Native Cattle

Categories: History and Breeds

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 class 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 destitute of fixed

peculiarities or characteristics which they, share in common with all

other animals of the class 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

constitute 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 constitute a

breed. But perhaps the entire class 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.



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 Massachusetts.



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 Hampshire 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 coarse, 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 hardships to which they would be

subjected.



However this may have been, they very soon spread among the colonists of

the Massachusetts 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 multitude 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 circumstances 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 quantity 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 Hampshire, 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 Ayrshires, nor the surpassing 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,