AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
FOR THE 
Farm, GrarcLen, and. Idouseliold. 
“AGRICULTURE IS THE MOST HEALTHFUL, MOST USEFUL, AM> MOST NOBLE EMPLOYMENT OF MAN.” —Washington. 
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Entered according to Act of Congress, in November, 1S77, by the Orange Judd Company, at the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
ORANGE JU»I> COUP A NY, / 
PUBLISHERS AND PROPRIETORS. > 
Office, 245 BROADWAY. ) 
ESTABLISHED IN 1842. 
VOLUME XXXVI.—No. 12. NEW YORK, DECEMBER, 1877. NEW SERIES—No. 371. 
BELTED, SHEETED, OR DRAPED CATTLE. — Drawn and Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
In several parts of the country may be found, j 
scattered here and there, specimens of a race of ' 
cattle so curiously and conspicuously marked, that 
they at once attract attention. These are known 
in different localities as “ Belted,” “ Sheeted,” and | 
“ Blanketed ” cattle, from their having generally | 
a broad hand or belt of white around the middle, 
while all the rest of the body is black. The strik¬ 
ing contrast between these very unlike and ab- I 
ruptly defined colors, gives a very picturesque and 
remarkable appearance to these animals, which is I 
increased when they are seen gathered together I 
Into a herd. These cattle are descended from 
Dutch stock imported into this country many years 
ago. It does not appear that any systematic im- | 
portation of them has been made, with a view to 
popularize them, nor have we been able, after much 
careful and somewhat troublesome inquiry, to learn 
of any recent or well authenticated importation at j 
all. The tradition is that they were brought hither ! 
from Holland by some of the early settlers. Hol¬ 
land is their original home without doubt, for in 
that country this distinctly marked breed not only 
exists, hut is preserved with care in Welde-Laken 
and Lakenfield districts in North Holland. The 
breeders of these localities make the preservation 
of the peculiar marking a distinct feature, and are 
careful to select as breeders only those animals 
which are likely to reproduce this peculiarity. 
This breed is closely related to the black and white 
larger breed, which has of late been brought from 
North Holland in considerable numbers, and which 
by some unfounded or perverse choice has been, 
and still continues to he, called “ Holstein,” in¬ 
stead of Dutch, as they should properly be desig¬ 
nated. The fact that the peculiar marking of the 
cattle under consideration is so tenaciously held 
under adverse circumstances, and without especial 
care, proves the breed to he a very perfectly fixed 
and strongly characterized one ; and therefore one 
that is very susceptible of improvement in the hands 
of an intelligent and competent breeder. These 
cattle have an excellent reputation for the dairy, 
and the fact that they are found most numerously 
in that noted dairy locality, Orange County, N. Y., 
shows them to be deserving of this reputation. 
That locality is the only one known to us where 
these belted cattle are kept in herds, or where 
they are to be seen in such numbers as to be¬ 
come a marked feature in the landscape, and at¬ 
tract the notice of a traveler, even if he is not 
interested in cows, dairies, or farming. They are 
hardy, easily kept, and when past the profitable 
milking age make fair butcher’s stock. The illus¬ 
trations given above are from a sketch of a pair in 
a herd kept near Middletown, Orange Co., N. Y. 
Many of the Orange County dairymen take especial 
pains with their herds, to keep them pure and pre¬ 
serve both their markings and good qualities. All 
these belted cattle breed very true to their markings. 
