giT^HohM 
VOL. XLVII. NO. 2009. 
NEW YORK, JULY 28, 1888. 
PRICE FIVE CENTS 
$2.00 PER YEAR. 
fEntered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1888, by the Rural New-Yorker in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.] 
BELTED DUTCH CATTLE. 
Though much less known in this country, 
and fewer in number than the Holstein-Frie- 
sians, the Dutch Belted, Sheeted or Blanketed 
cattle are highly prized by those acquainted, 
with their merits. They derive their various 
names from the broad white band around 
They are very hardy and more active than 
the heavier cattle from north Holland, and 
therefore they can get along better on scanty 
pastures and in rough, hilly sections. They 
are a very profitable breed, and owing to 
their peculiar marking and trim shape a herd 
of them presents a very picturesque sight. 
“ k THE PERFECT COW.” 
PROFESSOR G. E. MORROW. 
This seems an unfortunate expression. 
large majority of our farmers w ill make a mis" 
take if they select a breed the only claim for 
which is its dairy capacity or one really in¬ 
ferior as milk-givers. Because they are good, 
and because they are much the most abundant 
in this region and can be had at very moder¬ 
ate prices, I place the Short-horns first for 
farmers generally in Central Illinois. With 
the present exceptionally low prices, it will be 
wise for many to buy “a start” for a pure¬ 
bred herd ; let all persistently use well-bred 
and good bulls. Good grade Short-horn cows 
the Short-horn. Some farmers certainly can 
do better by taking the Jersey or the Holstein. 
Under present conditions I do not think this 
true for the mass. 
University of Illinois, Champaign. 
“ THE PERFECT COW.” 
I give my opinion for what it is worth, that 
this animal has not yet been evolved. I know 
of no cow that can be all things to all men. 
To my mind the “general-purpose cow” is a 
delusion and a snare. I have seen many ex¬ 
amples of cows of an apparently duplex char- 
4 
— 
*5\\yKKV Mu.N'-'i'o'rVfVtA 
GROUP OF DUTCH BELTED CATTLE. 
their bodies, and as this characteristic mark¬ 
ing has become [fixed, all that .vary from it 
are rejected by breeders. There are a con¬ 
siderable number of herds in Delaware, 
Orange County, New York, and the dairy 
districts of Pennsylvania. The animals rep¬ 
resented in Fig. 265 are the property of Mr. 
H. B. Richards of Meadsville, Pa. 
These cattle are of medium size, being con" 
siderably smaller than Holstein-Friesians, and 
they have not a reputation for yielding such 
large messes of milk; but it is claimed that 
their milk is richer in butter fats. They are 
fine-boned, compact and well built, good 
feeders and, fofc their size, liberal milkers. 
Aside from the obvious fact that no animal is 
perfect, it is almost equally evident that no 
one class of cows is best adapted to all classes 
of farmers. Cattle breeders can be divided 
into three classes—those who keep cows prin¬ 
cipally for the milk or its products—and this 
class is to be subdivided—second, those who 
are almost exclusively for the beef product, 
and, third, a vastly larger number who want 
as good ability as can be had in both these 
directions in one set of animals. On the fer¬ 
tile prairie farms of Central Illinois beef mak¬ 
ing is more important than the dairy side of 
cattle production, but the latter is vastly more 
important here than on the plains, and the 
can be bought at $40 to $50 each ; pure-bred 
ones for $100 to $150. Cows which, when fat¬ 
tened, weigh 1,500 pounds and upward, and 
which produce steers which can be econom¬ 
ically made to weigh as much before they are 
three years old, and which will give 40 pounds 
or more of milk of good quality per day, are 
to be found hereabouts. I have just come 
from our county fair, where there are five or 
six herds of Short-horns, two of Herefords and 
just one Jersey cow. This fairly represents 
the opinions of our cattle-men. 
I incline to the opinion that more money 
can be made by a fair number of breeders in 
this region if they select some other breed than 
acter, but none which seemed to promise 
economical results in practical use. 
The nearest approach to a perfect cow 
which any one person can obtain is the animal 
of the cow kind which will best suit his partic¬ 
ular purpose, whether it be to produce milk, 
or butter, or make beef, itself or by its calves; 
but only one of these, not all three. 
The surest way to get her is to raise her, 
and the cheapest way, to select a cow of com¬ 
mon stock, or half pure bred, approaching as 
nearly as possible the animal sought, and 
breed her to the best pure-bred bull available, 
first, of the right breed to secure the end de¬ 
sired, and, second, of a family of proved ex¬ 
cellence in its specialty. For milk, Holstein 
or Ayrshire; for butter, Jersey or Guernsey; 
for beef, Hereford, Short-horn, or Polled- 
AngUS. HENRY E. ALVORD. 
