Cattle and Their Diseases Part 2

This beautiful race of middle horned cattle dates further back than any well established breed among us. It goes generally under the simple name of Devon; but the cattle of the southern part of the country, from which the race derives its name, differ somewhat from those of the northern, having a larger and coa.r.s.er frame, and far less tendency to fatten though their dairy qualities are superior.

The North Devons are remarkable for hardihood, symmetry and beauty, and are generally bred for work and for beef, rather than for the dairy. The head is fine and well set on; the horns of medium length, generally curved; color usually bright blood-red, but sometimes inclining to yellow; skin thin and orange-yellow; hair of medium length, soft and silky, making the animals remarkable as handlers; muzzle of the nose white; eyes full and mild; ears yellowish, or orange-color inside, of moderate size; neck rather long, with little dewlap; shoulders oblique; legs small and straight, with feet in proportion; chest of good width; ribs round and expanded; loins of first-rate quality, long, wide, and fleshy; hips round, of medium width; rump level; tail full near the setting on, tapering to the tip; thighs of the bull and ox muscular and full, and high in the flank, though in the cow sometimes thought to be light; the size medium, generally called small. The proportion of meat on the valuable parts is greater, and the offal less, than on most other breeds, while it is well settled that they consume less food in its production. The Devons are popular with the Smithfield butchers, and their beef is well marbled or grained.

As working oxen, the Devons perhaps excel all other races in quickness, docility, beauty, and the ease with which they are matched. With a reasonable load, they are said to be equal to horses as walkers on the road, and when they are no longer wanted for work they fatten easily and turn well.

As milkers, they do not excel--perhaps they may be said not to equal--the other breeds, and they have a reputation of being decidedly below the average. In their native country the general average of the dairy is one pound of b.u.t.ter a day during the summer. They are bred for beef and for work, and not for the dairy; and their yield of milk is small, though of a rich quality. Several animals, however, of the celebrated Patterson herd would have been remarkable as milkers even among good milking stock.

Still, the faults of the North Devon cow, considered as a dairy animal, are too marked to be overlooked. The rotundity of form and compactness of frame, though they contribute to her remarkable beauty const.i.tute an objection to her for this purpose: since it is generally admitted that the peculiarity of form which disposes an animal to take on fat is somewhat incompatible with good milking qualities. On this account, Youatt--who is standard authority in such matters--says that for the dairy the North Devon must be acknowledged to be inferior to several other breeds. The milk is good, and yields more than the average proportion of cream and b.u.t.ter; but it is deficient in quant.i.ty. He also maintains that its property as a milker could not be improved without producing a certain detriment to its grazing qualities. Distinguished Devon breeders themselves have come to the same conclusion upon this point. The improved North Devon cow may be cla.s.sed, in this respect, with the Hereford, neither of which has well developed milk-vessels--a point of the utmost consequence to the practical dairyman.

NATIVE CATTLE.

The foregoing comprise the pure-bred races in America; for, though other and well-established breeds--like the Galloways, the long horns, the Spanish, and others--have, at times, been imported, and have had some influence on our American stock, yet they have not been kept distinct to such an extent as to become the prevailing stock of any particular section.

A large proportion, however--by far the largest proportion, indeed--of the cattle known among us cannot be included under any of the races to which allusion has been made; and to the consideration of this cla.s.s the present article is devoted.

The term "breed"--as was set forth in the author's treatise, "The Horse and his Diseases"--when properly understood, applies only to animals of the same species, possessing, besides the general characteristics of that species, other characteristics peculiar to themselves, which they owe to the influence of soil, climate, nourishment, and the habits of life to which they are subjected, and which they transmit with certainty to their progeny. The characteristics of certain breeds or families are so well marked, that, if an individual supposed to belong to any one of them were to produce an offspring not possessing them, or possessing them only in part, with others not belonging to the breed, it would be just ground for suspecting a want of purity of bloods.

In this view, no grade animals, and no animals dest.i.tute of fixed peculiarities or characteristics which they, share in common with all other animals of the cla.s.s of which they are a type, and which they are capable of transmitting with certainty to their descendants, can be recognized by breeders as belonging to any one distinct race, breed, or family.

The term "native" is applied to a vast majority of our American cattle, which, though born on the soil, and thus in one sense natives, do not const.i.tute a breed, race, or family, as correctly understood by breeders. They do not possess characteristics peculiar to them all, which they transmit with any certainty to their offspring, either of form, size, color, milking or working properties.

But, though an animal may be made up of a mixture of blood almost to impurity, it does not follow that, for specific purposes, it may not, as an individual animal, be one of the best of the species. Indeed, for particular purposes, animals might be selected from among those commonly called "natives" in New England, and "scrubs" at the west and south, equal, and perhaps superior, to any among the races produced by the most skillful breeding.

