T 
HE RURAL HEW - YORKER. 
JUNE 44 
their development under peculiar circum¬ 
stances. The climate is cold, raw and damp 
in Winter, necessitating the nest of shelter and 
care; the grasses are abund int, nutritious aDd 
succulent; the soil moist and level. These 
circumstances aided in producing a large, thick 
and long-haired animal. In an early day, 
d drying naturally attracted great attention, as 
in those times the products of the cow could be 
transported more cheaply and more easily than 
her carcass. Therefor e, selections were made 
by all with reference to milking qualities, 
while without special care or attention by the 
breeders the abundant and nutritious food gave 
6!zs. As breeds were Formed in adjacent 
countries, a few from time to lime, of various 
strains, were bronght into Holland and either 
bred separately or crossed wnh the native cat¬ 
tle. The result was always an auimal inferior 
to the pure home-bred beast, consequently the 
foreign blood was discarded. Briefly stated, 
these are the causes that have led to the for¬ 
mation of this par ewellence milk and beef 
breed combined, and have preserved it in its 
purity. 
To get a better idea of the Hollander’s 
methods, let us take for illustration a dairy of 
thirty first-class cows. They would produce 
thirty calves. The males, with possibly a 
single exception, are vealed and sold. From 
6ix to ten of the most promising calves are 
raised, their selection being largely governed 
by the milking qualities of their dams. This is 
done every year, aud therefore each Spring 
there is a JiKe number of two-year-olds to have 
their first calves. These heifers are bred to 
come in early in order that extra food and 
attention may be given them to develop their 
milking qualities to ihe highest extent. But 
this does not satisfy tne close figuriug Dutch¬ 
man. For while all. with scarcely an excep¬ 
tion, will be good milkers, some will be better 
than others and thus the third time a careful 
selection is made. If mistakes have been made 
b store, they can be corrected ; for the cows are 
now put to that most perfect aud rigorous of 
all tests—actual performance at the pail. 
Nothing but superior performance will do in 
that land of high rents, aud it is not uncom¬ 
mon for oue-quarter of these heifers to find 
their way to the butcher before Christmas. 
As these young animals are each year added to 
the dairy some of the older oues must be sold 
to make room for them ; so. if at three years 
or at any subsequent age they do not maintain 
th s high Biaudard, they are sent to the block. 
Let them be ever so good, they seldom see 
their eighth year, aB it would be bad policy to 
keep eveu a very good cow till she was a worn- 
out shell, not profitable for beef, when there 
are plenty of youuger animals coming on 
equally good to fill her place. If fattened at a 
comparatively youDg age she will sell for $80 
to $100. 
The Holstein in the hands of the Dutchman 
never dies in debt. The veal, the two-year-old, 
whether she be superior or only a fair milker, 
or the more mature cow, always shows a bal- 
anc; on the credit side. It will be seen that 
the method practiced tends to maintain, not 
only the milking qualities, but to improve 
them. It will also be noticed that the sales 
are: first, veals; then butter and cheese, and, 
in the Fall, beef. Tue sales of meat frequently 
reach $800 a year ia a dairy of 30 cows, 
veal and cow-beef bringing nearly twice as 
much with them as with us. The Lord might 
have made a better breed of dairy cows than 
the Holotein, and a more economical and close- 
figuring dairyman than the Hollander, but He 
never did. 
The management of the cattle and the man¬ 
ner in which the Hollander lives are so closely 
connected that, to some extent, both must he 
described at the same time. Figure 291 rt pre¬ 
sents the dwelling-house and the cow-stable, 
which are under the same roof. They are 
included In one large building from (50 to 80 
fset square, divided into first floor and loft 
The first story is built of small, hard-burned 
brick, and is scarcely raised above the level of 
the ground. The roof is very steep and high, 
without gables, and hipped up on all sides to 
the peak. The upper portion of the roof is 
thatched with Btraw or reedy grasses; the lower 
edge is often covered with earthen tiles, paint¬ 
ed some bright color, aud the thatching is cut 
in handsome scallops where it meets the upper 
edge of the tiles. The roof forms an immense 
dome, 40 to 00 feet high, in which hay—the 
only field product—is stored. The cut shows 
Uow one corner of the building is cut out in 
order to get an entrance of sufficient hight for 
the loads of hay, which are drawu with one 
horse hitched to a wagon having ueither shafts 
nor tongue. The hay is supported by large, 
planed beams or joists, covered on their upper 
side with flooring. The under 6ide of the floor 
and the beams which appear In the room be¬ 
low are thoroughly painted and varnished. 
