HOLSTEIN FRIESIAN CATTLE.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume II, Issue 2, 15 February 1911, Page 67

HOLSTEIN FRIESIAN CATTLE.

The Holstein Friesian cattle as a breed originated in Friesland, North Holland, and were first kept by the people of the country, called Friesians. The term Holstein Friesian is the result of a compromise which was made to suit interested breeders, since these cattle had multiplied and had become the dairy cow of the neighbouring province of Holstein as well as of other parts of Germany.

The cattle of this. breed are usually black and white in colour, long and deep in the body, and have capacious udders. They are of an exceedingly contented and docile disposition, and ease of handling tends to make them favourites with the dairymen..

Asa breed its ■- representatives are widely scattered. In every dairy country they are to be found. They readily become accustomed to a changed environment, some representatives of this breed having been taken into northern Russia, where they climatized successfully within three and one-half degrees of the Arctic Circle. They are noted for their constitutional vigour. Their calves grow rapidly, and mature early.

Every breed has its limited adaptations, and in selecting a dairy breed the dairyman should be guided by a consideration of the class of land he owns. For good heavy land which grows roughage liberally, no breed of cow will probably equal the Holstein Friesians as milk-producers. . For lighter land, or land of an exceedingly rough nature, some of the lighter breeds may give better results. The great capacity of cows of the Holstein Friesian breed enable them to convert large quantities of feed into milk, and trials have shown that they will produce 100 lb. , of milk more cheaply than other breeds. This brings them into favour with dairymen who supply milk for local consumption. - ,

Their good constitutions enable them to stand. forcing remarkably well. In North America this breed, as well as the other dairy breeds represented in New Zealand Jerseys and. Ayrshireshas been so nurtured and developed that the production of its representatives is much ahead of that of their progenitors in their native land. In both Canada and the United States the more progressive . dairymen have ceased to worship the myth of the “ dual purpose ” cow, as is evidenced by their standards for advanced registry official records. The breeders of pure-bred dairy stock have gone in for testing the productive capacity of their cows, and this has shown the necessity for specialization.

The milk of the Holstein Friesian co wk has a reputation for a low fatcontent. The environment responsible for the characteristics of this breed in its native land was conducive to a large quantity, but perhaps somewhat at the expense of quality. . Born and reared in the low-lying districts of Holland, where grass was succulent and plentiful, these cows developed a large, frame, and produced a large quantity of milk, but this was poorer in butter-fat than that of other dairy breeds. Breeders handling these cows outside their native land have endeavoured to increase, the fat-per-centage without decreasing the quantity of milk, and the tendency of recent years has been a development in this direction. Numbers of these cows will now give milk with an average fat-content for the year within the limits of 3-6 to over 4 per cent.

The popularity of this breed is extending in New Zealand, the relatively high proportion of casein to butter-fat in their milk making them specially adapted for cheesemaking, while their- large yield of butter-fat makes them desirable for butter. . There is also the advantage of a large quantity of skim-milk with a given amount of butter-fat. There are Holsteins and Holsteins, and the best .results are obtained only from those of special milking-strain. This position is not peculiar to any one breed, but applies to all the dairy breeds alike. Breeders of the black-and-white cattle have noted this, and have gone in for the testing of individual cows to an exceptional degree.

Several of the world’s records are held by members of this breed. Colantha 4th’s Johanna produced 998-26 lb. of butter-fat in 365 days. This is almost 1,000 lb. of butter-fat, and is probably equal to the production of almost five New Zealand average cows. To Dekol Queen La- Polka 2nd belongs the honour of most milk for thirty days, this reaching 3,318-9 lb., while Grace Faynes 2nd Homestead produced a record with 28-44 lb. of butter-fat in seven days. It is contended by some that cows giving large yields for a short period cannot maintain, a large production for a period of years. A number of breeders are now practising the yearly tests, and do not depend so much on the shorter-period tests, and. this is doubtless the right principle. A Holstein cow which, claims attention in . this respect is Katy Gerben. Starting as a two-year-old, during five successive years she gave an annual average of 16,345 lb. milk, containing 543-48 lb. fat. This cow still holds the world’s record for milk and butter-fat produced in one year by a three-year-old. S- - ' ' Illustrations of some of these cows of pronounced milking-strain are herewith produced. The bull Colantha Johanna Lad is a son of Colantha 4th’s Johanna, referred to above, and changed owners at a price something over £1,600. Other .illustrations are of cows contained in the herd of which he is now the. head.