The Red Polls are a comparatively new breed, resembling the Devons, hornless, and inclined to the beef form. They are only fair dairy cattle, being in the class of breeds which aim to serve the dual purpose of milk and beef production. The Shorthorns, described above as beef cattle, although a typical beef breed, are to some extent dual-purpose animals, and some families have been notable for milk-production. In the best milking strains the cows are rather more and angular in outline than the beef types, with large, hairy udders. The Shorthorns made a surprisingly good showing in the World's Fair breed test (1593), and records of several herds in the United States show a milking period of 2.75 days and an average production of 6500 pounds of milk.
Formerly certain dairy breeds were considered especially adapted to cheese-making, and others to butter-making, and the two qualities were supposed to be to a certain extent incompatible. The agricultural experiment stations have shown, however, that this is not the case, hut that the value of milk for cheese-making as well as for butter-making is measured by its fat. content. The richness of the milk in fat is to some extent a breed clmracteristie, although within the breed the variations in this respect are quite wide in the ease of different Cows. The following averages of a large number of analyses of milk from cows of different breeds are some thing, of an indication of the composition: Attempts to determine by experiment which is the best dairy breed have not been entirely satisfactory or convincing, on account of the large number of factors have to be taken into account in determining this, aside from the yield and composition of the milk, such as hardiness, constitution. adaptability to given conditions, feed requirements and economy, ulti mate value for beef, etc. The results are chiefly of interest as shlIwing what the different dairy breeds have done under uniform conditions. The experiment stations in Maine, New Jersey, and .New York have nnole the most extensive breed tests of any in the United States, and the results have been compiled by Prof. F. W. Well as fol lows: however, comprise only a very small fraction of the dairy vows of the United States and Canada.
The larger part of the cows are grades, i.e. crosses of natives or ordinary cows with pure breeds. Among these are many excellent ani mals, rivaling the thoroughbreds in amount and economy of milk-production. :,\luch attention is now being given by dairymen to testing the in dividual cows of their herds, determining which are the most profitable ones, and gradually eliminating the inferior ones. In this way an improvement of the ordinary stock is going on \ h i eh, in some sections, has already raised the cows to a high degree of excellence and will ultimately result in a much higher standard for good dairy Cl IWS.
The Chicago World's Fair breed test was the 1111)4 famous test Of its kind ever conducted. Al though open to all breeds, only the Guernsey, Jersey. and Shorthorn breeders' associations en tered the competition. and they selected the best cows of their respective breeds to be found. The results of the butter and cheese tests with these three breeds are summarized as follows: The following books treat of the history, breeds, and Management of cattle: Sanders. 7'he Breeds of Lire Stock (Chicago, 18S7) ; G. W. Curtis, Horses, rattle, Sheep, and Swine (New York, 1893) : Wallace, Farm Lire Stock of Groat Britain ( Ed inburgh, 1889 ) ; Flint, .1 mei-lean Fanner ( Hart ford, Conn., 884 ) ; A lvord, "Breeds of Dairy Cattle," in United States De The various breeds eontinue to have their advoeates and admirers, and each breed has some points of advantage. The pure bred stock, partment of Agriculture Par-niers' Bolletirt 106 (W a:shington. lti98) Coleman, Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs of Great Britain (London, 1887) ; T.
3dimly Hughes, On the 1/ore Important Breeds of Cattle 'Which Have Been Recognized in the British Isles, and Their Relation to Other Arekr °logical and Historical Discoveries (Westmin ster, 1896) Oskar Knispel, Die Verbrcitung der Rind(rsehliige in Deutschland, ncbst Darstellung der offentliehen Zuchtbestrcbungen in, 1897) Richard Lydekker, Wild Oxen. Sheep, and Goats of .1.11 Lands, Living and Extinct (London, 1898) : A. Lydtin and 11. Werner. Das deutsche Rind; Besehreibung der is Deutschland 1H:full sch(n Rindersehlage (Berlin. 1899). See also