Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1902-06-17
DUTCH sELTEo CATTLE IN AMERICA
4 VERY UNIQUE AND PROMISING
BREED.

BENG as yet young man, ana having
bred the Dutch belted cattle only few
years, Mr.. Sanders certainly deserves al
the credit he is receiving. His farm
consists of only about l75 acres, and
over one hundred of that are devoted to
pasture and woodland Nevertheless, on
the remainder he manages TO raise
enough, with the exception of certain
proteine foods, to keep thirty or more
head of cattle, besides producing every
year a good crop of potatoes, which he
says rarely sell in his local markets for
less than 80 and often I5 cents bushel,
90 pounds weight.
How does he achieve so much? Sim
ply by rotating his crops and trying TO
keep as much ground as possible under
cultivation. He makes speciality of
ensilage, corn and oats, and is also pay
ing considerable attention TO fruit
culture; in fact, he already has several
hundred apple trees on his farm, and
finds this industry so profitable that he
is planning TO add several hundred
more.
1t was while attending the New Hamp-
shire Agricultural College that he re-
ceived his stimulus TO breed good stock,
and, having seen at near By fair a
herd of Dutch belted cattle and become
interested in them, he forthwith began
TO study the breed, which was largely
made possible through the excellent
library of the college. He also learned
from one source and other various facts
concerning these cattle, and found them
recommended as a tirst-class breed OF
dairy animals in every respect. Ac-
cordingly, few months later, he pur-
chased a bull and four cows of a woman
in New York, and thus laid the founda-
ton of his now famous herd.
As indicated by their name, the Dutch
belted cattle are natives of Holland, and
from the best information obtainable
were bred there on scientific principles,
which resulted in "the highest attain
ment ever reached in the science of
breeding" =" over three hundred years ago.
Their type and color were then establish
ed BY strictly scientific breeding, since
when they have been solely controlled
by the nobility of that country, who,
wonderful TO relate, are still breeding
them pure, and manifesting, the same as
in the past, no inclination 10 sell or part
with them. They treasure them even
as sacred cattle, and this is the reason
why so few are 10 be found on the
American Continent; for, truth to tell,
their number in the United States is less
than that of any other breed, the polled
Jerseys excepted.
Lakenfield cattle is what they were
originally called, Laken meaning sheet
TO be wound around the body of the
animal: and so well does this name
describe their chief characteristic that il
is still used in Holland. The sheet is
a broad band, or belt, white as the drift
ing snow, encircling the middle of the
animals body, the rest of which is a
coal black As the marking is uniform,
the contrast is very beautiful and i'm
posing, and most pleasing to the eye.
The fact is, it eXcites the curiosity and
attracts the attention of any one who
has never seen these cattle before.
Generally speaking, they possess a
very fine form, and withal are excellent
mixers, giving a large flow of good
milk. IL is said to be practically i'm
possible TO dry off many of the cows, and
this, coupled with their hardness,
heartiness, freedom from disease and
adaptability TO environment, makes
them, as the historian Motley once said,
really, 1.-THE most wonderful cattle of the
world" The mature cow shown among
the accompanying illustrations, although
she weighs only l, ,l20 pounds, has milk
record of sixty-twO pounds in one day.
Among the early importers into the
United States was p I. Barnum, the
great Snowman, who admitted that he
was forcibly struck by their unique and
singular appearance while in Holland.
But by far the most important importa-
tions into this country were made by
ID. II. Haight of Goshen, \. Y. He
made three in all, and these cattle were
very carefully bred on large farm in
Orange County, y. Y. From his i'm
portations the noted Knight and Holbert
herds were finely established by careful
selection, and with the exception of a
few specimens thought to have been
brought into this same county by early
settlers, the grades of which soon spread
over the country, these two famous
herds comprise the foundation of most
of the thoroughbred herds of Dutch
belted cattle in America.
Mr.. Sanders has never yet lost any
animals in breeding them, the calves
always being strong from the beginning,
and all the stock absolutely free from
disease; and this makes him feel that he
has found very healthy and vigorous
breed indeed. He exercised great pains
in selecting bull to head his herd, and
was not satisfied until he had obtained
one in no way related to his cows, which
was the more difficult to do as this breed
contains less than eight hundred register
ed specimens. He considers his time
was we'll spent, however, it being his be-
lief that the selection of herd bull is in
MANY respects one of the most important
events in the life of breeder.
As far as possible, he breeds his cows
to calve in the fall. This enables him to
carry on dairying during the winter,
which he says is the best time in New
Hampshire, as he can then get his calves
well started and in good condition to
turn out to pasture; whereas if dropped
in spring they would have to be kept up
all summer.
When calf is born he leaves it from
three or four days to week with its
mother, then removes it and allows it
the privilege of sucking a good patent
calf feeder, which he regards as one OF
the most practical dairy appliances a
breeder can own. Having fed the calf
ON its mothers milk for about a fort
night, he gradually accustoms it to pure
skim milk, direct from the cream sepa-
rator-never the cold water kind, which
he says he has no use for-and, as ii
grows, gives it hay, whole oats and little
bran. 1t being his aim to breed dairy
animals, he is careful not to be toe
generous in his feeding, but during the
latter part of winter gives chopped tur-
nips and other roots, and the conse.
auence is his calves in spring come out
as sleek as seals. Best of all, it has SC
far been his good fortune to get fully
two-thirds heifer calves.
Every day through the winler he feed:
each of his cows a ration composed OF
about ten pounds of hay, thirty-five t.
forty pounds of corn ensilage, six pounds
of bran and one pound of corn meal
of course, different cows require more
or less variation in feeding. While cot
Il ..