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THE COWS.( By P. W. Culbertson.)It will cost about $30 to feed a good cow for one year. Suppose your cow produces 100 pounds of butter fat a year that sells for 30 cents per pound, where Is your profit? If she produces 140 pounds, and that is stated to be the average, it leaves you $12 per year only $1 per month. Is her calf worth anything for a breeder? The 300 pound cow will make a profit of about $tio per year, and perhaps raise a good calf. The 400 and 500 pound cows are not such a scarce animal the last few years. There are cows that have produced 1000 to 1200 pounds of butter fat in 305 days. The calf alone from these cows is worth $1000, and up. You may know that from nature a cow only gives enough milk for her baby calf, and then she goes dry. For several thousand years some cows have been bred each generation to give a surplus of milk, until at the present time the cows of some families of dairy breeds give a great quantity of milk. The writer was raised on a dairy farm. Wq had the Jersey cattle. They are a good dairy breed. There are several good dairy breed of cattle. Some are too small for beef, some of them are inbred to a large extent.We wish to see community breeding and mention one breed suited to this territory. We will quote from the U. S. Department of Agriculture farmer's bulletin No. toti, by the late Henry E. Alvord. It is mutual in describing all of the ten dairy breeds:Origin of breeds—The different breeds of cattle to be found in the United States all came from Ureat Britain and the western portions of Europe, and It is not at all unlikely that they have a common origin in the wild cattle which existed in the ancient forests of Europe. These were described by Julius Caesar, Pliny and other Latin writers almost two thousand years ago, and by others who wrote of them a century or two later as abounding in the great forests around London.in the early history of these cattle natural causes tended to divide then into two general classes: first, those adapted to the more mountainous and less fertile sections of country, and, second, those of the plains and richer regions. The former, owing to greater scarcity of food and more difficulty in obtaining it, were smaller, more rugged, and rougher in type than the better-bred animals of the latter class, loiter, breeding and artificial conditions. together with natural causes resulted in additional varieties among cattle and led to the distinctions which became fixed in different breeds. The chief characteristics resulting from man's interference and control were to be first seen, on the one hand, in a tendency of the animals to muture at an early age and easily to lay on flesh and fat, and, on the other hand, in prolonging the natural period of milk flow and increasing the milk product much beyond the needs of the calf.At the present time each of the various recognized breeds of domestic cattle may be satisfactorily placed in one or two great classes designated, respectively, as beef cattle and dairy cattle.Origin and development.—The strongly marked black-and-white cattle of North Holland and Friesland constitute one of the very oldest and most notable of the dairy breeds. The historians of this race claim that it can be traced back for two thousand years continuously occupying the territory named and always famous for dairy purposes. Tradition has it that two ancient tribes located upon the shores of the North Sea before the beginning of the Christian era; one possessed a race of cattle pure white and tlie other a kind all black. Men and cattle then became amalgamated, forming the people and herds which for centuries have occupied that region Holland has been noted for dairy products for at least a thousand vears. and the great bicolored beasts upon which this reputation has been gained have slowly but surely developing their present form of dairy excellence.These cattle have been known by several different nams in both Europe and America. Holland cattle, North Hollanders, “Dutch cattle,' Ilolsteins, Dutch-Friesians.” Neth-erland cattle. and Holstein-Fries-ians are all the same. There was sharp contention in this country before tlie last name was agreed upon and generally accepted. It seems unfortunate that the simpler and sufficiently descriptive and accurate name of Dutch cattle was not adopted.The large frame, strong bone, abundance of flesh, silken coat, extreme docility and enormous milk yield of the Holstein-Freislans result from the rich and luxuriant herbage of the very fertile and moist reclaimed lands upon which the breed has been perfected, the uncommonly good care received from their owners and the close association of people and cattle. The Homan dominion brought improvements In draining and diking, in methods of cultivation and of cattle breeding, but no moisture of blood occurred with the inhabitants or in their herds. The preservation of the Freis-ian people and their continued adhesion to cattle breeding for more than two thousand years is one of the marvels of history. Always few in number, the conflicts of war and commerce have raged over and around them, yet they have remained in or near their original home, continuously following their original pursuits. Their farm houses are fashioned alter the same general model; the one immense roof covers everything that requires protection. Here the cattle find shelter during the long and rigorous winter months. Here they are fed and groomed and watched for months without being turned from the door. Here the family is also sheltered. sometimes with only a single partition between the cattle stalls and the kitchen and living room. Everyhing is kept with a degree of neatness marvelous to those not accustomed to such system. The cattle become the pets of the household. At the opening of spring or when grass is sufficiently grown they arc taken to the fields and cared for in the most quiet manner. Canvas covers protect their bodies from sun and storm, and insects. The grasses upon which they feed are rich
Newspaper Details
Oroville Weekly Gazette
Oroville, Washington, US
Fri, Jul 25, 1913
Page 4
Full Page
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Victoria -.
WA, USA 15 Oct 2023
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Oroville Weekly Gazette
