Volume 1

European breeds of cattle / prepared by M.H. French ; in association with I. Johansson [and others].

  • French, M. H.
Date:
1966
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: European breeds of cattle / prepared by M.H. French ; in association with I. Johansson [and others]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Location, topography and soils The Châtillonais region is not a fertile agricultural nor grassland area, so that it is less suitable for developing the large milk-yielding Friesians or the fattening of beef breeds such as the Charoláis or Limousin. The hardy Brown Swiss have adapted themselves be cause, from their Alpine home, they are very rustic and accustomed to poor Alpine mountain pastures and the less favorable climatic conditions at the higher altitudes. The Brown Swiss are now distrib uted in two main areas: the northern region comprising the depart ments of Côte-d’Or, Yonne, Aube, Haute-Marne and Meuse, while the southern group is found in the departments of Tarn, Aude, Ariège and Haute-Garonne. Small concentrations are widely distrib uted in other areas of France. Climate The breed now covers a wide area and the climatic conditions vary correspondingly. Table 176 gives an indication of the range in which the breed has been established, i.e., the continental climatic area. Table 176. - Average climatic conditions for Brown Swiss cattle in France Jan. Feb. March April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Temperature (°C) 2.2 3.9 6.7 10.0 13.3 16.7 18.3 17.8 15.0 10.5 6.1 3.3 Rainfall (mm) 33 35 41 46 58 69 56 58 58 56 46 40 Feeding and management Similar to that described under other French breeds. Physical characters Similar to those outlined under Swiss cattle (Vol. If). Functional characteristics Again there is a close similarity to the functional characteristics mentioned for this breed in its country of origin (Vol. II). The milk records of French Brown Swiss cattle in 1961 were as shown in Table 177.