USA > New York > Otsego County > History of Otsego County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 11
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HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
"conunon origin and general characteristics" that designate a breed, it is particular origin and particular characteristics. The Holderness breed and the Short-horns have the same common origin and the same general characteristics, but who would think of associating these two breeds in the vame herd-book on such grounds ?
Messrs. Langworthy and Hinkley found Mr. Cheney's herd in a low condition and depleted in numbers. They then visited the herd of Mr. T. E. Whiting, of Concord. Mr. Whiting was engaged in a controversy with Mr. Che- ney upon the subjects of the herd-book, and the name, origin, and characteristies of the Dutch cattle. It is gener- ally supposed that this controversy originated from the refusal of Mr. Cheney to register an animal imported by Mr. Whiting, that was unquestionably a fine specimen of the North Holland breed, but was in color gray, and not " black and white variegated," the one essential require- ment for admission to the Holstein herd-book. Mr. Whi- ting had personally visited North Holland, and studied the Dutch cattle in the best herds of their native country, and . knew this animal was a thoroughbred. But Mr. Cheney was undoubtedly right in the rejection of the animal in question, according to the rules of the Holstein herd-book. Mr. Whiting again visited North Holland, and aroused the Dutchi breeders to the absurdity of having their cattle sent to America and registered as Holstein, thus giving reputa- tion to the cattle from Oldenburg, Breitenburg, East Fries- land, and Holstein. Upon this the Dutch breeders formed an " Association of Breeders of Thoroughbred Cattle" for .the kingdom of the Netherlands, and established a herd- book, with rules for admission that shut out all animals not of the purest Dutch-Friesian blood. Simultaneously with this, Mr. Whiting commenced a herd-book for America, with the same rules, so far as applicable to this country. Prof. G. J. Hengeveld, a noted author upon cattle, was employed to write an introduction for each herd-book. As a nucleus to the " American Herd-Book of Dutch or North Holland Cattle," the Dutch breeders selected and sent over to Mr. Whiting a number of animals, including an invoice of sixteen calves. These cattle were from the best thor- oughbred herds of North Holland. Messrs. Langworthy and Hinkley found Mr. Whiting willing to dispose of some of these animals in order to obtain auxiliaries to the new herd-book. A purchase was made of two calves, a four- year old heifer, Maid of Twisk (this animal had been a prize-taker at the International Exhibition held at the Hague), and of the bull Ellswout. With these they ; returned to the U'nadilla valley. So well pleased were their neighbors with these cattle that, in a few weeks, a company was formed, and the same gentlemen sent back to purchase more animals of the same importation. This company took the name of the " Unadilla Valley Dutch Stock Breeders' Association," the name itself describing the locality and objects of the organization. Four animals were purchased on the second visit ; the following June two more were bonght, and in December, 1877, the balance of the herd, which had been increased by subsequent in- portations, was purchased of Mr. Whiting's executors, Mr. Whiting having died in the previous October. With this last purchase was included " The American Herd-Book of
North Holland Cattle" ( Dutch- Friesian), and much of Mr. Whiting's correspondence, showing that his importations had been selected with great care, regardless of cost, by Prof. G. J. Hengeveld, head examiner of animals for regis- try in the herd-book for the Netherlands, and author of the introduction to the Netherlands herd-book, and also of the American herd-book. A few animals of Mr. Whiting's importations had passed into other hands, and in some instances had been registered in the Holstein herd-book. They were such, however, as Mr. Whiting regarded as not superior animals. The cattle thus purchased from time to time numbered twenty-five head.
The " Unadilla Valley Stock Breeders' Association" be- came incorporated in 1877, and proposes at the proper time to publish " The Herd-Book of North Holland Cattle of America." In the mean time they will preserve elose rela- tions with the Duteh breeders and their herd-book, as far as is consistent with their mutual interests. No animal will be admitted for registry in the American herd-book that would be ineligible to registry in the Netherlands herd- book.
The popularity of this breed of cattle has stimulated large importations for speeulative purposes. Cattle have been purchased out of promiscuous droves, their breeding entirely unknown, and sent to America as thoroughbreds, their only evidences of purity being the very insufficient ones of size and color. A person understanding the char- acteristics of the breed would probably not be imposed upon, but the mass of farmers and dairymen, not under- standing their peculiar qualities and structure, are very liable to deception. We therefore append a description of their most prominent characteristics :
1st. The thoroughbred possesses a peculiar fineness and eleanness of limbs. Many agriculturists of this country have imbibed the idea that Dutch-Freisian or North Hol- land cattle are coarse, ungainly, heavy-limbed animals. The reverse is true. When a buyer finds this coarseness he may be sure he is not bargaining for a thoroughbred.
