Dutch Cattle Farming in the 19th Century
"In many parts of the Netherlands, owing to the constant presence of water, the soil is better calculated for meadows than arable land. In these meadows, especially in N. Holland…
From: 1889 C.E. To: 1889 C.E.
Location: Netherlands
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From A Handbook for Travellers in Holland and Belgium by John Murray, 1889.
In many parts of the Netherlands, owing to the constant presence of water, the soil is better calculated for meadows than arable land. In these meadows, especially in N. Holland and Friesland, a very fine breed of milch-cows and oxen is fed. The quantity of butter exported (chiefly to England), and its value in foreign markets, prove that the operations of the dairy are well conducted.
The rich soil, no doubt, gives a good quality to the butter; but this is not the only cause of its superiority. The extraordinary cleanliness of every part of a dairy, and its furniture, show the unremitted attention of the dairywoman. Besides this, the stables, the cows, and even the litter, are kept so clean that it is a pleasure to walk through them; and the family often make one end of the cow-house their usual sitting-room, having a fire-place at one end, and always at least one comfortable bed for a labourer or servant, who always sleeps in the cow-house.
The arrangement of a Dutch dairy is as follows: The building is generally like a large barn, with a roof coming to within 7 or 8 feet of the ground, some-times tiled or slated, but more often thatched with reeds, which make it warm in winter. Through the middle, from end to end, is a space 10 or 12 feet broad, paved with hard bricks. The heads of the cows are placed towards this middle space, from which all their food is given to them in a shallow trough made of bricks, with a gentle fall from end to end to allow of sweeping and washing.
As straw is scarce, the cows lie on smooth bricks laid sloping, and slightly hollow in the middle; and their beds are made of such a length, that when the cows stand their tails hang over a gutter to receive the dung and urine. The cleanliness is carried to such a degree, that in many cow-houses there are pulleys, and lines over them, with a weight at one end, the other being fastened to the end of the tail of a cow to keep it up, and prevent its dipping into the gutter behind. Everything which falls from the cow is swept away immediately, and the water arising from the constant washing of every part of the cow-house runs into a tank, and serves to dilute the dung, which, after a time, is pumped up, and either carried in water-carts to the meadows, or mixed up with earth and the litter of the horses into compost.
The cows usually come into their winter quarters in November, and are put out to graze in May, if the weather is mild. When first the cows are let out into the meadows, a piece of coarse cloth is put over their loins, and tied round their bodies, to prevent the injurious effects of cold dews and fogs.
The milk-room is almost always vaulted, and sunk somewhat under the level of the ground. The floor is laid with porous tiles, and, being kept wet, the evaporation keeps the cellar cool. The milk is brought from the cow-house in large brass vessels in the shape of the Etruscan water-cans, which, when full, carry the milk without much shaking. Salt is added to the butter as soon as made: no Dutchman would touch butter which had no salt in it, however fresh it might be. The butter made in summer, when the cows feed in the pastures, is of a very fine golden colour and agreeable taste. When the pastures are not so rich, this colour is sometimes given artificially, but the natural colour cannot be imitated so as to deceive any but the inexperienced.
The best Dutch cheese is a new-milk cheese made near Gouda, and called Gouda cheese. The little round cheeses are made near Edam. Some of the cream has been subtracted and made into butter, and the cheese is what would be called half-meal cheese in England. It is very strongly salted by soaking it in brine. The common skim-milk cheeses have seeds of cummin mixed with the curd, and are made of the size of our Cheshire cheeses. It is a poor cheese, and seldom exported.
Very large cattle are fattened in the rich meadows of N. Holland. They have large bones, and are deficient in some points considered essential by the feeder for a cattle show; but the chief object of the breed is milk. The meat is excellent. Large quantities of oxen and sheep are exported to England, in steamers which take no other cargo, chiefly from Harlingen. The cattle-plague introduced from Russia has tended to injure the Dutch herds.
Bibliography
A Handbook for Travellers in Holland and Belgium (London: J. Murray, 1889), 22-23.
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