Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1876-11-23
DAIRY DEPARTMENT.
BRETON CATTLE.

erably thin, Informed and ugly, and most
difficult and expensive to fatte,l-such at
least is the testimony of some who have
kept them, though others aver that when
dry they fatten readily. Within the last
twenty or thirty years, however, great i'm
provements have been made in them they
have increased considerably in size, ane pro-
duce beautifully marked beef, which, being
of the best quality, commands the highest
prices.
The principal value of this breed, howev-
er, consists in the adoption Of the COW to the
domestic dairy. For richness and quanti-
ty OF milk, compared with the size of the
animal and the amount Of food consumed,
the Breton COW is perhaps not excelled by
any other breed. For this reason the COW
is higly valued by the cottagers and small
farmers Of France, and is also used to i'm
prove the domestic diaries OF gentlemen liv-
ing in the vicinity OF large towns. In many
parts of France this breed has been crossed
with the Attorneys, producing results that
are always favorable. The Breton COWS
make admirable first crosses with the Ayr
shires or Herefords, and produce animals
generally well adapted to the dairy, and
very excellent for fattening purposes. 1t is
however, desirable to keep the breed dis
tinct for breeding purposes.
They have lately become very fashiona-
BILE in England, and are held in estimation
on account Of their small size, docility of
disposition and the ease with which they
can be kept on a small amount of food,
while the quantity of milk they will yield
is, in proportion to their size, quite aston
ishing, equaling, it is said, the ordinary
yield of a dairy cow of the larger breeds.
They stand about four feet high, and are
mostly black and white in color; the horn
is fine, not unlike the Jersey, but smaller,
and the milk marks are well developed. It
is said that they will hold on in milk for
eighteen months after calying. Their small
size, though it may render them desirable
as pets, and not interfere with their adap-
ton for the dairy Of the private family,
must render them unsuitable and unprofita-
BILE to the farmer who wishes to raise for
beef.
The small breed of cattle can stand the
long summers and the short pasture of the
South far better than the large cattle can.
We would not be surprised If the little Bre-
ton cow, and a good spring of water, would
give as much milk to the pasture. and
without water, q far richer milk ; and six or
or eight quarts WoulQ make as much and
better butter than ten quarts of ordinary
milk would. The farmers in the
OF Bretaigne, France, c~ontriye to
keep a considerable number of dairy cows
IN excellent condition on a small farm, by
combining soiling with pasture. When the
soliing gives out they tether the COWS in the
fields, and as the grass grows considerably
the cows are being house-fai, there
a good bite for them in the fields when
Ihey are put out. The usual way oil teher-
ng is to allow a COW the range of a circle to ]
me extent of the chain, and when the food
"ltnln the circle is consumed, the chain is
'emoved @ another spot. Instead of doing
MS, the farmer we allude to, tethers each
'ow with a chain fifteen feet long, begin
ing ut one side of a field, and when the :
'rass within the circle has been eaten. the !
'ia or stake is removed onward a few feet.
ma so Oh until the whole field has been gene :
can Stock Journal. .
u
MR. ARNOLD gives the following chorao- :,
OF properly sipened cheese "Well h
lpenea cneese has no elasticity when :