2d. The thoroughbred is possessed of a structure bounded by straight lines. In this respect it resembles the Short- horns. The rounded buttock is an undesirable point in any breed of cattle, and is but rarely found in thorough- bred North Holland cattle.
3d. That which perhaps most distinctly marks this breed is what may be denominated the "milk-form." It is a widening of the female backward, not only sidewise. but perpendicularly, resulting in comparatively low and thin shoulders, with high and wide hips and rump. Standing in front of the cow she appears like a well-proportioned wedge, widening backward. This form is not so distinctly noticed in the males. The form that they take is denonri- nated in geometry as a parallelopiped; the shoublers being low and on a level with the hips, with the same lateral thickness maintained throughout the whole length of the body, from the forward point of the shoulders to the ex- tremity of the thighs. It is the form producing the maxi- mum of beef with the quinimum of offal. It does not give the arched neck and proud appearance of the stallion, but is far more attractive to the eye of a butcher.
4th. Thoroughbred cows are also distinguished by all those
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HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
special marks indicative of milking capacity. Large and loosely-suspended udders, with forward quarters well de- veloped, large milk veins, and broad and clearly-defined escuteheons.
5th. This breed is distinguished above all other breeds of cattle for intelligence and docility of disposition. The bulls, of whatever age, rarely ever become ill-tempered. The Dutch dairymen keep their cows under the same roof with the family, and they become pets of their wives and children, and are thus educated from generation to genera- tion to docility.
6th. The variegated black and white animals have mainly been imported into America. Yet it is not unusual to meet with thoroughbreds in the lowlands of Holland that are red and white, gray and white, silver-gray, or entirely black or entirely white.
No color is a fixed requirement for registry, either in the herd-book for the Netherlands or the herd-book for America. Color is a matter of personal taste, and the Unadilla Valley breeders' association generally prefer the lighter rather than the darker colors.
This breed of cattle is the oldest breed of eattle in the world. Three hundred years before the commencement of the Christian era there is historical evidence of the superior attention given to breeding cattle by the inhabitants of the country now called Holland. Cows and sheep and goats were used as currency among the people, and they gave them as dowries to their children. They held white cattle . in religious veneration. "The genealogy of these cattle," says Professor Hengeveld, " is pure and unadulterated, and it is at least two thousand years old."
The historian, Motley, in his " History of the United Netherlands," says that in the seventeenth century the cattle interest of Holland had become of prime importance, and was in a most thrifty condition. "On that scrap of solid ground, rescued by human energy from the ocean, were the most fertile pastures of the world. An ox often weighed more than two thousand pounds. The cows pro- duced two and three ealves at a time, and the sheep four and five lambs. In a single village four thousand kine were counted. Butter and cheese were exported to the annual value of a million ; salted provisions to an incredi- ble extent. The farmers were industrious, thriving, and in- dependent. It is an amusing illustration of the agricultural thrift and republican simplicity of this people that on one occasion a farmer proposed to Prince Maurice that he should warry his daughter, promising with her a dowry of a hundred thousand florins."
Professor Silliman, in his " Journal of Travels in Hol- land," published in 1812, says, " Innumerable multitudes of very fine eattle were grazing upon the meadows; many of these were of a pure milk-white color ; others nearly or quite black ; but by far the greater number were marked by both these colors intermixed in a very beautiful manner, and we found this fact to be general, for wherever we went in Holland the cattle were black and white, or striped and spotted with these colors. We observed the cows in the meadows covered with blankets to protect them from the dews."
The late Henry Coleman, in his " European Agriculture,"
published in 1848, says, " The Dutch cows have long been celebrated for their abundance of milk. They are often seen covered with a cloth as a protection against both the dampness and the cold. They are generally black and white; and in some cases they are milked three times a day. They remain in pasture all summer where they are milked, but in winter they make part of the family, and in truth live in the common eating-room of the family, it being a part of the main house. The cow-stalls, while oe- cupied, are frequently washed, and over every stall is a cord suspended, by which the tail of the cow is tied when milked. Indeed, the neatness of all their arrangements is perfect."
