Oxford Democrat., 1921-06-07
In frlesIand.

A land flowing with milk and honey
might have been written to describe the
prosperity of Friesland, the province Of
Holland north of the Zuider Zee. It is
here that dairying has been developed to
the highest degree. Since the ninth
century this country has been noted for
its production Of dairy products and foI
it's black and white cattle. With IN
area little less than that of Rhode
Island, the milk from Its 200 600 oows
produce for export an amount equal to
nearly one-third of the whole milk
cheese and much more than one.third OF
the creamery butter made In Wisconsin
England is on butter ration and
traveller must learn to be content with
oleo most of the time. In France butter
Ia served but once each day In dainty
little rolls; but In Friesland, not ono,
each day, but for every meal land In the
cruntry there are four of them) 1t IL
offered by the plsteful and not in little
rolls or squares. Cheese is served two
or three times each day to each person
and in amounts that would supply an
ordinary American family for week.
Along the fine country roads are COM
Portable appearing brick houses with
great barns attached, every place radiat-
ing cOntentment and prosperity. Lively
youngsters were clattering around In
wooden shoes, vigorous women were to
be seen with the ever present scrub
brush hard at work on the brick stoop
In front Of the home, and the men In the
fields showed no lack of vitamines ip
their diet. These people are . different
nationality than the Dutch. although q
part Of the Netherlands has q separate
language, q cross between English and
German. They have their own literature
and cling to number of their ancient
customs. The ladies have kept their
national headdress and their highly
polished brass plates.
From May until November the COWS
are given no supplement for the pastures
are luxurious. During the other six
months they are quartersd in the barp
which adjoins the house, and are fed
cotton and oil cake or perhaps y-bean
meal with the grass hay. The COWS and
barns are kept scrupulously clean. Even
the ceilings we're scrubbed until they
we're as smooth as u they bad been sand.
papered.
The main meal comes at 10 O'Clock
and while II was somewhat the same as
a farmers dinner in this country, that
which seemed to be Q favorite dessert
was made from buttermilk and wheat
cooked together at high temperature
at the creamery. This was eaten with
molasses or sugar. During the evening
buttermilk was slipped which was warm
ed up with some kind of Q seed, which
gave it decided flavor.
Cycling through the country one could
see men plowing in the fields, most of
them using three horses to the plow
with one man guiding and the other
taking care of the horses. Every few
feet special furrow is plowed to carry
the surplus water to the ditches. From
the bitches the windmills pump the
water into the canals, which are higher
than the surrounding country, and carry
this surplus water to the sea. The coun-
try (two-thirds of which is In grass), the
spacious barns, the windmills, and the
canals, all seem to make perfect back
ground for the big black and white cat
tie seen every " here.
In respect to color and general appear
ance the Friesisn cattle, like those of
northern Germany and Jutland In Den
mark, are the same az our HolstsiD.
Frissians, but there are number of red
and white cattle which are very common
in other parts of Holland. These are
called the N. R. Y. breed after the three
great rivers OF Holland, the Mas, Rhine
and the Yeel, In whose valleys they are
largely found. In Gronigen, q province
east of Friesland, the cattle are entirely
black except for their heads, which are
white. Besides the cattle, every farmer
seemed to have few milk sheep, which
are said to give from two to four pounds
of milk daily from April to December.
This tests from five to ten per cent fat
and makes q delicious cheese. Five
thousand Of these were sent recently to
Austria.
In Sirtema State is the home of K. N.
Kuperus, from which 20 many cattle
were imported to this couptry forty or
City years ago. It was from this herd
that Mercedes came, which at Iowa City
in 1883 made the breed famous with her
record of nearly 100 pounds of butter In
1870 days. During the following year
more than 800 head were brought over
here through the medium of Mr..
Kuperus. At the present time he and
his sons are the foremost exporters of
cattle, most Of them going to South
Africa, Australia and South America.
On his two farms, with q total area OF
1877 acres, 65 cows and about 60 sheep
are kept In milk.
About 10 per cent OF the butter and
cheese is made In the SO cooperative
creameries with over 1000 members.
From May, 1917, to May, 1918, 100000
tons of milk were delivered from which
the farmers received II 1-2 million dol.
lars, the working expenses amounting
to about four million dollars. The value
of butter made was slightly above that
Of the cheese made.-E. T. Leavitt.