=Milk-Breeds.=—The black and white _Holstein-Friesians_ (which, by the way, had their home in Holland and not in Holstein) are known for their large production of not very rich milk, while the _Guernseys_ and _Jerseys_ give milk exceedingly rich in butter-fat. A good Holstein cow will give from 7,000 to 10,000 lbs. of milk in a year, containing from 3¼% to 4% butter-fat. Some of them produce as much as 20,000 to 30,000 lbs. in a year—nearly 4,000 gallons—just think of it! Jersey cows will usually not produce as much in quantity as the Holsteins but Jersey milk often contains 5% or 6% or more butter-fat, and a few of the best have been known to produce 800 to 900 lbs. of butter in one year, an amount equal to the cow’s own weight. The red _Danish_ cow is an exceedingly good and highly bred milk producer which, however, has not been introduced in the United States, but the Scotch _Ayrshires_ and the _Brown Swiss_ are other well-known dairy breeds which are in favor with many American farmers. [Illustration: Guernsey ] But, alas! too many herds of dairy cattle average less than 5,000 lbs. of milk per cow per year and do not pay for their feed. [Illustration: Jersey cows ] [Illustration: Red Danish ] [Illustration: Ayrshire ] [Illustration: Shorthorn, beef-strain ] Many native cows respond, however, to good care and feed and with a thoroughbred bull a satisfactory herd can readily be built up from carefully selected native stock. Such continued cross-breeding is more apt to succeed than attempts to cross two thoroughbred breeds because the characteristic features in full-blooded animals are so strong as to invariably predominate in the progeny over the less pronounced forms and tendencies inherent in native cows. But where two full-blooded animals are mated and the strong characteristics in each are fighting for predominance the result is apt to be a poor, ill-proportioned offspring as the result of atavism. [Illustration: Shorthorn, milk-strain ] =Beef-Cattle.=—Cattle bred and developed for the purpose of producing beef rather than milk are called by contrast beef-cattle. As examples of beef-cows look at the _Shorthorns_ or the _Herefords_ or the _Polled Angus_ at the next State Fair you visit and notice the square, deep, smooth body with muscles and fat strongly developed in contrast to the loosely built, bony milk-cow with its tendency to turn all its food into milk at the expense of the body. There are, however, also among the Shorthorns, strains of good milkers, but as a rule these beef-breeds are not selected for the dairy farm, and “dual purpose” cows are not usually profitable.