The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1914-08-06
The History of the Dairy Cow In
Maine

Hon. Frank S. Adams. State Dairy
Instructor in a recent address on the
History of the Dairy Cow in Maine,
said as follows:
In prehistoric times. the wild cattle
were divided into two families by the
natural environments. Those that in
/ habited the plains and wales, where
the feed was good, were larger than
/ those in the hills and mountains
where the feed was scanty. Their
function in life was to reproduce their
kind in their offspring. giving enough
milk for the calf until he was old
enough to hustle for himself. No
improvement year after year. ques-
ton physically of the survival of the
fittest.
The COW played an important part
in the history and development of this
State The COW of the past once
usually referred to as the native COW,
was just the type of COW for the
wants of those days. There were
no markets for dairy products, or
much of anything else. This pion-
Ger COW was COW which gave milk
in the summer when in the pastures,
! so that the farmers wife could make
| butter and milk to pack away for the
long winters. This pioneer COW
, would drop calf that could be raised
for an OK to assist in clearing the land
of stumps and rocks, so that ii could
be plowed and cultivated for the crops.
And i'll the winter hauling wood and
/ lumber to market, for about all the
money these farmers had was what
was received for the wood and lum-
Der sold. This pioneer COW when her
usefulness had passed, was slaughter
ed for food for the farmer; the hide
was tanned and made into boots and
shoes for the children to wear to
school in the long winter months and
even the horns were utilized for pow
der horns as they were called.
The old native cow played well
her part in the early history and for
quite long period; up to the close of
ventive genius. which had been using
most all its efficiency in inventing and
constructing machines of destruction,
was turned to the more peaceful oc-
cupation of inventing and construct
ing machinery to aid in production.
The same inventive genius had har-
messed the water powers and manufac
turing centers were growing and there
commenced to be market for dairy
products. The only ground that
seemed to be left by the western farm
err for the farmer of Maine was dairy
ing. The farmers of Maine at this
time had some little knowledge of
dairying They began to realize that
if this business was to be profitable
the old native COW must go and in
stead of trying to develop dairy
they did the wisest thing,-imported
from the countries where the inhabi-
tants had been working for centuries
breeding and developing animals of
the dairy type. The Jerseys were
the first importations to this State. l
speak in this lecture principally of
the Jerseys because the Jerseys were
the pioneers
These pioneer dairy cattle went into
the hands of farmers who were not
used to taking care of that kind of
COW The old native COW, that they
were familiar with, owing to her en-
vironments was as tough and hardy
almost as deer. Cold barns, poor
care and feed, in many instances go
! ing a long distance for drink of ice
water, and that only once a day, 80
you can see that under these condi-
tons the pioneer COW had hard time
and the immediate result was ere
version to type" a going back to the
original common stock and 1t began to
be the opinion that these improved
animals coming from a warm climate
would never do we'll in our cold, long
winters, because in a few years they