There can be no objection, therefore, to the use of the term "native,"

when it is understood as descriptive of no known breed, but only as applied to the common stock of a country, which does not const.i.tute a breed. But perhaps the entire cla.s.s of animals commonly called "natives"

would be more accurately described as grades; since they are well known to have sprung from a great variety of cattle procured at different times and in different places on the continent of Europe, in England, and in the Spanish West Indies, brought together without any regard to fixed principles of breeding, but only from individual convenience, and by accident.

The first importations to this country were doubtless those taken to Virginia previous to 1609, though the exact date of their arrival is not known. Several cows were carried there from the West Indies in 1610, and in the next year no less than one hundred arrived there from abroad.

[Ill.u.s.tration: DRAFT OXEN.]

The earliest cattle imported into New England arrived in 1624. At the division of cattle which took place three years after, one or two are distinctly described as black, or black and white, others as brindle, showing that there was no uniformity of color. Soon after this, a large number of cattle were brought over from England for the settlers at Salem. These importations formed the original stock of Ma.s.sachusetts.

In 1725, the first importation was made into New York from Holland by the Dutch West India Company, and the foundation was then laid for an exceedingly valuable race of animals, which, subsequent importations from the same country, as well as from England, have greatly improved.

The points and value of this race in its purity have been already adverted to under the head of the Dutch cattle.

In 1627, cattle were brought from Sweden to the settlements on the Delaware, by the Swedish West India Company. In 1631, 1632, and 1633, several importations were made into New Hamps.h.i.+re by Captain John Mason who, with Gorges, had procured the patent of large tracts of land in the vicinity of the Piscataqua river, and who immediately formed settlements there. The object of Mason was to carry on the manufacture of potash.

For this purpose he employed the Danes; and it was in his voyage to and from Denmark that he procured many Danish cattle and horses, which were subsequently scattered over that entire region, large numbers being driven to the vicinity of Boston and sold. These Danish cattle are described as large and coa.r.s.e, of a yellow color; and it is supposed that they were procured by Mason as being best capable of enduring the severity of the climate and the hards.h.i.+ps to which they would be subjected.

However this may have been, they very soon spread among the colonists of the Ma.s.sachusetts Bay, and have undoubtedly left their marks on the stock of the New England and the Middle States, which exist to some extent even to the present day, mixed in with an infinite mult.i.tude of crosses with the Devons, the Dutch cattle already alluded to, the black cattle of Spain and Wales, and the long horn and the short horn--most of which crosses were accidental, or due to local circ.u.mstances or individual convenience. Many of these cattle, the descendants of such crosses, are of a very high order of merit; but to which particular cross this is due, it is impossible to say. They generally make hardy, strong, and docile oxen, easily broken to the yoke and quick to work, with a fair tendency to fatten when well fed; while the cows, though often ill-shaped, are sometimes remarkably good milkers, especially as regards the quant.i.ty which they give.

Indeed, it has been remarked by excellent judges of stock, that if they desired to select a dairy of cows for milk for sale, they would make their selection from cows commonly called native, in preference to pure-bred animals of any of the established breeds, and that they believed they should find such a dairy the most profitable.

In color, the natives, made up as already indicated, are exceedingly various. The old Denmarks, which to a considerable extent laid the foundation of the stock of Maine and New Hamps.h.i.+re, were light yellow.

The Dutch of New York and the Middle States, were black and white; the Spanish and Welsh were generally black; the Devons, which are supposed to have laid the foundation of the stock of some of the States, were red. Crosses of the Denmark with the Spanish and Welsh naturally made a dark brindle; crosses of the Devon often made a lighter or yellowish brindle while the more recent importations of Jerseys and short horns have generally produced a beautiful spotted progeny. The deep red has long been a favorite color in New England; but the prejudice in its favor is fast giving way to more variegated colors.

Among the earlier importations into this country were also several varieties of hornless cattle, which have been kept measurably distinct in some sections; or where they have been crossed with the common stock there has been a tendency to produce hornless grades. These are not unfrequently known as "buffalo cattle." They were, in many cases, supposed to belong to the Galloway breed; or, which is more likely, to the Suffolk dun, a variety of the Galloway, and a far better milking stock than the Galloways, from which, it sprung. These polled, or hornless cattle vary in color and qualities, but they are usually very good milkers when well kept, and many of them fatten well, and attain good weight.

The Hungarian cattle have also been imported, to some extent, into different parts of the country, and have been crossed upon the natives with some success. Many other strains of blood from different breeds have also contributed to build up the common stock of the country of the present day; and there can be no question that its appearance and value have been largely improved during the last quarter of a century, nor that improvements are still in progress which will lead to satisfactory results in the future.