Professor George H. Cook, writing in 1871, says, " One of the first things that attract the attention of the traveler in Holland is the great number of cattle. They were all carefully blanketed, as the weather was rainy and cold. The wonder to the stranger is the marvelous neatness of the eow-stables. As soon as the stables are vacated, they are washed out clean, the floor is sanded, and in some cases tiles are laid, so that the stables are just as neat and clean as the dwelling-house, which is under the same roof, and is only separated from it by a partition and door." He also gives statisties of the dairy husbandry of Holland, by stating that, " in 1864, there were 1,333,SS7 eattle in Hol- land, of which the exceedingly large proportion, 943,214, were cows; 32,000,000 pounds of butter, and 61,000,000 pounds of cheese were exported from that country during that year. The population of New York State is about the same as that of Holland, yet the whole number of cattle in 1870 was estimated at 702,000. The whole amount of butter exported from the whole United States from January, 1869, to January, 1870, was 2,039,488 pounds, and of cheese for the same time was 47,296,323 pounds. This comparative statement, showing an amount of dairy products in favor of Holland so remarkable, may be attributed. in some measure, to the peculiarities of the soil and elimate of that country, but is more probably the result mainly of the careful and judicious breeding and treatment of their cattle."
Says another writer, " They give their cows preference over everything else mortal. They are never overworked or underfed, as the wives and children sometimes are ; they never lack blankets to keep them warm, or shade to keep them cool; the warmest, best built, and best kept portion of the house is set apart for their winter habitation ; their food is prepared with the strictest attention to their tastes ; attendants sleep in their apartments to see that no harul comes to them at night, and during the day a door is gen- erally open from their stalls to the rooms inhabited by the biped members of the family."
The Dutch have thus persistently cared for their cattle, and bred them from a remote period in a straight line for a particular purpose. They have never made the show and noise in the agricultural world of the English breeders, but they have bred as persistently and as judiciously. and. we believe, have developed qualities in their cattle of more practical utility to the world. Their herd-book is of recent origin, but not so the breed. It can be shown that it is the longest-established thoroughbred stock in the world, and has very largely laid the foundations and contributed
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
51
to build up various breeds of more modern origin, among which may be mentioned the Holderness, AAyrshires, and Short-horns.
This view is supported by that eminent English author, Professor Low, who, writing in 1840 in relation to the Holderness breed, says, "Near our own times it appears that cattle were frequently brought from the opposite con- tinent, and mingled with the native varieties (English). They were chiefly from Holland, the cows of which country were the most celebrated of all others in the north of Eu- rope for the abundance of their milk and the uses of the dairy. The Dutch breed was especially established in the district of Holderness, on the north side of the estuary of the Humber, whence it extended northward through the plains of Yorkshire; and the eattle of Holderness still re- tain the distinet traces of their Dutch origin, and were long regarded as the finest dairy cows of England." He also says, " That further to the north, in the fertile district of the Tees, importations took place of the eattle of the opposite countries, and the cattle thus improved became known as the Teeswater or simply the Short-horn breed." He continues : " In the property of yielding milk, how- ever, the new breed (Short-horns) is inferior to the older breed (Duteh)."
Sanford Howard, in describing the Ayrshire breed of cattle, says, " That is not improbable that the chief nueleus of the improved breed was the Dunlop stock, so called, which appears to have been possessed by a distinguished family by the name of Dunlop, in the Cunningham district of Ayrshire, as early as 1780. This stoek was derived at least in part from animals imported from Holland." The American authors, Charles L. Flint and Lewis F. Allen, arrive at the same conclusions. The first Durham eow im- ported into the United States was called the " Blue Cow" from her color, a bluish black and white, indicative of her Dutch blood.
We will briefly refer to a classification of cattle by the celebrated author, Schmalz, one of the highest authorities in Europe. He makes the following classification :
CLASS A .- Lowland Race; Primitive Cow ; Dutch-Friesian. CLASS B .- Mountain Race; degenerate, quite the contrary of A; Swiss Cow.
CLASS C .- Middle Race; forms the transition from A to B; Frankish Cow.
The breeds named in each class are types of the respee- tive raees. He says of the various races and families, " All other varieties are of less intrinsic value than the Dutch. They are evarser, or smaller ; possess less produc- tive qualities, though of local excellence in their native places." He also says, " The purchase of them for the pur- pose of improving other breeds, have for the last hundred years been only made in the chief Netherland provinces, where the choicest cattle of the Lowlands are found. Thus thousands of Dutch and Friesian cattle are ammally sent abroad under the name of Dutch cattle."
