meets the expecta¬ 
tions of its new owners. This fact, which is too 
frequently observed to be doubted, has led to the 
opinion among Swiss dairymen that the exportation 
of their cattle should not be encouraged, and among 
the French dairymen that importations of these 
mountain cattle do not turn out so satisfactory at 
first as might be expected. It may be that a sort of 
sentimental patriotic feeling so general among the 
leave their pastures and herders, as they themselves 
could leave their homes; and only with equally re¬ 
gretful memories. But, however, the fact remains, 
that pastures and cows being perfectly adapted to 
each other, the Swiss cows in their native homes 
are perfect dairy animals. And this is true with all 
the varieties of this race, of which there are sever¬ 
figure of the bull is that of a true dairy animal. 
The breed possesses large milking capacity, and 
cows that produce 34 quarts daily of very rich milk, 
are said to be by no means unusual. But it is 
a common failing for the breeders of a race of 
cows, to strain a point in favor of their own kind 
of stock, and it is remarked by a well known Swiss 
Fig. 1.—A SIMMENTHAL (SWISS) BULL. 
al. The Simmenthal , the subject of the portraits 
here given, is to other Swiss cows, what the Jersey 
is among our dairy cows. An average product of a 
Swiss cow is 2,700 quarts in the year, a compara¬ 
tively low yield, but the milk is exceptionally rich in 
cream. The best cows give 28 to 32 quarts per day 
when fresh, and an average of 18 quarts through 
the pasturing season, is far from rare. The Sim- 
Fig. 2.—A SIMMENTHAL (SWISS) COW. 
Swiss, may have given birth to this idea of “ home¬ 
sickness,” when in reality it is not so much in the 
sensitiveness of the morale of the cow as in her di¬ 
gestive organs, not so richly supplied, that her fail¬ 
ure has its origin. Perhaps, too, the inventive 
minds of the Swiss people, to which the far-famed 
legend of William Tell, with all its amplifications, 
is due, in their absorbing love of their own land, 
may have imagined that their cows can as hardly 
menthal cow, as seen by the portrait given, is es¬ 
sentially a dairy cow. The gentle expression and 
the quiet attitude produce a favorable impression at 
first sight. Having an excellent reputation, it is 
frequently the ease, that other cows of mixed breed, 
similar in color, are passed off as of this variety, 
and this may be taken as one proof of its excellence. 
The color of this breed is red, pale-red, or red and 
white; the whole appearance is pleasing, and the 
writer, that as the question of profit is closely con¬ 
nected with the reputation of a race of cattle, 
attempts are sometimes made to obtain a high 
character for one breed, at the expense of others, 
with a view to attract purchasers ; a remark which 
may be justly applicable to others than these simple 
mountaineers. The same writer also hints strongly 
of “intestine quarrels ;” “interested eulogies and 
“accusing controversies ;” all of which might well 
be supposed to apply to other advocates of different 
kinds of dairy cattle than the Swiss, who are as yet 
unable to agree among themselves, as to which of 
their various breeds produces the best dairy cows. 
Our American breeders find themselves in a similar 
predicament. The Swiss cows, more especially 
the variety known as the Simmenthal, have been 
fed and bred for the production of rich milk. It is 
an accepted belief among Swiss breeders, and dairy¬ 
men, that feed is a very important element in the 
production of butter. The faculty of convert¬ 
ing certain elementary substance into butter is or¬ 
ganic, depending on the structure, and constitu¬ 
tional functions of the cow, and being independent, 
up to a certain point, of the nutriment. Of two 
cows fed alike, one may give richer milk than the 
other. It is curious that this evident, and prat- 
tically known fact, should be disputed by some 
persons, (not Swiss), who are taken to be experts 
on dairy matters. But facts show it to be true in 
spite of theories and opinions; and our readers, 
who guide themselves by any other principle than 
this, will surely discover that they are misled. 
Swiss cows, by reason of their excellence, have been 
largely exported. The spread of the manufacture 
of Gruyere cheese—for which rich milk is neces¬ 
sary—into those districts of France and Germany, 
which border on Switzerland, has made it necessary 
to import with the industry, the means to make it 
successful, and where this cheese is made, the Swiss 
cows, and Swiss dairymen, have been introduced. 
The race has taken a permanent foothold in Amer¬ 
ica, and several herds of the most excellent quality 
are now in course of formation in parts of New 
England. For the photographs, from which the 
accompanying portraits are reproduced, we are in¬ 
debted to one of our Swiss subscribers, Mr. Im 
Obersteg, of Oberwyl. The cattle were bred by 
Mr. Rebman, in Erlenbach. The bull is 3 years, 
the cow 5 years old. Both were sold to a Russian. 