But, though we already have an exceedingly valuable foundation for improvement, no one will pretend to deny that our cattle, as a whole, are susceptible of it in many respects. They possess neither the size, the symmetry, nor the early maturity of the short horns; they do not, as a general thing, possess the fineness of bone, the beauty of form and color, nor the activity of the Devons or the Herefords; they do not possess that uniform richness of milk, united with generous quality, of the Ayrs.h.i.+res, nor the surpa.s.sing richness of milk of the Jerseys: but, above all, they do not possess the power of transmitting the many good qualities which they often have to their offspring--which is the characteristic of all well established breeds.

It is equally certain, in the opinion of many good judges, that the dairy stock of the country has not been materially improved in its intrinsic good qualities during the last thirty or forty years. This may not be true of certain sections, where the dairy has been made a special object of pursuit, and where the custom of raising the best male calves of the neighborhood, or those that came from the best dairy cows, and then of using only the best formed bulls, has long prevailed. Although in this way some progress has, doubtless, been made, there are still room and need for more. More attention must be paid to correct principles of breeding before the satisfactory results which every farmer should strive to reach can be attained.

Having glanced generally at the leading breeds of cattle in Great Britain, and examined, more in detail, the various breeds in the United States, the next subject demanding attention is,

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF CATTLE.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SKELETON OF THE OX AS COVERED BY THE MUSCLES.

1. The upper jaw-bone. 2. The nasal bone, or bone of the nose. 3. The lachrymal bone. 4. The malar, or cheek bone. 5. The frontal bone, or bone of the forehead. 6. The horns, being processes or continuations of the frontal. 7. The temporal bone. 8. The parietal bone, low in the temporal fossa. 9. The occipital bone, deeply depressed below the crest or ridge of the head. 10. The lower jaw. 11. The grinders. 12. The nippers, found on the lower jaw alone. 13. The ligament of the neck, and its attachments. 14. The atlas. 16. The dentata. 17. The orbits of the eye. 18. The vertebrae, or bones of the neck. 19. The bones of the back.

20. The bones of the loins. 21. The sacrum. 22. The bones of the tail.

23. The haunch and pelvis. 24. The eight true ribs. 25. The false ribs, with their cartilages. 26. The sternum. 27. The scapula, or shoulder-blade. 28. The humerus, or lower bone of the shoulder. 29. The radius, or princ.i.p.al bone of the arm. 40. The ulna, its upper part forming the elbow. 41. The small bones of the knee. 42. The large metacarpal or shank bone. 43. The smaller or splint bone. 44. The sessamoid bones. 45. The bifurcation at the pasterns, and the two larger pasterns to each foot. 46. The two smaller pasterns to each foot. 47.

The two coffin bones to each foot. 48. The navicular bones. 49. The thigh bone. 50. The patella, or bone of the knee. 51. The tibia, or proper leg bone. 52. The point of the hock. 53. The small bones of the hock. 54. The metatarsals, or larger bones of the hind leg. 55. The pasterns and feet.]

DIVISION. _Vertebrata_--possessing a back-bone.

CLa.s.s. _Mammalia_--such as give suck.

ORDER. _Ruminantia_--chewing the cud.

FAMILY. With horns.

GENUS. _Bovidae_--the ox tribe.

Of this tribe there are eight species:

_Bos urus_, the ancient bison.

_Bos bison_, the American buffalo.

_Bos moschatus_, the musk ox.

_Bos frontalis_, the gayal.

_Bos grunniens_, the grunting ox.

_Bos caffer_, the South African buffalo.

_Bos bubalus_, the common buffalo.

_Bos taurus_, the common domestic ox.

GESTATION.

The usual period of pregnancy in a cow is nine calendar months, and something over: at times as much as three weeks. With one thousand and thirty one cows, whose gestations were carefully observed in France, the average period was about two hundred and eighty-five days.

FORMATION OF TEETH.

It is of the utmost importance to be able to judge of the age of a cow.

Few farmers wish to purchase a cow for the dairy after she has pa.s.sed her prime, which will ordinarily be at the age of nine or ten years, varying, of course, according to care, feeding, &c., in the earlier part of her life.

The common method of forming an estimate of the age of cattle is by an examination of the horn. At three years old, as a general rule, the horns are perfectly smooth; after this, a ring appears near the n.o.b, and annually afterward a new one is formed, so that, by adding two years to the first ring, the age is calculated. This is a very uncertain mode of judging. The rings are distinct only in the cow; and it is well known that if a heifer goes to bull when she is two years old, or a little before or after that time, a change takes place in the horn and the first ring appears; so that a real three-year-old would carry the mark of a four-year-old.

[Ill.u.s.tration: TEETH AT BIRTH.]