Figure 292 represents the ground-plan of 
house and stable. It will be seen that the cow 
stable consists of a row of stalls along two 
aides of the building. The cows are tied up in 
these stalls in the Fall and remain there until 
turned out to pasture in the Spring. They are 
asually arranged in pairs on the elevated plat¬ 
forms of the stalls, and there is a round win¬ 
dow for each pair. Depending from the ceil¬ 
ing are cords to tie up their tails that they may 
not become soiled. The droppings are re¬ 
moved several times daily. The feed consists 
of hay with aveiysmall amount of concen¬ 
trated food, such as oil-cake, and the excre¬ 
ment is therefore not so offensive as that of 
more highly-fed animals. The stables are all 
perfectly sweet and clean ;.in fact, they are— 
treatment will find their greatest reward when 
bestowed upon the somewhat artificial or im¬ 
proved br eeds. ^ ^ _ 
Holstein Cow, Netherland tineen (114). 
Netherland Queen, Fig. 295 owned by Messrs. 
SmithB & Powell, Syracuse, N. Y., was selected 
in Holland by one of the firm, when coming 
one year old, as the finest representative of the 
breed to he found in that country. As a one- 
GROUND l’LAN. — FfG 291 
without the least exaggeration—cleaner than 
many American kitchens. 
The Winter living-rooms of the family com¬ 
prise the rest of the house on the first floor. 
After the cattle are turned out in the Spring 
the stalls are thoroughly cleaned, painted 
and varnished throughout; the walls of the 
stables are ornamented with pictures, family 
china, household utensils, etc , aud frequently 
a portion of them is used for a Summer dining¬ 
room and kitchen. There are two doors beside 
the large one for the loads of hay, the cow- 
stable door and the front door. The last is fm - 
nished with an inside bolt only. aDd is some¬ 
times called the “ dead door," as it is never 
used except io case of a marriage or death in 
the family. All visitors, of whatever station, 
are expected to enter through the cow-stable 
door. Members of the family remove their 
shoes (sabots) outside the door and step into 
slippers which are always kept just inside. 
These people by kindness and attention and 
bv anticipating every want of their cattle, 
have succeeded in breeding into them an un¬ 
usually quiet and peaceable disposition which 
they transmit to their off-pring. I trust that 
the nervous American will not breed, frighten 
or starve this valuable quality out of them. 
These Holstein cattle so admirably adapted 
to the northern part of the Netherlands, are an 
extremely valuble addition to our other breeds, 
year-old she was awarded the first prize at the 
N. Y. State fair at Elmira in 1878. As a two- 
year-old Bhe won the first prize at Utica, N. Y. 
As a three-year-cid she was placed in the class 
of mature cows, and in a very superior class 
of older animals was awarded second prize at 
Albany. She dropped her first calf when just 
about two years old, aud during the year made 
an unequaled two-year-old milk record of 58 
pouuds 12 ounces in oue day, 1.670 pounds 9 
ounces in one mouth. 13 574 pounds 3 ounces 
in a vear, dropping her second calf two days 
less than a year from the date of the first. She is 
from the Barne herd in Holland and closely re¬ 
lated to the heifer " L \dy of the Lake M whose 
cut appeared in the Rural Borne weeks since, 
and which has recently closed her two-year-old 
record of 12,200 pounds 4 ouuceB in a year, 
commencing her record at 22 months old. The 
milk record of 23 registered Holstein cows of 
the herd of the above firm for the year just 
closed, averaged, for mature cows, 14,104 
pounds, 15 ounces; aud for two-year-old 
heifers, 9,681 pounds 15 ounces. 
—- 4 « » 
HEREFORD CATTLE. 
Thbsb cattle obtain their name from the 
counly of Hereford, Eogland, where, from the 
time * • to which the memory of man runneth 
not back,” they have been always extensively, 
ELEVATION OF FRIESIAN FARM HOUSE AND STABLE COMBINED,—FIO. 292. 
and there is room enough in our great country 
for them. But we must approximate to the 
same circumstances and surroundings which 
have produced them, or they will degenerate. 
He \\ho places them on poor, hill pastures, 
starves them in August, lets them run dry 
three months in the year and both starves 
and freezes them in Winter, will become dis¬ 
gusted and conclude that acclimated natives 
are the best after all. So they are for such 
dairymen. Liberal food, kind and intelligent 
and sometimes almost exclusively, raised. 
Their origin, like that of all the other ancient 
breeds, is “ wrapt in mysterybut it is sup¬ 
posed by those who have made a special study 
of the matter that they trace back, in part, at 
least, to a race of white cattle with red ears 
described in the tenth century. Down to the 
present day pyre Herefords of this color crop 
out, probably through atavism. It is related 
that Lord Scudmore, who died in 1671, intro¬ 
duced cows of a red-and-white breed from 
Flanders, aud these are supposed to have been 
bred with the white race with red ears, and to 
have produced the colors of the Herefords of 
to-day- In any event, they are certainly a 
very ancient breed, and are generally thought 
to be allied to the Devons. 