The Uuadilla Valley Stock Breeders' Association have now (Jan. 1, 1578) a herd of thirty-six thoroughbreds. The individual members of this association also own upwards of a hundred grades. Thus far the thoroughbreds have crossed admirably upon all classes of cattle, especially
upon the Natives and Ayrshires. The milk records of the thoroughbred cows are beyond their most sanguine expec- tations.
In 1876 three two-year old heifers gave, during the year conrmeneing the 16th of May, the following quantities of milk : Jacoba Hartog, 10,430} pounds; Sijtje Bleeker, 10,7115 pounds ; Neiltja Korndyke, 99322 pounds.
When we remember that a good native eow averages only about 4000 pounds, the records of these heifers seem ab- solutely marvelous.
The weight of the heifers March 27, 1877, when they were about three years of age, were as follows, viz. : Jacoba Ilartog. 999 pounds; Sijtje Blecker, 972 pounds ; Neiltja Korudyke, 926 pounds.
Maid of Twisk, a five-year old eow, gave 12,5631 pound -. and dropped two ealves during the year. In the spring of 1877, from May 15 to June 13 inelusive, thirty days, she gave 21953 pounds, an average of 733 pounds per day. The records for the year 1877-78 were not completed at the time of writing this article, but so far are as extraordinary as for the year 1876-77.
The future of the Unadilla Valley Stoek Breeders' Asso- eiation no one would presume to prediet ; but if " he who makes two spears of grass grow where ouly one was before produced is deserving of the title benefactor," certainly the members of this organization are deserving of the grati- tude of their country. Already for miles in every direction around them are to be seen unmistakable evidences of the rapid crossing upon their eattle.
The members of this association are mostly young men, and yet men of foresight and practical ability. Like every other new enterprise it has encountered in the start adverse predictions. The prophets of " evil omen" are rapidly dis- appearing. The little opposition they have had to encounter has only strengthened them. It is anticipated that a united effort will be put forth by the Holstein men to compel them" to register in the Holstein herd-book. But we believe they will stand for the purity of improved North Holland cattle, and will finally succeed.
These cattle seem to possess qualities adapting them to the wants of the practical farmer. It is conceded by all that they are the greatest milk produeers in the world. Their milk is very rick in easeine, and fairly rich in butter. The butter globules are very numerous, uniform in size, but small, therefore taking a longer time to rise to the surface of the milk as ercam. But that the milk is deficient in butyraeeous ingredients is a great mistake. The analysis of their milk, and its repeated success in butter-making. and other stubborn facts, disprove this conjecture Holland has already exported more butter than any other country in the world. The butter of this breed is regarded as the best to stand up against the weather, and hence, to export. of any in the world. Thoughtless people are apt to imagine that a large production of milk must necessarily be poor milk. The reverse is generally true. Of the same breed the largest milkers almost always give the richest milk it' fed upon the same kind of food. These cattle are also famous for being superior beef producers.
The food of a cow goes for three purposes, namely. the production of fat and flesh, the production of milk when in
.
52
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
milk, and the production of nervous energy. An excitable animal uses much of its food in nervous energy, while a docile one uses but little for this purpose. No doubt the superiority of this breed lies much in their docility. They are always quiet in stable and field. It is difficult to de- termine the master cows of a herd. They will eat and drink together out of the same dish, and lick salt without warring with each other.
A cow is like a machine. The machine that properly performs its work with the least friction is the best machine. It runs the more cheaply in proportion to the work aecom- plished. The North Holland cow is a quiet machine, and runs very cheaply .in proportion to the amount of milk, butter, cheese, and beef produced.
The science of cattle-breeding is in its infancy. In this science cause and effect are but little known. Progress must necessarily be slow. No breed of cattle is yet perfected. The aim of this association is to go on improving this breed by carefully-studied experiments. They have the means in their hands of judiciously crossing, and they have the best judges of cattle in Holland enlisted to make future selections for them. Their aim is to occupy no secondary place, but to breed as good stock as are to be found in the world. For the honor of " old Otsego," and the welfare of her enter- prising agriculturists, we bespeak success for the Unadilla Valley Stock Breeders' Association.
As an agricultural county, Otsego has always been classed among the best in the State. II. Gates Spafford, in 1810, says, --
" The agriculture of Otsego County is productive and respectable. . The whole number of taxable inhabitants is 5720, and the taxable property amounted to $3,277,143. The soil of the county is of various kinds and qualities, but a large portion of it constitutes a rich farming medium, thoughi rather better adapted for grass than grain. The in- habitants are principally farmers and clothed in the pro- ducts of household industry. The lofty elevation of this county, its salubrious air, and rich and wholesome pastur- age has given to its butter a high character in the market towns."
STATISTICS OF 1840.
There were in 1840 neat cattle, 66,035 ; sheep, 235,979 ; swine, 47,637 ; wheat, 148,880 bushels produced ; rye, 68,236; Indian corn, 122,382; buckwheat, 45,059; bar- ley, 116,715; oats, 693,989 ; potatoes, 1,293,109; hops, 168,605 pounds ; sugar, 351,748.
STATISTICS OF 1855.
The following valuable compilation exhibits the agricul- tural condition of the county in 1855: acres of improved land, 428,9325 ; total, G08,4913 ; number of farms, 6109. There were 14,652 horses ; 29,086 working-oxen and ealves ; 34.713 cows; 109.937 sheep; and 22,368 swine.
The amount of wheat produced was as follows: 39.897 bushels of winter wheat, and 1,486.633 bushels of spring wheat. Also 168,070 tons of hay; 412,704 bushels of potatoes ; 601,196 bushels of apples ; 3,075,206 pounds of butter ; and 1,638,493 pounds of cheese. In 1855, 32,780 yards of domestic cloths were manufactured.
STATISTICS OF 1865.
Bushels of winter wheat harvested, 9453; bushels of oats, 530,813 ; bushels of Indian corn, 220,354; bushels of potatoes, 475,965 ; pounds of tobacco, 22,104; pounds of hops, 3,451,761 ; bushels of apples, 519,259; pounds of butter produced, 2,811,199. There were 36,046 milch- cows in the county ; 12,718 horses, two years old and over ; and 76,674 sheep. Cash value of farms, $23,253.67; of stock, $3,509,123 ; of tools and implements, $819,092.50 ; acres of land, 74,0334 ; tons of hay, 114,495 ; winter rye, 18,724 busliels ; barley, 22,731 bushels; flax, 1755 acres ; pounds of lint, 29,181} ; honey, 34,251 pounds ; working oxen, 605; neat cattle killed, 5603; swine, 20,413; slaughtered, 11,476; pounds of pork, 2,806,409; pounds of wool shorn, 274,769; number of lambs raised, 47,656 ; number killed by dogs, 614; value of poultry, $36,851.77; value of eggs sold, $28,752.85 ; value of fertilizers bought, $13.150.20 ; domestie manufactures,-yards of fulled eloth, 5839} ; yards of linen, 11,927 ; yards of flannel, 12,4193 ; yards of cotton and mixed goods, 990; number of bearing apple-trees, 292,236; barrels of cider made, 12,7013.
For statistics of the county for the year 1875, the reader is referred to the following chapter.
CHAPTER XX.
STATISTICAL.
Agricultural Statistics-Crops, Produce-Horses, Cattle, Hogs, etc. -Butter and Cheese-Population-Mortality-Bonded Indebted- ness-Incorporated Companies.
THE following valuable and interesting statistics were compiled from the census of 1875:
There were 454,572 acres of improved land ; 135,373 of woodland ; 17,743 of other ; present cash value of farms, $29,638,194; of farm-buildings other than dwellings, $3,774,792 ; of stock, $4,031,135; of tools and improve- ments, $1,090,982; cost of fertilizers bought in 1874, $16.552; amount of gross sales from farms in 1874, $3,224,447; number of acres plowed in 1874, 76,556; in 1875, 78,899 ; acres in pasture in 1874, 201,924; in 1875, 200,265 ; aeres mown in 1874, 160,460 ; in 1875, 160,575 ; tons of hay produced in 1874, 189,537; grass- seed prodneed in 1874, 2481 bushels ; number of acres of barley in 1874, 853 ; in 1875, 994; bushels of barley pro- duced in 1874, 17,439; acres of buckwheat in 1874, 8440 ; in 1875, 6392; bushels of buckwheat produced iu 1874, 118,059; acres of Indian corn in 1874, 9310; in 1875, 9329 ; bushels produced in 1874, 276,659; acres of oats in 1874, 40,175; in 1874, 41,780 ; bushels produced in 1874, 1,065,973 ; acres of rye in 1873, 2659; in 1874, 1830 ; bushels produced in 1874, 30,664 ; acres of spring wheat in 1874, 651; in 1875, 504 ; bushels produced iu 1874, 7605; acres of winter wheat sown in 1873, 1259; in 1874, 1261 ; bushels produced in 1874, 18,831 ; acres of corn sown for fodder in 1874, 1698; in 1875, 1423;
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