As long ago as 1766, Mr. Benjamin Tomp¬ 
kins began to breed Herefords carefully at 
Kings-Pyon, nine miles from the city of Here¬ 
ford, and continued the business for about 50 
years. He was to the improved Hereford what 
the Collings brothers were to the improved 
Short-born. After his death his herd of 52 
head, including calves, was sold at auction, in 
1819, and brought an average of $450 each, a 
two-year-old bull making $2,940, one cow $1,- 
365, and several others over $1 000. These 
prices show the high estimation in which this 
breed was then held. Even before that date, 
however, a Hereford ox bore awav the first 
prize at the first meeting of the Smitbfleld 
Club, in 1799. This was a seven-year old beast, 
eight feet eleven inches long, six feet seven 
inches high and ten feet four inches in girth 
—a goodly animal with which to begin the 
Hertford record, and worth Its price—100 
guineas—$525. The first known importations 
of Herefords into thiB country consisted of two 
cows, or heifers, and one bull, which arrived 
in Baltimore in May. 1817. for Henry Clay, of 
Kentucky. For some years there was in that 
8tate a close rivalry between Short-horns, 
L^ng-horns and Herefords; but finally, after 
1830.the two latter were bred to Short-horn bulls 
and both the other pure breeds soon became 
extinct there. The next importation of any 
importance was made into this State by Messrs. 
W. H. Sotbam and Eraatus Corning, in 1840. 
During the seven years these gentlemen con¬ 
tinued together in the business of breeding 
Herefords thev sold a considerable number of 
cattle in New England and this State. In 1800 
and 1861 two importations were made into 
Canada, consisting of two bulls and eleven 
cows and heifers. Since then numerous im¬ 
portations have been made chiefly to Mary¬ 
land, Maine, Indiana, and Illinois. Lately 
the first volume of the American Hereford 
Recoid has been published, containiug the ped¬ 
igrees of 2 915 pure-bred Herefords in this 
country, and we understand about 1 000 other 
eutries have already been contributed towards 
a Becond volume. 
The old Herefords, according to Youatt, were 
brown or red-browo, with not a soot of white 
about them, but those of to day are red with 
white faces, white on the top of the neck, along 
the throat, dewlap, brisket and fore-legs, belly 
and flanks; and white hind feet and tail tips are 
also now fashionable. The head is small in 
comparison with the rest of the body; the chest 
deep and full; the bosom sufficiently promin¬ 
ent; the shoulder blades thin, flat and sloping 
towards the chines, and well covered on the out¬ 
side with mellow flesh; the chine and loin broad; 
hips long and moderately broad ; legs straight 
and small; rump forming a straight liue with 
the back; thighB full of flesh to the hocks; 
hide thick, yellow, and well covered with 
soft, glossy hair, havtog a tendency to 
curl. The horns belong to the “ middle- 
horn" class. Their chief merits are a ro¬ 
bust constitution, early maturity, great apti¬ 
tude to fatten, freedom from disease, hardiness 
which enables them to withstand climatic ex¬ 
tremes better than any other breed ; ability to 
thrive ou rough fare; great prolificness ; excel¬ 
lent calviug propensities, enabling them to drop 
their calves, even when in high condition, with 
little trouble or danger. They are also consid¬ 
ered to be the best graziers in Eagland, and, 
taken from grass, their flesh letches the high¬ 
est price in the Londou markets, except the 
small supply from the West Highlanders. 
The beef both of the male and female Here¬ 
ford is highly prized for its excellent flavor 
and its beautiful marbled appearance due to 
its admixture of fat aud leau. 
It is claimed that Herefords will fatten on 
less food thau Short-horn8 and mature as early; 
that their flesh is better and they are hardier 
and more active. They are purely a ••beef’’ 
breed, as the cows give less milk than those of 
any other straiu. This is due to the fact that 
for generations they have been required only 
to rear their owu calves; hence their milking 
properties have been neglected, aptitude to 
fatten having been cultivated instead. The 
Hereford working ox is possessed of greater 
strength than the Devon, is quick, gentle and 
an excellent traveler. The hardiness and 
capability of taking care of themselves on 
rough and scanty pastures, together with their 
aptitude to fatten at au early age, and the ex, 
cellent quality of their flesh, are fast making 
the Herefords favorites in New Zealand, 
Australia, Canada and our Western States aud 
Territories. The recent establishment of our 
meat trade with Europe has greatly increased 
their popularity ou the plains, where already 
the demand for bulls can hardly bo snpplied 
for the purpose of improving, by crossing, the 
quantHy and qualily of beef from “ natives " 
and Texans. Wherever they have been intro¬ 
duced they have become readily acclimated and 
adapted themselves to new conditions, retaining 
all the while their character, form and quality. 
